Your monthly news & updates
on how you can Tikkun Olam
|
|
Dear TBE Tikkun Olam Community,
This week's torah portion,
Korach
, tells the story of Korach's failed rebellion. Unlike previous rebellions among the israelites post-exodus, Korach targets the leadership (Moses and Aaron for the most part), rather than their situation in the wilderness. When Moses responds to Korach's challenge by saying that God will choose the correct leader, Korach decides to 'kick it up a notch' and invites the entire israelite community to witness the challenge. The israelites observe, and God punishes the rebels.
There is a moment in the torah portion where God singles out the wider community, not the rebels, for their role. When Moses protests and defends the israelites by saying "they haven't done anything!", God points out that their inaction is proof of their sin, not of their innocence. In this moment, the Torah teaches us a valuable lesson: that inaction and indifference can be just as wrong as participating in evil itself.
As Elie Wiesel famously says "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." Not as well known are his further comments on the subject: "Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees -- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity we betray our own."
We will come across many opportunities in the near future to sit on the sidelines and simply observe. However, each of those opportunities also presents a choice to take action and make a difference. These choices are never as simple as what is said above. But at the same time, this complexity allows us to act in the smallest of ways and have the largest of impacts. I hope you will join us this month in taking action and repairing the world.
L'shalom,
Sandy
**Please Note: this email may be too long for your email provider. Look for the "[Message clipped] View entire message" link at the bottom**
|
|
New Trip - Civil Rights Journey
|
|
Civil Rights Journey
November 21-24, 2019 (This is the second trip!)
|
Due to overwhelmingly response to November's Civil Rights Journey, we have scheduled a second trip for November 21-24, 2019. We just need two more people to sign up to make the costs reasonable!
The Racial Justice Initiative’s exploration of the Civil Rights Movement, and particularly the Jewish community’s responses (then and now), continues with a journey to Atlanta, Montgomery, Birmingham and Selma. Our trip includes visits to the Rosa Parks Museum, Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and Lynching Memorial, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and The King Center among other highlights. We will attend Shabbat services at Montgomery’s Temple Beth Or, and Sunday morning services at MLK’s Ebenezer Baptist Church. This trip builds on TBE’s September course, Jews and the Civil Rights Movement, although class attendance is not mandatory, but encouraged!
Learn more about this trip at the link!
|
|
Responding to Anti-Semitism and Hate
|
|
New Initiative: Responding to Anti-Semitism and Hate
|
This past week, 30+ TBE members, as well as Sandy and Rabbi Saphire, met to discuss potential efforts in response to rising anti-semitism and hate in our community. These efforts include lobbying for the
Genocide Education Act with the ADL, creating a rapid response network to acts of hate, meeting with Wellesley officials, engaging parents and adults, interfaith learning, and TBE community education. Please click on the "learn more" link to see the meeting notes and specifics on next steps for action. You can reply to this email if you are interested in this initiative.
|
|
In our Tzedakah Box this month
|
RAICES
Founded in 1986, RAICES has grown to be the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas. They promote justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees. As an organization that combines expertise developed from the daily practice of immigration law with a deep commitment to advocacy, RAICES is unique among immigration organizations. In 2017, RAICES staff closed 51,000 cases at no cost to the client. Their advocacy and commitment to change provide legal advocacy and representation in an immigration system that breaks apart families and leaves millions without pathways to legal status.
|
|
What we are Collecting this Month
|
|
Family Table - Cereal and Canned Salmon
Family Table is Greater Boston's only Jewish food pantry. As a community, each month we are responsible for supplying 50 cans of salmon and 50 boxes of whole grain cereal for families in need.
Please bring in a can of salmon or a box of cereal the next time you come to TBE!
|
|
JF&CS Family Table Distribution
Sunday, July 28, 10:15 am
|
Come volunteer at New England's largest kosher food pantry, Family Table. During this volunteer opportunity, you will pack and deliver groceries for families in Greater Boston. To volunteer, please contact Jen Lawrence at the link ASAP.
|
|
Help a Syrian Refugee Family Find a New Home
Ongoing
|
The Syrian Refugee Resettlement Team is looking for stable housing fitting within the budget of one of our Syrian families. If you have property or know of a property owner that would be prepared to rent at below market rate as a philanthropic gesture or if you are interested in providing subsidy to make rent more affordable, please let us know. This family will need a 3 bedroom. Please contact Jessica Lasser with any information at the link.
|
|
Volunteer with our TBE Literacy Program
Ongoing
|
Do you love to read? Would you like to share your love of reading with children in a one-to-one setting? Please consider joining our Literacy team for a rewarding volunteer experience reading with a child (or two) in grades K to 4 for one hour during the week. Our Temple Beth Elohim Literacy Team is beginning its 21st year of volunteering at the Potter Road School, our partner school in Framingham. You choose any day that fits your schedule. No prior teaching experience is required…just a desire to help a child improve their reading skills. Learn more by contacting Wendy Cultice at the link.
|
|
Learning and Social Justice
|
|
New Initiatives - join now!
|
"Choosing to Participate", the last session of our "Facing Ourselves and Others in Complicated Times" series (in partnership with Facing History), launched three new ideas to help repair our world:
- Response to Hate: This group seeks to facilitate rapid response to acts of hatred, as well as help train our community to become more supportive of marginalized individuals/communities
- Education: This group seeks to gather educator and education-minded TBE members to affect change via partnerships with local schools, TBE adult learning programs, and other educational opportunities.
- Interfaith Connections: This group seeks to facilitate meaningful connections between TBE and different faith communities.
If you are interested in any of these new initiatives, please contact Sandy by replying to this email. Click on the "learn more" link to see a full list of ideas from each initiative, as well as other ideas and individual commitments.
|
|
Thank you for a wonderful collection!
|
Thank you to all who donated band-aids, magic markers, crayons, pencils, coloring books, notebooks, backpacks and other supplies for children in refugee camps in Syria. We collaborated with Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees and Jewish Family Service of Metrowest and other area collections to fill a shipping container headed to Syria this month. See the photo at the link!
|
|
Jews in the Civil Rights Movement with Yoni Kadden
Mondays, September 9, 16, 23, 2019, 7:00-8:30 pm
|
Two of the enduring images of the Civil Rights Movement are of Abraham Joshua Heschel marching with Martin Luther King, and of the brutal murders of Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Jews are indeed proud—and deservedly so—of their participation in the Civil Rights Movement. But these images capture only part of the story. In the South, particularly in the states in which the Civil Rights battles were occurring, many Jews had a different perspective on the movement. How then do we speak about “Jews in the Civil Rights Movement?”
TBE's Racial Justice Initiative seeks to increase our understanding and activism to address ongoing discrimination and inequity, and this course will provide historical perspective for our work today. RSVP to Lynn Burke at the link.
|
|
Get Grounded with CASA
Saturday, September 21, 2019, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
|
Join us as CASA joyfully returns to Gaining Ground, a nonprofit organic working farm in Concord. In our first event of the new year, volunteers will help harvest and prepare the soil for new plantings. All produce is shared with food pantries and hunger programs within a 20-mile radius. RSVP to Ilene at the link!
|
|
Volunteer with our partners
|
|
Help us and our partners repair the world!
|
|
Be a Big Brother or Big Sister
What does it take to change a life? A few hours, twice a month. A favorite hobby. A trip to a
museum. A game of pick-up basketball. A shared meal or visit to the ice cream shop. Volunteer
with Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston to change lives through the giving of
your time, your energy, and your passion. Be matched, 1:1, with a child looking for a mentor, or
an adult with disabilities looking for a friend. Learn more about how JBBBS has helped people
|
|
Volunteer at Centre Street Food Pantry in Newton
Centre Street Food Pantry's mission is to provide families with consistent access to nutritious food in a dignified and sensitive environment. As many as 85 families shop each time they open! They are looking for volunteers to help during pantry hours: Tuesdays 12:00-1:30 pm and 3:00-8:00 pm, and the first Saturday of the month 11:00am-2:00pm. Shifts are available in 2 hour increments and you can come as often or as little as you want. For more information, contact Risa Shames at the link.
Contact Risa Shames for more information
|
|
Support TBE Members Doing Good Works
|
|
TBE Physicians - Retired, Semi-Retired, In Industry and In Practice:
Use your clinical expertise and make a difference - join us for an easy, fun, flexible and rewarding opportunity! The MAVEN Project seeks primary and speciality care physicians to provide advice, mentorship, and education via telehealth technology to clinic providers working in underserved communities. Join
TBE Member Lisa Bard Levine in this important opportunity! Click the link to learn more or volunteer.
|
|
|
|
Along with our new newsletter, we are launching a calendar of all of our Tikkun Olam Opportunities, right on the website. In one central place, see how you can repair the world with TBE!
|
|
|
|
What are Mitzvah Moments?
|
This Mitzvah Moments monthly e-newsletter provides a monthly snapshot of upcoming Tikkun Olam events, with links to more information. The goal of the newsletter is to improve communication, lift awareness of Tikkun Olam events and provide opportunities for the TBE community to come together throughout the year to combine community, compassion and connection.
The ultimate goal of Tikkun Olam at TBE is to provide integrated “Mitzvah Moments” throughout the year which enable the whole temple community to participate in direct service opportunities, education about social justice, and/or collection drives—thereby linking our Jewish values to the act of doing/serving, compassionate giving, and affecting change—in ourselves and in the world around us.
|
|
Tikkun Olam Youth and Community Organizer
|
|
Vice President of Tikkun Olam
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
