Uri L'Tzedek: Orthodox Social Justice

In a world where there is so much darkness, it would be easier to shut our eyes and pretend that destruction is not occurring all around us. It would be easier, but is it ethical? Do we have a religious obligation to witness tragedy, and if so, what is our obligation once we see and know?

Join a text study with  Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe, the Associate Rabba of The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale discussing public shaming.  STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newsletter: utzedek.org/subscribe Facebook: facebook.com/uriltzedek YouTube:    / @uriltzedek1140    Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uri-ltzedek/id1603706369  Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4sqRoloAYDiI84oFlBd7q4?si=...

Join a panel of  Criminal Justice Reform activists and clergy members as they discuss current efforts to combat injustice within mass incarceration.   Featured Speakers: Victor Pate - Co-Director of the HALTsolitary Confinement coalition  Darren Mack - Co-Director at Freedom Agenda Rabbi Gabe Kretzmer-Seed - Chaplain  Moderator - Emma Goldblatt, Program Manager with Uri L’Tzedek.  STAY CONNECTED:...

Join the Executive Director of A More Perfect Union Aaron Dorfman for a class addressing the dire need for the Jewish community to organize and protect our democracy. Learn why Jewish communities across the country are coming together to protect our vote!   -  Action plans from our friends at A More Perfect Union -  First, you can encourage Jewish institutions with which you’re affiliated – synago...

Join a panel of Immigrant rights leaders as we discuss our current immigration system, and our obligation to support the stranger.  Featured Speakers: Rebecca Kirzner, Senior Director of Grassroots Advocacy & Organizing at HIAS Charlie Davidson, Co-Chair at Synagogue Coalition on the Immigration Crisis Eddie Chavez Calderon, Campaign Director of Uri L’Tzedek   Moderator - Eli Weinbach, Rabbini...

Join a conversation with the founder and Executive Director of Yahel – an Israeli nonprofit that brings young people from around the world to Israel for service and social action programs. Hear about what opportunities exist right now to volunteer in Israel, what the needs are and what are some ways to show up for Israel in a thoughtful way. STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newsletter: utzede...

The modern socially responsible investing movement claims we have a responsibility to "do well while doing good": to have a positive impact on the world while earning a financial return. The rabbis of the Talmud in fact debated that same claim. They developed surprising insights that can help us shape our contemporary investment decisions. Join Rabbi Jacob Siegel, author of the newly released book...

The Imperative and Complexity of Ransoming Captives with Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy What wisdom can Jewish tradition bring to bear on the current hostage crisis? Join Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy, Rosh Beit Midrash of Pardes. STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newsletter: utzedek.org/subscribe Facebook: facebook.com/uriltzedek YouTube:    / @uriltzedek1140    Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple....

A worker can withdraw at any point: Laws protecting labor freedom Join a presentation from Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Finkelman exploring halachic laws around labor and freedom. Learn how to pull from Torah sources to better advocate for worker rights.   STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newsletter: utzedek.org/subscribe Facebook: facebook.com/uriltzedek YouTube:    / @uriltzedek1140    Apple Podcasts:...

Collective allyship during hard times with the President of LGBTQ+ organization ONE Community Angela Hughey Join Uri L’Tzedek’s Campaign Director Eddie Chavez Calderon and the President of LGBTQ+ organization ONE Community Angela Hughey for an in-depth conversation around partnership and allyship grounded in love and support of each other. STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newsletter: utzedek....

Pregnancy termination has been a hot-button issue in American political life for many decades. It is also an experience that impacts many members of our community in a variety of often quite personal ways. As both political and personal decision-makers, Americans have been given two stark and opposing frameworks for thinking about the ethics of abortion, "Pro-Choice" and "Pro-Life", each with thei...

Join Uri L’Tzedek’s Campaign Director Eddie Chavez Calderon and David Kaufman a New York-based writer, an Adjunct Fellow, at Tel Aviv Institute, and an editor at the New York Post as they discuss current issues within the progressive community with rising antisemitism and the pressures emerging from within the Israel-Gaza war as Black and Brown Jews. STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newslette...

