VISIT US at the Tikkun Olam Center in the Rogaliner Lounge--we are always open for you ... to talk, to explore, to discover where your place is in the Center. Each Wednesday (except Dec. 10) at 7:00 PM, we will have an activity in which you can participate.
(On left: Decorating the tent of hope for Darfur at the Centers Fair)
Tikkun Olam/Social Justice Calendar
Tikkun Olam Open House and New Year Dinner
Sunday, January 4, 6:00 PM
We will make our New Year’s Resolutions and hope to chart the course of our Center based on your concerns and suggestions. Tikkun Olam's Open House/ New year's Party includes dinner. RSVP's are a must! Please join us and we welcome you to see what we are all about. RSVP to office@templesinaipgh.org.
New Year's Resolutions and Hopes
January is a month in which there are no Jewish holy days. Of course it is the month of the secular New Year where we traditionally make resolutions to improve ourselves and our society. We may become discouraged when many of our best efforts do not seem to yield measurable results. This year we expect to redouble our efforts in view of the challenges facing our nation and the world.
The weekend from January 16-20 is remarkable in many ways:
The 20th of Tevet (January 16 this year) marks the yahrzeit of Moses Maimonides, “the Rambam,” the great 12th century Jewish philosopher and physician. The Rambam described the eight levels of tzedakah, the highest of which was to help the person become self-sufficient. While Christianity argued that the Messiah would come after the destruction of the world and the end of history, Maimonides maintained that WE could create the Messianic world through the works of our own hands. The coming of the Messiah would be a sign that we had finally achieved that world. Rambam also teaches us that a righteous scholar’s decisions cannot be based on narrow political concerns, but must be driven by God’s presence (Shekhinah).
Monday, January 19 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This day can give us the opportunity to reflect on his legacy: his great achievements, but also those efforts that did not succeed. In 1967 King began speaking out passionately against the Vietnam War and the injustices it caused for poor Americans disproportionately serving on the front lines and for Vietnamese on both sides. Later that year he made plans for a massive “poor people's’” march on Washington to protest economic injustices in America. His opponents, and even many of his supporters, lashed out against him for alienating President Johnson and diluting the effectiveness of the civil rights struggle. Scholars have debated how strategically sound these campaigns were, but these efforts had roots far deeper than politics or strategy. Dr. King opposed the war and fought for the impoverished masses in the inner city because he felt there was no alternative. He understood that these stances would anger his opponents, but as his biographer Stephen Oates tells us, as a religious man he saw no other choice.
Finally, January 20 will bring an extraordinary event – the inauguration of the first African-American President of the United States. Whatever your political opinion may be, you cannot help but be moved by the hope and possibilities that this brings to our nation. We must all work together to realize the vision that this represents.
East End Cooperative Ministry 25th Annual Martin Luther King Celebration — January 18
This is the 25th Annual Martin Luther King Celebration to be held by East End Cooperative Ministry and the Council of Congregations. It is the only time each year when all of the congregations come together in an interfaith worship service to honor the work and life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The service will be held on Sunday, January 18 at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 250 North Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh.
The celebration begins at 1:30 PM with a lunch in the Eastminster Presbyterian Church’s Fellowship Hall. Bill Wharton, "The Sauce Boss," will play and sing spicy Florida blues while cooking gumbo for all. There will be a vegetarian soup option for non-seafood eaters. The suggested donation for the lunch is $8.00 per person.
Following the luncheon, music will be performed by several groups and individuals from our member congregations, beginning at 3:30 PM. A communal Worship Service will begin with a Congregational Role Call at 4:00 PM, followed by a traditional reception after the service. We hope you can attend and represent Temple Sinai at this wonderful event. Call EECM with questions or for more information at 412.361.5549 ext 411.
Alternative Gift Marketplace--print out order form
There is still time to order a gift of tikkun olam. You can help make the world a better place by giving a gift of money — to benefit the poor, the homeless, those less privileged than us — to a friend or relative or teacher or co-worker for the sixth night of Hanukkah (Dec.26) or as a seasonal gift. This is a gift that never breaks or bores. What teacher would not prefer the thoughtfulness of a gift of a picture book for an underprivileged child or school supplies for a homeless child? For those who wish to give a larger gift, $36 will supply an Ethiopian child in Israel with a year of schoolbooks and supplies. Union for Reform Judaism is once again sponsoring NOTHING BUT NETS, a global campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. A $10 donation will purchase, distribute and teach the proper use of an insecticide-treated bed net.
New this year: $10 will support the “Greening of Kibbutz Lotan,” the Center for Creative Ecology in Israel.
Imagine the lessons you can teach your child about caring and tikkun olam. Last year we raised over $5000 in alternative gifts. This year we hope to increase that. Look for our tables at Temple events, or contact Louise Mayo: doclouise@verizon.net.
Tzedakah opportunities continuing this month:
Global Links one Wednesday a month, 5:30-7:30 PM (see calendar above)
Global Links is a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that recovers surplus medical materials from U.S. hospitals and makes it available to hospitals that serve the poorest members of society in less developed countries. Volunteers sort and pack these medical supplies and equipment for shipment. This activity meets once a month from 5:30-7:00 pm at Global Links on Penn Avenue. For 2008 dates contact Jean Kablack: jkablack@county.allegheny.pa.us, if you would like more information or if are planning to attend.
Book 'Em (see calendar above)
Meet the last Sunday of the month from 3:00-8:00 PM to package books for prisoners at the Thomas Merton Center. Contact Mimi Botkin: mimi.botkin@gmail.com
Charles Morris Home Visit (Bingo)
Sing, play Bingo, make friends with the residents of Charles Morris. Contact Florence Chapman: fpchapman@gmail.com
EECM Men's Shelter Dinner bimonthly on Thursday evenings
Temple Sinai cooks and serves a meal for the EECM Men's Shelter. Five to six volunteers are needed to cook and serve the meal. Contact Bob Kraut: robert.kraut@cmu.edu
Temple Sinai is a member of PIIN, Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, an interfaith organization of over 30 congregations and organizations that works to promote social justice. For more information contact Ruth Weinberger, weinbergru@aol.com.
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
Do you have experience or skills in business? Work with the Pittsburgh branch to further their mission of teaching entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities to enhance their economic productivity by improving their business, academic and life skills. Let Bob Bernstein know you are interested: rbernstein@bernsteinlaw.com
“And you shall rebuild ancient ruins. You shall restore the foundations of many generations. You shall be called the repairer of the breach.” --Isaiah 58:12
“It is not your responsibility to save the entire world but neither are you free from doing your part.”--Rabbi Tarfon
