Definition:

friend-ly ( frend-lee) adjective

1. showing friendship

2. kind, helpful

3. inclined to approve, help or support

4. amicable

vis-i-tor (viz-i-ter) noun

1.a person who visits as for reasons of friendship, business, travel or the like.

Jewish Family Service (JFS) in Boulder is looking for volunteers for our seniors. If you consider yourself friendly and like to visit, please consider this volunteer opportunity! Many of our seniors are isolated, new to the area or just in need of a friend.

For more information, please contact Ingrid Swords, Volunteer Coordinator, at 303.415.1025 or iswords@jewishfamilyservice.org.

Jewish tradition encourages us to make every effort to prevent and diminish human suffering. From the Talmud, we learn that, “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”

In partnership with Congregation Bonai Shalom, Har HaShem will host the Bonfils Blood Donation Drive and new Save a Life Health Fair. The goal is to provide an opportunity to make a blood donation as well as to educate the Jewish Boulder community on organ donation, the bone marrow registry, BRCA/hereditary cancer and ovarian cancer, and recently expanded testing options for Jewish genetic diseases.

Representatives from a variety of organizations will provide materials and answer questions in the North Building Social Hall including Bonfils Colorado Marrow Donor Program, Donor Alliance, American Transplant Foundation, Rachel Greig, a local kidney and pancreas recipient, Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance, and Dr. Ellen Elias, a Denver based geneticist at Children’s Hospital with support from the Victor Centers for Jewish Genetic Diseases.

Appointments to donate blood MUST be made in advance. To schedule a time to donate blood, contact Donna Werner at (303) 449-4672 or donna@bw-construction.com.

If not donating blood, there is no registration required to attend the Save a Life Fair to speak with representatives and pick up materials. For information or to volunteer, contact Susan Labowitz at (303) 543-0516 or labovitzs@gmail.com.

Tikkun Olam in Rabbinic Judaism refers to a broad array of rabbinic enactments (Takanot) both social and economic, embodying concern with the welfare of Jewish society. We cannot do justice in a brief article such as this to the full gamut of these enactments or all their details but we can get a sense of what their intent and scope was.

One of the issues that the classical rabbis had to address was that of ransoming captives taken by Gentiles. Should the Jewish community pay any demand that the captors set or should they only pay what would be considered a reasonable sum based on the labor market value of the individual? If they agreed to pay any sum that the captors demanded they could indirectly be encouraging more kidnapping, the consequent endangerment of individual lives and as well the impoverishment of Jewish society. If they bucked the demands of the captors they could be endangering the life of the kidnapped individual. Against the backdrop of this moral challenge the Mishna records the ruling, ”One may not ransom captives for more than their [Labor Market] value for the benefit of society -Mipnei Tikkun Ha’olam. ” (Talmud Bavli Gittin 45a). In concert with this Mishna the Shulchan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law) rules, ”We do not redeem captives for more than their [labor market] worth for the benefit of society -Mipnei Tikkun Ha’Olam- in order that enemies not exert themselves to conduct kidnappings…”(Yoreh Deah Laws of Charity 252:4)

Another challenge the classical rabbis needed to address was encouraging the wealthy to assist their impoverished fellow Jews through the granting of interest free loans. The Torah obligates a Jew or Jewess to grant an interest free loan to a fellow Jew or Jewess in need. (Deuteronomy 15:7-12) The Torah also obligates the cancellation of all such debts when the Sabbatical year arrives. (Deuteronomy 15:1-6) In reality, there came a time where the net effect on a collective level of these dual commandments was to discourage wealthy Jews from loaning to poor Jews as the Sabbatical year approached lest they could not recoup their loans because of the arrival of the Sabbatical year. In this context the Mishna records,” Hillel enacted the Pruzbul for the benefit of society-Mi’pnei Tikkun Ha’olam.” (Mishna Gittin 4:3) Pruzbul, a Greek abbreviation for the word prosboliboti which means: a court appointed to prevent harm and impoverishment (He’Arukh as quoted in Kehati commentary on Mishna Gittin 4:3) was a mechanism where the person who extended the loan was able to collect the loan even once the Sabbatical year had arrived. This because they technically handed this loan over to the Rabbinic Court who would collect it as the prohibition of collecting outstanding loans from the onset of the Sabbatical year technically fell upon the individual not the rabbinic court. (Melechet Shlomo Commentary on Mishna Gittin 4:3) Regardless of one’s opinion of rabbinic hermeneutics and casuistry and how that intersects with Biblical values the mechanism was a part of the economic safety net of rabbinic era Jewish society and is a primary of example of classical Tikkun Olam.

There are other several other examples of Tikkun Olam in the Mishna tractate Gittin which concern themselves with issues of: recapturing captives (4:6), purchasing stolen Torah Scrolls, Teffilin and Mezuzot (4:6), Family Law (4:2, 4:3, 4:7) and Purchases of land from Gentiles (4:9) among other issues (5:3).