The Measure of Sedom": Capitalism, Socialism, and Barbarism with Rabbi Will Friedman Should private property exist? This fundamental question of social ethics and organization is taken up by a well-known rabbinic text, which classifies those who answer "yes" either as normal or as Sodomites and those who answer "no" as ignoramuses. We will do a deep dive into the Biblical origins of this text and...

Join a presentation as we learn how farm workers have been excluded from federal labor protections such as overtime pay, the right to unionize, etc. The culture of exploitation in the Agricultural Industry continues today. Recent labor trafficking cases and attempts to lower the wages of H-2A agricultural guest workers demonstrate the need for change. STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newslett...

The temptation to zealotry has long been a part of religious life for better and for worse. This class will draw upon rabbinic texts, modern Jewish thought, and psychoanalysis to help us better understand zealotry's profound dangers and why it remains a necessary part of religious life. STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newsletter: utzedek.org/subscribe Facebook: facebook.com/uriltzedek YouTub...

Join Rabbi Menashe for a Zoom class on Loneliness and Ethical Conduct with Torah sources.  Rabbi Menashe East is the senior rabbi at the Mt Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph NJ. He is also an LCSW with a concentration in sex therapy. Currently, Rabbi Menashe is on staff as an adjunct professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Menashe is married to Donna Amdur and they share five children. ...

Many Americans lack access to affordable drinking water. Before the pandemic, Detroit residents unable to afford the exorbitant rates--in some cases 10% of their income--even had their water shut off. Legislation is being advanced in Michigan state legislature to ban future shutoffs and to ensure that Michigan residents don't have to pay more than 3% of their income on their water bills. This shiu...

Join Uri L'Tzedek's Campaign Director Eddie Chavez Calderon for a detailed class on immigrant justice. Utilizing Torah sources we can discuss how we can move away from tolerance of strangers to a more loving humanitarian approach to supporting migrants.   STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newsletter: utzedek.org/subscribe Facebook: facebook.com/uriltzedek YouTube:     / @uriltzedek1140    Appl...

Australia is currently in the middle of a referendum vote to amend our constitution to recognize Aboriginal Australians as the First Nations people of our country.   STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org  Newsletter: utzedek.org/subscribe Facebook: facebook.com/uriltzedek YouTube:     / @uriltzedek1140    Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uri-ltzedek/id1603706369  Spotify: open.spotify....

Join a detailed discussion with the founder of Mosaic Visions Dee Sanae on the complexities of social justice work rooted in Jewish ethics. STAY CONNECTED: Website: utzedek.org   Newsletter: utzedek.org/subscribe Facebook: facebook.com/uriltzedek YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC_htFNr9duz-KJiXdtW8pIw   Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uri-ltzedek/id1603706369  Spotify: open.spotify.com...

Join a detailed discussion on the adaption, customs, and lives of diaspora Jews from across Latin America. Learn about migrational justice that has a unique calling to Jews all over the globe. Dr. Analucía Lopezrevoredo (she/her/ella) is a Peruvian-Chilean-American sociologist, born in Peru and raised in Spain and the United States.  A scholar of Jewish and Latin American migration, Analucía found...

Join a night of celebration and learning as we give Tali Fitoussi's award in Paris and celebrate this year's Torat Chayim award recipients.   STAY CONNECTED: Website: www.utzedek.org  Newsletter: www.utzedek.org/subscribe  Facebook: www.facebook.com/uriltzedek  Apple Podcasts: www.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uri-ltzedek/id1603706369   Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4sqRoloAYDiI84oFlBd7q4?si=f414...

Rabbi Jason Weiner at Uri L’Tzedek on “Exploring Halacha on Living Kidney Donation” This is a detailed discussion of the personal, Halakhic and Torah issues to consider related to contemporary living organ donation. A Text study as well as personal anecdotes. Watch the video recording of this class on Uri L’Tzedek’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/channel/UC_htFNr9duz-KJiXdtW8pIw   - - - - - - - - -...

Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein at Uri L’Tzedek on "Jews and Humanity: Evolution of a Conversation" F or this session where we will explore diverse views of Gentiles in key Jewish texts, from our earlier biblical texts, and down through the many generations of rabbinic teachings. Some of the texts we will read together emphasize Jewish chosenness or even superiority, while others emphasize the co...