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Tikkun Olam Committee
Together, we can repair the world.
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Welcome to the Tikkun Olam Committee (TOC) Monthly Update. The TOC is open to all congregants and offers a variety of ways for congregants to get involved in tikkun olam, the mending of the world. This year we are focusing on a theme of Tikvah (hope) and Tikkun (repair). In trying times, hope is sometimes hard to find and repair is required. Under the banner of Tikvah and Tikkun, we will consider how our actions are grounded in Reform Judaism, and offer adult learning opportunities (including text studies with our clergy), as well as advocacy and direct service opportunities.
Please contact co-chairs Betsy Kingery and Fran Paver at tikkunolam@templeshalom.net to learn more or to get involved. For more information about social action at Temple Shalom, take a look at our page on Temple Shalom’s website.
Join Our Next Meeting
We typically meet at 7pm on the third Wednesday of each month and welcome all interested congregants. At our next meeting on January 18th, we are pleased to welcome State Senator Jeff Waldstreicher and Delegate Jared Soloman as our guests. Both are Temple Shalom members from Maryland District 18, and both have agreed to talk to us about upcoming state legislative initiatives of interest to the TOC. If interested in attending this meeting, and/or our February 15th meeting, please email tikkkunolam@templeshalom.net to request the Zoom link.
Note that there will not be a February TOC newsletter.
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Join the TOC on January 28, at 6:30pm, for a short Havdalah service and desserts, followed by a recorded lecture of Doug Tallamy’s “Nature’s Best Hope” and discussion with Master Gardener Betsy Kingery on how homeowners can take environmental action one yard at a time. Doug Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, and has published and lectured convincingly on the benefits of diverse, native urban and suburban landscapes. No gardening experience required! Please sign up here to let us know you are coming.
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Repro Shabbat: February 10, 7:30pm. Join us as we consider Judaism's approach to reproductive health, rights, and justice.
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Refugee Shabbat: March 10, 7:30pm, with Guest Speaker Rabbi Sarah Bassin, Temple Shalom member and Director of Clergy and Congregations for HIAS, where she helps connect synagogues and their spiritual leaders to the work of aiding and advocating for refugees and asylum seekers.
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Climate Shabbat: April 21, and Earth Day Climate Day of Learning, April 23 (time TBA). If interested in helping with this event, email tikkunolam@templeshalom.net.
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Maryland General Assembly 2023 Session – January 11 to April 10
The TOC plans to support the following gun safety measures during the current General Assembly session:
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Safe storage Stronger requirements for safe storage of firearms in homes where children live; and expansion of safe storage requirements to include homes where other high-risk persons reside (such as those who are prohibited from owning a gun).
- Public safety
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Public-carry permits. More rigorous standards for individuals seeking a license to carry a handgun in public.
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Sensitive places. Restrictions prohibiting people from bringing a firearm to certain locations including private real property without permission; and within 100 feet of a “place of public accommodation.” SB 0001 Criminal Law - Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting Firearms - Restrictions (Gun Safety Act of 2023).
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Additional public-carry prohibitions. Prohibitions on bringing a firearm on private property without permission; and property controlled by Federal, State, or Local government. SB 0118 Criminal Law - Prohibitions on Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting Firearms.
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Gun industry liability Authorization for the Maryland Attorney General, as well as gun violence survivors and families of victims, to sue firearm industry members (such as
manufacturers or sellers), creating an exception to the federal law that shields the gun industry from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. SB 0113 Civil Actions - Public Nuisances - Firearm Industry Members (Gun Industry Accountability Act of 2023).
The TOC will:
- Explain the bills and update you on the bills’ progress as they make their way through the legislative process; and
- Send ACTION ALERTS when it’s time to contact legislators in support of the bills. We will provide sample letters or links to advocacy organizations that provide samples.
- Monitor other gun safety bills that are introduced.
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Why are we concerned about “public-carry permits” and “sensitive places”?
On June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court struck down a New York law that required people applying for a permit to carry a handgun in public, to show a specific need to do so. As a result, a similar “good and substantial reason” requirement under Maryland law was invalidated. Thus, it is now easier for Maryland gun owners to obtain a public-carry permit.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the Maryland State Police, as the State’s firearm licensing authority, was inundated with public-carry permit applications. By year-end 2022, 80,601 permits had been issued (with some applications still pending), as compared to 2021, when 18,667 permits were issued. That represents an increase of more than 300%.
Recent research shows that as a matter of public safety, more guns do not make people safer. Gun safety advocates are therefore seeking to reduce the proliferation of guns in public places by (1) strengthening permitting requirements in ways that do not run afoul of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling; and (2) prohibiting people from carrying guns in certain public places where the presence of guns could pose a heightened danger to the public.
