Archive 2011

Jewish Social Justice Activists at the White House

Posted on
Monday, August 8, 2011

By Jan Caryl Kaufman

On July 29, 170 members of Jewish social justice organizations met at the White House with administration officials and agency representatives.  The day was organized by Jewish Funds for Justice and Progressive Jewish Alliance (which recently merged).  It was part of the White House’s summer of focus on faith-based and community organizations.  All the other gatherings have been issue-oriented.  This event was the only one focused on a particular community.

At the White House

Posted on
Monday, August 1, 2011

By Daniel Burg

Originally posted on The Urban Rabbi

The strangest thing about our Friday Jewish Social Justice Roundtable gathering at the White House is that most of us never set foot in the White House.  For several hours during the afternoon, we sat in an auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building as various Administration representatives and dignitaries shuttled back and forth through underground tunnels between our room and the house that is actually white.

Impressions from Monday (Day 1)

Finding a relationship with a city and its inhabitants upon arrival takes time and sifting through my own preexisting relationship with Berlin in particular and Germany in general in the wake of modern history seemed even more daunting.  And yet, hitting the ground running, hearing the questions of the Germany Close Up director, Dr. Dagmar Pruin allowed me to recognize that my questions had a receptive audience and familiar terrain and in fact were deepened by her sensitive rendering and reflection of tumultuous history and ambiguous identity.

RA Trip to Germany Update, Friday 2/11

This has been a whirlwind week for us here in Berlin where we have learned about how Germans have confronted their past and are looking to their future.

This Shabbat, in Parashat Tetzaveh, we learn about the ner tamid. We can compare the ner tamid -- a main focal point in the Temple -- with European Jewry. Considering the horrific history our people in this part of the world endured during the last century, it is crucial to remember that this Jewish community's light was never fully extinguished -- it is eternal. 

Group at Berlin Jewish Museum

A Prayer in Response to the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

Dear God, 

Many, many images of God have been lost in earthquake and fire and mighty waters just yesterday. And so we turn to You, Adonai, and we ask for Your strength and comfort. 

We open our hearts one to the other as brothers and sisters struggling in Your world. "Above the thunder of the mighty waters, more majestic than the breakers of the sea is Adonai (Ps. 93:4)." Be with us as we offer what we can, through prayer and action, to our sisters and brothers who are suffering in Japan and who stand on alert around the world.

We ask for You to be the still, small voice after the fire, allowing space for mourning and hope in the face of tragedy. We see Your sheltering Presence and Your holy tears in the receding waters of the Tsunami and in the rescue work being carried out by so many for the sake of a fragile world.

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