new york (jta) | Aryeh Green and Yosef Abramowitz were sipping tea in a Bedouin tent last year in Sde Boker, a kibbutz in Israel’s Negev desert, when they had an idea.
Both participants at a conference of Kol Dor, an organization that seeks to revitalize Jewish activism and unity across the globe, the two men were discussing how the group could promote Jewish identity and community.
“Most Jewish institutions and endeavors are out of touch with the next generation of Jews because of a lack of relevance,” said Abramowitz, CEO of Jewish Family and Life, which publishes several Jewish Web sites and magazines. “But we do know that the idealism and the desire to contribute to the world [are predominant].”
It occurred to them that a month in the Jewish calendar formally dedicated to social action would be an ideal means of mobilizing and inspiring the Jewish community.
Their initiative received a major boost recently when the Knesset’s Committee on Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs proclaimed the Jewish month of Cheshvan, which falls in November this year, as Social Action Month.
According to Green, who serves as an adviser to former Israeli Cabinet minister Natan Sharansky, “We agreed that if we wanted Kol Dor to succeed, we would have to focus on practical, tangible contributions.”
The initiative “harnesses the power of different social action and Jewish organizations to get involved,” Green said. The goal is to “pull together the existing frameworks of social action.”
The effort has garnered the support of various Jewish groups, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, the Israel Defense Forces’ education branch and the World Union of Jewish Students.
Jewish schools in Israel and the diaspora will be a particular focus of the initiative.
According to Abramowitz, the social action month will receive special attention in BabagaNewz, a monthly magazine on Jewish values that JFL publishes for elementary school students, and features in the JFL journal Sh’ma and magazine JVibe. Abramowitz said Cheshvan was selected for the project because it immediately follows the High Holy Days, which usually spur higher levels of Jewish observance.
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