Social Justice
Social Justice
One of Dorshei Tzedek’s Core Values is that of Tikkun Olam, Repairing the World. Our congregation’s name means “seekers of justice,” and, as that name implies, we strive to create a just and kind world by pursuing a variety of social action initiatives and projects both within our congregation and in conjunction with the broader community. We view such actions to end injustice and oppression as core to our spiritual journey and as a cornerstone of our ethical and moral tradition.
At Dorshei Tzedek, pursuing justice takes place in many different forms including personal, social and political. We welcome all and encourage individuals to pursue existing efforts or bring new ones to explore. Join one of the events or meetings, or, for more information, contact us at tikkunolam@dorsheitzedek.org.
Current congregational focuses:
- Israel Palestine Peace (IPPeace) was organized in 2016 and focuses on topics related to Israel and Palestine. The group is especially dedicated to furthering our learning about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its ramifications, and to considering actions that might contribute to ending the occupation and achieving a just and lasting peace. IPPeace seeks to foster respectful dialogue across different points of view. The group maintains a listserv open to all members of CDT and hosts programs providing information, perspectives, and possible pathways to action.
- CDT’s Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF) participates in a statewide Campaign for Criminal Justice focusing on replacing the carceral state with programs that treat people as human beings no matter their transgressions. We work to change unfair and ineffective laws, such as mandatory minimums for drug offenses. The CJTF also affiliates with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization and the Jobs Not Jails Coalition.
As part of the CJTF, Dorshei Tzedek members volunteer at the Prison Book Program (PBP) in Quincy every two months, sending reading material in response to incarcerated citizens’ requests from across the country. - CDT’s Understanding Racism (UR) group was formed to provide a supportive environment for CDT members to explore issues of racism and white privilege, to educate ourselves and our congregation, and to listen to each other as we unwrap our own misunderstandings in these areas.
- Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO): Since 2003, Dorshei Tzedek has been a member of theGreater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO). GBIO is a broad-based coalition of area churches, synagogues, mosques, unions and community organizations that have built a loving and action-oriented community on the basis of shared values and a strong commitment to economic justice. GBIO is one of the only organizations in the area that brings people together across racial, ethnic and religious lines in relationships of equality to work together toward a common vision of justice.
- Ongoing supporting of the work of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute by participating in the annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace.
In addition to these efforts, CDT continues to support the Food Matters initiative begun in 2009 through the following:
- Garden Project: CDT grows food for Local Food Pantries CDT maintains a community garden in conjunction to grow produce to donate to the Newton Food Pantry and Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen in Waltham. There are opportunities for involvement by adults and kids, for any amount of time you wish.
- In partnership with Sindyanna of Galilee, CDT members have the opportunity to make regular purchases of Sindyanna’s certified organic, fair trade and kosher (for Passover) olive oil and za’atar which supports this non-profit organization led by a team of Arab and Jewish women working to create social change from the ground up. Sindyanna’s goals are to produce outstanding olive oil and other premium food products, while enhancing Arab-Jewish cooperation, promoting Fair Trade, creating economic opportunities for Arab women, and assisting local growers and producers.
- Participating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Since 2010, Dorshei Tzedek, together with other area congregations, has partnered with Red Fire Farm to connect consumers with the source of their food, and promote local, sustainable, and organic agriculture. These memberships allow the farmer to pay for seeds, fertilizer, water, equipment and labor, and the consumer thus shares both the risk and the bounty of the growing season with the farmer. In return, the members get a weekly share of the farm’s harvest throughout the growing season.
- Supporting the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. CIW is a worker-based human rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in the fields of social responsibility, human trafficking, and gender-based violence at work. Built on a foundation of farm worker community organizing starting in 1993, and reinforced with the creation of a national consumer network since 2000, CIW’s work has steadily grown over more than twenty years to encompass three broad and overlapping spheres: The Fair Food Program, The Anti-Slavery Campaign, The Campaign for Fair Food.
Past efforts include Climate Change and Behind the Labels.
See the CDT calendar for upcoming Tikkun Olam meetings and related events.
Wee People's Chalk the Walk Family Day of Action
On Sunday, May 31, members of CDT's Nitzanim/Gan class, our 3-5 year-olds and their parents, participated in Wee The People's "Chalk the Walk Family Day of Action," in response to racial injustice. We hope you are inspired by our youngest activists!