The last example from the Mishna we shall explore concerns slavery. The Torah, as many are aware, had a system of slavery applying to both Jews and Gentiles — the details of which are beyond the scope of this article. (see Maimonides, Mishne Torah Laws of Slavery) There was, if you will excuse the term, a hybrid type of slave: one that was half free and half slave. The initial concern of the School of Hillel is resolving the issue of how this hybrid slave apportions his labor time with their view being that he works one day for his master and one day for himself. The School of Shammai was not satisfied with the mere concern with the Hybrid Slave’s labor and instead concerns itself with the hybrid slave’s marital predicament. By way of background a free person could not marry a slave nor could a slave marry a free person. The implications of this for our hybrid slave were: as he was half free he could not marry a fellow slave woman and as he was half slave he could not marry a free woman. The only option it would seem would be to let him remain without the ability to marry. The School of Shammai resolves that for the benefit of society –Mipnie Tikkun Ha’olam the master is obligated to free him entirely (with the former slave still owing half his value to his former master) for as scripture states, ”Not for void did [God] create [the world] rather to inhabit it.” (Isaiah 45:18) The School of Hillel, originally intent on keeping the slave in its no-marriage-land’s status reversed its opinion and ruled in accordance with the School of Shammai. (Mishna Gittin 4:5)

Let us take a considered look at these examples of classical Tikkun Olam and see what we can extract from them relevant to our own interests in this work of world repair. In the first example of fiscal limitations on the ransoming of captives, it is teaching us that the value of the community and preventing future harm to other individuals within it takes precedence over the value of any one individual. In the example of extending loans to the poor we see that the rabbis were willing to accept the dysfunctional reality of the Torah’s intended system in their present state and innovate a mechanism that would ultimately serve one of its core aims- helping the poor. In our last example of slavery we see that the rabbis were willing and able to see the humanity of a slave and to see through to a deeper Divine intention beyond that of the mere formality and technical concerns of labor law. I believe when you abstract the principle from each of these specific cases we have energizing ideas that link classical Tikkun Olam with contemporary Tikkun Olam.

These cases, and the principles latent within them, point us in the direction of concern with the collective good, not the enshrinement of individual convenience; the favoring of the innovation of the individual versus the stagnation of the establishment and the supremacy of the Divine intent over the Gordian technicalities of the Divine Law.

One important distinction between classical Tikkun Olam and our present direction of it is that classical Tikkun Olam was essentially concerned with the insular Jewish society. There are no rabbinic enactments of Tikkun Olam for Gentiles as it should come as no surprise that they were not under the religious jurisdiction of the classical rabbis. Another distinction worth noting is that classical Tikkun Olam was top down; that is to say, an educated, all-male rabbinic elite made rules for the masses of the Jewish people to follow. In our Tikkun Olam, it is more grassroots and egalitarian, individual men and women perceive inequities and suffering and seek to right wrongs; often their efforts blossoming into organizations and entire movements.

Let us address these distinctions straightforwardly: contemporary Tikkun Olam is not classical Tikkun Olam. The Jewish world today is for the most part integrated into the modern world and as such is more aware and concerned than ever with the plight and sufferings of other people (Yes Bubie and Zieda, other people suffer too!). The world that the rabbis sought to repair i.e. Jewish society while still existent is not what constitutes the sole world for most Jews. When a Jewish woman or man can turn on a television or watch a documentary movie and see what is happening in Africa this is part of their world, especially when they can get on an airplane and be there within two days. As well, while an educated rabbinic elite still exists, we live in a world where their power is largely persuasive not coercive. Today there is a certain truth to the notion specifically as it applies to aspects of Tikkun Olam that the people lead and the rabbis follow and this can at times be quite healthy and productive as rabbis are not the sum of all knowledge, wisdom and virtue even in understanding how to apply and evolve the Torah.

It is important to note that while there will always be reactionary and narrow views that seek to limit the definitions, directions and applications of a category such as Tikkun Olam to its classical expression or seeks to focus Jewish attention in and on itself, this by no means should be associated with Orthodoxy as a whole while it is certainly fair to associate it with Orthodoxy in part, admittedly, the larger part. Nevertheless, I think its important for Boulder’s Jewry to understand some of the Orthodox expressions of contemporary Tikkun Olam lest they are abrasively led to believe that Orthodoxy as a whole somehow wants to turn back the clock or neglect our obligations as privileged world citizens.

First, I point the reader to Uri l’Tzedek an Orthodox Social Justice Organization (www.utzedek.org) which was founded and is directed by graduates of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a liberal and progressive Orthodox rabbinical seminary in New York. Its mission reads, ”Uri L’Tzedek is an Orthodox Social Justice organization guided by Torah values and dedicated to combating suffering and oppression. Through community-based education, leadership development and action, Uri L’Tzedek creates discourse, inspires leaders, and empowers the Jewish community towards creating a more just world.”

