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No matter your position about the U.S. response to Syria’s atrocities, we share empathy for the devastation human beings are facing. In these Days of Awe, when we try to ease the suffering in the world through acts of tshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah–repentance, prayer and righteous giving–here is a way to give:
Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief: Syrian Refugees in Jordan:
On Wed., Aug. 28, our nation will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic March On Washington for civil rights for African Americans. Over a quarter million people from around our country assembled at the Lincoln Memorial, as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech.
It is important for our congregation to take time to think about the importance of this event. This summer during our Erev Shabbat Services, we have been asking the question “What is relevant about Judaism in our daily lives?” I believe the March on Washington has a lot of relevance to Judaism, as there are certainly parallels between Judaism and the African-American story in our country. In fact, I believe Martin Luther King was the Moses of his day.Continue reading
As we witness Mideast peace talks, the voice of Jewish support is in our hands. When we speak to our friends, when we advocate to our leaders, when we teach our children, what will our rhetoric be? What will be our perspective of the other? This is the question asked in this D’var Torah I delivered Friday night.
Last week, I visited “The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats” exhibition at the National Museum of American Jewish History. Keats, an author and illustrator of 85 books creates characters and art that come to life on the page; but true appreciation of this children’s literature requires context. For in 1962, Ezra Jack Keats’ book The Snowy Day, became the first full-color modern children’s book to have an African-American protagonist.
Please join us for Jewish Meditation before Shabbat services on Friday evenings, starting August 9, 5-5:30pm (you are welcome to arrive 4:45 to settle in; please be sure to arrive by 5:15 when the doors close for silence). In these coming weeks we will focus on brief teachings from This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation, by Rabbi Alan Lew.
In an article this April, Rabbi Kuhn taught us: “A recent study found that Philadelphia has the highest rate of “deep poverty” – people with incomes below half the poverty line – of any of the nations 10 most populous cities.* The study found that Philadelphia’s “deep poverty” rate** is around 12.9%, or 200,000 people.”
Even as we look to the Prophets to inspire us that justice will someday flow like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream, while the homeless are in our midst, they have much to teach us.
We celebrated a moment of courage and righteousness yesterday when Pennsylvania’s first (unsanctioned) same sex-marriage license was issued! Whether this advocacy strategy will be the action that leads to same-sex marriage rights in Pennsylvania, our culture is moving in the right direction.
Here’s some analysis from Equality Pennsylvania:
Last month, Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Reform Movement’s Religious Action Center, circulated the important letter below, supporting the rights of Bedouins in Israel. This week, Haaretz included this update.
Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu:
On behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism whose nearly 900 congregations encompass more than 1.3 million Reform Jews across North America and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which represents more than 2,000 Reform rabbis, we write to express our concern about legislation currently pending in the Knesset commonly known as the “Begin Plan,” which will move large numbers of Bedouin from unrecognized villages to recognized ones.Continue reading
Today at the Constitutional Center, in response to being named in Whitewood-v-Corbett, the federal lawsuit based on the right to marry and equal protection, filed on July 9, 2013 on behalf of 21 Pennsylvanians who wish to marry in Pennsylvania or want the commonwealth to recognize their out-of-state marriages or to grant benefits, state Attorney General Kathleen Kane refused to defend Pennsylvania’s same sex marriage ban.
Every plaintiff in Whitewood-v-Corbett has a story. Here is one:
We do not support LGBT Equality in spite of the fact that we are religious; we support equality because we are religious and understand that we are all created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. Join us at RS this Friday evening at our 6:00 pm Shabbat service for a Shehecheyanu, our blessing for gratitude, celebrating the Supreme Court decision to strike down DOMA. Learn more about the the decision in the light of progressive Jewish values, here.
In the past decade, the Florida tomato fields have been home to slavery cases involving more than 1000 workers. Today, we are close to ending slavery in these fields once and for all. T’ruah is proud to partner with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to end slavery and trafficking, and to guarantee wage and safety protections for the workers who pick our tomatoes.Visit truah.org to learn more about how to create a new day in the tomato fields.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe7QTTk9XY4]
Inspired by Ted Martin, ED of Equality Pennsylvania’s remarks at RS tonight? Call for LGBT Anti-Discrimination legislation co-sponsors and thank your representatives who have sponsored; identify and contact your representative here: http://equalityfederation.salsalabs.com/o/35029/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1131
More information about anti-discrimination legislative efforts in Pennsylvania:Continue reading
