November is here & B'tzelem is back!

11.06.24 | Stories

As we return to publishing this monthly newsletter after a summer-long hiatus, we're thrilled to bring your attention to our upcoming Thanksgiving Meal Box initiative.

Sunday, November 12 @ 11am, Temple Judea congregants and Religious School students will gather to assemble all the components of a traditional Thanksgiving meal into boxes for donation to the Family Rescue Center in Canoga Park. Students will decorate the boxes and include written notes.

All TJ families can participate by helping to fill the boxes, but before assembly can begin, we need your support to be able to purchase the items that will be included. Please consider making a donation to sponsor a Thanksgiving Box. While a donation of $54 will provide a full meal for a family of four, every donation will help and you can sponsor part of a box by donating increments of chai ($18). The Thanksgiving Meal Box program is a great opportunity to exercise our values of gratitude, tzedakah, and tikkun olam. As we give thanks for all we have, we can take the opportunity to share our abundance and make it possible for more families to experience a sense of gratitude. Please consider donating now to this important cause.

Learn More & Donate

And while we're thinking about giving back to those in need, please note the social action committee will be holding a coat & clothing drive to collect gently worn coats, clothing, and shoes for adults and children through Hope the Mission. So as you prep your closets for winter, please think about filling up a bag with clothing your family has outgrown, and set it aside to drop off at Temple Judea between December 1 - 8.

SUMMER RECAP

Even though the B'tzelem newsletter was on break over the summer, our Social Action groups continued their hard work on behalf of the community!Even though the B'tzelem newsletter was on break over the summer, our Social Action groups continued their hard work on behalf of the community!

Thank you volunteers for donating 9,324 lunches! To celebrate, TJ appreciated our volunteers in the Sukkah this past Monday. But there's still work to do to reach our 15,500 goal! Whether you donate 1 or 100, working alone or hosting a lunch-making party with friends, each meal means one less hungry neighbor! We hope you'll contribute! Learn More

Over 1000 backpacks packed in August! The backpacks were then distributed to seven centers through School on Wheels and provided to unhoused students. This was made possible with over $8,000 in donations and the help of all our volunteers! It was an amazing day and an amazing program. Thanks for all your support!

ECC Bake Sale! On September 27, our ECC held their annual Bake Sale for Beit Issie Shapiro, our sister school in Israel for children with severe disabilities. We're thrilled to announce that our talented bakers and hungry supporters raised just over $1,100! What a great way to teach our children about supporting Israel, kindness, and empathy!

It was a summer of success for RAC-CA! Temple Judea volunteers helped mail 28,595 postcards encouraging voter participation in North Carolina. RAC-CA also led a nonpartisan campaign in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida to protect reproductive freedom and, earlier this year, helped secure passage of AB1866 & AB2716, two bills that protect us from oil well polluters and safeguard our communities.

OUR CARING COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU

Temple Judea's Caring Community is all about Tikkun Olam in our own backyard: providing congregant-to-congregant connection and support during the highs and lows of life's journey. Whether it's a family suffering illness or bereavement, or celebrating a new baby, the Caring Community is there. To receive support during your life event, please contact Temple Judea's clergy staff. Many may not realize that the Caring Community also gives an annual Judy Scharf Memorial Scholarship to Temple Judea High School seniors who will be pursuing a future of giving back.

But we can’t continue to do this important work without help. New volunteers and donations to the scholarship fund are very much needed. No matter how or how often you participate, there is no doubt you'll find the experience rewarding and your efforts impactful. To volunteer, email . To make a donation, click here and, in the "Type" dropdown, select either the "Judy Scharf Memorial Scholarship" or the "Ellen M. Rose Caring Community Fund”.

"Right-Cycle" with Green Team

Got trash? Be on the lookout – Temple Judea has purchased six three-stream waste stations: Green (organic waste), blue (recycling), and black (landfill) bins. These bins will help us "right-cycle" and...Got trash? Be on the lookout – Temple Judea has purchased six three-stream waste stations: Green (organic waste), blue (recycling), and black (landfill) bins. These bins will help us "right-cycle" and...

increase recycling
minimize the amount of trash that goes to landfill
comply with mandatory composting laws

These actions will also reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, combat climate change, and may even save us money! They also reaffirm our Jewish principles to be good stewards of the planet and take care of it for future generations! Expect to see the trash stations on campus in November and stay tuned for “Trash Talk” educational sessions. For information about what you can recycle or compost in the meanwhile, click here. And, if you're interested in helping Temple Judea be green, join the Green Team! Contact .

