Social Action/Tikkun Olam

Tikun Olam translated means the repair of the world. At Or Hadash this means assisting families in times of need, as well as participation in community-wide responses to misfortune. It means encouraging individual and communal responses to pressing political and social questions. It means that we are concerned with the wide range of issues -- Jewish and non-Jewish -- that affect our world.

The Social Action/Tikkun Olam (SATO) Committee initiates and carries out social action projects within the congregation that connect its members to the larger community outside of Or Hadash. These projects involve members from across the age and interest spectrum of the congregation, and allow people to spend a few hours, a few days, or more volunteering in meaningful ways. Students are also encouraged to participate and can use these projects for their B‘nai Mitzvah or Confirmation requirements. Or Hadash has hosted homeless families for a month as part of a community-wide consortium of congregations, provided home-made soup to a local food pantry, and participated in cooking for Aid for Friends.

A sub-committee of SATO, the Environmental Working Group conducts programs and activities that educate about and take action for the maintenance and improvement of the environment in the synagogue or in the general community.

January's Project is the Martin Luther King Day of Service Soup Drive.  Our goal in 2010 was to provide 1200 pints of soup to Aid for Friends.  Members had Soup Parties and made soup with their friends.  We exceeded our goal!