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Social Action Committee
Social Action Committee
"If justice and righteousness define what it means to be a Jew, then we must constantly search for ways to implement our values. If it’s the foundation of our covenant, we cannot say, 'I tried, I did my share.' Rather, every day we have to wake up and ask, 'Is there something that I can do? Is there something that I didn’t do? Is there something that I could try again?'”
--Rabbi Steven Rein, Kol Nidre Sermon, 2017
Special Focus 5782:
Local Community Activism
If not now, when? How do you give back to your community?
This year, the Social Action Committee will highlight the importance of volunteering and engaging deeply in our local community. On Social Action Shabbat, we want to hear from all Agudas members this year about how and where they volunteer! By learning each others' stories, and the history of our own city, we can see the good our action does to repair at least one small corner of the world.
Events
• Fall: Voter Registration and Get Out the Vote for Virginia elections
• Kol Nidre: Operation Isaiah food collection
• October 10: Allyship and Sisterhood with the AAPI Community
• October 24: Ugandan Jewish Music with Rabbi Gershom Sizomu (Postponed from 5781)
• November 14: PowerPack food collection and Apple Gleaning
• November 21: Racial Wealth Gap Simulation for Teens
• December 10-11: Social Action Shabbat on Volunteering
• January 17, 2022: MLK Day of Service Meal Packing
• March 30, 2022: Charles King on Gods of the Upper Air
• April 3, 2022: Good Deeds Day
• May 22, 2022: Spring PowerPack collection
Get involved: Contact Committee Chair Ben Kraut. Our monthly committee meeting happens every second Thursday of the month and we hold our Social Action Book and Movie Club monthly as well.
Mission
Social Action Committee Activities
Tue, May 24 2022
23 Iyyar 5782
Social Action Book & Movie Club
Monday, June 20 | 8 PM
This month, the group will discuss Three Plays, by August Wilson. It consists of three plays written by the playwright, August Wilson.
Please Join the Zoom.
All are welcome to a monthly Social Action Committee initiative wherein participants will read books and watch films of current interest related to social action, racial justice and other relevant issues consistent with the mission of the Social Action Committee. For information please contact Deborah Rosen.
Books we've read:
Maid, Stephanie Land
Tangled Up in Blue, Rosa Brooks
Passing, by Nella Larsen
Franchise, by Marcia Chatelain
Uncensored: My Life and Uncomfortable Conversations at the Intersection of Black and White America, by Zachary R. Wood
Minor Feelings, by Cathy Park Hong
The Sum of Us, by Heather McGhee
The Color of Love, by Marra Gad
Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi
Family Properties, by Beryl Satter
The Velvet Rope Economy, by Nelson D. Schwartz
Sitting Pretty, by Rebekah Taussing
If Beale Street Could Talk, by James Baldwin
Podcast
We Share the Same Sky, by Rachael Cerrotti
Movies
Crip Camp
Shared Legacies: The African American-Jewish Civil Rights Alliance, directed by Shari Rogers
Social Action Ongoing Activities
For a list of ongoing projects and partners, click here.