Our Community In Action

Dear CBI Community,

Last Sunday, as the snow flew, 115 Jewish community members showed up to our virtual CBI Tikkun Olam Legislative Luncheon. The food we had already prepared for all of our guests was donated to Cathedral in the Night Soup Kitchen to feed our neighbors who were sheltering from the storm. Heartfelt thanks to all who prepared and delivered. 

We were joined on the screen by Senator Jo Comerford, Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, Rep. Mindy Domb, Rep. Homar Gómez and Rep. Aaron Saunders. 

We advocated for our Tikkun Olam Legislative Priorities, as determined by our Tikkun Olam Teams. And our discussion focused primarily on what Massachusetts can do in response to the horror of ICE murders and kidnapping of innocent people across the country and in our communities. You can see the video of the full event here.

Rabbi Jacob shared opening remarks that offered both comfort and inspiration to us all.  We wanted to share that with you, too. You can watch them here or read them here. 

We are so grateful to our community for the centering of Tikkun Olam in all of who we are and what we do. We are equally grateful to our rabbinic leadership for their guidance, drawing on the strength of our Jewish tradition to help us endure and respond to this frightening time.  

Please join our Tikkun Olam action alert list so we can all stay connected in the work that lies ahead. Our united voice as a Jewish community, joined with our neighbors near and far, offers us hope, stamina and sustenance all at once. Please read Rabbi Jacob's message below for even more of it.

B'shalom,

Pamela Schwartz, Board President

with Randi Klein, Jen Wenz, and Sarah Zlotnik, Co-chairs, Tikkun Olam Committee 

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Dear Chevre,

As we continue to watch in horror at the cruel and unjustified violence being perpetrated by the Department of Homeland Security in Minneapolis, and other places, I am heartened by the growing chorus of voices from across our country strongly condemning the actions of ICE. I am very pleased that leaders of the Conservative movement were part of a Jewish Cross-Denominational Statement Against Violent Immigration Enforcement that was issued last week. 

Leaders in the Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements in the US, joined together to “condemn, in the strongest terms, the violence with which the Department of Homeland Security is enforcing American immigration law—above all, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as in cities and towns across the nation...Immigrants are members of our congregations, our families, and people with whom we interact in our broader communities. American Jews cherish our own families’ immigration stories. We recall that, like many being expelled from America today, we or our ancestors came to this country to escape oppression and find opportunity. That is why so many Jewish congregations, rabbis, cantors, and lay leaders have engaged in a variety of legal actions to protect immigrants in our midst. We grieve an American promise that seems to be no more.” [read the whole statement here]

In this moment, silence and looking away is not an option. This coming Shabbat we will read the story of our people finally leaving Egypt, crossing the sea and making it safely to the shore of freedom. How can we possibly read our story — of liberation from oppression — and not stand up for those living in fear and harm’s way right now? I hope that our CBI community will continue to find ways to creatively build alliances with other communities, exercise our collective voice, and demand policies and actions that reflect justice, compassion, and the values we claim as both Jews and Americans.

In peace,

Rabbi Jacob