Tikkun Olam
Being a member of B'nai Jeshurun means continuously striving to create a kehillah kedoshah, a sacred community, within our congregation as well as within our global community. The Social Action/Social Justice Department creates opportunities for congregants to respond effectively to social injustices in our local, national, and global communities and to develop meaningful relationships with our neighbors.
Through Panim el Panim, B'nai Jeshurun's Community Organizing and Advocacy Initiative, we utilize community organizing strategies to build deeper relationships among congregants, identify issues of shared concern, and advocate for social change in partnership with other communities.
Our four direct-service programs - the BJ/SPSA Homeless Shelter, Judith Bernstein Lunch Program, BJ Reads, and the BJ/Ralph Bunche School Partnership - offer concrete ways to address the immediate needs and improve the lives of others in our community.
Under the name "BJ Responds," we take additional opportunities to "pray with our feet" through one-time events and by responding to global and national crises including the genocide in Darfur.
We invite each of you to carve out your own path of gemilut hasadim at B'nai Jeshurun, to serve God and to live the mitzvot of our tradition.
Social Action/Social Justice Department
Staff Contacts:
Guy Austrian, Director of Social Action/Social Justice, x259, gaustrian@bj.org
Channa Camins, Social Action Coordinator, x261, ccamins@bj.org
Social Action/Social Justice Steering Committee
Co-Chairs: Rabbi Rachel Cowan, Rochelle Friedlich, Benjamin Ross
Contact: Guy Austrian, Director of Social Action/Social Justice, x259, gaustrian@bj.org
The Social Action/Social Justice Steering Committee brings together our direct-service programs, community organizing and advocacy work, one-time events and responses to crises. The Committee seeks to integrate our work into a comprehensive whole and maximize our impact by fostering relationships among our volunteer leadership and deepening the Jewish spiritual foundations of our work together.
Panim el Panim: BJ's Community Organizing and Advocacy Initiative
(click here to read more about Panim el Panim's history)
Panim el Panim Task Force
Co-Chairs: Robert Buxbaum and Jenny Eisenberg
Contact:Guy Austrian, Director of Social Action/Social Justice, x259, gaustrian@bj.org
Panim el Panim aims to transform our congregation by facilitating deeper relationships among our members and between our BJ community and our citywide neighbors. Using community organizing principles and techniques, including one-on-one community conversations, house gatherings, leadership trainings, and strategic campaign development, we work in coalition with community organizations and faith-based groups to create lasting social change. This year, our four action hevras (friendship groups, or working committees) and their action campaigns are as follows:
Environmental Action Hevra
Contact: Gil Kulick, Carol Schiffman-Durham, and Robert Daley(BJGreenHevra@yahoo.com)
Campaign: Greening BJ: Adopting environmentally sustainable practices in our synagogue and our homes, and building a movement among local congregations to do the same.
Marriage Equality Hevra
Contact: Amy Lavine (alavine@gaycenter.org) & Marlene Halpern (jacobhw@msn.com)
Campaign: Marriage Equality: Speaking out for equal rights and benefits for same-sex couples.
Manhattan Together Hevra
Contact: Judith Trachtenberg (jtrachte@aol.com) & Robert Buxbaum (RBuxbaum@tdxconstruction.com)
Campaign: This hevra will provide a central hub for communication, community, and strategy for all BJ congregants working with interfaith social justice coalition Manhattan Together on the development of three campaign areas including affordable housing, public education, and immigrants' rights.
Haggadah Insert
Adding new rituals and texts to the Passover Seder is a way to connect this ancient holiday of the liberation to contemporary struggles for freedom. This year we ask you to consider adding this ritual and text to your Seder to bring attention to the fight for marriage equality. Click here to download a copy of BJ's Marriage Equality Haggadah Insert.
Direct Service Programs
BJ/SPSA Homeless Shelter
Contact: Anne Millman and Jim Melchiorre, x340, AnnieMill@aol.com, Jmelchi567@aol.com
The Homeless Shelter has been in existence since 1985 and reflects B'nai Jeshurun's strong commitment to the mitzvah of caring for the most vulnerable stranger in our midst. Sunday through Thursday homeless guests are bussed to us from two midtown drop-in centers run by the NYC Department of Homeless Services. Over 150 volunteers from three congregations (BJ, SPSA, and West Park Presbyterian Church) provide a dignified, welcoming atmosphere for our guests, making this endeavor one of our strongest and most sensitive programs. Needed: Two to three people per night from 7-9 PM to set up beds, serve a small meal, maintain the storage closets, and to interact with the guests. Two additional people each night from 9PM - 7AM to sleep over, supervise, help with a light breakfast, collect linens and put away beds. Volunteers are also needed to either cook for or order in dinner for our shelter guests. A minimum commitment of one evening per month is requested.
BJ Reads...At PS 166
Contact: Ellen Schecter and Sandy Davidson, x 391, bjreads@bj.org
BJ Reads offers volunteers the opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of elementary school children who are not yet reading at grade level. Our volunteers meet with one child at PS 166 for one hour a week on Mondays or Wednesdays for the entire school year. With the steady presence and enthusiasm of our volunteer, our partners' reading and comprehension skills flourish over the course of the year. Needed: Individuals of all ages to work with children. Minimum commitment is one one-hour session, one morning a week (Mondays or Wednesdays, 9-11AM) from October through June1st. Reading takes place at PS 166, 132 West 89th Street. No experience necessary. Training provided.
BJ/Ralph Bunche School Partnership
Contact: x301, rbspartnership@bj.org
The BJ/Ralph Bunche School Partnership is dedicated to helping children attain literacy, to love and value books and reading, and to enhance basic math skills.
Volunteers meet one-on-one with children in Grades 1-3 to support classroom instruction in reading and writing, as well as Grades 3-4 to reinforce math lessons. This partnership is an exciting opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children, one at a time. Needed: Individuals to work with an eager elementary school student: literacy sessions from 8:30-10:30AM on Tuesday or Thursday morning, math sessions to be scheduled in the fall. If you cannot make a regular commitment, please sign up as a sub.
Judith Bernstein Lunch Program
Contact: Ruth Lazarus, Robin Tunick, and Susan Samuels, x338, sssamuels@aol.com
Join this wonderful, friendly, intergenerational effort by serving lunch to our West Side guests at 88th Street on Thursdays. We care for both body and soul by providing our guests with a meal in a comfortable and respectful atmosphere. Needed: Caring individuals to prepare food, set tables, serve lunch, and clean up on Thursdays from 9AM-2PM. On Wednesday nights, we need individuals to make soup and salad from 5-8PM. Help is always needed. Sign up for an hour each week or each month.
BJ Responds
As always, we seek opportunities to "pray with our feet" by participating in public demonstrations and annual one-day events, and by responding to ongoing crises such as the AIDS and breast cancer epidemics or sudden emergencies such as the South Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Needed: People who are passionate about making a difference in our world! For more information, contact the BJ members below or contact Guy Austrian at gaustrian@bj.org or x259.