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Leadership in our Community -- and of our Community

June 2007

From the Desk of Rabbi Cohon

Al tifrosh min hatzibur - …do not separate yourself from the [needs of the] community!  - Mishnah Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of our Ancestors

 

As Jews our collective goal is rather large: to remake the world into a holier, better, more just place.  That goal of Tikun Olam, repairing the world, is central to our understanding of our religion and our relationship to the world around us.  In Reform Judaism Tikun Olam is expressed through what we call Religious Action.

 

Our movement has been in the forefront in our nation, and in the world, on issues ranging from genocide in Darfur, to humanitarian disaster relief from New Orleans to Indonesia , to issues on education, immigration, religious liberty, and poverty relief in Washington , DC .  But the truth is that real Religious Action (we also know it as Social Action) begins at home, in our own community.

 

Religious Action has two components to it: helping those in need or oppressed, and seeking to change the conditions that help them become needy and oppressed in the first place.  While Temple Emanu-El does a great deal of crucial work feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and counseling those who are troubled and at a loss, we also work very hard – often behind the scenes – to improve the moral and human quality of our world in other, more subtle ways.

 

We are deeply committed to making a difference, to fulfilling the principal mitzvah of Tikun Olam, seeking to make our community more just and, by doing so, holier.  As we enter into the summer months, it's worthwhile listing some of the projects in which we have taken a leadership role in our community in just the past nine months:

 

-- We hosted three congressional pre-election forums – one Democratic, one Republican, and one final debate – that helped our community get to know and judge the candidates for our seat in the US House of Representatives (which I moderated).  Gabrielle Giffords was elected our first Jewish congresswoman from the 8th District, and later spoke from our bimah in February after her trip to Israel and Iraq .

 

-- We hosted our 5th Annual Multi-Faith 9/11 Service of Remembrance for our community in partnership with the Tucson Multi-Faith Alliance.

 

-- We hosted and co-sponsored two community-wide forums for the Pima County Interfaith Council, one on economic justice and the second on reforming predatory lending, the second in partnership with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.

 

-- We led two drives for MAZON, the Jewish Response to Hunger, and hosted Eric Schockman, the national president, who spoke at Shabbat services.

 

-- We exchanged clergy and confirmation students with St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church – Rev. John Kitagawa spoke here and I spoke there – continuing to build another close interfaith relationship with another historic congregation.

 

-- We engaged in a Youth Exchange program with Christ the King Presbyterian Church, and shared our Strauss ECE Thanksgiving with St. Marks.

 

--- The Too Jewish Radio Show has provided free air time to nine different organizations seeking to increase awareness of their important charitable and justice-affirming projects.

 

-- We continue to partner with a variety of churches and other community organizations on the POZ Café and other TIHAN work, as well as Operation Deep Freeze, the Reading Seed, Jewish-Presbyterian Dialogue and Adult Education Series, and many other charitable and communal works.

 

-- And, of course, Rabbi Sharff and I delivered many invocations at Mayor and City Council meetings, State of the County luncheons, Metropolitan Education Commission events, and the like throughout the year.

 

-- I co-authored a series of articles on immigration for the Union for Reform Judaism as part of the movement-wide focus on this critical issue. 

 

Our leadership position among religious organizations in Tucson has been clear for some years now, but we are gratified to see that the partnerships we have built to help remake our community into a more just and holier place of shared vision are bearing fruit in so many different orchards.

 

Please participate in our efforts in any way that you can, and let us know what you think of our work to better the world.

 

L'Shalom v'rei'ut v'tzedek, in peace, friendship – and justice,

 

Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon