Your monthly news & updates
on how you can Tikkun Olam
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Dear TBE Tikkun Olam Community,
The month of January often feels very dark to me. Even as the days get incrementally brighter, the hopeful glow that we share during Hanukkah is over and we settle into the dark days of winter, not knowing what storm or possible isolation is still ahead.
A silver lining in January is our remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to action -- and the powerful connection to Tikkun Olam.
Here is one of my favorite quotes, and my mantra for this year:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only LIGHT can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only LOVE can do that.”
As we saw with Martin Luther King jr’s legacy, when the work is rooted in love, there is productive, long-lasting change for generations to come.
We have many opportunities this month to make a meaningful impact in people's lives -- whether through donations, direct service, advocacy, or simply positive engagement. There are also several opportunities to join as a community to learn and grow together through introspection and open dialogue.
Join us, and together let’s add light and love to the darkest days of winter.
With gratitude for all that you do in support of Tikkun Olam at TBE and beyond. We are stronger together as a result of your leadership and engagement.
L'Shalom,
Julie
**Please Note: this email may be too long for your email provider. Look for the "[Message clipped] View entire message" link at the bottom**
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Responding to anti-Semitism and Hate
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TBE’s initiative to combat anti-Semitism and hate continues to build in momentum and draw an increasing number of participants from our community. Our recent work includes: further collaboration and advocacy with the ADL, continued education at TBE with Facing History and Ourselves, partnership with local town leaders, and relationship building with other communities of faith. If you are interested in taking part in this initiative, please click the "learn more" link or simply reply to this email.
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In our Tzedakah Box this month
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CommonWealth Kitchen
CommonWealth Kitchen is a collaborative community, providing shared kitchens combined with business assistance to help aspiring entrepreneurs build great food companies, create jobs, improve healthy food access, and strengthen our regional food economy. TBE's Racial Justice Initiative (RJI) has an ongoing partnership with CWK - they believe in the power of CommonWealth Kitchen's work to promote equity, opportunity, and economic mobility and build a regional food economy that is truly accessible to all.
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What we are Collecting this Month
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Family Table
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!
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JF&CS Family Table Distribution
Sunday, January 19, 10:15 am
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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.
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Rebuilding Together Boston - A TBE MLK Day Project (CASA and RJI)
Monday, January 20, 9:00 - 12:00 pm (Shift 1) and/or 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Shift 2)
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Our TBE team will be joining other volunteers in a grand MLK Day project to paint and make interior upgrades to the Haitian Multiservice Community Center in Dorchester. No construction skills required — but experience always welcome!
The project is open to adults, teens ages 12-14 with adult supervision, and teens ages 15-17 without adult supervision.
Please note there are two shifts available: 9:00 AM – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. RSVP for one or both shifts at the link!
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Prison Book Program – a TBE MLK Day Project (CASA and RJI)
Monday, January 20, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
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The Prison Book Program fills book requests from incarcerated people in prisons around the country. Our TBE volunteers will read prisoner letters with book requests, search the inventory room for books to match the requests, and process, invoice, write personal notes, and wrap book packages to send back to the prisoners.
This program is open to adults and teens ages 16 and older.
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Volunteer with our TBE Literacy Program
Ongoing
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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.
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Learning and Social Justice
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Immigrant Justice Legislation in MA
Thursday, January 9, 2019, 7:30 - 9:00 pm
Temple Beth Shalom, 670 Highland Ave, Needham, 02494
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Join the Immigrant Justice Group at TBE in partnership with Temple Beth Shalom of Needham for a program that will educate and provide advocacy opportunities. This is a forum to discuss immigrant justice action in Massachusetts and what you can do to support your immigrant neighbors.
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Green Team Meeting
Thursday, January 9, 2019, 7:30 - 9:00 pm
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We will discuss progress on present projects, and welcome suggestions for future initiatives. We will also share information about sustainability. TBE Green Team members help ensure our building and community are environmentally sound and sustainable. Educate our community to protect the health of our planet and all who inhabit it. Learn more on our website and RSVP to
Sheryl Goodridge at the link!
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Our Civil Rights Journey: Shabbat Dinner and Presentation (RJI)
Friday, January 17, 2020, 6:00 pm services, Dinner to follow.
