Social Action
At Temple Beth Tikvah, we are committed to the Jewish values of
tikkun olam, the Hebrew phrase meaning "repairing the world," and gemilut chassidim, acts of loving kindness.
Please join us in the mitzvah of impacting our local and global environment. Contact either of our Social Action Co-Chairs — Beverly Adler at fiberartist@bendcable.com or Bonnie Ruby at bruby@bendbroadband.com — to find out how you can help with future projects.
Click here to read Rebecca's High Holy Days speech on being Jewish in Bend.
High Holy Days Donations
Please help provide food and shelter for the residents of the Bethlehem Inn by giving Chai (increments of $18) each High Holy Days Season. The homeless situation In Central Oregon is still very serious. During the past few years, many of our members have served meals at the Inn and observed firsthand how much our help is needed.
Envelopes will be available at High Holy Days services, or donations can be mailed directly to the Bethlehem Inn.
Bethlehem Inn Dinners
TBT has been providing and serving dinners once every other month to the residents of the Bethlehem Inn, a nonsectarian homeless shelter and the largest shelter in Deschutes County.
Different groups within the Temple community volunteer to provide these scheduled meals. Watch for details in the TBT newsletter for specific dates to be announced or please contact Beverly Adler at fiberartist@bendcable.com or Bonnie Ruby at bruby@bendbroadband.com
Bend Beautification
TBT participates in Bend's Beautification Project several times a year by helping to improve its appearance through litter pick up, weeding, clean up and planting new vegetation. Our volunteers help to improve esthetics, neighborhood and road appearance.
Havdalah with a Purpose
During the year, TBT members will celebrate Havdalah together and support a designated charity. Join us for these evenings of ceremony, friendship and community support. Please contact Bonnie or Beverly if you know of an organization we might help. Our projects include:
Bringing Home Baby
There are many new parents who have babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at St. Charles Hospital. Many of these families are in need of assistance. A newly established "Bringing Baby Home" program helps needy families who have to travel many miles to support their NICU baby by providing gas cards to the parents.
Baby Shower
In conjunction with Bringing Home Baby, we accept newborn baby items to place in gift bags for the needy parents that include diapers, sleepers, blankets, socks, clothes and other baby essentials.
Equine Outreach
Equine Outreach facilitates the rescue, rehabilitation, adoption and permanent placement of abused and neglected horses in Central Oregon. Sadly, this is a huge problem in Central Oregon and we have contributed funds to assist in the feeding of the animals.
Events
Habitat For Humanity
In July, TBT members recently braved the heat and helped out clearing 11 new building sites for Habitat for Humanity. We had members of all ages out there pulling weeds, hoeing and getting pretty dusty in the process. Within a few hours, we accomplished enough for the sites to be accessible by bulldozers. In October, TBT members helped put up the dry wall in one of the new homes under construction. We plan to have groups go out and help on these sites throughout the building process.
Relay For Life
Temple Beth Tikvah joined the fight against cancer by participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life under Team Heal the World. The Team represents our commitment to the Jewish values of tikkun olam, the Hebrew phrase meaning, "repairing the world," and gemilut chassidim, acts of loving kindness. The Central Oregon event is held annually in June at High Desert Middle School. Thanks to Lauren Olander's extraordinary leadership and great participation by TBT members, the Team was the top fund-raising group, gathering
over $9,600 in donations in 2009 and
more than $15,000 in 2010 for the American Cancer Society!
On Being Jewish In Bend
Why our traditions matter
By Rebecca Gundzik
When I moved to Bend from a large urban community, I didn't really reflect upon what it would mean not to be part of a large Jewish community. I had always lived in a place where everyone was familiar with Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and understood that I would not be at school or at work on those days. And in Spring each year, as I would drive home from work on the first night of Passover, I would see numerous families all arriving at their seders throughout the city.
Here, being a Jew is much more difficult. There is no generalized knowledge of being Jewish or what that entails. My children are pretty much the only ones who take the day off from school for the holidays, and are uncomfortable about doing so. They know few other Jewish children their ages, which means their friends have little or no understanding about their religion.
Given these difficulties, I have lately been questioning the importance of religion in my life. When I told this to my closest friend, who I met at Jewish camp as a kid, she couldn't conceive of my confusion. I explained that attending services has never been extremely important to me, and few of my friends are Jewish.
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"I am not Jewish because I like Jewish food or Jewish music . . . It's because I was taught . . . that the purpose of Judaism is to make the world a better place." |
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Despite these thoughts, during the week following that conversation, I realized that I am not Jewish because I like Jewish food or Jewish music or feel more comfortable in Jewish settings. It's because I was taught, by some amazing Jewish scholars, that the purpose of Judaism is to make the world a better place. They also taught me that the reason we observe Jewish traditions and rituals is not simply because they are part of our tradition. They have meaning because they are meant to remind us to do our part to improve the world.
One rabbi I am particularly fond of likened it to being on a diet: without the fear of having to go for a weigh in every week, the average person's will power to diet only lasts a few days. Similarly, after we hear a really good sermon, or see a particularly moving documentary about a recent human rights abuse, we are moved to do something to help others.
But it's hard to sustain that motivation without a reminder. So for me, when I light the candles on Shabbat, or attend a Seder or a community service, I am given that reminder.
The High Holidays are a particularly good example of Judaism's ability to remind us to be good people.
The time between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is meant to be a period of reflection. During this time, we are supposed to reflect on our behavior, apologize to those we have wronged, and think about how we can behave better during the coming year. At one synagogue I attended, the Rabbi even had the congregation write down their sins and read them out loud at the service (albeit anonymously).
Now, I'm not going to ask you to do that, but I'm going to ask that during the next couple of minutes, we each silently reflect upon our behavior this part year, and think about how we can improve ourselves during the year ahead.
Thank you. Shana Tova, and have an easy fast.
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