Home
Up

Information Taken Partially From:  Tamar Anitai NFTY Programming Power Packet and NFTY Hamakor Jewish Text Resource Book.

Judaic Content

It is our duty as programmers to create a strong environment for teaching and learning about Judaism.  It is our responsibility to focus on issues of importance to Jewish youth.  In order for the participants to learn we must present this information in the most creative and interesting way possible.

Many topics can be related to Judaism.  One way of presenting this is adding the Jewish point of view.

Ways to Research:

1.  Books (Temple Library)

     Talmud & Midrash

2.  NFTY resources-NFTY executive board members, NFTY-GER regional officers, the NFTY office, NFTY publications such as The Hamakor and the NFTY Yellow Pages, a social action source.

3.  Rabbis, Rabbinical Advisors, Regional Advisors/Directors, and organizations such as the Religions Action Center in Washington, D.C.

4.  Here are a few books that might be useful in finding a passage which is relevant to a certain topic.

Consult Anthologies:

    a.  Francine Klagsbrun, Voices of Wisdom (Jonathan David, Middle Village, NY, 1980)

    b.  C.G. Montefiore and H. Loewe, The Rabbinic Anthology (Schocken, New York, 1974).

    c.  Louis I. Newman, The Hasidic Anthology (Schocken, New York, 1963).

    d.  Danny Siegel, Where Heaven and Earth Touch (Jason Aaron, Northvale, NJ, 1989).

Helpful Sites for Program And Service Writing:

Religious and Cultural Network

Jewish Creative Workshop

Daniel Macks Jewish Stuff

CCAR-Jewish Answers to Frequently asked Questions

CCAR-Ask The Rabbi

Email Shira the NFTY-GER RCVP:  shirajf12@aol.com

RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER OF REFORM JUDAISM - Jewish Values
(These are the Jewish Values portion of the programming topics that were available from the RAC Page.)

Affirmative Action

The Jewish tradition has always been sensitive to the plight of the stranger. A long and unfortunate history of injustice and
prejudice has made qualified Blacks, Latinos, women, and other oppressed groupsstrangers in society's mainstream. As
Jews, deeply committed to the prophetic imperatives of our tradition, we are dedicated to those policies that will create
justice for all people of our nation. Equality in the Jewish tradition is based on the concept that all of God's children
are"created in the image of God." (Genesis 1:27) Our history has taught us that all people benefit when the barriers of true
equality are removed.

Africa

In the Talmud, it is written that all people are descendants from a single person, so that no person can say, "my
ancestor is greater than yours." God created this person from the four corners of the earth -- yellow clay, and white
sand, black loam, and red soil. Therefore, the earth can declare to no race or color of humankind that it does not
belong here, that this soil is not their rightful home. This idea of equality is reinforced because, as Jews, we worship a
universal God, a God concerned with the suffering and injustice of all people everywhere. In Africa, the Reform
Jewish movement lends its voice most often when humanitarian aid and human rights issues must be addressed.
As Jews, living one generation after the near annihilation of our people, we know too well the danger, the horror, of
global indifference. Too often, people turn their backs on Africa. However, to us, "never again" is not just a slogan, it
is a firm, moral commitment on our part not to stand by in the face of unspeakable hatred and violence. Recent events
in Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia and Sudan have all caught the attention of the Reform Jewish community. The
Bible forbids us to "stand idly by the blood of [our] neighbor" (Leviticus 19:16). Thus, the Movement attempts
to lend a helping hand, not a blind eye, to countries in Africa whenever possible.

Church-State Relations

Neither biblical mandates nor rabbinic rulings completely explain the Jewish community's strong commitment to
religious freedom and the separation of church and state. It is, rather, historical experience which demonstrates that the
Jewish people have suffered religious persecution when the state was controlled by a particular religion. The First
Amendment made the United States the refuge of choice for Jews and others throughout the world when faced with
persecution and oppression in countries without equivalent guarantees. American Jews have enjoyed the
constitutionally-guaranteed freedom to exercise religion and to organize communal lives under equal protection of the
law. Therefore, the Jewish community has a deep stake in the preservation of the separation of church and state. As
members of a religious minority whose history is so dominated by oppression, we are especially sensitive to any
effort to weaken the safeguards of pluralism and minority expression and are keenly aware of the dangers of a
partnership between government and religion.

Endangered Species

Jewish tradition teaches us to care for our Earth -- to preserve that which God has created. The rabbis developed
the principle of Bal Tashchit (do not destroy), which forbids needless destruction. Rather, we are encouraged "l'vadah
ul'shamrah," to till and to tend, to become the Earth's stewards. In Genesis after the great flood (9:9), God
declares that the Covenant established is one between God and all the creatures on the planet. These principles, among
many others, highlight the Jewish concern toward creation and our mandate to preserve it, for our own sake and for the
sake of the Covenant. Specific concern about the destruction of a species was expressed centuries ago, as Nachmanides
interpreted the following passage: Do not take the mother bird with her young. (Deuteronomy 22:6) Scripture forbids a
destructive act that will cause the extinction of a species even though it has permitted the ritual slaughtering of that species.
And someone who kills mother and children in one day, or takes them while they are free to fly away, is considered as if having
destroyed the species.

