2007 - United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

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CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM
100-250 Pompton Lakes, NJ
Submitted by Bea Katz 973-835-3500
Community Outreach - Interfaith Seder
The most successful aspect of this project so far has been the Interfaith Seder, hosted at Beth Shalom for the second
consecutive year. The Interfaith Seder attracted, in its first year, 100 participants and, in its second year, 120
participants. Approximately 1/3 of the participants were from our congregation. The balance was from the general
community. The program was jointly sponsored by Christ Episcopal Church of Pompton Lakes and the Islamic Center
of Passaic County. More information on the Interfaith Seder can be obtained by reviewing the documentation enclosed.
The response to our Interfaith Seder, from within our congregation and the other participating faith
communities, has been quite positive. A group of seventeen lay people and clergy from the three groups have banded
together to create an interfaith think tank. We are looking to perpetuate not only the Interfaith Seder; we are looking to
find other areas where our communities can work together.
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BETH JACOB CONGREGATION
250-500 Mendota Heights, MN
Submitted by Suzanne Bring 651-452-2226
Background
In early 2006, Rabbi Morris Allen (Beth Jacob Congregation, Mendota Heights, Minn.) joined another rabbi from a
local Orthodox synagogue on several visits to AgriProcessors, Inc. in Postville, Iowa.
Their mission? To ensure that the Twin Cities consumer of non-glatt meat would have access to fresh kosher
meat at reasonable prices. This would be a remarkable social action program by itself— but it grew into something
much larger.
In May 2006, The Forward printed a story alleging mistreatment of meatpackers at the same AgriProcessors
plant. Rabbi Allen, other Beth Jacob congregants, and many others in the local Jewish community and in communities
throughout the country, were deeply concerned by The Forward story, which, among other things, said that the almost
entirely Latino immigrant staff at AgriProcessors were subject to short pay, verbal abuse, and needlessly dangerous
working conditions. This was the beginning of a new social justice program, one concerned with the social conditions
under which kosher meat was produced.
During the summer of 2006, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly
convened a joint commission of inquiry, and appointed Rabbi Allen its chair. This commission, assisted by local group
Jewish Community Action and the Jewish Labor Committee, visited AgriProcessors twice during the summer and fall
of 2006. Members of the commission held extensive meetings with AgriProcessors’ owners; they also met with many
others in the Postville community, including clergy, plant employees, small business owners, and Iowa’s Commissioner
of Labor.
In December 2006, Hechscher Tzedek was launched. This is a new effort to encourage kosher food companies
to ensure worker dignity and justice, in keeping with Jewish ethical law. At the leading edge of this emerging effort is
Rabbi Allen and Beth Jacob’s Social Justice Committee.
Beth Jacob’s Social Justice Committee
Beth Jacob Congregation’s Social Justice Committee is a relatively new entity--about seven years old. Beth Jacob has
several other ongoing initiatives that engage congregants in gemilut chassadim, for instance, a committee that brings
meals to the sick, one that volunteers at a day center for homeless people, and one that runs an annual blood drive.
But Beth Jacob’s Social Justice Committee coalesced around a specific issue area -- immigrant rights -- and
has remained involved in that issue since its inception. The committee’s goal has been to involve the congregation as an
entity in social change that is local, addresses root causes, is long-term, and sustainable.