Download JCUA’s Freedom and Justice Haggadah

The JCUA Passover Haggadah celebrates freedom and justice.

JCUA celebrates Passover with the popular Freedom and Justice Seder. We remember and celebrate the important work of social justice and that work that remains to done.

As the Haggadah says, “from generation to generation, each of us is obligated to see ourselves as though we personally had just been freed from slavery.”

► DOWNLOAD THE HAGGADAH HERE

We must remember the past to understand today and to protect our tomorrows. Therefore, in each generation and each year, we retell the story of the exodus to our children and to our grandchildren, in order that they, too, will understand the pain of slavery and the value of freedom.

Sukkat Shalom: Between Slavery and Liberation

By Miriam Grossman and Jill Zenoff

Take part in JCUA’s Sukkot Action for Justice, during Sukkot, on Oct. 11. At the Mortgage Bankers Association meeting, we’ll be calling attention to how the foreclosure crisis is affecting Chicago families. Learn more and register for the event.

At the beginning of their journey from slavery to liberation, the Israelites found themselves displaced from their homes with little to no forewarning. Scrounging what supplies that could be found and only enough food and water to last a few days, they constructed sukkot, temporary shelters made from sticks and twigs, in which they would dwell.

Unable to see beyond their past circumstance towards the promised land, when their food and water supplies ran out, many were ready to return to Egypt. The inhumanity and brutality of slavery seemed a fair exchange for what passed as food and housing security.

It wasn’t until the Israelites became a food-secure people with the miraculous appearance of mana at morning’s dew and water from Miriam’s well, were they ready to continue on their 40-year journey towards freedom.

Sukkot Action for Housing Justice: Oct. 11

This graphic banner will be used in the portable Sukkah at the housing action day.

With American bankers meeting just feet away next week, Chicagoans will share stories about how the economic crisis has affected them.

It all happens on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at a special interfaith Sukkot action and press conference inside a makeshift Sukkah in front of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago.

Representing shelter in a time of wandering and crisis, or the halfway point between slavery and liberation, this may be the first time a portable Sukkah has been used in a protest action.

Sukkot: An Opportunity for Change

By Rebecca Katz
Or Tzedek Teen Programs Coordinator

Take part in JCUA’s Sukkot Action for Justice, during Sukkot, on Oct. 11. At the Mortgage Bankers Association meeting, we’ll be calling attention to how the foreclosure crisis is affecting Chicago families. Learn more and register for the event.

Download the Family Guide for Sukkot. This booklet, designed to be read in your Sukkah, features true stories of challenges faced by recent immigrants to the U.S.

Teshuva, the process of repentance, occurs on multiple levels: between individuals, the community and the Divine.

During the 10 days of atonement beginning on Rosh Hashanah, we undertake the very human process of repairing fractured relationships. We look at our mistakes, the very acts that demonstrate our humanity, and strive for personal growth. Then, on Yom Kippur, we remove ourselves from the practical demands of every day life — eating, bathing, working — and renew our connection to justice and to a force greater than ourselves.

We come together as a congregation, a kehilla, and ask forgiveness for the sins we have, and the the sins we have not, committed. This act of communal atonement demonstrates our renewed promise to be a more responsible member of our community. “We are truly sorry and we will prove it to you.”

But once God closes the Book of Life and we’ve done our best to assure our future for one more year, who holds us accountable to our grand promises to be a better person?

Sukkot is our first opportunity to follow through on the changes we’ve reflected on during Yom Kippur. Instead of seeking out people in our lives we have wronged, we invite friends and family, neighbors and strangers, to be a part of our homes and share in our food. The past is not forgotten, but has become a foundation on which to build new relationships. During Sukkot, we demonstrate to God and to our community that we have not issued an empty apology and traded action for apathy.

As you seek ways to achieve your New Year’s resolutions, please join us during Sukkot and throughout the upcoming year as we strive to live up to our commitments – commitments to a powerful Jewish voice for justice, to upholding the dignity of the oppressed, and to establishing meaningful partnerships with Chicago’s diverse communities.

Taking Passover from Remembrance to Action

Right about now you may be preparing for next week’s Passover Seder. Each year we gather with family and friends to share the story of a people with newly found freedom who vowed to teach their children (and their children’s children) the lessons of oppression.

The Israelites were freed from Egypt, but oppression still exists: hundreds of people lose their homes every day, workers are unable to earn a living wage, parents are separated from their children…

Every year, JCUA’s Or Tzedek program teaches Jewish teens these important lessons of oppression. Through a summer intensive program and year-round institute, Or Tzedek gives teens the chance to learn about issues of poverty and inequity by combining unique hands-on service opportunities with reflection on Jewish texts and history.

This year, why not fulfill the promise of Passover by helping teach our children how to create a world free from oppression. Please give today to support this life-changing program. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar.

The Passover story doesn’t change, but each year, the world around us does. Please give to Or Tzedek, a program that moves the Passover story from remembrance to action.

Thanks for your support.

