Rabbi Sisenwine welcomed us to the January 19, 2025 MLK Community Service Day by teaching about this week’s Torah portion. In Sh’mot, we learn about Moses approaching Pharoah with these four most important words, “let my people go.” But who was Moses to make such a demand of Pharoah? As our learned Rabbis note, what is important about this reading is that Moses could be anyone—that any person has the power to stand up for justice and make change—and that is an invitation to all who gathered on that cold Sunday morning! We came to stand up for justice, to make the world a better place, to find meaning as a Jew. We concluded our service with a prayer that acknowledged our gratitude for having the power in ourselves to help others:

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe for giving us the opportunity to mend the world.

And with that gratitude, the Racial Justice Initiative extends its deepest appreciation and thanks to everyone who participated in the MLK Community Service Day. With close to 200 children, teens and adults participating in various projects, we celebrated the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, who, like Moses, was another ordinary man of humble beginnings who did extraordinary things; and in his honor, we exercised our individual power to make the world a better place!

We are so grateful to all who came, to all who pitched in to lead activities, to all who made the day such a rockin’ success! Here are some of our accomplishments:
• Made 60 Soup Jars that were delivered to the Women’s Lunch Place
• Decorated and filled 60 Dignity Bags for unhoused women served by Circle of Hope
• Created 16 fleece blankets for shelter residents
• Wrote 150 notecards for care packages for patients of Health Q’s women reproductive centers
• Knitted hats and scarves for unhoused women and men
• Sorted through massive amounts of plastic film packaging for NexTrex recycling drop-off locations
• Prepared, delivered and dined on a scrumptious meal with residents of Brie’s House, a home for returning citizens operated by Justice 4 Housing
• Filled 25 baskets with household cleaning supplies for young adults’ new homes as they “age out “of the foster care system, served by HopeWell
• Made and delivered 100 sandwiches for a community fridge

With heartfelt gratitude to our compassionate and generous community,
Ediss Gandelman, Sheri Kassirer, Nicole Roos, Sauci Saffitz, Renee Silva, Sandy Aronson, and Mira Warmflash