Your Tikkun Olam Committee encourages your active support and participation with the following activities. Please read The Shofar and the weekly Shofar Blasts for more information concerning all of these projects.
Annual Reverse Tashlich (A Rosh Hashanah tradition)
Sunday, September 27th (Rain Date Oct 4)
Partner with “Repair the Sea” and “Save the Sound” to remove litter from our local beaches. This is a perfect hands-on Tikkun Olam activity for family participation.
Rebecca Cohen, Karen Fenichel, and Adam Spiewak, Coordinators
33rd Annual High Holy Days Food Drive
September 11 – October 4th (Through the Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot holidays).
Donate non-perishable food to be distributed to the food pantries of both the Jewish Family Service (JFS) and the Town of Orange. Monetary donations can also be sent directly to these two food pantries. Let’s help those in need right here in our own communities. As the Torah teaches, “If one fails to share G-d’s bounty with the poor, the observance of the festival would be unacceptable.”
Will Sherman and Alla Bernshteyn, Coordinators
Annual Thanksgiving Frozen Turkey and Pie Collection
October 23 – November 15 (Pre-Thanksgiving)
Donate frozen turkey breasts (NO whole turkeys please), pies, & all the “fixins” to be delivered to the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK). Let’s surpass last year’s collection of 100 turkey breasts and help make Thanksgiving special for those in need.
Jeffrey Levinson, Coordinator
Religious School Chanukah Baskets Project – Sunday, December 6
Donations collected throughout November
Toys, books, games, clothing, gift cards, and personal hygiene/care objects to be donated to JFS, r’Kids Family Center, Fair Haven Community Health Center, JCARR, and Fellowship Place.
Abby Sussman & Izzy Forman, Olga Markus, and the Religious School students, staff, and parents
Mishloach Manot and Diaper Drive
February 1st – March 1st
The mitzvah of giving Mishloach Manot is derived from the Book of Esther which enjoins the Jewish people to send portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor. As in the past, TE will distribute a selection of Purim treats and we will continue our tradition of collecting diapers and monetary donations to support The Connecticut Diaper Bank.
Michelle Bailey, Rochelle Kanell, and Rise’ Siegel, Coordinators for the Diaper Drive
Beth-El Pasta Collection
Purim, March 21 – 24
Both the Religious School children and the adult Megillah reading participants will again use boxes of pasta as groggers to drown out the name of Haman during the Purim service. The pasta will then be donated to the Beth-El Homeless Shelter & Soup Kitchen in Milford. A pasta collection box will be available in the lobby.
Nancy Weber, Coordinator
Religious School Purim Mitzvah Project
Purim, Sunday, March 21
“Blessing Bags” with notes from the Religious School children containing personal hygiene/care objects will be donated to the homeless program of Fellowship Place. “Welcome baskets” will be donated to Columbus House. These projects are sponsored by the Tzedakah Fund collected by the Religious School students.
Olga Markus and the Religious School students, staff, and parents
In addition to all the above Tikkun Olam Projects, members of Temple Emanuel are actively involved in a variety of additional activities and we urge your active support and participation with the following:
Jewish Community Alliance for Refugee Resettlement (JCARR)
JCARR is a partnership of five local synagogues and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven. For the past eleven years JCARR has helped welcome, relocate, and settle a number of refugee families from around the world. Your ongoing support and assistance in a variety of ways is both sought and greatly appreciated.
Rochelle Kanell, TE Coordinator
Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut (CONECT)
Keeping within our Jewish values of “Justice, justice you shall pursue,” CONECT is an organization devoted to social and economic justice, gun violence and health insurance issues, police reform, and immigration rights.
Robin Levine-Ritterman, TE Coordinator
Beth-El Homeless Shelter & Soup Kitchen (in Milford)
In addition to a variety of collections, volunteers from TE prepare and serve dinner on the first Tuesday of every month. This is a great hands-on activity. Please consider volunteering.
Rachel Suchoff, Coordinator