A few months ago, one of my roommates and I began learning Sefer Brieshit (Genesis) together. Every week, we read a portion of the text in English and discuss our thoughts on the topics and stories at hand. Our chevruta allows me the opportunity to be in a consistent conversation with the Torah and continue [...]
Read full post...Last week the Forward ran an editorial on Jewish service entitled “Not Only for Ourselves“. The editorial discusses the need for high quality service programs that meet the needs of the people receiving the service, while educating volunteers on the root causes of domestic and global issues. It also raises some questions around how service [...]
Read full post...(This fabulous post is by Corps Member Tina Wexler)
A large component of activism and social engagement is engaged listening, and conversation, with those we agree AND disagree with.
I know it sounds obvious, but in my time down here and at my work at Resurrection After Exoneration, I’ve come to realize that this seemingly obvious ideal [...]
Over the past few weeks I’ve felt excited, nervous, joyous, scared, passionate, confused, ambitious, courageous… sometimes all in the same day and sometimes all in the same hour! It’s such an incredible city with so much to explore and so much that prompts self-exploration. I am tested daily on how I react to different situations, [...]
Read full post...For the last four years, most of my food advocacy has been on a college campus. I worked in my community. I had a stake in the aesthetics, the educational priorities, the social and environmental footprint, and, of course, the food itself. No one questioned if I had a right to be there, voicing [...]
Read full post...I am excited to report that on a recent Friday evening, we held the first meeting of the NOLA minyan, an egalitarian, independent Kabbalat Shabbat service and potluck dinner that will be happening on a monthly basis. This event was the brainchild of a young group of us “imported do-gooders” (AVODAH and beyond) who have [...]
Read full post...We’d walked maybe a couple of miles under the ever-thickening gray clouds, bouncing slightly to the barely audible rhythm of the brass band that drifted from somewhere out in front of us and trying desperately to stay ahead of the mounted police or, better said, their horses—the horses that, unsympathetic to the slow pace [...]
Read full post...On our final retreat, the 2008-2009 AVODAH New Orleans Corps Members spent the weekend in Poplarville, MS. During the retreat, Corps Member David Eber dressed up as Moses and asked us to write out own 10 commandments for sustaining a life-long commitment to social justice. We created a video called The 10 Commandments of AVODAH [...]
Read full post...John “JT” Thompson, founder and director of Resurrection After Exoneration (RAE), was interviewed recently by CNN’s Becky Anderson for the network’s Connector of the Day segment. JT spent 18 years in prison, 14 of those on death row at Angola Prison, for a murder he didn’t commit. Watch the clip below to learn more about [...]
Read full post...One week after moving to New Orleans and beginning Avodah, I got a call from my family letting me know that my grandfather passed away. That day, some of my housemates put together a lunch bag full of food for me to take on my flight back to Michigan with me. They signed the bag, [...]
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This blog gives our Corps members space to write about their experiences in the year-long service program as they question, explore, and grow into lifelong agents for social change whose commitment to social justice is guided by their Jewish values.
Posts on this blog do not necessarily represent the views of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps.
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