pursuing tzedek

i just turned in my last final of the year, so i am now officially on vacation (from school at least) and am 1/3 (or 1/5 depending on your math) of the way done towards become a rabbi !!

next week i'm off to dc to teach high school students all about judaism and housing as they build a ramp for the home of someone with a disability.

then i'm off to california to a week-long industrial areas foundation (iaf) sponsored community organizing training. They're one of the groups that brings us the powerful mechanism of faith based community organizing (fbco):

Faith-based community organizing has emerged as one of the most important initiatives to rebuild inner city communities and revitalize democratic life in America. Thousands of congregations across the country have engaged their members in collaborative efforts to improve schools, promote economic development, fight crime and violence, and build affordable housing. Four major networks sponsor affiliates in over one hundred and twenty localities, with each affiliate encompassing from ten to sixty congregations. Affiliates in Texas, California and elsewhere work together on state-wide campaigns to improve public schools and raise the minimum wage. Meanwhile, new faith-based efforts emerge almost daily, including many unaffiliated with the major networks. Faith-based efforts have drawn tens of thousands of community leaders into political action in order to win important improvements in the lives of millions of poor and working people. This rapidly growing movement has brought new energy into our political system and brought new hope to devastated communities.

see also:

Faith-Based Community Organizing is a model of social change where members of faith institutions build the leadership and power to effect change on concerns that are broadly and deeply felt.

The foundation of faith-based community organizing lies in building relationships among congregants to allow people to identify their common values, concerns, and passions. These relationships are built through one-on-one intentional conversations between pairs of people as well as house meetings with larger groups. Faith-based community organizing focuses on developing leaders and supporting them in gaining the skills necessary to engage members of their congregations and ultimately in building the power to make change, both in their synagogues and in the larger community.

hopefully some exciting, inspiring blogging can't help but surely follow ...