Wishing you, your family and friends a happy Passover,

Making Passover Meaningful

“I feel that freedom is Judaism, that Passover is not 3,000 years old- that it is today, and that we are part of it.”
-Rabbi Robert J. Marx, Founder of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs

Every year, JCUA updates its Haggadah with current social justice issues for our Freedom and Justice Seder. The Haggadah provides materials to enhance Seder discussions and helps Seder participants reflect on what it means when it is written in the Torah:

“You shall not oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9).

[Download your free copy of the Haggadah]

Wishing you a happy and meaningful Passover!

Freedom and Justice Seder 2011: Exploring Themes of Displacement

The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation invite you, your family and friends to join us in song and celebration at our annual Freedom and Justice Seder.

Our Seder includes Jewish choral music and readings from many ethnic traditions. This year’s theme focuses on displacement in relation to Chicago history, incarceration, immigration and housing.

Tickets sell quickly so RSVP today! We are looking for event sponsors. Purchase extra tickets for our friends who may not be able to afford the cost for the event.

Hanukkah at the White House

Faith and perseverance were the words that echoed through the halls of the White House last night (Dec. 2, 2010) as the President, Vice President and First Lady celebrated the second night of Hanukkah with about 500 guests from across the country, including several Chicagoans– JCUA’s Jane Ramsey and Rabbi Capers and Rabbinit Miriam Funnye of Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken.

From left to right: Lewis Rice, Jane Ramsey, Rabbinit Miriam Funnye, Rabbi Capers Funnye

“The tiny candles of Hanukkah have reminded us of the importance of faith and perseverance,” said President Obama addressing guests at the celebration. [Read the President's full remarks at the event]

One symbol of faith and perseverance was the menorah used for the celebration, which was loaned to the White House by Congregation Beth Israel in New Orleans. It was found caked in dirt and mold during the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina, in which the synagogue was covered in eight feet of water.

“[The menorah] stands as a reminder of the tragedy and a source of inspiration for the future,” said President Obama.

Another symbol of faith and perseverance was Susan Retik and her family, who endured the loss of Susan’s husband David in 9/11. After being acknowledged by the President, the Retik Family performed the ritual of lighting the candles and ended with a sax solo of “Rock of Ages.”

Happy Hanukkah from the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and may this holiday season bring you joy and blessings.

Jane Ramsey and Vice President Joe Biden

More coverage of Hanukkah at the White House:

Sun-Times– Obama White House Hanukkah Party: Kosher sushi, latkes, “Rock of Ages” sax solo

Politico– White House hosts Hanukkah party

The Jewish Week– Chanukah at the White House- with 1/3 of the Supreme Court

Interfaith Tashlich Ceremony Strengthens Committment of Jewish and Immigrant Teens to Social Justice Issues

Or Tzedek Interfaith Tashlich 2010

By Leah Roth-Howe
Former Coordinator of Teen Programs, JCUA

We cannot cast away anything unless we identify it, unless we struggle with it. Consider this a powerful metaphor that calls us to constant self-evaluation and collective action.

As sunshine poured down last Sunday, Sept. 19, we came together at Hyde Park’s beautiful Promontory Point to celebrate Or Tzedek’s first interfaith Tashlich ceremony with members of the Immigrant Youth Justice League.

Teens from Or Tzedek and the Immigrant Youth Justice League plan joint social justice project

Surrounded by crashing waves and autumn leaves, we reflected on the past year, sang songs, casted away parts of ourselves that no longer serve us or bring out the best in our community, and engaged in our interfaith educational art project on immigration.

Just as trees shed their leaves as the seasons change, we took this opportunity to shed negative emotions, prejudices, stereotypes and jealousies that no longer serve us.

Recognizing the importance of  “letting go” of the unneeded parts of ourselves and the patterns that no longer help us live sustainable and meaningful lives in connection to others, we recognized how we are connected to each other through our intentions, emotions, and actions.

For many Jews, Tashlich is an opportunity to step back from our busy lives and consider what kind of person and community member we want to be in the coming year.

Teens find deeper connection to social justice during Tashlich ceremony

After quiet moments of reflection, we threw stones into Lake Michigan to symbolize all we wanted to “cast off” in order to recommit ourselves to our priorities for the coming year.

JCUA Sukkot Guide Highlights Stories of Immigration

This week, with heated debate surrounding the Dream Act, immigration reform is center stage in the public forum as the eight days of Sukkot are about to begin.

These topics — immigration and Sukkot — are not as dissimilar as you may think. If you are looking to educate yourself about immigration reform or you are feeling motivated to explore the upcoming holiday of Sukkot, consider downloading the We Were Strangers Too Sukkot Guide, created by JCUA’s Irene Lehrer Sandalow.

Sukkot is known as the Jewish harvest holiday, a time to connect to the natural world by building and living in temporary outdoor huts. The holiday commemorates the long years of Jews wandering in the desert after leaving Egypt and is deeply connected to issues of migration. After the solitary introspection of the Days of Awe, Sukkot is a time to reemerge into the physical world by literally grounding ourselves in nature and community. The center piece of Sukkot is the mitzvah of hakhnasat orekhim – hospitality to guests, including travelers and strangers.

The We Were Stangers Too Sukkot Guide contains readings for each night of Sukkot with true immigration stories and Jewish commentary, exploring the harsh realities of America’s broken immigration system and the Jewish impetus to act.