2007 - United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

HONORABLE MENTION
TEMPLE BETH AHM
250-500 Aberdeen, NJ
Submitted by Janet Kaplan 732-583-1700
At Temple Beth Ahm, a congregation of approximately 300 families, Social Action is neither a one-time event nor a
program in which a small number of members participate. It is not something championed only by adults, but also by
our youth. Except where prohibited by law (e.g., blood and bone marrow drives), our Religious School operates in
tandem with adult congregants by getting involved with our social injustice and human crises programs to augment and
humanize the work done by all. Throughout the year our Religious School principal incorporates tzedakah projects into
the curriculum so that a “two-pronged attack” can be launched to defeat homelessness, hunger, disease, loneliness and
environmental concerns.
In the area of social injustice, Temple Beth Ahm spearheaded a two-year effort in cooperation with other local
churches and synagogues using sweat equity to build two houses for homeless families as part of “Habitat for
Humanity.” In addition to adult crews, religious school children helped pitch in by painting some of the final walls
while our nursery school children saved money to buy an appropriate item for a child’s bedroom. In addition to the
“Corners of Our Fields,” Temple Beth Ahm congregants and religious school children participate all year by
contributing items to our local food bank, while Mazon is a recipient of our support as well. Efforts to combat the
loneliness of senior citizens and soldiers fighting on foreign soil are addressed by adults baking goods, crocheting lap
robes and delivering Passover items to Regency Park (our adopted nursing home) and by our religious school children
visiting and singing songs to these residents, not to mention their sending get well cards and Purim baskets to soldiers in
Iraq and Israel.
Last, but certainly not least, everyone from our youngest to our eldest members holds a great concern about our
environment. Sending money, supplies and writing letters to a number of congregations as a result of Hurricanes Wilma
& Katrina has been an ongoing effort, while we are also seeing continued interest in promoting and purchasing energy
efficient light bulbs in conjunction with the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) which was brought
to our attention by our pulpit rabbi.
HONORABLE MENTION
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE
250-500 East Windsor, NJ
Submitted by Diane Richman and 609-443-4454
Rochelle L. Stern
The Social Action committee presently comprises over 35 people strong with many new committee members joining
out of a desire to lead new programs. Our new initiative this past year was to add a more global focus to our continued
local endeavors. We kicked off the Jewish New Year in October with a showing of the documentary “An Inconvenient
Truth,” which discusses global warming and the condition of our earth’s ecology. We followed it up with a guest
speaker Tina Weishaus, who was one of a thousand handpicked Climate Project presenters created by Al Gore. Many
participants were inspired by Ms. Weishaus’ talk with regard to things we could all do to help diminish our carbon
footprints.
One of our committee members organized and held a riveting presentation by Dr. Jerry Ehrlich, a pediatric
physician, who is part of “Doctors Without Borders.” He serviced Chad, Africa, to where refugees from Darfur fled. He
used his personal slides followed by a screening of Witnessing Darfur—Genocide Emergency. His graphic pictures of
undernourished, emaciated refugees inspired many to support relief efforts such as writing letters to the editors of local
newspapers and contacting US government representatives to help cease the genocide of Darfurians.
In addition, one of our congregants called to duty in Iraq, struck a chord with our committee. We collected and
sent requested toiletries and snacks to Lt. Steve Rosenberg and his troop in Iraq, helping to give them a sense of home.
We have continued our Social Action efforts in the local area by holding a twice yearly successful Blood