Social Justice
Please share the following resources with your networks to encourage others to learn more and be allies.
Combating antisemitism:
Defending democracy:

Groups promoting peace:
Immigration resources:
LGBTQIA resources:

Embracing Race is a Collingswood-based organization supporting parents, guardians, educators, and other caregivers working to raise children who are thoughtful, informed and brave about race so that U.S. multiracial democracy can thrive. They offer a comprehensive list of resources for learning and action.

Organizations to follow on social media:

 

Following are readings and prayers for inspiration…

Darcy Grabenstein, a member of the THZ Social Justice Committee, wrote this poem/prayer:
Kaddish for Our Country

A PRAYER FOR DIFFICULT TIMES

BY RABBI ILANA ZIETMAN

(adapted from “A Prayer” in Naomi Levy’s To Begin Again)

When we are lost, help us find our way.

When we are hurt, wrap us in a loving embrace.

When we cry out, accept our protest as prayer,

As a call to rid this world of pain and suffering.

Today, give us the courage to plant seeds of change.

And help us to know life again, even in the face of death. Amen.

 

A Protest Prayer

By April N. Baskin

Beloved siblings striving for justice,
Shma!
Listen. Closely. At all times.
My prayer for you
is that you remember protest
is a sacred act.
Just as the Mourner’s Kaddish
helps souls ascend to God,
May our cries soothe those
whose lives were prematurely extinguished.
And rattle the bones and stones
of leaders and institutions.
Leaving no question about the fact
that things are never going back, only forward.
For more of us are clear
that “We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
We affirm we are a multiracial people,
and we will stand strong, humble, and proud
as we follow and work in partnership
with black leaders, taking steady strides
in the direction of collective liberation.

Meditation before Accompanying a Friend Facing an ICE Deportation Hearing

By Sherry Fyman

Yedid Nefesh. Soul Mate!

You rescued Joseph from a pit of snakes;
You saved Daniel when he was almost devoured by lions;
You redeemed the Children of Israel from slavery and despair;

Be with me today and redeem [name] from the cold, brutal nightmare that envelopes him/her.
Deliver them that are drawn unto death; and those that are ready to be slain will you forbear to rescue?   (Proverbs 24:11)

Av Harachaman, Source of Compassion!
Keep me strong and resolute to do good;
Keep me sensitive to hear another’s silent cry; “ Hannah was praying in her heart, silently. Her lips moved, but no sound was heard.” (I Sam. 1:10)
Keep me alert so that I will always hear your timeless charge: If there be among you a needy man, one of your brothers, within any of your gates, in thy land which G!d gives you, you shalt not harden your heart. (Deut. 15:7)

We will sanctify Your name in the world, as it is sanctified above.

Check out these resources on the global refugee crisis.


Alternative Amidah for Peace, Justice and Immigration

Avot
God of our ancestors. God of immigrants. God of refugees. We are border crossers.
We tie our fate with You who cannot be contained by customs offices. You who requires no passport

Gevurot
You are the power that nurtures, You support the fallen, You free the captive, You give faith to those who sleep in the dust.

Kedushah
We call out to each other, We turn in every direction, Your holy image is the face of every human

Binah
Help us to act with understanding

Teshuvah
Return us again and again to your service

Selikhah
Forgive us for retreating to our own comfort, Forgive us for not taking responsibility, Forgive us for letting little fears Stop us from helping with compassion.

Ge’ulah
Release us from captivity, Release us from persecution, Release us from misfortune, Help us to heal when rational arguments are insufficient.

Refuah
Heal the suffering that causes people to flee their homes.

Birkat Ha-shanim 
All Bountiful one let every person live with abundance.

Kibutz Galuyot
Blast the great shofar for freedom
Gather in all those in exile!

Din
Restore justice with love and compassion.

Birkat Haminim
Let all wickedness be lost.

Tzadikim
Protect all the righteous people fleeing war and fleeing poverty.
Be with those seeking safety
and seeking security.

BinyanYerushalayim
Build everlasting peace in Jerusalem.

Yeshu’ah
Plant your help in every land.

Kabbalat Tefillah
Hear our voice! Hear the voice of refugees. Hear the voice of immigrants. Help us hear your voice.

Avodah
Take pleasure YHVH in our work.
Lovingly accept our prayer.

Hoda’ah
Modim anakhnu lach
We give thanks to you

Birkat Shalom
Sing Oseh Shalom

 

Blessing for a Just Society
By Rabbi Alex Weissman

Barukh sh’amar v’hayah ha’olam.
Blessed is the One who spoke and the world came into being.
Blessed are the words of creation.
Blessed is the creation of a loving and just society.
Blessed is the society that honors human dignity.
Blessed are those who know the call of justice.
And let us say: Amen.

A Prayer for Reparation and Restoration

By Rabbi Brant Rosen

To the One who demands justice:

Inspire us to become rodfei tzedek,
pursuers of justice,
in our lives and in our communities.

Give us the strength to resist power
wielded with fear and dread;
fill us with the vision and purpose
to build a power yet greater,
a power rooted in solidarity,
liberation and love.

Grant us the courage to dismantle
systems of oppression –
and when they are no more,
let us dedicate our wealth and resources
toward the well-being of all.

May we abolish all forms of state violence
that we we might make way for a world
free of racism and militarization,
a world where no one profits
off the misery of others,
a world where the bills owed those who have been
colonized, enslaved and dispossessed
are finally paid in full.

Inspire us with the knowledge
that real justice is indeed at hand,
that we may realize
the world we know is possible,
right here, right now, in our own day.

May our thoughts and our hopes,
our words and our deeds
guide us toward a future of reparation,
of restoration, of justice,
al kol yoshvei teivel, for all who dwell on earth, amen.

 

For the Raising of Kinder Hands
By Devon Spier

To bless of those of us who travel with visible differences in the world. A new priestly blessing toward societal disarming and the end of white supremacy.

May G!d bless and keep you just as you have been made and as you have chosen now in and through your body to be.

May you draw nearer to G!d every time you meet your own face in the mirror or along the glass of a store.

Or if you slip, fall or are pushed to the sidewalk. May G!d raise you there even in time of sharp, life-shattering descent.

And may you know your heart, body and soul to be whole even as you find yourself in and amidst the societal holes of racism, queerphobia and violence of every form.

And may those in your path fulfill the unconditional promise of true kindness; to honor how you say you want to be treated, to disrupt and disarm the systems and shackles of white supremacy.

To work for change for your name’s sake.

And may all who meet you turn to your face with the knowing that you bear the likeness of G!d.

That you are deserving of the justice and peace of a fulsome and unafraid humanity.

That the world and G!d’s universe shine greater for you being as you are in the world.

And may you be protected from every spoken and unspoken, institutional and interpersonal, tangible and intangible harm you face.

And may G!d bless your spirit full. Amen.