Every Voice.
Every Vote.
Social Justice
RAC-PA’s Yom Kippur Afternoon Zoom Study
Who By Violence: A Yom Kippur Study Conversation about Gun Violence Prevention
September 25 2-3pm on Zoom
Led by Rabbi Eli Freedman at Rodeph Shalom, Rabbi Chuck Briskin at Shir Ami, and Nancy Gordon, CeaseFire PA leader & Beth David Reform Congregation member. Join us!
The Reform Jewish Movement’s 2023 Campaign to Protect, Expand, and Strengthen Democracy is a nonpartisan effort, grounded in our Jewish values and commitment to racial justice, to strengthen our democracy by encouraging and protecting voter participation. As Reform Jews, we believe democracy is strongest when the electorate reflects the population – and it suffers when citizens are shut out from the democratic process. Voting is how we determine our future. It is how we fulfill the Talmudic teaching that a ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted. It is our prayer. It is our voice.
Why Should Jews Care?
The Torah teaches to accept others without prejudice and to work with others to achieve social justice. Since the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Jewish community has continued its support of civil rights laws addressing systemic discrimination in voting, housing, and employment against not only women and people of color but also the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities.
Why We Care about Social Justice
In the Torah, Jews are taught to accept others, without prejudice or bias. The Torah states "You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman, but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Eternal" (Leviticus 19: 17-18). Our Jewish tradition is replete with instances of moral reckoning when we are asked to be present and accounted for. “Ayecha?” we are asked. “Where are you?” We respond with a full throated, “Hineinu.” “We are here.”