Social Justice
Temple Emanuel Community Organizing Project (TECOP)
Jewish World Watch
Greening of Our Synagogue
Bikkur Holum
Bereavment Committee
MATCH
B’nai Mitzvah
Youth Mitzvah Projects
Social Justice
Living Judaism means living Jewish values, including the value of tikkun olam, repairing the broken world. At Temple Emanuel both social justice work and gemilut chassidim, acts of loving kindness, are woven into the fabric of congregation.
There are lots of different ways to get involved and to make a difference.
For questions about social justice work at Temple Emanuel, contact Diane Vanette, Social Justice liaison to the Board of Directors.
FOR ALL AGES
Temple Emanuel Community Organizing Project (TECOP)
Previously "Hineni"
This broad-based community organizing project began on Yom Kippur in 2004. It attempts to change the culture of the congregation through building relationships that can lead to public action. The process involves one on one conversation between congregants that aim to illuminate the real concerns people have about their lives. TECOP has two main goals. One is to build relationships within Temple Emanuel so that we have the capacity to make deep and meaningful change internally. As this collective body grows we gain the capacity to address the issues that face us in our neighborhoods and city.
Our second goal is to build relationships with other congregations, synagogues, schools, and community organizations who are members of ONE LA. Together we are doing research and acting publicly on important issues. Some of these are better care for our aging population, quality education for our young people, job training that leads to a career path, affordable housing, help for the homeless, affordable health care and other issues that prevent us from leading full lives. We come together as a community to plan and develop strategies that will lead to lasting change. This larger collective body is holding our elected officials accountable and working with them in partnership to create a better Los Angeles. For more information, contact Diane Vanette
JEWISH WORLD WATCH
Temple Emanuel is one of over twenty local synagogues that is a member of Jewish World Watch, a Jewish effort to make sure the words “Never Again!” really mean “Never Again” for ANY people. Focused on the genocide in Darfur, Jewish World Watch is committed to educating our congregation about the atrocities going on right now and supporting efforts to ameliorate the desperate situation of the victims of the genocide.
For more information or to volunteer to be trained as a speaker, contact the co-chairs of JWW at Temple Emanuel; Judy Kandel and Veronica Abney,
GREENING OF OUR SYNAGOGUE
TEBH's Greening the Synagogue Committee is composed of members, students and staff committed
to making the TEBH community better stewards of the Earth.
The Global Climate Crisis is first and foremost a moral challenge stemming from our obligation as God's partners to leave the world in better condition than we found it. Knowing what we know about Global Warming... its causes and its impacts... how can we continue to act in ways which threaten the environment (air, water, food supply) which our children and grand-children will inherit? Knowing what we know, how can we continue to act in ways which endanger the lives and livelihoods of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people?
While there is still time to avert the worst of the potential impacts, the Greening the Synagogue Committee is working to educate the TEBH community and encourage changes in behavior and lifestyle to reduce our production of Greenhouse Gases. Beginning on Rosh Hashanah 2007, TEBH is undertaking a Greening the Synagogue Campaign to reduce the "carbon footprint" of the community by 20%. (The "carbon footprint" is a calculation of the amount of carbon-dioxide - one of the major Greenhouse Gases - which an individual or community produces or causes. This can result from various direct uses of energy, e.g. heating or gas consumption, as well as indirect uses, e.g. purchase of non-local produce or air travel.)
For more information on the Greening the Synagogue Committee or campaign, contact Richard Siegel.
BIKKUR HOLIM
It is a mitzvah to visit the sick. We need volunteers to visit congregants who are hospitalized or are home bound because of illness and age. Even an hour a month could make a difference in your life and in the lives of the congregants you touch.
To volunteer, contact The Chair of the Bikkur Holim committee Sandra Babcock
BEREAVEMENT COMMITTEE
When a death occurs, it is important to feel the comfort of a warm community. The Bereavement Committee is there to help with a minyan, to bring food, and to follow up with the mourner after the intensity of the first week and the first month. Often just a call from your synagogue makes you realize you are not alone.
Through this effort you might choose to learn to lead a minyan or just to be a comforting presence to someone who needs a supportive ear. For more information, contact Bereavement Committee Chair David Silber or Rabbi Jill Zimmerman.
FOR OUR TEENAGERS
MATCH: Money And Teenagers Creating Hope
This innovative program, beginning its fourth year, invites the teenagers of the congregation (ninth through twelfth graders) to become the board of an endowment fund of $250,000 that generates approximately $10,000 per year that the teenagers have to decide how to distribute. Each teen who participates “buys” a seat on the Board for $72 and commits to meet five times a year to study about tzedakah, create a mission statement for the Foundation, choose the issues and areas that ought to be funded, meet with philanthropists, research organizations, and ultimate advocate for his or her particular passion. Over the past three years the teenagers have distributed funds to local, national, international and Israeli organizations making a difference in the world.
For more information contact Rabbi Laura Geller
B’NAI MITZVAH MITZVAH PROJECTS
Each Bar/Bat Mitzvah student at Temple Emanuel is required to do thirteen mitzvah points. These points are earned through volunteering at social service agencies or by creating a mitzvah project of their own. In addition the students serve as counselors and role models for elementary school children at the monthly SYNAPLEX Friday night “Pay It Forward” Mitzvah Project.
FOR OUR CHILDREN
YOUTH MITZVAH PROJECTS
Youth Mitzvah Projects is a free program for children in grades 2-4 which takes place during SYNAPLEX on the first Friday of the each month, from 7:30-9:30 PM. The program incorporates Jewish values with exciting activities. Each month a new theme is explored using art, games, projects, and discussion. Some of the projects are donated to agencies or programs for people in need, while some are brought home for the children and their families to enjoy.
For more information contact Annie Levine