Second, I point the reader to the Green Restaurant Association (www.dinegreen.com) founded and led by an Orthodox Jew, Michael Oshman. The GRA’s mission reads, ”To create an Environmentally Sustainable Restaurant Industry.”

Third, I point to Rabbi Aaron Levy, another graduate of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah who is a board member of Rabbis for Human Rights whose mission statement reads, ”Founded in 2002, Rabbis for Human Rights- North America is an organization of rabbis from all streams of Judaism that acts on the Jewish imperative to respect and protect the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we advocate for Human Rights in Israel and North America…”

These are but a small reflection of Orthodox Jewry’s interest in contemporary Tikkun Olam which has been a developing trend since the 1960’s, when Orthodox Jews and rabbis were involved in the Civil Rights Movement as today they have been involved in Darfur and many other just causes. Finally, I encourage people to read the book “Tikkun Olam: Social Responsibility in Jewish Thought & Law” published as part of The Orthodox Forum Series, part of Yeshiva University, the flagship institution of Modern Orthodoxy in America. Opinions and the knowledge base of individual rabbis will always vary; this work reflects what some of Orthodoxy’s most brilliant and learned minds have to say on the subject.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, one of the great Torah visionaries of the 20th century, once said, ”The old will become new and the new will become holy.” Tikkun Olam Boulder style is certainly new in comparison to classical Tikkun Olam. It’s worth exploring in what ways it already is holy and in what ways can more holiness suffuse and be fused to its already brilliant light.

Rabbi Zachary Goldman is the founder and rabbinic administrator of the EarthKosher Kosher Certification Agency and is the educational director of the Institute for Halakhic Conversion. The author of numerous books, essays and articles on a diverse range of Torah he lives with his wife and children in Boulder, Colorado.

Boulder Book Store

Clementine Art Studio will also offer a Bookmark Project Station where kids can make their own, or create a bookmark for kids in Guatemala. And attendees will have an opportunity to win a fabulous door prize, containing lots of goodies (and a BBS gift card)!

Schedule of Readings:

• 10:00 am—David Dadone (Executive Director, BMoCA) – Reading in Spanish
• 10:30 am—Guillermo Medina (Principal of Columbine Elementary) – Reading in Spanish
• 11:00 am—Mark Megibow (Beat-boxer for vocal band Face)
• 11:30 am—Jeff Kagan & Paige Doughty (Environmental musicians and performers)
• 12:00 pm—Sonny Zinn (Principal of Horizons K-8)
• 12:30 pm—Beth Osnes (Professor of Theater, founder of the Striking the Match Initiative)
• 1:00 pm—Linda Smith (Founder of Reading Village)
• 1:30 pm—Laura Resau (Author, The Queen of Water, The Ruby Notebook)
• 2:00 pm—Lee Shainis (Intercambio) & Shawn Camden (Founder and President of The Spanish Institute and 100% Mexicano) – Reading in Spanish
• 2:30 pm—Lisa Holub (Director of Education, Clementine Studio / OpenArts)
• 3:00 pm—Kerry MacLean (Author, Pigs Over Colorado, Peaceful Piggy Meditation)
• 3:30 pm—Nicole de Boom (Triathlete, Founder of Skirts Sports)
• 4:00 pm—Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (Earth Guardians)
• 4:30 pm—Melanie Borski-Howard (Youth Services Specialist at Boulder Public Library)

This is a FREE Storytime event, open to all, whether you only have time to stop by for a few stories or plan to stick around all day! Donations to Reading Village are encouraged.

Reading Village provides leadership development training and scholarships for Guatemalan teenagers to finish high school. In return, these teens lead story-time activities for young children, teaching them to read, imparting a love of books and the chance to dream.

Location: Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St, Boulder

You are individually matched with someone and the time could be spent talking, going for coffee, taking a walk-whatever the two of you choose. Both people enjoy a new friendship, and the volunteer knows he/she has made a difference in someone’s life.

Interested? Contact Ingrid Swords, Volunteer Coordinator, at Jewish Family Service at 303-415-1025 or email iswords@jewishfamilyservice.org

“I can’t imagine going to sleep without my mother reading to me,” said one wide-eyed girl in the class. “We are always reading or talking about reading. Even when we’re driving in the car, my mom tells me a story or talks to me about what we’re going to read.”

The children in this classroom are participating in Light Up Literacy, an innovative Hanukkah program of Reading Village, a Boulder-based organization that brings the joy of reading to rural Guatemala, where approximately half of the population cannot read, and lives in the darkness of illiteracy.

In this particular activity, these second graders learned about their counterparts in rural Guatemala, who do not have books in their houses or people to read to them.

