Temple Sinai is having a chocolate fundraiser to benefit its religious school. From now until April 12th, you can order Kosher for Passover chocolate.

The chocolate comes from Equal Exchange, a 36-year-old Fair Trade Organization that helps farmers make a viable living, so that they can stay on their land, feed their families, and plan for the future while protecting the environment. Their network of co-ops prohibit the use of child labor in the cacao fields. 

• Order your Kosher for Passover chocolates by April 12th to make sure they arrive before Passover begins.
• Send an email to the Temple or call 401-942-8350 to order.
• Pick up your order from April 17-19 at the Temple office and leave a check made out to the Temple.
• Select from the following Equal Exchange products:

1. Organic Coconut Milk Bar 55% cacao 2.8 oz.                      $5 each
2. Organic Almond & Sea Salt Bar 55% cacao 2.8 oz.             $5 each
3. Organic Mint Crunch Bar 67% cacao 2.8 oz                         $5 each
4. Panama Extra Dark Bar 80% cacao 2.8 oz.                           $5 each
5. Organic Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips 55% cacao 10 oz.   $8 each

What is Equal Exchange Fairly Traded Kosher for Passover Chocolate?
Equal Exchange fairly traded products are part of a system that puts people first instead of corporations. By purchasing fairly traded products, you're helping to secure a better life for farmers and workers in the global south.  

FAIR TRADE KEY PRINCIPLES:
• A fair price that covers the cost of sustainable production
• An additional fair trade premium to be used for community needs
• Child labor prohibited
• Gender equality
• Pre-harvest financing
• Environmental sustainability
• Safe and healthy work conditions
• Democratic workplaces and worker independence
• Transparent management and commercial relations
• Longer term more direct trading relationships that provide stability for producers

Equal Exchange fair trade is especially important when it comes to chocolate products. More than 50% of all cocoa is grown in the Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), where there is documentation of young boys forced to work in the cocoa fields. Fairly traded products provide third party oversight and policies which reduce the chance of child labor on farms.

WHAT'S JEWISH ABOUT FAIR TRADE?
• Since Abraham, the mission of the Jewish people has been to "keep the way of the ETERNAL by doing what is just and right." (Genesis 18:19) Indeed, the book of Deuteronomy is in large part a blueprint for a just society, with special emphasis on treatment of the poor and marginalized. Even if reforming capitalism as an entire economic system is beyond our power, we can make choices as consumers that express our values, support workers, and point in the direction of larger systemic changes.

• The highest form of justice is enabling others to be self-sufficient. According to Maimonides, the great 12th-century Jewish scholar, the highest form of tzedakah (charity) is entering into a business partnership or giving a person a job so that he or she can become self-sufficient (Hilchot Matanot La'Aniyim 10:7). When we buy Fair Trade products, we are effectively entering into a business partnership with the artisan or farmer, and our partnership supports Fair Trade producers to lift themselves out of poverty.

• When goods are produced under unfair conditions, it is as if the livelihood of the producer is being stolen. Where child labor is involved, childhood itself is stolen away. The responsibility does not rest solely with the manufacturer but with us as ethical consumers. Maimonides teaches (in Hilchot G'neivah 5:1): "One may not buy stolen goods from a thief; to do so is a great transgression because it strengthens the hands of those who violate the law and causes the thief to continue to steal, for if the thief would find no buyer he would not steal, as it says, 'He who shares with a thief is his own enemy.' (Proverbs 29:24)"

WHAT MAKES THIS EQUAL EXCHANGE CHOCOLATE KOSHER FOR PASSOVER?
The products offered through the Equal Exchange Kosher for Passover program have received approval as "Kosher for Passover" by Rabbi Aaron Alexander, former Associate Dean, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University. They are listed in the Conservative Passover guide under the category of items that do not need a special Kosher for Passover certification if purchased in advance, and in the home before bedikat chametz (the night before first Seder). They are also vegan and gluten-free.

WHY ESPECIALLY ON PASSOVER? 
Sanctifying these sacred times of the year by making ethical consumer choices is especially meaningful. The gift of freedom that our people received generations ago, and that we celebrate every Purim, Passover, and Chanukah, bestows upon us the obligation and responsibility to work for the liberation of all people. We are each endowed with "a strong hand and outstretched arms." Let us use them to extend freedom to others.

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?
Here are some resources on Jewish values, Fair Trade, and chocolate:

• A Human Rights Haggadah from T'ruah
• Info Sheet on child labor in the cocoa fields
• Fair Trade Principles
• Matrix of Jewish Values and Fair Trade Principles
• A Jewish Perspective on Fair Trade — a supplement to the Equal Exchange Curriculum
• Fair Trade and Human Rights
• Passover songs with a fair trade message, that you can sing at your Seder

A KAVANNAH (INTENTION) FOR EATING FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE
"Every generation learns that things are more than they seem. This chocolate I hold is more than just chocolate. This is a symbol of potential freedom, a realization that foods that give me delight can be made without child labor. Joy need not be accompanied by pain or oppression. May I experience the sweet flavor of this gift as a hint of the freedom that birthed it. May the world know liberation, one person at a time, mindful act by mindful act, until all people are free."
— by Rabbi Menachem Creditor, UJA-Federation of New York