Repair the World

Weekly Torah: Parshat Eikev 5770

This post is part of a weekly series of Torah commentaries presented by the American Jewish World Service. It was contributed by Rachel Farbiarz.

Parshat Eikev continues Moses’s exhortation to Israel before his death. The old man cajoles, commands, promises, threatens, warns, woos and reasons. He repeats. With every rhetorical tack he can muster, Moses implores Israel to be faithful to God. Of these, one set of Moses’s end-of-life instructions arrests with the thoroughness of its charge:

And you shall set these words on your heart and in your very being and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall become circlets between your eyes….And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and in your gates.

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A Year in the Life: Avodah Fellow

Ever considered applying for a long term immersive service program, but wondered what exactly service fellows really do? The audio slideshows below capture a year in the life of two Avodah corps members: Diana Levy in New York and David Eber in New Orleans. Follow their experiences – living in the Avodah house with other Corps members, working on urban poverty issues, and connecting their personal and professional experiences to Jewish life. (Prepare to be inspired!)

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Thursday Link Roundup

Looking for a little inspiring news as the weekend draws near? Look no further – here are some interesting service-related reads from around the web, and a couple opportunities to get involved!

CHECK IT OUT

• (NY Jewish Week) Take a behind the scenes look at Eden Village Camp, a brand-new environmentally-focused summer camp for Jewish kids.
• (NY Times) An uplifting piece from Times’ opinion columnist, Gail Collins, on why “the kids (or 20-somethings, rather) are alright.”
• (Huffington Post) Rabbi Ari Hart, co-founder of the Orthodox social justice organization, Uri L’Tzedek on sustainability and Jewish tradition.
• (NY Times) Micro-loans are typically associated with supporting small business owners in developing countries – but micro-financing also makes a big difference here in America.
• (Haaretz) Dozens of Orthodox rabbis sign a “statement of principles,” encouraging the acceptance of LGBT-identified people within the Jewish community.

GET INVOLVED

• (Mashable) A new website encourages people to get a little “daring” with their fundraising. Try it out!
• (The Jew & The Carrot) Check out a great new film pitch about Haiti’s agricultural crisis – then donate to help the film makers make it happen!

Rabbi Will Berkovitz Joins Repair the World

Seattle-based leader to promote partnership efforts

After six years as executive director of Hillel at the University of Washington, Rabbi Will Berkovitz has joined Repair the World as vice president of partnerships and rabbi-in-residence.

Berkovitz, who began his career as a journalist in Seattle before entering Jewish communal work, has led pioneering efforts to raise the profile of service and civic engagement among young Jews.

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J-Teen Leadership Volunteers for Haiti

American anthropologist, Margaret Mead, is known for her famous saying, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” The same thing could be said about teenagers.

Since 2005 J-Teen Leadership has been empowering Jewish teens in Westchester, New York to engage with Jewish values and build leadership skills while giving back to their community (and the wider world) through service.

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Do Good Now: Ve’ahavta’s Kinder Kits

Summer may be in full glorious swing, but believe it or not, the next school year is right around the corner. And when it comes to school supplies, many students – and even the schools themselves – do not have the funds to adequately prepare and stock up.

A recent article on the journal reported that last year, America’s teachers spent a collective $1.3 billion out of their own pockets to buy books, paper, pencils and other supplies to make their classrooms more conducive to learning. According to the article:

A full 92 percent of teachers reported spending some amount of their own money on classroom supplies, while a smaller but still significant 85 percent reported spending their own money on instructional materials.

So how can you help? By sponsoring a Kinder Kit from Ve’ahavta.

Weekly Torah: Parshat Va’etchanan 5770

This post is part of a weekly series of Torah commentaries presented by the American Jewish World Service. It was contributed by Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster.

What can our love of God teach us about our relationships with other people? Parshat Va’etchanan recalls the details of the covenant between God and Israel at Sinai, a model for the deep, committed relationship that is ideal for connecting to our fellow human beings. This model is especially critical when thinking about finding common ground for social change.

The parshah contains much of the core prayer of Jewish belief, the Shema. As part of the declaration of Israel’s unique relationship with God alone, we are reminded that we must love God with “all of our hearts and all of our souls and all of our might.” This details an all-encompassing commitment grounding our relationship with God both in emotion and devotion.

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Influential Women Rabbis: In Service as Well as Congregations

Last month, Newsweek released it’s list of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. And as in other years, the list fell short in fully capturing the accomplishments of the country’s female rabbis. So the Forward took things into its own hands, releasing the Sisterhood 50, which focuses solely on 50 women rabbis in America (and 5 in Israel for good measure).

Just like the New York Jewish Week’s 36 Under 36 list, the Sisterhood 50 is chock full of women rabbis who are using their influence to inspire strong service-minded communities. Of course, becoming a rabbi is in itself a lifelong commitment to service, but these women are going above and beyond. Here are some of the highlights:

Spotlight On: Tisha B’Av’s Connections to Service

Aside from Yom Kippur, Tisha B’Av (the 9th of the month of Av) is arguably the Jewish calendar’s most solemn holiday. The day commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temple in Jerusalem – two calamities that happened more than 650 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar day. Over the centuries, other sad historical events have been linked to the day, adding layers of meaning to the already packed day.

Tisha B’Av is the culmination of the three weeks – a longer period of mourning leading up to the day. Like Yom Kippur, Jews observing Tisha B’Av fast for 25 hours, from sunset on erev (the night before) Tisha B’Av until nightfall the following day. And like Yom Kippur, they refrain from other earthly activities like bathing, wearing leather shoes, applying creams or oils, or sexual intimacy. The sorrowful Book of Lamentations (“Eicha” in Hebrew) is read out loud on Tisha B’av and often followed by a series of sad liturgical songs. Many observers remove their shoes and sit on the floor in dimly lit rooms for the reading.

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Nelson Mandela Day Link Roundup

Yesterday was Nelson Mandela’s (the anti-apartheid activist, Nobel Peace Prize Winner and former President of South Africa) birthday. Communities across South African – and the world – celebrated by coming together for “Mandela Day,” an international day of public service. Events included peace building soccer tournaments and many community service projects. Mandela, now 92 years old, spent the day helping to plant a vegetable garden at an orphanage in Soweto.

In honor of this incredible day and inspiring person, here are some service-related posts from around the blogosphere and some opportunities for you to get involved. Read on!

CHECK IT OUT

• (MADaboutART) In honor of Nelson Mandela Day, two Jewish artists raised more than $500 to support using the arts in HIV/AIDS education in South Africa.
• (NY Jewish Week) The Bikkurim program, which serves as an incubator for innovative Jewish non-profits announced that it will support Yeshivat Maharat – the first Orthodox yeshiva to prepare women as community and spiritual leaders.
• (Huffington Post) Melinda Gates writes about her trip to Mexico to learn about helping the country’s poor gain access to banks and other financial services. (Don’t miss the video!)
• (Jerusalem Post) This article outlines how ROI is giving Jewish environmentalists the tools and support they need to make a real impact.

GET INVOLVED

• (Huffington Post) Watch an inspiring video that instructs viewers in how to save one of their community’s most precious resources: their library.
• (WWO) Sign the pledge to spend the weekend of August 21-22 without using any oil or oil byproducts. As of now, almost 300 gallons of oil have been offset – help add to that total and find out the hidden places that oil shows up in everyday products.