Social Action / Tikkun Olam

Social action means rolling up our sleeves, opening our closets, pantries, and wallets, and standing up to help repair the world (to do Tikkun Olam) with acts of Tzedek/Justice and Hessed/Lovingkindness. The prophet directs us: “You have been told what is good and what Adonai seeks from you: to act justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

How do we do this? By learning how to bring Tzedek and Hessed into our lives, by individual acts of justice and kindness, and by cumulative and collective acts that feed into sustained projects. How we do this and what causes we emphasize will be informed by the teachings of our rabbis and the inherited wisdom of Jewish tradition.

At the end of the day, we want to be able to say – and affirm in measurable ways – that we have helped make the world a better place, and, we hope, with the help of the Divine Presence, in the process, made ourselves better persons. To advance this goal is the commitment of our committee working with . . .

1. Other CAA committees and groups include Carrot Festival, Hessed, Women’s Network, and the Men’s Club.
2. Volunteers who prefer to find their own directions of involvement.
3. Religious school students who build habits of civic participation with the guidance of mentors and teachers.
4. Community partner organizations help establish priorities of need and open access into ongoing service streams (e.g., Jewish Family Services of Northeastern New York, Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York, Schenectady Jewish Community Center, National Council of Jewish Women, Schenectady Community Ministries, Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Jewish War Veterans Posts 106, 105, and 36, and the Schenectady League of Women Voters).

Our works include food drives, winter clothing drives, working in food pantries and kitchen, Carrot Festival’s CDTA Stuff-the-Bus campaign, fundraising, social justice Shabbatot, and more.