Tikkun Olam Committee
The Tikkun Olam Committee's mission is to provide congregants with information about and opportunities to support programs that help remedy national and international social justice issues within the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, or repairing the world.
The Committee, along with the JCRC, is working together with other synagogues on joint social actions. The JCRC is developing an enhanced Social Justice section of its website, and an Action Alert Network that anyone can join (www.jcouncil.org). We urge members of Har Shalom to subscribe as individuals. The JCRC posts social justice activities and opportunities on its web site; which is where you can view their new policy on Global Warming. View JCRC Information here.
Support Fair Trade Coffee
The Tikkun Olam Committee is proud to support The Peace Kawomera Cooperative in Uganda through the purchase of its fair-trade and organic coffee. Order forms available here or in the Synagogue lobbies. Opportunities to sponsor coffee at the Kiddush are also available. For more information email tikkunolam@harshalom.org.
Ways to Conserve Energy
Click here for suggestions from
Greater Washington Power and Light on ways to measure and
reduce one’s “carbon footprint.”
Read about the initiatives Har Shalom has taken to become more Green Click here
Darfur -- Action Against Genocide: Update * Har Shalom is the first synagogue to sign on to the Darfur Interfaith Network Advocacy Committee I ACT campaign, promising to have a delegation of congregants stand witness once each month.
- Every third Sunday of the month, from 1 - 2 p.m., rain or shine, Har Shalom members stand at the Embassy of China to bear witness and work to< stop the genocide in Darfur.
- Every fourth Thursday of the month, from 12 to 1 p.m., rain or shine, is the regularly scheduled community vigil at the Embassy of Sudan. Here community members stand to bear witness and work to stop the genocide in Darfur.
Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act
Dec. 13, 2007 - The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Sudan Accountability and Investment Act, following the House of Representatives, which passed similar legislation in July.
This bill increased the economic pressure on the Sudanese government by prohibiting U.S. government contracts with all foreign companies whose business supports the Sudanese government, and protecting the right of states to divest from these same companies. According to American Jewish World Serice (AJWS), increasing the economic pressure on Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir will help accelerate the swift and safe deployment of peacekeeping forces to Darfur and bring an end to the genocide. For more information, please see www.ajws.org.
For more information on Har Shalom’s efforts to end the genocide in Darfur, see Action on Darfur at Har Shalom
Tikkun Olam Shabbat - We sponsor the annual Tikkun Olam Shabbat in the fall. We have chosen this time of year, the Shabbat before the High Holy Days, as the time for Tikkun Olam Shabbat, as a way to inspire us to reflect on our own ability to repair the world.
Environmental Action - The Tikkun Olam Committee works to focus congregation awareness on preserving the environment. Activities have included meeting with other synagogues which have previously made changes in environmental practices to reflect the ecological principles of Judaism, attending a Jewish Environmental Conference in Baltimore and showing “An Inconvenient Truth” at Har Shalom. As part of “greening” Har Shalom, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) were recently installed in all exterior light fixtures and in the rear of the Gordon Sanctuary, in addition to their existing locations in the Burke Sanctuary, the corridor between Burke and the Social Hall, the Bride’s Room and the Gathering Hall. Other potential locations for CFLs are being examined as part of an overall energy audit.
The following environmental web sites, www.coejl.org (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life) and www.gwipl.org (Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light), are recommended for information about:
- Jewish values that underpin environmental activism and consciousness.
- Tips for greening the synagogue and the home.
- Environmental legislation and policies that the Jewish and interfaith communities are pursuing.
- Ideas for involving children and families in environmental activities and holiday rituals.
- National and local educational opportunities and events.
"The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) is the leading Jewish environmental organization in the United States. Since its founding in 1993, COEJL has helped tens of thousands of Jews make a connection between Judaism and the environment. COEJL has put environmental protection on the agenda of the organized Jewish community and made the case to elected officials and decision-makers that protecting the environment is a moral and religious obligation. Today, COEJL represents 29 national Jewish organizations spanning the full spectrum of Jewish religious and communal life and serves as the voice of the organized Jewish community on environmental issues in Washington, D.C. and around the country. COEJL has its headquarters in New York and a national board of 23 trustees. COEJL is a program of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA).
COEJL seeks to expand the contemporary understanding of such Jewish values as tikkun olam (repairing the world) and tzedek (justice) to include the protection of both people and other species from environmental degradation. COEJL seeks to extend such traditions as social action and g’milut hasadim (performing deeds of loving kindness) to environmental action and advocacy. And shalom (peace or wholeness), which is at the very core of Jewish aspirations, is in its full sense harmony in all creation."
“Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light (GWIPL) is a non-profit initiative that helps congregations, religious institutions and others in the Washington, D.C. area work for a more just, sustainable and healthier creation by reducing the threat of global warming.”
Join our Committee - The Tikkun Olam Committee meets once each month on Thursdays and welcomes participation from all congregation members. Please contact us.
