Launching of Jewish Social Action Month

Congressional Record (Senate): November 3, 2005, from Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)

Mr. President, I rise today to announce the launching of the first Jewish Social Action Month—a month where Jews around the world will be encouraged to engage in good works and service to their communities.

I am joined in this effort by my colleague in the House, Congressman Steve Israel of New York, as well as members of the Israeli Knesset.

Throughout the month—and every year in the second month of the Hebrew calendar, Heshvan, from here on out—Jews from across the globe will be encouraged to perform acts of loving kindness to their neighbors, regardless of faith.

The concept of Social Action can be interpreted broadly and there are endless possibilities for action.

The Israeli Friends of the Earth, for example, will be launching initiatives to clear up the debris which ruins our countryside.

In Boston, Jewish students are working to help students in inner city schools develop their reading and writing skills.

In New York, Jewish groups are delivering Thanksgiving meals to the elderly who are housebound.

These are just three quick examples of the kinds of service we hope people will be inspired to undertake in November and continue year round—inspiring people of all faiths to join in service to their neighbors as well.

The idea for Jewish Social Action Month came from two young men— Josef Abramowitz of Boston and Aryeah Green of Israel—during a retreat in the Israeli desert.

They wanted a way to motivate people of all ages to realize the words of The Scriptures that tells us to help those who have the least among us. For instance, in Deuteronomy we are told to love a poor stranger and give him food and clothing because we too were strangers in Egypt and God fed and clothed us.

The President of Israel, Moshe Katsav, has been an enthusiastic supporter of Jewish Social Action Month and is lending the prestige of his office in Israel to urge that people heed this call to community service.

I want to thank all of those individuals, groups, synagogue and temple leadership and membership who are joining this effort.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a number of statements and articles relating to Jewish Social Action Month.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

Declaration Regarding Chodesh Chesed Vetzedek, the Social Action Month

It has been taught to you O man what is good and what the Lord requires of you, only to do justice and loving kindness and to walk humbly with your G-d

(Micah VI:8).

At the foundation of our faith lies the importance of acts of loving kindness. Through its narratives and the laws of the Torah, God calls on us to make our world a holier, more just and caring place.

At Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we think about our responsibilities to God, and everyone around us including the needy of the world who depend on our support. We promise to do more for them in the coming year. Just a few days later, we celebrate Succot. This festival recalls Biblical times when the Jewish people lived in temporary shelters as they journeyed through the desert. It also reminds us that in our own times there are people across the world in need of food, shelter, warmth and love.

As Succot ends, we enter the month of Cheshvan, the month that has no festivals, a time dedicated to putting into practice our pledges to be better people and to better the lives of those around us.

The Government of Israel, through its Ministry for Israeli Society and the World Jewish Community has invited communities in Israel and across the globe to proclaim this Cheshvan a month of Chesed and Tzedek (loving kindness and social justice). Everywhere, Jewish organisations will be launching Chesed and Social action programmes.

We are delighted to add our voices to this call which echoes the voice of our tradition. We invite our communities to seek ways to help and support those in need wherever they are, so that through our acts of loving kindness, we may indeed "mend the world according to the Kingship of God".

May our efforts bring peace and blessing upon our communities, the whole House of Israel and the whole world.

Rabbi Menachem HaCohen—Chief Rabbi of Romania, Rabbi Warren Goldstein—Chief Rabbi of South Africa, and Sir Jonathan Sacks—Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom.

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Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry for Israeli Society & the World Jewish Community,

Jerusalem, November 3, 2005.

I am delighted to send my greetings to this distinguished gathering at the Congress in Washington to launch the first ever Jewish Social Action Month. I would like to thank everyone who has come today and in particular my dear friend Senator Joe Lieberman and Congressman Steve Israel who are hosting this event. My thanks also Yossi Abramovitch, Rebecca Lieberman and all the members of Kol Dor who have worked so hard to make it such a success.

At the heart of the Jewish religion lies the importance of caring for others. According to the rabbis, God made all of humanity in his image in order to show that all people of all faiths, colors and creeds are important to the Almighty. We are taught in the Jerusalem Talmud that there is no limit to the amount of loving kindness we should do or to the Divine reward we receive for these actions.

It is therefore gives me great pride as Deputy Minister for Israeli Society and the World Jewish Community in the Government of Israel together with the Kol Dor Organization to launch the very first ever Jewish Social Action month whereby Jews from all over the world and from every background will take part in different activities to mend the world and make it a better place for us all.

