Tikkun Olam

Get Out the Vote!

Dear friends,
It's a challenge, leading a religious community through a contentious political season.  We are duty and honor bound as a non-profit organization to avoid explicit political endorsements, and this is a civic obligation I encourage us to take very seriously, as we are gifted tax-exempt status by our nation under the assumption that we provide a fundamentally non-partisan social good.  We also have a responsibility to our own community to avoid making political affiliation a litmus test for acceptance, but instead to articulate the values that transcend such sectarianism.
But there are areas in which I consider non-coercive political involvement to be in keeping with our core mission, and that is when they are explicitly issue-based, or are in service of strengthening democratic process in-and-of-itself.
With that in mind, I want to express my support for the "get out the vote" efforts being organized within the JCA, including a project, in conjunction with Dayenu: A Jewish Call for Climate Action, to reach out to voters who might be motivated by environmental concerns, a set of causes you know are close to my heart.  And I invite you to participate!
You can find more information below.
As always, please contact me directly if there's anything about this you would like to discuss in more detail.
b'shalom,
RBW

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Please Join us for a POSTCARD WRITING extravaganza

to get out the vote and do our part to support democracy! 

Postcards, addresses, stamps, markers, and refreshments will be provided

Pre-registration is encouraged but not required to help us ensure we have enough supplies and to allow us to gather donations to help cover the cost of those supplies.
Click here to pre-register!

You can also register to just pick up a pack of supplies at any of these three events, write the postcards at home, and drop them in your mailbox. 

3 Opportunities:

Farbrengen Friday Night
Friday, September 6, 6:00 pm
Get out the Vote Poster Decorating for people of all ages 

Kesher-time Postcard Writing
Wednesday, September 18, 4:00-6:00 pm 

Shabbat Ne’imah
Friday, September 20, 4:30-5:45 pm
pre-shabbat Postcard Writing 

This event is in support of The Center for Common Ground - click here to learn more about them!

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Dayenu's Chutzpah Phone Campaign: Turn Out the Climate Vote
September 24, from 6pm to 8pm, JCA Social Hall 

The national organization Dayenu (A Jewish call to climate action), is launching a get-out-to-vote campaign (Chutzpah) to ensure that every climate-concerned voter makes it to the polls. Our Rabbi Ben is one of the founding members of our local Dayenu circle, along with members of CBI and the Deerfield Jewish community (forgive me as I'm new and don't know the congregation name!).

There are many JCA members concerned about our fragile climate and its future, so let's take this opportunity to join together for an act of fun planetary tikkun olam during this weighty campaign season! 

Our local Dayenu circle will join the national group for phone banking sessions at the JCA and CBI. We will nosh a little, schmooze a little, and support each other in good work as we help those who may not have the freedom to comfortably register and get out to vote - we can help! 
**Bring your laptop and earbuds.**

No phone banking experience is necessary, as we will be briefed. It will be fun to share this act of Tikkun Olam with each other

About Dayenu:
Dayenu is a Jewish call to climate action. It is partnering with the Environmental Voter Project to harness its superior targeting and technology for a phone banking campaign. They work with their grassroots Dayenu Circle network and allied Jewish organizations and communities to deliver urgent action on climate. Its goals are to: mobilize Jewish climate-concerned citizens to contact half-a-million voters in key states. We will be calling Virginia voters.
"Chutzpah is the audacity to demand a just and livable world. And it’s about building people power." 
You can read more about the Chutzpah campaign here: https://dayenu.org/chutzpah/

Immigration Justice Actions and Upcoming Educational Opportunity from the JCA Tikkun Olam Committee

What is HIAS?

From the HIAS website:

"HIAS is the world’s oldest refugee agency. Though the organization was formally incorporated as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in 1903, that founding moment represented a continuation of several predecessor organizations that had worked through the 1880s and 1890s to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe. While those arriving in the United States at that time were refugees, the world did not yet have a legal concept for people who needed safe refuge outside their homelands.

Originally set up by Jews to help fellow Jews for reasons of religious imperative and communal solidarity, HIAS in the 2020s is a multi-continent, multi-pronged humanitarian aid and advocacy organization with thousands of employees dedicated to helping forcibly displaced people around the world in keeping with the organization’s Jewish ethical roots."

Click here to learn more about HIAS

HIAS is currently seeking support with the following projects:

1) Circulating a letter to the Biden administration opposing his recent Executive Order closing the border.
2) Circulating a letter to Members of Congress endorsing several concrete and proactive measures that Congress can take to support real solutions and vision for asylum policy.
3) Joining our webinar on June 25 – “A Nation of Immigrants – Immigration and Election History in the U.S.”
4) Sponsoring families to come to the United States through the Welcome Corps program

Mitzvah Day Thank You!

We wanted to share a Todah Rabbah, thank you,  to all the community members who were able to attend Mitzvah Day and contribute their time and energy to baking challah, working in the garden, cleaning out the kitchen pantry, collecting food at Stop and Shop and packing hygiene kits for the Survival Center, singing at the assisted living facility, and cleaning up the cemetery.  We accomplished so much good which continues to make our community strong and vibrant.

Ceasefire Letter from Reconstructing Judaism Governing Body

Dear JCA Community,

Reconstructing Judaism (RJ), the Reconstructionist governing body has, along with a number of other progressive Jewish organizations, signed a letter to President Biden advocating for a bilateral ceasefire. You can read the full letter here. Directly after the letter, you can read RJ’s explanation of why this letter and why now.

The membership of the Tikkun Olam Committee has endorsed this letter, on the behalf of the committee rather than the entire JCA, by sending a note to RJ relaying our committee’s support of this effort. Many committee members appreciated this opportunity to be in company with well-regarded and Israel-engaged Jewish organizations in this well-articulated call for peace, security, justice and prompt response to the humanitarian crisis the war has created.
We appreciate Rabbi Weiner’s ongoing commitment to creating the most welcoming JCA community where all members’ opinions and experiences are valued.

Sincerely,

Amy Rothenberg & Judith Souweine
Co-chairs of the Tikkun Olam Committee