Upcoming EVENTS
The word tzedekah in Judaism means more than giving charity. The root of the word, tzedek, means justice. When we give tzedekah, we work to create justice in the world. The Torah imagines an ideal society in which opportunity abounds for all, fairness is the law of the land, and the weak never become powerless. At RS we engage in tzedekah through two primary vehicles: our Mitzvah Bench collections program, and the Tzedekah Collective.
Tzedekah Collective: Rodeph Shalom's primary grant-making body which awards micro-grants to community, agency and faith-based organizations serving our neighborhood. We will be reviewing potential grantees and invite your input on Tuesday, May 15 at 6pm. For more information, contanct Stuart Schmidt at schmidt@temple.edu.
Collections: At the Mt. Vernon Street entrance to RS is a bench that opens for storage. We call this the Mitzvah Bench and use it to collect needed items throughout the year. This year we have created a calendar of mitzvah items to collect in order to organize our giving. On the last Sunday of the month, the bench will be emptied and all collected items will be delivered to those in need. Below are collection dates for each item.
May 20: Food for Philabundance
June 24: Underwear for the homeless
July 29: Diapers for kids in homeless shelters
August 26: Cell phones for domestic violence victims
Please note that collection details (sizes, new or used, conditions) will be announced in the Bulletin each month. If you are interested in volunteering to help collect and deliver items (imagine the smiles on the faces of recipients), please contact Rabbi Freedman at rabbifreedman@rodephshalom.org