Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Shawn ZevitJRF is committed to leading and supporting congregations in Tikkun HaNefesh V'Olam, the healing and repair of the individual person and the world at large.

Browse our growing library of tikkun olam resources, organized by type.

"Justice, justice you shall pursue" (Deut. 16:20).

“A theology which is not a plan of social action is merely a way of preaching and praying. It is a menu without the dinner.” (Mordecai Kaplan, Not So Random Thoughts)

Today, much of the Jewish world understands tikkun olam as social justice and global repair. However, this is only one part of the equation that leaves out the holistic vision that emerged over preceding centuries in the religious tradition and culture of the Jewish people. Tikkun in its fullest sense includes not only the idea of tikkun olam, but tikkun hanefesh (rebalancing and repair of the individual soul) as well. JRF and our member communities strive for an integrative approach of tikkun hanefesh v'olam in our personal, communal and societal efforts.

With the enthusiasm around JRF's Omer Learning Initiative, as well as the solid response of JRF congregations in the Climate Change Initiative, JRF is continues to deepen its greening work with member communities next year.

Our hope is to motivate and educate our congregations in sustainable practices, with the goal of reaching 100 percent participation in the years ahead, recognizing those JRF communities who excel at sustainable practices at the JRF Convention in Boston, 2008.

Learn about the Sustainable Synagogue Initiative on the JRF website's environment pages at jrf.org/green-call and jrf.org/climate.

For more information contact Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam, SZevit@jrf.org

Photo of a child from Darfur.Do not stand idly by while your neighbor's blood is being shed. Leviticus 19:16

What is at stake is our own humanity. Elie Wiesel

Whoever can prevent any person throughout the world from committing a sin but does not, is responsible for that person's sin. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 54b

The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation is participating in the Save Darfur Coalition effort to stop the atrocities and impoverishment in the Darfur region of Sudan.

View our Darfur resources.

American Jewish World Service Logo The American World Jewish Service, The Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief and The Save Darfur Coalition recommended agencies for making donations to support the people of Darfur.

Donate to Myanmar Disaster Fund.JRF is an ongoing coalition member of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (JCDR) during times of natural disaster and human suffering in the world.

AS UJC's overseas partner, the JDC has opened an emergency mailbox to raise relief funds for victims of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated portions of Myanmar on May 3.

Read the JCDR Mayanmar Cyclone Situation Report.

Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time

Click here to register for this and other PEARL: Providing Education And Resources for Leadership tele-conference sessions.

Processes and Programs in our Congregations; Taking Action in the Larger World; Living our Values of Tikkun Olam Inside and Outside.

This call will explore best practices for creating committees and buy-in for effective social justice work in our congregations, including integrated youth and adult education and tikkun programming, as well as service-learning, decision-making and advocacy outside our communities.

This week's Omer Study Packet on hunger and poverty highlights teachings from the 2006 JRF Omer Study and from our partners at Mazon: A Jewish Repsonse to Hunger and the Jewish Council on Public Affairs (JCPA).

Especially time-sensitive is the action alert on the 2007-2008 Farm Bill, currently making its way through Congress.

We also feature innovative programming from JRF congregations Dorshei Derekh, Mishkan Shalom and Darchei Noam.

From constructing new buildings out of recycled materials, to installing a compact-fluorescent ner tamid, to joining together in song, JRF congregations are engaged in protecting their natural environment, reducing their carbon footprint, and ensuring a inheritance for those who come after them.

In partnership with COEJL and JCPA, our hope is to motivate and educate our congregations in sustainable practices, with the goal of reaching 100 percent participation in the years ahead. Building upon the resolution on the environment passed by JRF in 1990, our movement continues to labor towards facilitating a globally sustainable approach to living in faith community.

During this second week of Omer teaching, we are highlighting these many environmental sustainability initiatives taking place ...

During our first week of Omer teaching, we are highlighting the efforts and energy within our congregations engaged in congregation-based community organizing (CBCO). As you read through it feel free to add comments on this page about your own experiences in community organizing or use the listserve or web page to ask questions.

Below as an attachment, you will find a PDF resource packet and the recording from our Community Organizing and Congregational Advocacy - PEARL tele-conference call, featuring:

• Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam for JRF
• Shuli Passow, CBCO consultant for the Jewish Funds for Justice
• Rabbi Steve Carr Reuben, Kehillat Israel, CA
• Kathy Kaufman and Irene Zipper, Chapel Hill Kehillah, NC
• John Goldstein and David Weingrod, Shir Hadash, WI

For more information, please contact Rabbi Shawn Zevit at JRF, 215-885-5601 x 24.

From Seedtime to Harvest:
From the values and spirit of tikkun to community building and sustained action

Beginning on the eve of the second day of Pesach, we are instructed by our tradition to count the days of the “Omer” until the fiftieth day, which is when the first barley crop would be harvested. It is also the Jewish holiday of Shavuot when, according to our tradition, the Jewish People received the Torah at Mt. Sinai. The counting of the Omer is a bridge between Pesach and Shavuot – between a moment of liberation and a moment of self-definition and direction at the beginning of our evolution as a religious civilization. It is an opportunity to deepen our study and close the gap between ideas and action for the tikkun (rebalancing, repair) of the challenges we face in our world.