Eric Solomon

Rabbi Eric Solomon, the spiritual leader of Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh, NC, is a member of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and serves on the Social Justice Commission of the Rabbinical Assembly.

Jessica Shimberg

Rabbi Eric Solomon is one of hundreds of rabbis spreading the word this Passover about how to end sweatshop conditions for tomato workers. He’s pictured here in Southwest Florida , listening to farmworkers talk about what’s happening and how allies can support this growing movement.

Life and Action

From Farm to (Seder) Plate: Supporting a New Crop of Modern-day Isaiahs

By Eric Solomon

Six months ago, my relationship with tomatoes changed forever. Once, they were simply the most delectable part of a salad. Now, I can’t bear to look at one without thinking about the hands that picked it. That’s why there will be a tomato on my family’s Seder plate this Passover. And I won’t be alone. Thousands of Jews across North America will be putting a tomato on their Seder plates, a symbol of the worker who picked it and the campaign to end slavery in the Florida tomato industry. This is our collective way of fulfilling the famous promise found in the Hagaddah, “It is because of what God did for me when I went free from Egypt.”

What happened six months ago? One morning just before daybreak, I found myself huddled with a group of five rabbis in a dimly lit parking lot in Immokalee, FL.

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