Sat, April 17 2021
5 Iyyar 5781
Upcoming Events
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Saturday ,
AprApril 17 , 2021Earth Day Shabbat
Shabbat, Apr 17th 10:00a to 12:00p
Our Shabbat morning service will celebrate our connections to the Earth, and at 11am, CDT member Ezra Hausman will lead a Torah discussion addressing obstacles to successfully addressing the climate crisis. Ezra has a Ph.D. in climate science and 20+ years experience in the electric energy industry, including support for efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants at the state, regional, and national level. -
Saturday ,
AprApril 17 , 2021
Shabbat, Apr 17th 3:30p to 4:30p
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Sunday ,
AprApril 18 , 2021
Sunday, Apr 18th 1:00p to 2:30p
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Sunday ,
AprApril 18 , 2021Talmud for the 99%
Sunday, Apr 18th 4:30p to 6:30p
Join Earnest for a four session Talmud class between Passover and Shavuot. In this class we will prepare for Shavuot, which commemorates the Jewish people entering into a covenantal relationship with God, by decoding a wild Talmudic story that completely reimagines the covenantal moment. We will explore the rabbis’ motivation for their subversive reimagining, and their vision for a more liberatory relationship with the Divine. This is a SVARA-Method class, each session will begin with chevruta (study partner) learning. You and your chevruta will work with the text in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, using dictionaries to decipher each word. All you need to begin learning is your alef-bet (the ability to sound out the Hebrew alphabet) and you’re ready to go! Still working on your alef-bet? Check out these resources and contact Earnest, e.vener@dorsheitzedek.org, for support. Please register by April 1st, so that we can get everyone all the supplies they need! Questions? Come to the Talmud for the 99% Info Session immediately following Shabbat morning services on March 13th at 12pm. Not sure if it is right for you? Come to the Hebrew Roots & Dictionary Skills Crash Course on Wednesday, March 17th from 7-8pm. This session is open to the whole congregation. We will learn how to identify root letters and look them up in dictionaries. We will decode a text from the Passover Haggadah together and you will get a taste of SVARA method’s joyful and rigorous pedagogy. Read below for a description of SVARA-Method learning. -
Wednesday ,
AprApril 21 , 2021Torah Study
Wednesday, Apr 21st 8:00a to 9:00a
Start your Wednesday mornings with Torah Study! Join Director of Congregational Learning Earnest Vener for a weekly hour-long study of the weekly Torah portion on Wednesdays at 8am. You are welcome to drop in or come weekly. All are welcome and no prior knowledge is required. Please email Earnest at e.vener@dorsheitzedek.org with any questions. -
Wednesday ,
AprApril 21 , 2021
Wednesday, Apr 21st 5:30p to 5:45p
All are welcome to join Rabbi Toba for a moment of calm each week. The content will vary - a brief teaching, a meditative moment, some music, or another contemplative practice. We will start promptly at 5:30pm each Wednesday, but feel free to drop in at any time. Each session will end with an opportunity for those in mourning or observing a yahrzeit to recite Mourners Kaddish. Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/97091443951?pwd=dVk4bFZIVitMcDViYllNQnRIdmhmZz09 -
Thursday ,
AprApril 22 , 2021Purity Politics and the Problem of Jewish Solidarity
Thursday, Apr 22nd 1:30p to 2:30p
This talk explores the relationship between the rise in purity politics among American Jews and the problems it raises for building solidarities in the context of such things as the Women’s March and BLM. This is part of a Reconstructing Judaism free online lecture series on Jews, Race, & Religion. -
Thursday ,
AprApril 22 , 2021
Thursday, Apr 22nd 7:30p to 9:00p
CDT member Chanda Prescod-Weinstein will read from and talk about her newly published book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred. To purchase the book ahead of the talk, go to https://www.boldtypebooks.com/titles/chanda-prescod-weinstein/the-disordered-cosmos/9781541724709/ -
Saturday ,
AprApril 24 , 2021Shabbat Morning Service & B'nai Mitzvah of Nuriel Gutman
Shabbat, Apr 24th 10:00a to 12:00p
All are welcome to join us for Shabbat morning services as we call Nuriel Gutman to the Torah as a B Mitzvah. -
Sunday ,
AprApril 25 , 2021Talmud for the 99%
Sunday, Apr 25th 4:30p to 6:30p
Join Earnest for a four session Talmud class between Passover and Shavuot. In this class we will prepare for Shavuot, which commemorates the Jewish people entering into a covenantal relationship with God, by decoding a wild Talmudic story that completely reimagines the covenantal moment. We will explore the rabbis’ motivation for their subversive reimagining, and their vision for a more liberatory relationship with the Divine. This is a SVARA-Method class, each session will begin with chevruta (study partner) learning. You and your chevruta will work with the text in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, using dictionaries to decipher each word. All you need to begin learning is your alef-bet (the ability to sound out the Hebrew alphabet) and you’re ready to go! Still working on your alef-bet? Check out these resources and contact Earnest, e.vener@dorsheitzedek.org, for support. Please register by April 1st, so that we can get everyone all the supplies they need! Questions? Come to the Talmud for the 99% Info Session immediately following Shabbat morning services on March 13th at 12pm. Not sure if it is right for you? Come to the Hebrew Roots & Dictionary Skills Crash Course on Wednesday, March 17th from 7-8pm. This session is open to the whole congregation. We will learn how to identify root letters and look them up in dictionaries. We will decode a text from the Passover Haggadah together and you will get a taste of SVARA method’s joyful and rigorous pedagogy. Read below for a description of SVARA-Method learning.
Zmanim
Alot Hashachar | 4:31a |
Earliest Tallit | 5:07a |
Netz (Sunrise) | 6:01a |
Latest Shema | 9:23a |
Zman Tefillah | 10:30a |
Chatzot (Midday) | 12:45p |
Mincha Gedola | 1:19p |
Mincha Ketana | 4:40p |
Plag HaMincha | 6:04p |
Shkiah (Sunset) | 7:29p |
Havdalah | 8:19p |
Tzeit Hakochavim | 8:12p |
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