Reflections on #10Days10Ways
TIkkun Central’s invitation to engage in cheshbon ha’nefesh through social justice
"Our family truly enjoyed participating in the 10 Days Campaign. My wife and I have spent some time thinking about how we could put our Jewish values into action, especially in light of everything that has happened this year, and this campaign gave us the perfect opportunity to have little "mini-sessions" of teaching, learning and insight, ones that we could share with our kids and ones that will hopefully influence their thinking for the future. The kids were attentive, asked wonderful questions and are becoming more aware of the world around them, what is happening in it and how they can positively impact others. We hope to participate in a similar campaign again in the near future." - Adam Marks
"The power of #10days10ways was in the stories told each day by fellow congregants. Sixteen brave souls stepped forward to tell a deeply personal story about working for social justice, and/or experiencing racial injustice. A few of the stories about racial injustice involved incidents at our beloved Temple Israel. Some stories were tough to hear, and I can only imagine how difficult they were to tell. They reminded me of my privilege as a white, cisgender, heterosexual Ashkenazi Jew in ways that could not have been more emotional, authentic, and meaningful. Thanks to the #10days10ways storytellers, I could begin my cheshbon ha’nefesh by examining my role in perpetuating the dominant culture--both at TI and in the greater community." - Susan Ridker
"White supremacy is so ingrained in our system that it is often invisible to me, as a white Jew. I am working hard to understand and combat these toxic dynamics, and the #10Days10Ways Facebook group helped to shine a light on some of the places where white supremacy rears its ugly head. It helped me understand the experiences of Jews of color at Temple Israel, and why it was the wrong decision for another local synagogue to have a panel on Jews and Race between Deval Patrick and Rabbi Pesner without including a Jew of color. When I first saw the description of the event, this critique, embarrassingly, did not occur to me. I am so appreciative of all the people who took the time to explain why it was ill-advised to have a public conversation about Jews and race without Jews of color heavily involved and featured. I also appreciated the group members who publicly expressed that they had changed their thinking after reading those comments and was delighted to see that the event organizers made changes in response to the thoughtful feedback." - Lauren Milgroom "Temple Israel's #10Days10Ways campaign during the High Holy Days had a significant impact on me. I was so appreciative of the substantial time and thought that went into creating the videos, personal essays, art projects, and more that were featured in the daily emails. I really missed the joy of seeing everyone in person for the High Holy Day services, but my wistfulness was offset by the incredible insights shared by fellow congregants, especially Bea Wilderman and Ram Solanki. My eyes have really been opened! I knew we are a diverse congregation, but I had never heard of "Hinjews" before! I now appreciate much more deeply that I need to really make an effort to get to know the people I meet at temple before making any assumptions of any kind and be sure to really listen to their life stories. Going forward, I hope TI will continue to share these videos and essays, as it would be very helpful to hear examples of conversations where our Black and brown congregants felt seen, heard, and validated, as well as situations that we can all learn from. I am so grateful to have such a warm supportive community in which to learn and grow." - Lori Lass
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