Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

               Now in its fourth year, Human Rights Shabbat is RHR-NA's annual celebration of Jewish values and human rights. This year's resources include innovative curricula on Solidarity with Muslim Americans (including RHR-NA's groundbreaking Stand Together videos), Fair Trade and Human Rights, Manifesting K'vod Habriot (human dignity) in Our Communities, and Speaking About Human Rights From Your Pulpit, along with sample sermons, children's programs, and human rights prayers. Synagogues can either use RHR-NA's Human Rights Shabbat resources or celebrate a human rights issue that resonates with their community.

More than 80 congregations from coast to coast have already signed up for Human Rights Shabbat 2011.

Human Rights Shabbat is December 9-10 (alternate weekend December 2-3 or the date that works best for your community).

The following JRF communities were among those who made a public commitment to Human Rights in 2010-11:  Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation, Bethesda, MD; Beth Evergreen, Evergreen, CO; B'nai Havurah-Colorado Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Denver, CO; Columbia Jewish Congregation, Columbia, MD; Congregation Beth El, Bennington, VT; Congregation Darchei Noam, Toronto, ON; Congregation Dor Hadash, Pittsburgh, PA; Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, West Newton, MA; Congregation Kol HaLev, Houston, TX; Shir Hadash, Milwaukee, MI; Congregation Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Community, St. Louis, MO; Germantown Jewish Centre (Dorshei Derekh Minyan), Philadelphia, PA; Kol Tzedek Synagogue, Philadelphia, PA; The Little Minyan, Columbus, OH; Martin Run Senior Life Community Congregation, Martins Run, PA; Mayim Rabim Congregation, Minneapolis, MN; Mishkan Shalom, Philadelphia, PA; Or Hadash, A Reconstructionist Congregation, Fort Washington, PA; Society for the Advancement of Judaism, New York, NY; Temple Beth HaTefiloh, Olympia, WA; Temple Beth Israel, Eugene, OR; Temple Beth Israel of Maywood, NJ; Temple B'nai Israel, Willimantic, CT; Temple Hillel B'nai Torah, West Roxbury, MA; Tzedek V'Shalom, Newtown, PA; University Synagogue, Irvine, CA; Valley Outreach Synagogue-P'nai Tikvah, Las Vegas, NV; West End Synagogue, New York, NY

For more information, please visit www.rhr-na.org 

For more information contact: Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Director of Education and Outreach, Rabbis for Human Rights North America - rkahntroster@rhr-na.org - 917-747-9487 (phone)

Here is one report from our affiliate Dorshei Emet in Montreal, QUE on their Human Rights Shabbat activities:

On December 9, Friends of Rabbis for Human Rights - Montreal celebrated Erev Human Rights Day with a program called "Refugee Rights As Human Rights" at the Westmount YMCA. Denise Otis, the Legal Officer representing the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Montreal, showed a short film and spoke about refugees around the world. On Shabbat, Leanore Lieblein presented a D'var Torah at Congregation Dorshei Emet on the human rights implications of the Judah and Tamar story in Parshat Vayeshev.

See what the many Reconstructionist clergy and lay leaders shared at the RHR Conference on Human Rights, Dec. 5-7th, 2010  http://www.rhr-na.org/page/conference-on-judaism-and-human-rights and see a video from the conference of Rabbi Shawn Zevit, JRF Director of Congregational Services and Tikkun Olam, discussing some of the issues presented: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J5HByGxY0w. “I am a Rabbi for Human Rights” video testimonials collected at the conference can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/rhrna. RHRNA's new blog www.rhrna.org includes many posts, photos and some video about the conference.

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HUMAN_RIGHTS_SHABBAT-_WES_2010.doc	51 KB
Human_Rights_Shabbat_Outline_2010.doc	28.5 KB
Birchot_HaShachar_for_Human_Rights_Shabbat_2010.doc	23.5 KB
Rabbi_Brant_Rosen_HR_Shabbat_Prayer.doc	22 KB