I wish everyone here much success in their activities and I thank you all once again for your support for this important project.

Rabbi Michael Melchior,
Deputy Minister responsible for Israeli Society and the World Jewish Community.

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Testimony of Yosef I. Abramowitz in Support of Declaring the Hebrew Month of Heshvan Global Jewish Social Action Month

Chairwoman Collette Avital, other Members of Knesset, Kol Dor conference chair Yael Andoran, fellow Kol Dor Members, friends and others who care about the future of the Jewish people and Jewish mission.

It is a great privilege to introduce a global Jewish idea to this important body, an idea that can: help unite Jews around the world; strengthen the global integrity of the Jewish people; highlight positive Jewish values; and, of course, catalyze the performance of hopefully countless acts of hesed and tzedek, of social action and social justice.

We at Kol Dor recognize that there are multiple points of entry into Jewish peoplehood, especially for the under-affiliated of the next generation who are not joining through traditionally prescribed ways. The prophetic call to repair the world, which resonates clearly in Israel's Declaration of Independence, clearly speaks to young Jews around the world, across the religious and political spectrum. We seek to harness this idealism, unfortunately often cast in a universal rather than particularly Jewish frame. We seek to join a strong social justice stream found in Jewish teachings—as Rav Gideon Sylvester just demonstrated—with the growing tide of alienated young Jews, and create a powerful current of Peoplehood with Purpose.

The idea is quite simple: The Jewish people, who have contributed so much to the moral advancement of civilization, will focus our energies and attention on the month of Heshvan and transforming it internationally into Jewish Social Action Month. Following the Yamim Noraim, when world Jewry is mobilized to celebrate the High Holy Days, Jews will be invited to express our people's universal hopes for humanity and civilization by actions—local, national, international—that express our values of aryevut, and tzedek.

The idea is to open-source this idea in all Jewish communities, from Hodu and Kush, from Metula to Eilat, from San Francisco to San Paulo, from Sydney to London, and everywhere in between.

As Jews, we know the power of symbols. In an era of Jewish history when we live with so many internal divisions, our communities want to rally around positive ideas and actions that unite Jews worldwide.

We seek neither to dictate nor control, but to provide leadership. We seek to link powerful ideas with personal example, doogma Isheet, and to seed the great imagination and intellectual power of Jews worldwide, as they seek ways to make a difference in the world.

We, Kol Dor members from sixteen countries, respectfully offer this committee and the Knesset the opportunity to provide not just leadership to Medinat Yisrael, but to Am Yisrael.

Thank you for your positive consideration of declaring Heshvan Global Jewish Social Action Month.

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Rabbi Michael Melchior Op Ed Piece for the JTA for the Jewish Social Action Month

As the member of the Government of Israel with responsibility for the world Jewish community, I have the privilege of meeting Jews of all types, from all over the world. There are huge cultural, historical and theological variations amongst Jews and these lend color and variety to our people. But the differences also create problems. The deep rifts that occurred in Israel over the issue of disengagement and the battles between different groups demonstrated once again the profound divisions amongst us. The Jewish people stand in danger of splitting into different factions with different narratives. Amidst so much diversity, what can unite us?

Wherever I travel in the Jewish world, I am struck by the way that Jewish people of all types are determined to make a Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God's name) and to avoid a Hillul Hashem (desecration of God's name). The concept of the Kiddush Hashem originates in the Biblical command "I shall be sanctified amongst the people of Israel". One interpretation of this verse is that Jews should display total dedication to their faith and even be willing to lay down their lives for it. This belief motivated millions of Jewish martyrs throughout our history to give up their lives rather than abandon their Judaism. Today, it is rare for Jews to be faced with such a stark choice between their faith and their lives, but Kiddush Hashem offers another powerful challenge which has particular resonance in our times. Each one of us has to ensure that the word "Jewish" is always associated with the highest levels of ethics and kindness, so that our behavior always brings credit to our heritage and to our God.

