Social Justice at Temple Emanu-El
Temple Emanu-El offers Social Action projects, events, services and programs throughout the year both at home (at TE) and outside in the community. Below highlight our Social Action initiatives that are on-going. Please come back often, as we will announce events as they occur (such as the Hunger Walk).
LIVING GREEN at Temple Emanu-El: Think Green, Act Green and Live Green at Temple Emanu-el
Contact Person: RuthE Levy, levyruthe1@gmail.com
Let’s start the New Year making conservation an essential part of our lives. Temple Emanu-El invites you to “Living Green” meetings where as a group we will identify and prioritize those steps that help meet our individual conservation goals. Whether you are interested in energy efficiency for your home, trash reduction, water conservation, green cleaning, organic food or other “green” topics, this is the group to help you turn your interest and needs into actions that produce tangible results: financial savings, healthier homes and lifestyles, greater harmony with a clean and safe environment. Novice or expert - all are welcome!
Participants in Living Green will meet once a month for three months. The meetings are designed to empower each person with the information, methodology, and support to ensuring their success in Living Green. Meetings will begin with identifying which areas of greener living the group members wish to embrace. Guest speakers will be arranged to facilitate the selected goals. In group discussion we will collectively define each step towards our goals, reflect on successes and obstacles, and make the necessary adjustments toward achieving our goals.
JAN 6: 6:30 - 8 PM, Conference Room. Parents of Religious School students more than welcome!
Our garden provides the largest amount of fresh produce to Atlanta's Community Food Bank in all of metro Atlanta. Tended by Temple Volunteers, we are always looking for folks to help grow our garden.
Cans for Cookies
Now an annual tradition, our Religious School students help Sisterhood collect cans via a temple-wide bake sale each spring. All canned goods are donated to the Community Action Center.
Social Justice....or What Will You Do
to Save the World?
Temple Emanu El's social action program has recently been renamed to be the Social Justice Program. So what does this mean?
Social action programs give us an opportunity to take individual and collective action in several areas including hunger and homelessness. These are, indeed, social action programs. They benefit our society. However, at Temple Emanu-El, we want to think of our programs in a different way. Not only are we creating a better world (Tikkun Olam), but we seek to promote justice - a level playing field. Our tradition teaches that there will always be disadvantaged people: the widow, the orphan, the poor. And while we cannot totally eliminate poverty or hunger, we cannot desist from trying to ease the suffering we find and work toward a more level “playing field.” It is no coincidence that our word for charity, Tzedakah, is also the word for justice. When we perform acts of tzedakah, we work for justice.
At Temple Emanu-El, we have many opportunities to participate in social justice projects. Many of us participated in our annual Operation Isaiah, collecting canned food for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. We had the largest collection ever this year, and the largest collection of synagogues in the Atlanta region. Thank you to Roy Baron, our staff and volunteers, all of whom helped make this possible.
Another ongoing project we have is our support of the Zaban Shelter, which nightly feeds and houses 20 couples who are looking for work. On the 19th and 20th of each month, from October to April, Temple Emanu-El provides and serves food at the shelter, which is located at Peachtree Street next to The Temple. This fun and rewarding activity is organized by Zaban Night Shelter chairperson Teri Edelstein. If you are interested in participating, please call her at 770.734.0377 .
One of our unique programs is Garden Isaiah, where we harvest fruits and vegetables to donate to our local Community Action Center. This a great opportunity to learn about gardening, work outside, and benefit our local community, all at the same time. Contact Stephanie Covall (770 512-7884) or Peggy Stone (770 393-0265).
We also have the annual Atlanta Hunger Walk. Not only is the Hunger Walk an opportunity to raise money for the Atlanta Food Bank, but it is a very visible way to draw attention to this ongoing problem and to become educated about hunger in our state and our country.. This year's Hunger Walk is scheduled for March 14th, and we look forward to having a large participation from Temple Emanu El. Please call to volunteer with chairpersons Craig and Leslie Lessner at 770 752-0994..
Sisterhood is organizing periodic activities for children after religious school on Sundays. Even small children can learn that doing tzedakah is for everybody. Each of us has something to offer, either large or small.
This is just the beginning of social justice activities at Temple Emanu El. Every day, our members are working in our community Some are leading services in our local senior citizen homes; some are helping children in Special Olympics. If you are involved with a social justice activity, we want to know what you are doing. Please contact me at Levyruthe1@juno.com and tell your story!
When I was teaching religious school, I used to ask my students, “How are you going to be Jewish when you walk outside the temple doors?” Judaism is about the doing...the doing of social justice, creating a better world for everyone. So I ask you, “What are you going to do Jewishly when you walk out of the synagogue? I hope every Temple Emanu El member will participate in at least one Social Justice project this year.
It's fun.
It's rewarding.
It's what we do.
RuthE Levy, Social Justice Chairperson
