Temple Shalom's Tzedek Team creates opportunities for congregants to make the world a better place through social action and social justice. Through this work, we build meaningful relationships both within the Temple community and in the Greater Boston and global communities. We welcome new ideas, new participants, and new suggestions. If you have an issue you would like to address, please reach out to us via email and we will help you promote this cause.
Justice, justice, you shall pursue.
Read our latest Tzedek Newsletters for updates on social justice opportunities in our community
Below are some of our recent activities and issues:
Welcoming Strangers
“You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10.19)
In recent years we have welcomed the stranger in many ways. We are excited about our newest initiative, the Temple Shalom Afghan Resettlement Project (TSARP.) TSARP will sponsor a newly arrived Afghan family. We will work with the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and Catholic Charities, joining many congregations in the Boston area to welcome the 1000 or so Afghan refugees expected to come to Massachusetts.
How can you get involved with this important effort?
- Donate to the Afghan Resettlement Fund here - this will be used for rent and living expenses.
- Volunteer for one or more subcommittees (housing location, housing set-up, household items, children’s items, clothing, food, education, welcoming/face-to-face volunteers, and so on) – please indicate your interest here.
Co-leaders of this effort are Mark Gottesman, Marc Gudema, Dan Kaplan, and Elizabeth Connolly.
Please email the leadership team at tsarp4948@gmail.com if you have additional questions and thoughts.
Food Insecurity
“Let all who are hungry come and eat.”
Sadly, not everyone has sufficient food to feed their family. Our efforts attempt to address food insecurity include:
- We have an ongoing relationship with Family Table in Waltham by way of our monthly collection of tuna and crackers. Contribute by putting your donation of these items in the baskets in the Temple lobby.
- Our exciting participation in the Newton Freedge Collaborative is one of the many ways we support the efforts of the Newton Food Pantry.
- "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. (Leviticus 23:22)" Our Pe-ah garden gives us an opportunity to grow and provide food through partner organizations.
Get Out the Vote
The Sage Hillel taught, "Do not separate yourself from the community." (Pirke Avot 2:5).
Through our involvement with the Religious Action Center, we have joined with Temple Shalom’s Sisterhood in a number of ways to Get Out the Vote:
- During the 2020 Presidential Election, we participated in mailing postcards, making phone calls, and texting to Get Out the Vote. Calls were primarily aimed at communities of color.
- We continue to address Women’s Reproductive Health Rights through reaching out to our representatives. Most recently, we supported the passage in Massachusetts of the Roe Act.
Other Issues
- Racial Justice including book groups focusing on anti-racism and working for affordable housing in Newton
- Gun Violence Prevention including supporting legislation and raising money for a successful gun buy back program.
- Engagement in Climate Justice and Climate Change efforts
- Working with our school program to engage our membership in social action projects
- Raising funds for areas suffering from fire, floods and other devastating events
Temple Shalom stands with the issues and policies of the RAC (Religious Action Center). To learn more about where Reform Judaism stands on more than 70 issues, visit the RAC’s website. We are a Brit Olam congregation.
