This Shabbat falls on June 19th, or Juneteenth. The date marks the day in 1865 when the last slaves were finally freed in Galveston, Texas, a staggering two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. It is a multi-faceted day. Juneteenth is a day to celebrate freedom and progress in the African American community, but also a day to acknowledge and struggle with our country's reprehensible history and the rotten fruits our roots still yield. It is a day to contemplate how very far we as a nation and individuals still have to go. Each year at Temple Israel, we use the Days of Awe, the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, as a period of reflection and action on themes of racial (in)justice. Are we not currently living in Days of Awe? Juneteenth captures our High Holy Day energy, featuring the celebratory feelings of Rosh Hashanah and the stark realities of brokenness of Yom Kippur. Our
10 Days 10 Ways resources should not sit in a closet, waiting to be brought out once a year. Rather, they should stay with us all-year round, alive and speaking to our consciousness as we make sense of our realities. I urge you to use this guide now, tomorrow, and whenever you feel moved towards righteous action. As Hillel challenges us: If not now, when?
Tikkun Central's Pursuing Justice in this Pandemic Series
Thursday, July 2 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Virtual, Save the Date
Recent events have emphasized our responsibility to speak out against injustice and ensure everyone’s voice is heard in the upcoming elections. One major weapon of systemic racism is voter suppression in the South and elsewhere. Join Temple Israel’s Racial Justice Initiative in partnering with the Center for Common Ground’s Reclaim Our Vote campaign as we fight for our democracy in this non-partisan civic engagement campaign. We invite you to participate in our campaign launch; registration information to follow. For more information contact Kathy Weinman, Tali Puterman, or Rabbi Dan Slipakoff.
A Community Space to Grieve
In this time of physical distancing, we recognize that people aren't able to experience communal opportunities for mourning and closure that our tradition usually allows. Tikkun Central's TI Cares has created a shared outlet on which the TI community can post reflections of loss, mourning, memory, or hope. You may choose to share a poem, photos, a thought, or story. As a community, we've lost loved ones to and during this novel Coronavirus pandemic, and we're mourning hundreds of thousands of U.S. lives lost. To share in our space of communal mourning, click here. To add content, press the plus sign in the bottom right corner. Everyone experiencing feelings of loss is encouraged to participate.
Connect With Us
TIkkun Central is our community's efforts toward righteous impact. Please contact the following people to learn more about our current initiatives:
