Dear Friends,
This newsletter comes with best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your families. You will find information regarding our upcoming High Holiday Food Drive, the Freedge, efforts on how to help those in need as close as our Newton neighbors and those yearning for safe haven from Afghanistan. We also are providing educational and advocacy opportunities surrounding Racial Justice and Voting rights. We hope one of these opportunities will interest you and you will contact the Team Leader to learn more.
Best,
Marion Pollock
Tzedek Newsletter Editor
New Refugee Resettlement ProjectYou’ll remember the work TS congregants did 5 years ago to help in the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family, an initiative that those involved found very rewarding. The bad news is that the refugee crisis continues to worsen – the good news is that we expect to help with the JCRC/ Catholic Charities effort that is starting up to help new refugees, likely to be Afghani families brought here on special visas. This is a new initiative, still being defined, with JCRC and CC creating a comprehensive network welcoming Afghani refugees into our community, and supporting congregations of synagogues and churches in planning on the ground support coordination.
You can expect to hear more about this soon. Please feel free to contact the leaders of the TS Immigration Committee with any questions or comments. They are
Margaret Brill and
Kurt Pressman .
Food InsecurityTemple Shalom High holiday Food DriveWe will be revising several aspects of our annual
High Holiday Food Drive as the Newton Food Pantry is undergoing a reorganization. We will be collecting donations
inside the temple from
September 1 thru September 16 (Yom Kippur) and we will be strictly limiting our donation to the following items:
- Toothpaste (no travel size tubes, please)
- Shampoo (12oz – 16 oz)
- Tuna (preferably white, 5 oz)
- Wheat Crackers
You can drop off your donation inside the temple at anytime between September 1 and 16. We also will need some volunteers to help maintain our collection and to prepare our final donation on Friday, September 17. For more details, please contact
Bruce Green.Freedge UpdateThanks and gratitude to Jane Hisrchhorn and Barbara Gubb for assuming the role of coordinators of the Freedge Volunteers throughout the summer months. They are ready to pass the mantle of leadership along. Do you have strong communication skills and want to help mitigate the local effects of food insecurity? Temple Shalom is looking for two Team Captains to coordinate our weekly Freedge volunteer shifts from October-December. The Freedge is a 24/7 community refrigerator and pantry located in Nonantum. Team Captains send weekly email reminders (templates) to Temple volunteers. Our TS volunteers are wonderful to work with, as are our contacts at the Newton Food Pantry. Please reach out
Jane Hirschhorn or
Barbara Gubb for details.
Delivery Drivers from Food Pantries to Families in September and OctoberCalling all volunteers to help deliver food from food pantries in Newton to families who are unable to access the pantries themselves. We are currently recruiting for September and October drivers. The fall schedule is:
- Every Wednesday afternoon from Newton Food Pantry, pick up food at assigned delivery times between 12 noon - 3pm. NOTE: Newton Food Pantry is moving to scheduled pickup times in September and will be asking drivers to go into the pantry to check in with an NFP volunteer and pick up the pre-bagged groceries.
- The 3rd Friday of the month from the American Legion Nonantum Post 440 Mobile Food Bank, pick up food 9 - 9:15am (before pantry opens to the public).
- The 3rd Saturday of the month from Centre Street Food Pantry, pick up food at assigned delivery times between 12 - 2pm.
September signups are
here.October signups are
here.
Voting RightsRACThe Religious Action Committee of Reform Judaism (RAC) is continuing to organize around and advocate for the protection of voting rights and we are working to support the For the People Act (S1) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. (
Learn details of these bills here .) In addition, here in Massachusetts we have an opportunity to support state legislation, the VOTES ACT, sponsored by our own State Senator, Cindy Creem. The
VOTES ACT would make vote by mail permanent, expand early in-person voting options, implement same-day voter registration, expand access to the ballot for eligible incarcerated citizens, and more.
The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA) is a leader in this effort. If you are interested in joining JALSA's Voting Freedom campaign, please fill out
this form.
Racial JusticeDiversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI)
If there is sufficient interest, we may consider forming a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) group at the Temple Shalom. Please let the Tzedek Team know of your interest. If you were unable to attend the Racial Equity and Diversity Programs (REDI/DEI) offered by the URJ this summer, please consider reviewing some of these materials and resources:
Commit to Long-Term Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
A Tool For White People Navigating Conversations About Race
URJ Racial Justice Resource List
URJ Colorblind Mentality Resource
Tzedek Team to contact: Arlene Pressman or Elizabeth Connolly Racial Justice Book and Study Groups
The Racial Justice Book and Study Groups are ongoing. If you are interested in participating, please contact
Betty Morningstar.RAC-MA (Religious Action Committee of Reform Judaism, MA chapter)
As we mentioned in the August Tzededk newsletter, we are excited to launch RAC-MA this year as the ninth RAC state organization, and we think you'll be very interested in reviewing the video of the "
Introduction to RAC-MA " Zoom which was held last week.
We will be sharing more information about RAC-MA and upcoming opportunities to become involved after the holidays, and in the meantime you are invited to become more engaged by filling out this
commitment form from RAC-MA.
UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS FALL 2021If COVID restrictions permit, the Tzedek team is planning a couple of field trips for small groups. We'd like to visit the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse to see
"The Long Road to Justice" exhibit and learn about the history of the African American Experience in Massachusetts.
We would also like to visit the
Newton Historical Society and learn more about the history of African Americans in Newton.