Learn more about this issue:
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Maryland General Assembly 2023 Session – January 11 to April 10
The TOC plans to support the following climate-related measures during the current General Assembly session:
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Reclaim Renewable Energy Act This legislation would remove several polluting industries from the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that was enacted in 2004 to gradually transition our electricity grid to renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar. The current RPS includes several dirty “renewable energy” eligible sources that emit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and harm public health through local air and water pollution. The first dirty energy source is trash incineration; the second is energy produced from factory farm waste; and a third source that may be addressed is woody Biomass.
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EmPOWER Reform The EmPOWER program is Maryland’s home energy efficiency program run by electric and gas utilities. EmPOWER currently does good work on providing building energy audits and incentives for weatherization upgrades, but the program doesn’t help us reduce use of methane gas, which is a significant source of GHG emissions. This bill would enable the use of EmPOWER funds to switch appliances from gas to electric, such as stoves, furnaces, and water heaters, encouraging use of heat pumps, and increase support for low-income households.
Stay tuned for updates on the status of these two bills, including when House and Senate
committee public hearings are scheduled.
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What’s the best way to shrink your carbon footprint?
Take this New York Times quiz by clicking here.
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Postcarding: Although the 2022 election season is over, our work will continue. Our next postcarding efforts will focus on the upcoming Virginia primaries, which will take place on June 20. Postcarding will likely begin in April. If you have any questions or want to join the postcard writing team email us at tikkunolam@templeshalom.net.
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Apartment Setups: As we have in the past, we are working with Homes Not Borders, a local nonprofit whose mission is to provide the refugee, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and asylum-seeking population of the D.C. area with what they need to thrive and feel at home in the U.S. We are currently looking for volunteers to help with apartment setups on Sunday, January 29 and Sunday, April 30. Six volunteers are needed for each setup, and children 13 and older are welcome. SSL hours are available for this activity. To volunteer for either of these dates, click here. Thank you!
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Abortion & Reproductive Rights |
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Here are some highlights from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism’s January 3, 2023 letter to Congress urging legislative action to protect abortion and reproductive rights (with footnotes omitted):
In July 2022, the Supreme Court decided in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving abortion rights up to the states. As a result of the decision, 26 states are likely to severely restrict or ban abortion. In fact, at least 17 states have abortion bans in effect, ranging from total bans to bans up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Even before Dobbs, states across the country were enacting harmful restrictions on abortion care. Denial of reproductive health care can have disastrous consequences on one’s economic security, and individuals in these states are now forced to travel to another state for care (facing costs associated with travel, childcare, and time off work), self-manage their abortion, or continue the pregnancy, putting their health at risk. Abortion restrictions disproportionately harm marginalized communities and People of Color. Further, the enduring legacy of slavery and more than four hundred years of systemic racism have created racial health disparities across the United States. Nationally, Black mothers in the United States are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts, regardless of income, education, or other socioeconomic factors.
Life is sacred in Judaism. Banning potentially life-saving medical procedures and interfering with a patient’s decision-making and moral agency runs contrary to the Jewish commandment to protect life. This belief, combined with biblical and rabbinic emphasis on human dignity, has led the Reform Movement to view the life of the pregnant individual as paramount, placing a stronger emphasis on protecting existing life than on potential life (Exodus 21:22-23). Furthermore, regressive state laws that prevent physicians and other providers from providing health care is in direct opposition to the sacred duty to heal and provide care.
We thank Congress for the long-overdue reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which included important enhancements to VAWA that respond to the growing needs of diverse populations, promote survivors' economic security and access to safe housing, invest in gender-based violence prevention programs, increase access to safety and justice for Native American survivors, and improve services for survivors.
To read the entire letter, including a summary of legislative priorities, click here.
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Help Feed Our Hungry Neighbors |
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Shepherd’s Table
On the first Monday of each month, Temple Shalom sponsors 2-3 volunteers to help serve dinner at Shepherd’s Table in Silver Spring. Shift hours are 5-7:30pm. All Temple Shalom volunteers must be masked and vaccinated. Upcoming dates are February 6 March 6 and April 3. Contact Vickie Rocha at rochawitz@gmail.com for more information. To volunteer, sign up here.
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From the Religious Action Center (RAC) of Reform Judaism |
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Join the RAC to help shape our movement-wide social justice campaign in 2023 at one of two town halls on either February 1 or February 7.
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Save the date for the RAC’s DC Day of Action, taking place in Washington, DC, on May 10-11, 2023. This gathering will culminate in a lobby day on Capitol Hill during which participants will advocate for policy change on the urgent issues of the National Campaign. Additionally, the RAC will welcome keynote speakers including elected officials and leaders from partner organizations and spend time in smaller cohorts, building community across the RAC’s networks.
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Click here to read the full text of the RAC’s letter listing the Reform Jewish Movement Legislative and Policy Priorities for the 118th Congress (including issues of Immigration and Refugees, Environment and Climate, Gun Violence Prevention, and Voting Rights and Democracy Reform), urging all Members of Congress to join us in pursuit of a more just and equitable world.
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