Social Justice
Big Sunday
Jewish World Watch
Imagine LA
One LA
MATCH
Social Justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being.
One of Judaism’s most distinctive and challenging ideas is its ethics of responsibility reflected in the concepts of simcha ("gladness" or "joy"), tzedakah ("the religious obligation to perform charity and philanthropic acts"), chesed ("deeds of kindness"), and tikkun olam ("repairing the world").
At Temple Emanuel social justice has a central place. Our vision is Living Judaism, which means living Jewish values, including the value of tikkun olam, repairing the broken world. At Temple Emanuel both social justice work and gemilut chassidim, acts of loving kindness, are woven into the fabric of our congregation.
There are many different ways to get involved and to make a difference in our congregation and they are listed below. For questions about how to get involved please, contact Diane Vanette, (Diane.Vanette@mac.com) Social Justice liaison to the Board of Directors.
For more information about our Social Justice programs, please visit our blog at http://templeemanuelbhblog.wordpress.com/
BIG SUNDAY
Our mission is to build community through community service. We believe that everyone has some way that they can help somebody else.
The biggest event each year is Big Sunday Weekend—always in the spring, usually in late April or early May. That’s when thousands of people from California, of all ages and all backgrounds, work together at hundreds of nonprofits, schools and other agencies that need their help. Last year on Big Sunday Weekend, 50,000 volunteers turned out—some as individuals, others with their families, still others as part of a class, church, synagogue, mosque, business or club—to lend a hand at more than 500 different projects from San Diego to San Francisco, making Big Sunday Weekend one of the largest regional community service events in America. http://www.bigsunday.org/
On Big Sunday Temple Emanuel comes together as a community to perform service projects that make our corner of the world a bit brighter. Our congregants create care packages for those in need; makes cards for Israeli soldiers, lunches for the Midnight Mission, baby bundles for the Exceptional Children’s Foundation, we run a clothing drive and deliver flower pots to Elder Care Facilities. Come join us for the next “Big Sunday” and many more to come. For more info contact Dave Suber at Dave@perfectcleaners.com
JEWISH WORLD WATCH
Jewish World Watch (JWW) is a hands-on leader in the fight against genocide and mass atrocities, engaging individuals and communities to take local actions that produce powerful global results. Founded in 2004 by Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis and Janice Kamenir-Reznik as the Jewish response to the genocide in Darfur, it has grown from a collection of Southern California synagogues into a global coalition that includes schools, churches, individuals, communities and partner organizations that share a vision of a world without genocide. JWW bears witness to first-hand accounts in conflict regions, partners with on-the-ground organizations to develop high-impact projects that improve the lives of survivors and help build the foundation for a safer world, and inspires our communities to support tangible projects and advocate for political change. JWW has raised more than five million dollars for relief and development projects that impact tens of thousands of people in Sudan and Congo. http://www.jewishworldwatch.org
Each year Temple Emanuel participates in the Annual Walk to End Genocide. Together we demonstrate our commitment to hold our leaders accountable for taking the vital steps to end genocide in our lifetime. The team participates in the walk and pledges to raise funds for this event, one of the largest and most visible community events in the country. The Board of Temple Emanuel has also passed the Conflict Free Congregation Resolution. This action is to raise consumer awareness surrounding the issue of conflict minerals being mined in the Congo. We have taken this stand with our partners who have elected not to inadvertently help fund violence against women in the Congo. The majority of the electronic companies have already taken the steps to ensure that their minerals come from legitimate mines. For more information or to join please contact Veronica Abney at VAbney@pacbel.net or Judy Kandel at jkandel@fullerton.edu
Imagine LA is a non-profit organization whose vision is to mobilize the faith community to help make Los Angeles a city where no child sleeps on the street. Imagine LA's efforts are focused on the Los Angeles County homeless family population, which is growing at an alarming rate - 35% in the last year alone. Currently there are 8,000 homeless families with 18,000 children in Los Angeles. Remarkably, in Los Angeles there are also over 8,000 churches, synagogues and mosques. Just imagine if each family was matched with one of these faith-based organizations in such a way that helped the family permanently exit homelessness, achieve sustainable independence and the children to thrive.
Temple Emanuel is a Faith Partner of Imagine LA. We support one family who has moved from the struggle of homelessness to having a home for her and her child. She is attending Cal State Northridge full-time to obtain the skills necessary to support her autistic son. Debra Carnow and Bob Jason work closely with this family providing ongoing guidance in a variety of areas. There are ongoing needs that congregants can help meet. For more information please contact Debra Carnow at DebraCarnow@gmail.com
ONE LA
One LA - IAF is a broad-based non-partisan organization of dues-paying member congregations, schools, unions, and non-profits committed to building power for sustainable social and economic change. We build power by developing institution-based leadership, building relationships within and between institutions, identifying and researching issues of mutual self-interest, and 
taking disciplined, organized action. This organizing strategy enables One LA - IAF to develop a constituency of leaders who become citizens in the fullest sense: participants in democratic decision-making and agents of creation of a more just society through the exercise of relational power. http://onela-iaf.org/
ONE LA / MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK
Citizens coming together as a collective body creates the capacity to address issues that face us in our own neighborhood and city. Temple Emanuel is an organization member of One LA along with other synagogues, churches, schools, and non-profits who are working to make life better for all citizens. It is a non-partisan group building relationships within our temple and with public officials and current stakeholders who are in a position to make the decisions that affect our lives. We have many conversations with congregants that aim to illuminate the real concerns people have. The two main goals internally are to build relationships within Temple Emanuel so we have the capacity to make deep and meaningful change and develop the leadership skills within each of us. The external goal is to build relationships with other congregations and the larger community who are members of One LA to gain that collective power. We are currently involved deeply in helping to change the accessibility and cost of health care available in our City and State. Other ongoing public issues being addressed are the improvement of public education, the challenges of the foreclosure crisis, and helping small business develop strategies that will lead to economic growth.
MATCH: MONEY AND TEENAGERS CREATING HOPE
This innovative pro
gram invites the teenagers of the congregation (ninth through twelfth graders) to become the board of an endowment fund of $250,000 that generates approximately $10,000 per year that the teenagers have to decide how to distribute. Each teen who participates “buys” a seat on the Board for $72 and commits to meet five times a year to study about tzedakah, create a mission statement for the Foundation, choose the issues and areas that ought to be funded, meet with philanthropists, research organizations, and ultimate advocate for his or her particular passion. Over the past three years the teenagers have distributed funds to local, national, international and Israeli organizations making a difference in the world. The match coordinator is Stephanie Bressler supervised by Rabbi Sara Mason-Barkin. For more information, contact Stephanie at Stephanielbressler@gmail.com