Pathways to Citizenship

TJ's Pathways to Citizenship program is thrilled to announce that we’ve helped nearly 1,500 people achieve their citizenship since our inception in 2017! We’re also excited to have a dedicated group of teenage and young adult volunteers, led by Lilly Tochner, actively promoting our program in local churches. Their next major outreach event is on Saturday, November 16, at Our Lady of Grace Church, where they will continue to raise awareness about our citizenship program. With their efforts, we hope to reach even more people this year and help them on their journey to citizenship! Interested in learning more about the program, please email Judy Rutt at .

Build Community @ TJ

One of the initiatives of Temple Judea's Membership Committee is to help create a warm, welcoming environment for new members! That work is powered by volunteers like you who help deliver gifts of Challah and Shabbat candles to help newcomers feel at home. With many new members joining recently, we need extra hands to ensure everyone feels supported. If you’re passionate about building community at Temple Judea, or you appreciated the challah you received as a new member, we’d love for you to volunteer with us! Reach out to Janette Fishman at to lend a hand!

7th Grade Tzedek Track

As part of their learning about the hunger epidemic, 7th graders were split into groups and given the budget of a family on the SNAP Program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps), sent to local grocery stores, and told to shop for balanced meals for several days of food. This assignment challenged students and helped them understand some of the struggles millions of Americans living with food insecurity face. All the groceries they purchased were donated to SOVA food bank to help feed the hungry. When asked afterward what was challenging about this exercise, many students responded similarly to Talia who said, "...finding nutritious food for a cheap price." To the question, what is one thing you are taking away from this experience? Students answered:

"Food is expensive and making good, healthy meals for a family is very hard." -Riley
"It is troublesome living on SNAP." -Blake
"I am very lucky to be able to shop without checking the prices on everything. I also learned that food can be very expensive." -Peyton
"Not everyone gets whatever they want to eat." -Mason
"To be grateful about what I have." -Ofilia

UPCOMING EVENTS

Social Action: Plan to give back this Thanksgiving.

Wednesday, Nov. 6 @ 7pm. B'tzelem needs your help to make this year's Thanksgiving meal boxes program the best ever! Help plan this event, where TJ members assemble Thanksgiving meals for needy families to receive. Learn More or Donate Now

Donate sack lunches to support hungry neighbors.

Mondays, Nov. 4 & Nov. 18 @ 10am. Help reach our goal of delivering 15,500 lunches this year to Hope the Mission! Pack sack lunches at home (every first and third Monday of each month) and bring them to Temple Judea. Learn More

ISN: Hope & Gratitude gathering for the common good. Saturday, Nov. 10 @ 1pm, St. Paul Methodist Church. The Interfaith Solidarity Network invites you for an interfaith gathering where YOU are the keynote speaker! Share a complimentary lunch and lively discussion, as musicians share their gifts with us. Learn More & Register.

Give back this Thanksgiving.

TJ's Social Action Committee is seeking donations to sponsor Thanksgiving meal boxes - including a turkey - for needy local families, distributed through a food bank. Sponsor now, and then come pack on November 17 @ 11am. Learn More or Donate Now

B'tzelem: Coat & clothing drive for Hope the Mission.

Ongoing: Dec. 1-8 in the TJ Lobby. Drive-thru: Sunday, Dec. 8 @ 8:30am - 12:30pm. TJ's B'tzelem Social Action initiative will be collecting gently worn clothing and shoes for adults and children. Learn More

Ongoing Initiatives

All of the work we do aligns with initiatives and policies supported by the Union of Reform Judaism both nationally and in California. Every day, we are inspired by the thousands of volunteers in all of these different areas who work tirelessly to make a difference. YOU could be one! Learn more and get involved!
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