Light Up Literacy is a resource-rich program that teaches children the joy of g’milut chasadim (acts of loving kindness) and brings tikkun olam (social action and the pursuit of social justice) to Hanukkah. Through Light Up Literacy, our children can learn the important Hanukkah lessons of hard-won freedom, justice, and tzedakah, and be a shamash — an important source of light in the lives of others.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) recently mentioned Light Up Literacy as a way to add make Hanukkah celebrations more memorable in its December 12, 2011 article, “Giving the gift of tikkun olam.”

“We love the work of Light Up Literacy,” said Vinny Green, the K-6 administrator of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Religious School. “We are adopting Light Up Literacy as our tzedakah (charity) project for November and December this year.”

For the third year in a row, congregations from the Reform and Conservative movements around the country will participate in this innovative Hanukkah program that teaches children the joy of giving and of helping others in need. In Los Angeles, participating congregations include the Stephen S. Wise Temple, the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and the University Synagogue.

“Through Light Up Literacy, families dedicate one night of Hanukkah to celebrate reading and the gift of literacy,” said Linda Smith, co-founder of Reading Village, the creators of Light Up Literacy. “Parents set aside money they might have otherwise spent on gifts to support reading in a country where there are few books and where the literacy rate in rural communities less than 50%.”

Because of the low literacy rate and lack of books, the cycle of parents reading to children has been broken. Reading Village is working to mend that cycle. The organization provides scholarships and leadership development training to Guatemalan teens, and in return, these youth give back to their communities by engaging young children in their community in reading activities.

By joining together with Light Up Literacy, these temples in Los Angeles will help repair this broken cycle.

Guatemala has the second lowest literacy rate in the Western Hemisphere. In rural areas only 25% of children complete the sixth grade and less than 10% go on to high school. Public school in Guatemala is not free, and the cost of tuition, books, uniforms, supplies and transportation can exceed a month’s income for just one child.

Reading Village is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit. Donations to this organization perform double duty: they keep youth in school by providing scholarships and they promote literacy through their teen reading promoter program. The organization’s vision is to transform the lives of Guatemalan children through literacy. For more information on Reading Village or to donate see www.readingvillage.org.

As of 8 pm Tuesday, more than $9.3 million has been raised for Colorado nonprofits, according to the Colorado Gives/Giving First website. This is a 10% increase over the $8.4 million raised last year. Think the community will raise $10 million by the cut off on Wednesday? Leave your guess below!

Check it out here.

More info: Colorado Gives Day; Won’t You?

I was enraged and sickened and wanted more than anything to come to his defense, and yet I knew that if I had intervened, I would have been the next person in the center of the mob. I turned around and walked away not wanting to see what might happen next.

Although I have given hundreds of speeches and written dozens of columns over the nearly 40 years since that day in Turkey, I have only very recently felt comfortable sharing this experience with others. Perhaps I didn’t want to relive the pain of being a bystander, or maybe I was ashamed that I hadn’t helped that young man. Possibly, I couldn’t think about what might have happened to him after I left. Perhaps that story didn’t seem as relevant to my own life and the times in which we live as it does today.

Stories of bystanders aren’t limited to far-off countries and different cultures. Blatant examples like the recent news about bystanders in college football locker rooms have shocked the country.

We are all bystanders in other, more subtle ways. In communities across our country, people are hungry; millions are unemployed; high school students drop out in large numbers; more children are living in poverty; returning veterans are unsupported; environmental degradation and climate change is pervasive; discrimination against women, gays and lesbians, people of color, persons with disabilities, the elderly and others persists; education budgets are being slashed; arts organizations are closing; vast numbers of Americans have no health insurance and the medical care it would procure; and more. Across the globe, billions of people live in abject poverty. In the time it takes to read this column, more than 40 children will die of preventable causes.

We are bystanders when, living our busy lives, we witness these societal problems and fail to act to our full potential. We are bystanders when we lose sight of our connections with other people and accept their predicament as “just the way things are.” Nearly everyone has their own story — some more and some less dramatic than mine — of times in which they wish they had done more to help someone in need and times in which others stepped up to help them.

At Thanksgiving, we gather to express gratitude for the good things in our lives. The December holidays bring families together to share faith, values and tradition. The New Year is a time to make plans for the year ahead. On these occasions, tell your stories, listen to the stories of others, and reflect upon whether you unintentionally may have been a bystander.

The term “philanthropy” means the love of humanity. Recent events, economic recalibration, global communication and climate change all underscore our common humanity and our interdependence. There is no better time than this holiday season to find thoughtful and heartfelt ways to contribute your time, talent and treasure to causes that will help others lead healthy, satisfying and productive lives and to preserve the things you cherish most about yours.

This article first appeared in the Denver Post on Sunday, November 20th, 2011. Reposted here with permission of author.  -Ed.