Engaging Rabbis in Social Justice
Mae Singerman, Jewish Social Justice Roundtable Coordinator
Staff and members of National Council of Jewish Women, Bend the Arc, Jewish Community Action, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Jews United for Justice, The Reform Action Center and JOIN for Justice met in a video conference yesterday to discuss the process of engaging rabbis in social justice work during this election season and beyond.
Rabbis hold a key to a rich community of congregants that is eager to engage. They play an important role in influencing the opinions and values of congregants. However many rabbis choose to stay away from heated domestic political issues on the bima. While a rabbi may personally agree with a Jewish social justice organization's stance on an issue, it doesn't mean they will join in. Rabbis are accountable to their boards and members, who might lean more politically conservative. In addition, rabbis have a constant flow of people coming to their office with "urgent" and "important" issues, projects and ideas that they must prioritize for their congregation's well being.
In the JSJR campaigns taking place across the country, support from rabbis has proved essential in building credibility for the issues in the Jewish world, in the media and in the political realm. Some rabbis, especially around marriage equality initiatives, have made passionate public presentations in support. But that didn't come easily.
One important ingredient to engage rabbis is to make sure at least a strong, vocal group from their own congregants see the value in the issue. Having a group of congregants approach their own rabbi is a great way to start a conversation about a political issue. Providing resources for text study on an issue may work, as every rabbi is clearly focused on their the spiritual and religious duties. It is important to let a rabbi know there are a few ways they can be involved, to take some pressure off. A rabbi might not be ready to speak on your issue from the bima, but she might introduce you to the social justice committee. He might not pen an article in the synagogue newsletter, but he might let you distribute literature at an event.
