Pardes In the Press
My "Seminar on Wheels"
By Marissa Feinman, Jewish Community News
Tikkun Olam. It would be impossible to attend Jewish summer camp and not hear this concept mentioned. But what does it really mean? This was the first question discussed in the Social Justice Track, Pardes’s newest curriculum expansion.
The Social Justice Track is a combination of volunteering, lectures, class and field trips. Our teacher conducted research and gathered texts on Social Justice issues ranging from poverty to women’s rights. She organized guest lecturers and field trips from a bilingual school for Jewish and Arab children to a free loan association to Tel Aviv’s trash dump. The intersection of modern Israeli issues and classic texts have been inspiring as well as engaging.
Recently, our class discussed the most meaningful texts we’ve encountered this semester. The overwhelming consensus was a verse from Deutronomy Chapter 15 that states, "...do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman. Rather, you must open your hand and lend him sufficient for whatever he needs." But how can we clarify the last part of the verse "whatever he needs"? Drawing our support from Jewish sources both ancient and modern, in addition to our values and personal experiences, our class came to the conclusion that it’s impossible to decide for another what his needs are. Accordingly, when a beggar asks for money on the streets of Jerusalem, and you better believe one will, it’s only our place to soften our hearts and reach into our pocket to offer up what we can.
As we read more and more about the responsibility for our fellow Jews, some of us began to squirm in our seats. How do we relate to the need in our communities and who is a part of our communities in an age when we know the terrible need in other parts of the world? A former executive director of Pardes, Rabbi Levi Lauer, challenged our discomfort. "Who would say that helping a child 12 hours from starving isn’t a Jewish act? Just get out in the street and do something!"
For my volunteer project, I have been spending my Tuesday afternoons transcribing videos for the Halachic Organ Donation Society. The founder created the organization after realizing that many members of the Orthodox community refuse to donate their organs because they think it is forbidden by Halacha (Jewish Law) when in fact it is not. Organ donation has never been a difficult issue for me and it has been wonderful enabling others to make a more informed decision for themselves.
Now that the semester is coming to a close, I can look back in awe at how much we have covered. I always thought the values I grew up with were rooted in Judaism, but after this semester I have a much clearer picture of where the foundation for these values is located in our great tradition.
Marissa Feinman is studying at the Pardes Institute in Israel. She received a scholarship from your Jewish Federation for this program. She will be one of two guest Israel correspondents, reporting from Israel, both her experiences and what she sees going on there, until her return in Summer 2009.
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