Shalom SAJ,
Rebbe Nachman of Bretslov taught, "אם אתה מאמין שיכולים לקלקל, תאמין שיכולים לתקן" "If you believe that breaking is possible, believe also that fixing is possible."
We need this torah In this moment of enormous overwhelm with what's happening in our country. Yesterday's Supreme Court Decisions upholding the travel ban and permitting anti-abortion centers to not disclose their true intentions were devastating losses. I encourage you to follow organizations like HIAS that can alert you to opportunities to protest and speak out against that decision.
As difficult as things are and as despairing as we might be, this is moment to summon Rebbe Nachman's wisdom: What can be broken can be repaired. We must not give into despair- we must find ways to fight for what is right.
Last week, I wrote about the horrific policy of family separation at the border. While an executive order has been given to stop the separation, there are still over 2,000 children who sit in centers across the country, with no organized plan in place for unification. Further, the "solution" of keeping families and children together but locked away in inhumane conditions for an indefinite amount of time is only a little more compassionate than the original plan. And, the policy of separation of parents and children is not just felt enacted at the border but every single day through the deportation of parents, many of whom have never committed a violent or non-violent crime. There is still so much work to do. We cannot give up! Here is a list of some things we can do to fight for immigrants and for all families to be together:
- Join SAJ this Saturday, June 30 for a March and Rally to End Family Separation . If it is within your Shabbat practice to “pray with your feet” on Shabbat, we encourage you to join our SAJ contingent at this important march. If you cannot attend, please join us for services which will include special prayers connected to the day. If you are going, join our SAJ delegation which will meet up at Potbelly Sandwich Shop, 280 Broadway, SE corner of Broadway and Reade Street at 9:45am and then move together to the action. Contact Francine Perlman if you have questions: fsperlman@gmail.com
- Tell Congress to pass the Keep Families Together Act now. Find information, a sample call script and phone numbers here .
- Support local families in sanctuary in our neighborhood. In the next few months, SAJ will be planning a potluck dinner at Fourth Universalist in support of Aura Hernandez and her two children who have gone into sanctuary for fear of being separated. We will keep you posted on this. St. Paul St. Andrew’s Church on 86th and Broadway is providing sanctuary for Debora Barrios and her children, Kener and Bereneice. Here is a link to sign up for meals, doing laundry, and other needed tasks.
- Donate toys, clothes, diapers to Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive for the separated children currently in NYC. (Note: Councilman Levine’s office is at capacity)
- Donate to a fund created by Mayor De Blasio to support the children who have arrived in NYC.
- Become a Child Advocate with the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
If you would like to be on a list for upcoming actions SAJ is participating in, please email rbitterfield@thesaj.org
I am happy to share that I am heeding the call put out by Mijiente, which organizes and empowers the Latinx community. I will be traveling, along with other clergy from T’ruah and other activists, to San Diego for a large-scale full-day mobilization on July 2 to demand an end to the criminalization of immigrants that is tearing apart and imprisoning families. On July 3, we will spend a day with HIAS witnessing the conditions on the ground for immigrants. If you would like to follow me on my trip, connect with me on Facebook and Twitter @rabbilauren.
If we believe things can be broken, we can believe things can be fixed. Let us find some way to do this work.
Blessings, Rabbi Lauren
P.S. Check out my sermon from Parshat Chukat on silence, responsibility and this moment we are living in. |
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