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Join us during our Shabbat service where we’ll commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. We’ll continue with Shabbat dinner and a presentation of our Civil Rights Journey: “An Inheritance of Injustice: Insidious Institutionalized Racism.” This year, the TBE community celebrates our continuing commitment to understand and take action about the pervasive racism that is manifested today–sometimes deliberately, sometimes unknowingly—in longstanding policies, attitudes and beliefs that foster injustice in our society. In collaboration with clergy, educators, and congregant committees, we will commemorate the legacy of MLK. Please join us!
Registration for the dinner is required at the link.
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Discussion Group: Open Dialogue and Civil Discourse
Thursday, January 23, 6:30 - 9:00 pm
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“Listen Deeply — Speak Wholeheartedly": Please join our second meeting on developing programs and practices around open dialogue and civil discourse in our relationships at TBE, in our work at TBE, and beyond TBE.
This meeting will focus on employing some best practices in small group discussions on a choice of topics, debriefing on the experience and continuing the conversation around next steps.
There will be a virtual link to the meeting for members who cannot join in person — and you will be able to participate in the small group discussion among those who are joined virtually.
Members from all perspectives are invited and encouraged to join
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No Place Like Home: Affordable Housing – In Our Town?
Thursday, January 30, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington Street, Wellesley MA 02482
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Join us for an expert panel for an overview of the state of attainable housing in Massachusetts. Young families, seniors, and people of middle, moderate, or fixed incomes are unable to move to — or stay in — Wellesley. What does this mean for Wellesley’s future? Hear different perspectives on the challenges and benefits of creating diverse housing. Then, join in the conversation on what we can do to create a broader range of housing choices in Wellesley for the long-term health of our community.
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Rabbi Sisenwine discusses the importance of voting, especially in the upcoming World Zionist Congress elections.
Read more in the January Bulletin, page 2!
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Ronni Michaelson reflects on the recent Racial Justice Initiative Civil Rights Journey to the south.
Read more in the January Bulletin, page 3!
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"Riding for Sustainability and Peace"
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Eric Ruder shares his experience on the Israel Ride, a 200 mile bike ride from Jerusalem to Eilat supporting the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.
Read more in the January Bulletin, page 3!
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"Art as an Expression of my Jewish Identity and Values"
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Caron Tabb explores how art has been transformative in her own Jewish journey.
Learn more on TBE's new blog at the link!
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Issar Tennenbaum-Ariel, a member of TBE's sister community Ohel Avraham in Haifa, reflects on the impact of our partnership.
Learn more on TBE's new blog at the link!
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The Winter Walk for the Homeless
Sunday, February 9, 8:30 am - 11:00 am
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Join TBE at the the Winter Walk, isan event raising funds and awareness towards ending homelessness. The event is a 2-mile walk through the streets of Boston that begins and ends on Copley Square. Walkers will walk alongside homeless and formerly homeless participants and then will share a meal together while listening to real stories of Boston’s homeless community.
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Tzedek Reflection Gathering on Combating White Nationalism
Sunday, February 9, 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Location TBA
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"Where Otherness, Antisemitism, and White Nationalism Meet: Understanding Implications and Crafting Strategies for Social Justice Work in our Congregations"
Our goals for this Reflection are to bring people together across congregations and Jewish communal organizations to:
- Understand the roots of White Nationalism and its connection to antisemitism and racism;
- Highlight the imperative of partnering with others -- fighting for others as we fight for ourselves;
- Help congregants transcend their silos to see how our individual social justice efforts fit together; and
- Explore pathways to action
TBE is an active member of the Tzedek Reflection steering committee, the only Jewish social justice forum in Greater Boston, bringing together all denominations to learn, share, and inspire one another to repair the world.
This event is in partnership with JALSA (The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action), a local Bend the Arc Affiliate.
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Make a Difference with our Partners
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Help us and our partners repair the world!
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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
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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
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Support TBE Members Doing Good Works
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MAVEN Project - Doctors: Volunteer and make a differece
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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.
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Tikkun Olam Calendar! (NEW!)
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Our new website allows us to have 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!
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What are Mitzvah Moments?
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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.
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Tikkun Olam Youth and Community Organizer
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Vice President of Tikkun Olam
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