On-going Programs:
Annual Community Retreat / Tribes /
Tikkun Olam Upcoming Events / Chanting
Tikkun Olam
Contributions of interesting local events welcome. The group has organized B'nai Or events relating to Middle East peace,
interfaith understanding, and environmental awareness.
NEWS AND EVENTS FROM TIKKUN OLAM
To read about the latest Tikkun Olam-related EVENT "Fund-raiser Hosted by Paula Rayman and Richard Herman" to benefit
Neve Shalom / Wahat Al Salaam, one of the most successful Israel-Palestinian joint peace efforts to date, click HERE
"Burundi Genocide Survivor on How Running Helped Him Heal" from The Daily Good. To read this story, and more stories of peace and inspiration, please click HERE.
Stay tuned for other "Opportunities for Involvement". Have questions or need more information? Contact Renee Shapiro at reneeshapiro@earthlink.net or
Lois Rosenfeld at lolopia58@gmail.com.
BLASTS FROM THE PAST:
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Sunday, November 29, 2015 ~
November 10, 2015 ~ B'nai Or's Tikkun Olam group and members of the MA Interfaith Coalition for Climate Action met at the Grand Staircase of the Massachusetts State House.
There were familiar B’nai Or faces among a decent number of attendees. Reverend Fred Small, former Minister of First Parish in Cambridge and Founder of The
Creation Coalition, shared introductions and Mariama White-Hammond, the charismatic minister of Bethel AME Church in Jamaica Plain, delivered a lively,
heartfelt request for action. Antonio Cabral, legislator from New Bedford, called for revolutionary action in that revolutions are about change and change
is what is needed. Thus far, the courage to break from using fossil fuels with all its dire consequences has not been mustered. The earth has been entrusted to
our care, and as its keepers, it’s upon us to prevent global suicide by turning toward clean, sustainable energy. In this regard, we presented our legislators
with five priorities:
Renee Shapiro (B'nai Or member) and I, along with many others, visited with our respective legislators and/or their aides, introduced ourselves, gave them
the signed postcards from the October 12th gathering in Wellesley (see entry from Rabbi Hanna below) and presented the five key points of the coalition.
From my personal experience, both my rep and senator were on board to raise solar caps and work toward clean energy. The ‘buzz’ among aides was that
it was ‘quite a turnout’ at the Grand Staircase. I’d say that our first Coalition action is deemed a success. Onward……
October 12, 2015 ~ Answering the Call: An Interfaith Gathering for Climate Action (from Rabbi Hanna)
Opposing Islamophobia
MUSINGS...
What we have been feeling is that each one of us is the necessary, yearned for, “solution” for peace. How each of us lives our life in each and every
day: That we stay open in lieu of defensive position. That we breathe before we speak. That we respond instead of react. That we make the effort to
understand and to act with compassion, across boundaries. And most essential, that we walk with each other. Peace is us. In Love and Light ~ Gail and Ruven.
To read Gail and Ruven's "Encounters Story", click HERE
An EU for Israel/Palestine by Wayne-Daniel Berard. B’nai Or member Wayne-Daniel Berard, Ph.D., is Professor of English, Director of Spiritual Life and Chaplain at Nichols College in Dudley, MA, and an
Interfaith Peace Chaplain, commissioned by the Peace Abbey, Sherborn, MA.. To read Wayne-Daniel's thoughtful essay An EU for Israel/Palestine, click
HERE.
B'nai Or...Striving to be a more Eco-Kashrut Community: A Eco-Kashrut Teaching by Renee Shapiro
PAST ARTICLES:
Tikkun Olam refers to repairing the world. Tikkun Olam is the Jewish concept defined by acts of kindness
performed to perfect or repair the world. The phrase is found in the Mishnah, a body of classical rabbinic teachings. At B’nai Or, we use this term for
our social action committee.
Have questions or need more information? Contact Renee Shapiro at reneeshapiro@earthlink.net or Lois Rosenfeld at lolopia58@gmail.com.
Members of B'nai Or's Tikkun Olam group at
Boston's March for Science, April 2017.
One of B'nai Or's groups represented at the Boston Women's March 2017.
(Message from Lois) Thanks to everyone who showed up on Sunday, March 13 (2016) for our screening of the film This Changes Everything. During the discussion
following the documentary, it was clear that people felt an impact, with it hitting home that stopping climate change is not a government problem…..it is
our problem, with precious air and water being affected. People asked how we might become a community-of-action and how to spread the word in
our comfortable middle-class communities. This is our task now - to become a community-of-action; to use the blessings of democracy to voice our
very real concerns and work together toward solutions. Many at the screening were surprised to learn that Germany has the most developed solar and wind
energy initiatives and that much of it developed as a result of citizens protesting fossil fuel usage. It is what we need to do as well……keep pressure
on our legislative reps to make transitioning to wind and solar energy a priority. Take a moment…send a message………
B’shalom,
Lois for Tikkun Olam
You're NEVER TOO
OLD...OR TOO YOUNG to get involved.
On this exhilarating Sunday before the Paris Climate Conference, members of B'nai Or's Tikkun Olam Committee, Ellen Meyers
and Lois Rosenfeld walked from Harvard Square to Charles Street following the footsteps of the few hundred activists who arrived on the Boston Common for a
rally and green ribbons.
The golden dome of the Statehouse beckoned the group, including Max and Daniel, two of B'nai
Or's youngest activists, who joined the group and the tradition of speaking out for justice on the Boston Common.
1. expansion of community solar credits
2. investment in off-shore wind development
3. access to clean, efficient energy programs for all MA households
4. fixing the existing natural gas leaks
5. no charge to rate-payers for the cost of new natural gas pipelines
It was wonderful to be with 40 B’nai Orniks at the Climate Action event at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley tonight. There were some inspiring speakers
including Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Minister Mariama White-Hammond, and Rev. Fred Small. And our precious Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman was beaming light
and joy as she held the energy of the evening and led us in singing her beautiful composition, “The Tide Is Rising." We felt called as faith communities to
respond together to take action and raise consciousness.
Lois Rosenfeld, facilitator of B’nai Or’s Tikkun Olam Committee, joined members from an interfaith book group and others as they
demonstrated their opposition to Islamophobia in front of the Massachusetts State House on Monday, July 13, 2015. It was a dignified event with
a number of speakers including Rabbis Victor Reinstein and Katy Allen addressing the group.
Ruven and Gail Liebhaber's Story of Encounters During (Recent) Trip to Israel, Palestine and Turkey
Editorial from Workmen's Circle after the Marathon Bombing.