Jumping on the Bandwagon

by: Rachel Feldman

Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 18:30:47 PM EDT

Tzedakah or just more politics?

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Fri Oct 17, 2008 at 11:40:38 AM EDT

My husband and I have an ongoing debate about whether giving money to candidates for political office constitutes tzedakah.

First, a definition is in order: in Jewish law, tzedakah refers to material support for the poor. Most classical texts speak of tzedakah as providing money, food, medicine, housing, etc. directly to the poor. Later sources extend this category to also cover educational materials and even ritual items designated for those in need. 

While traditional sources focus on direct emergency support for the poor, it is easy to make a case that organizing and advocacy groups that work to end poverty should also be included in the category of tzedakah. If the goal of tzedakah is to fulfill the biblical promise that "there shall be no poor among you," then money given to a group working to create affordable housing, raise the minimum wage, or otherwise reduce poverty can be considered tzedakah. That said, I classify donations to groups that do not work to end poverty as philanthropy, and not tzedakah.

Searching for God in the 21st century

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Wed Sep 17, 2008 at 09:08:03 AM EDT

Gender and age: a report from the National Havurah Committee Institute

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 11:02:14 AM EDT

I just returned from the National Havurah Committee's summer institute, a weeklong learning/davening/singing/chatting, etc. experience. 

The major themes of the week were gender and social justice.  (that's "gender" and "social justice"--not "gender and social justice.")  

The folks at Jewschool have written pretty extensively about the gender conversations, so I won't reprise it all.  As mentioned there, one of the major issues revolved around the different understandings of gender identities/possibilities for gender identities among folks of different backgrounds and generation.  What I found even more surprising, though, were the similarities in the gender concerns of the thirtysomethings and the sixtysomethings.  (the 40s & 50s were, by and large, the missing generation at the Institute, but more on that later.)

Hot rabbis?

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 22:46:33 PM EDT

Hannah and I spent some time this week debating whether to blog about a fairly cruel post put up by another writer somewhere else on the web.  In short, this writer put up a picture of a woman rabbi whom s/he found unattractive, and suggested that overweight and unattractive women rabbis are contributing to the exodus of men from Jewish life.  

You can imagine why Hannah and I hesitated:  we couldn't even imagine how horrible the woman pictured would feel if she found herself held up as the paradigm of the ugly woman rabbi, and blamed for men leaving the Jewish community.  We didn't want to draw any more attention to the post.

In response to our e-mails, the owner of the blog where this piece appeared has removed the offending post, so I am now able to blog about the topic without causing additional embarrassment to the (perfectly lovely) woman previously pictured.  (for clarification--before anyone cries censorship--Hannah and I requested that the woman's picture be taken down for the sake of sparing her embarrassment; the blog owner chose on his/her own to remove the entire post.)

Position Announcement Executive Director Jewish Labor Committee

by: Arieh Lebowitz

Tue Jun 17, 2008 at 13:09:07 PM EDT

The Jewish Labor Committee is seeking an individual to fill the position of Executive Director of a national agency that is the liaison between the labor movement and the organized Jewish community.

The Jewish Labor Committee mobilizes support from the Jewish community for issues of concern to the trade union movement and mobilizes support from the labor movement for issues of concern to the Jewish community. The JLC works to assist labor federations, unions and their locals in diverse campaigns and to maintain the support of the Jewish community for the broad social goals of the labor movement. At the same time, the JLC works to mobilize support from the American labor movement for a secure Israel, Holocaust education, combating anti-Semitism and other issues of Jewish concern.

See more here:
http://www.jewishjobs.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=uvj&job_id=9550

Winner: this week's best (?) use of the term "tikkun olam"

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Sun Jun 15, 2008 at 01:10:09 AM EDT

From The Jewish Week:

The dozen children seated in a circle were mesmerized by the visitors who had come to teach them some special lessons.

“Mugsy and I come to schools to teach children how to take good care of cats and dogs, be kind to animals and to be safe with animals,” Stefani Cohen told the attentive 3-year-olds at the Scarsdale Synagogue-Tremont Temple, as she introduced her 10-year-old Keeshond dog to the class. . .

Cohen’s visit with her certified pet therapy dog was actually an integral part of the Mazel Tots nursery school program, designed to instill in the youngest of children the concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world, and the importance of doing good deeds.

Tikkun olam:  does it mean anything anymore? 

Discuss.

(for Jewish Funds for Justice's take on the issue, click here) 

God & the Human Face: A Shavuot Reflection

by: Rabbi Or Rose

Fri Jun 06, 2008 at 15:36:45 PM EDT

Jewish women & tokenism

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Thu May 22, 2008 at 23:30:07 PM EDT

In this week's Jewish week, National Council of Jewish Women president, Nancy Ratzan writes:

Last month, I attended the United States Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee meeting for national Jewish leaders.  As it turned out, I was the only woman on the Jewish leadership side of the table -- a table at which about 25 Jewish leaders and 23 Senators gathered.

Being at that table created opportunity for me to advocate for the restoration of rights for employees to challenge wage discrimination (the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act). Had NCJW not been there I expect this issue, which particularly impacts women and other under-paid workers, would not have been raised or understood as a priority.

But being the only woman who attended this meeting from Jewish leadership was simply not enough.  It is  clear that not only does NCJW need to be at the table to deliver the voice of progressive Jewish women, but we also need to join our unique voice, values and vision with more women who lead the Jewish communal world so that our impact can be strengthened. 

Amen. 

Chillul hashem & Jewish survival

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Thu May 22, 2008 at 11:19:40 AM EDT

There's so much to be said about the evolving Agri-Processors scandal that, well, I'm at a loss for words. But some extraordinarily brave workers have begun to speak out:

 A girl who would agree to be identified only as Yolanda said she was 15 years old when she left her home in Iztapa, Guatemala, late last year and illegally crossed the U.S. border into Texas. Within weeks she had arrived in Postville, where she found work in the Agriprocessors plant.

Yolanda told JTA that she produced a fake government ID card that showed her to be 18 years old. She pulled 11-hour graveyard shifts bagging chicken breasts and removing turkey feathers -- difficult work that she said led to a hand injury from constant use of scissors. Supervisors routinely pressured the workers to move faster, she said.

"They were constantly pushing us and forcing us to work faster," Yolanda said through a translator. "They were very abusive, screaming a lot."

Yolanda’s sister Maria, 32, said she resisted the sexual advances of a Guatemalan supervisor who tried to force himself on her in a car. In the days that followed, Maria, who describes herself as a diligent worker, was accused of coming late to work and was denied overtime pay.

"I like to do my job correctly and I like to do things a particular way," she said. "It's very different than some of the other workers, the way they do their job."

In the meantime, Yehezkel Dror argues that Jewish survival trumps moral concerns:

 What is required is a priori pondering of values, so as to have guidelines ready for judgment in specific contexts and under crisis conditions. The overall issue is whether the imperative for the Jewish people to exist is a categorical one overriding nearly all other values, or one among many imperatives of similar standing. Given both the history and current situation of the Jewish people, I would argue that the imperative to assure existence is of overriding moral weight.

Which brings us to the age-old question:  survival for what?  Personally, I'm not interested in Dror's vision of Jewish survival, nor am I interested in keeping Agri-Processors in business at all costs in order to guarantee the supply of kosher meat (let them eat tofu!).  Survival is important; but sometimes ethics trumps narrow self-interest.