On a daily basis, we witness the disgrace that is attached to religion when it is linked with the horrors of priests engaging in child abuse and the fanaticism of "religious" suicide bombers. Tragically, throughout our long history, our own faith has also spawned instances of the desecration of God's name. The rabbis recognized these and declared that it was our failure to show care, compassion, decency and loving kindness to one another that caused so many of our sorrows including the destruction of the Temple. In our own times, the most famous desecration of God's name was the massacre of Arabs at prayer in the mosque in Hebron and the murder of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It was these outrages that drove me to put to aside my work as a Chief Rabbi of Norway and to enter Israeli politics. I felt that it was crucial for the government of Israel to work on a grand scale to restore the image of Judaism from one of intolerance and fanaticism to one of ethics, tolerance and compassion. It was my duty as a rabbi to play my part in that campaign. This is a crucial message of Judaism. Holiness is not the exclusive possession of those who engage in detailed ritual observance nor is it the preserve of those who devote their energies to the pursuit of spirituality; true holiness is found in the small actions that make a profound difference to the lives of the people around us and the world they live in.

This is why I am so delighted that in partnership with the Koldor organization, my office is launching the Jewish Social Action Month this Cheshvan (November). It falls one month after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur so it is a time to draw on all of the resolutions that we made over the High Holidays. It's also a month with no festivals in it which enables us to dedicate time to Social Action activities.

Throughout the month Jews from across the globe will be performing acts of loving kindness to their neighbors both Jewish and Gentile. The concept of social action can be interpreted broadly and there are endless possibilities for action. The Israeli Friends of the Earth, for example, will be launching initiatives to clear up the debris which ruins our countryside, the Israeli Police Force will be engaging in projects to show care and concern in the community, one youth movement will be organizing a sports event for the underprivileged, another arranging a national blood donation drive. It is beautiful to see how in Israel, and spreading across South America, North America, Russia, and Europe, Jews ranging from Chief Rabbis to the most secular of our people will be engaged in the Social Action Month.

I very much hope that you will feel moved to join in the project; to make a Kiddush Hashem and turn our world into a better place. I look forward to hearing about your activities and reading about them on the website of the Prime minister of Israel.

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Check the Calendar—Cheshvan is now Jewish Social Action Month
(By Tzvi Kahn)

New York, June 30.—Aryeh Green and Yosef Abramowitz were sipping tea in a Bedouin tent last year in Sde Boker, a kibbutz in Israel's Negev desert, when they had an idea.

Participants at a conference of Kol Dor, an organization that seeks to revitalize Jewish activism and unity across the globe, the two were discussing how the group could promote Jewish identity and peoplehood.

"Most Jewish institutions and endeavors are out of touch with the next generation of Jews because of a lack of relevance," Abramowitz, CEO of Jewish Family and Life, which publishes several Jewish Web sites and magazines, told JTA. "But we do know that the idealism and the desire to contribute to the world" are predominant.

It occurred to them that a month in the Jewish calendar formally dedicated to social action would be an ideal means of mobilizing and inspiring the Jewish community.

Their initiative received a major boost this week when the Knesset's Committee on Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs proclaimed the Jewish month of Cheshvan, which falls in November this year, as Social Action Month.

According to Green, who serves as an adviser to former Israeli Cabinet minister Natan Sharansky, "We agreed that if we wanted Kol Dor to succeed, we would have to focus on practical, tangible contributions."

"What makes this initiative interesting and unique is that it harnesses the power of different social action and Jewish organizations to get involved," Green said. The goal is not to spearhead specific projects, but to "pull together the existing frameworks of social action."

The effort has garnered the support of various Jewish groups, including the Jewish Agency for Israel and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, the Israel Defense Forces' education branch and the World Union of Jewish Students.

Abramowitz said Labor Party legislator Colette Avital, who chairs the Knesset's immigration committee, has sent a letter to various Jewish organizations expressing support.

Jewish schools in Israel and the Diaspora will be a particular focus of the initiative. According to Abramowitz, Social Action Month will receive special attention in the BabagaNewz, a monthly magazine on Jewish values that JFL publishes for elementary school students. The magazine serves 1,400 Jewish schools and has a circulation of more than 40,000.

The JFL journal Sh'ma and magazine JVibe also intend to publish features on the subject, he said.

Abramowitz said Cheshvan was selected for the project because it immediately follows the High Holidays, which usually spur higher levels of Jewish observance.

The Knesset decision also represents a victory for Kol Dor, whose philosophy formed the ideological foundation for Social Action Month.

"The paradigm that we are advocating in Jewish life is that peoplehood is a central mobilizing force," Abramowitz said, citing the success of the movement to rescue Soviet Jewry as one example.

The group seeks to use the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, or repairing the world, as a unifying theme.