“The opportunity to give is, in and of itself, a gift. ” - Temple Isaiah

JustICe, JustICe SHALL YOu pursue
THANK YOU, tempLE ISAIAH WALK FOR
DARFur teAM!
This year’s Temple Isaiah Team had 65 walkers and was the fourth largest
team at the 3rd Annual Jewish World Watch Walk for Darfur—Walk to End
Genocide. And if you add all of our “virtual walkers” who supported us with
sponsorships, then we had more than 200 Isaians, family members, and friends who participated
in this year’s Temple Isaiah Walk Team and we raised more than $6,500!
The event itself had more than 60 teams and 2,000
walkers, raised nearly $118,000, and had major
stories in the Los Angeles Times and the Daily News
as well as TV coverage by KABC and Fox News.
We owe our Temple Isaiah Team success to the many
participating Temple groups and leaders within those
groups—our Board of Trustees, Chai Club, Green
Team, Daughters of Torah, Isaiah Temple Youth,
Isaiah Women, Preschool, and Religious School.
We can feel proud that we really walked the walk for
justice—including all of our virtual walkers and supporters.
Thank you for your amazing support in this year’s
very successful Walk for Darfur. With this support
we can continue helping countless Darfuri refugees
and continue working to end genocide and other
egregious acts against humanity.
Want to get involved and make a difference?
Contact Susan Silver, Temple Isaiah JWW Team
Chair at ssilver@posorg.net or 310.282.8440.
And do stop by the Temple Office to get your free, JWW High Holiday Kit! •
September COLLECTIONS:
We will be collecting the following:
• Men’s Clothing for PATH
• Birthday Bank
• Toiletries for SOVA and
Beyond Shelter
An AfterNOON IN the City – CommuNIty OrGANIZING
On Sunday, July 12, 2009, 800 people from across Los Angeles poured into Wilshire Boulevard Temple
for a One LA-IAF community action to express our collective concern about issues facing Los Angeles.
Forty-eight Isaians were among them! We were people from the many different faith and ethnic
communities of Los Angeles: our different faces, languages, and amulets around our necks reflected the
beautiful diversity of our city. The community action focused on quality public education, job-training,
and rolling back foreclosures. Consistent with the style of community actions, each issue was explained
by a presenter and was illustrated with stories by people impacted by the issue, and a solution to a piece
of the issue was proposed. The public officials in attendance – Controller Wendy Greuel, LAUSD
Superintendent Ramon Cortines, L.A. City Council-members Jose Huizar, Bernard Parks, and Jan Perry
– each responded, each embracing the solution proposed by One LA. When asked if we are prepared
to continue our work, the crowd responded with a resounding “yes.” Our own Rabbinic Intern Rachel
Joseph Marah took a leadership role in planning the event and was one of the program presenters.
Our work at Isaiah continues to focus on our concerns with public education and strengthening westside
schools. We are excited to involve more Isaians this fall as we build relationships with principals, parents
and teachers through our neighborhoods.
If you would like to join us in our community organizing work, contact Honey Kessler Amado
(hkaatty@earthlink.net). •
SOVA is a Hebrew word that means
“eat and be satisfied.” We are currently
experiencing one of the worst times
of food insecurity in which people
are unable to purchase food to feed
themselves and their families. SOVA
food pantries provide free groceries
and supportive resources to nearly
7000 men, women and children
each month, and sadly the number
continues to grow. Temple Isaiah will
be holding three major collections
of food for SOVA: Yom Kippur (at
the Century Plaza Hotel), Passover
and Shavuot. We need your help! In
addition to food donations, we are
looking for help with advertising,
inspiring and collecting. Contact
Rabbi Dara Frimmer in the Temple
Office for more information. •
Page ten | THE ISAIAN September 2009