Foreign Aid

Judaism teaches that the world is God's creation and all human beings are its stewards. As partners with God, it is
our moral obligation to assist developing countries throughout the world. Additionally, Judaism declares that the
earth's resources and humankind's creativity are divinely bestowed and that all humans are entitled to an equitable
share of the spiritual, cultural, and material wealth which represents the fruition of the accumulated efforts of all
previous generations. Lastly, the Reform Movement's commitment to foreign aid follows the teachings of the
Jewish scholar Maimonides who taught that the highest form of tzedakah is to enable a person to earn their own
livelihood.

Gun Control

Our tradition speaks clearly of our responsibility to care for one another. The Bible commands us: Thou shalt not murder
(Exodus 20:13). The Talmud teaches us that he who takes one life it is as though he has destroyed the universe and he
who saves one life it is as though he has saved the universe (Sanhedrin 37a). The sanctity of human life is one of the core
values of our tradition. In an increasingly impersonal and alienating society, the dehumanization of the human being and the
carelessness with which human life is taken stand in direct violation of these affirmations of our traditions. Therefore, it is our
responsibility to attempt to protect the safety of all citizens, a small part of which can be accomplished through tougher
restrictions on gun ownership.

HIV/AIDS

The Jewish tradition has always had a deep respect for life and healthy living. In the face of HIV/AIDS we reaffirm the
mitzvah of pekuach nefesh (the saving of lives). As Jews, deeply committed to active caring and compassion we, in the
spirit of bikur cholim (visiting the sick), also reach out to individuals infected with the AIDS virus, their families, their
partners, and their friends by providing food, clothing, legal assistance, transportation, and empathetic listening.

Gay and Lesbian Rights

In the Jewish tradition, all human beings are created betselem elohim (in the divine image). As Rabbi Saperstein
said in his congressional testimony, "The divine is found in the souls of all God's children -- gay, lesbian and straight."
Regardless of context, discrimination against any person arising from apathy, insensitivity, ignorance, fear, or hatred is
inconsistent with this fundamental principle, moving us ever further away from our goal of creating a perfect world. We
must oppose discrimination against all individuals -- including gays, lesbians, and bisexuals -- thereby upholding the most
basic foundations of the Jewish faith.

International Human Rights

The Jewish experience -- we were once slaves in Egypt -- lends itself to compassion for other persecuted
religious minorities, specifically the plight of Christians, Tibetans, and Bahais. At Passover, we are reminded that we were once
slaves in Egypt. With respect to the plight of the Tibetan people, the RAC recently hosted a Passover Seder with His
Holiness, the Dalai Lama, as part of a national campaign to raise awareness about the religious persecution and political
oppression of the Tibetan people. The Seder was attended by leaders from the Jewish and Tibetan communities. His
Holiness expressed the significance of the event to those gathered at the April 24, 1997, seder, saying that: "The
Tibetan people have learned about the secrets of Jewish spiritual survival in exile...Jewish people remember their
liberation from slavery to freedom and this has brought you hope in times of difficulty." We are taught to remember the
day on which God freed us with a mighty hand and we went forth from Egypt. For this reason, and for our belief in the
sanctity of life, the Jewish people are the "agents of freedom for all God's children who dwell in darkness."

Housing Issues

The prophets themselves exhorted us to follow a long-standing tradition of hospitality among the Jewish people. According to one midrash, Abraham is judged to be greater than Job because while the latter "opened his doors to the road" (Job 31:32), Abraham left his tent to seek guests among the passers-by (Genesis 18:1-8). Furthermore, Abraham "got busy and built spacious mansions along the highways, and stocked them with food and drink, so that whoever entered ate, drank, and blessed Heaven" (Avot 1:5; Avot d'Rabbi Natan 7). More recent Jewish history, with its exiles and expulsions, is a powerful reminder of our special obligation to provide for those wit no protection. Jewish tradition teaches that it is more valuable to help a person become self-supporting than it is to give the person a handout of food or money. "R. Abba said in the name of Simeon ben Lakish: the person who lends money [to a poor person] is greater than the person who gives charity; and the one who throws money into a common purse [to form a partnership with the poor person] is greater than either" (B. Shabbat 63b). We are commanded to help those less fortunate on the path of self-sufficiency so that one day they will not need assistance. Housing is a foundation upon which self-sufficiency can be build. Without a place to live, one can
not begin to take charge of his or her life.