Temple Beth El Blog

Thank you to all TBE members who have donated to the Endowment for Spiritual Leadership. Ninety-three households had donated as of January 22, for a total of $4.7 million in pledges. We have received $2.6 million in donations already! To be successful in reaching our $8 million goal, we need 100% participation from the Temple Beth El community. We are proud to say that we have 100% participation of the TBE Board of Trustees; we appreciate all the gifts our leaders share with TBE.

“We made our donation in honor of Rabbi Jonathan Biatch. He has been such an important part of our family’s life: from officiating our wedding to helping Melissa convert to Judaism, from baby naming ceremonies and very soon b’nai mitzvahs, Rabbi Biatch has been a steady, warm, and stimulating presence for us. We appreciate his thoughtful and progressive approach and are continually inspired by his actions and his words. We understand that this kind of leadership cannot be taken for granted, and we believe that it is our turn to contribute something extra to promote sustainable leadership into the future.” 
—Lonnie and Melissa Berger

We recognize that TBE members have questions about the endowment. Last month, we mailed a brochure and reply card to households that have not yet donated, answering many of the questions that we have received. We hope that this information helps members make this important giving decision. You can see the brochure here (link to https://images.shulcloud.com/1180/uploads/ESL_campaign_January2023.pdf). 

“As those before us have helped establish the foundation for supporting our spiritual leaders, we feel it is important to contribute toward strengthening our community at
this time.”
—Betsy Abramson and David Seligman

With your support we will reach our goal of 100% community participation by June 2023. Pledges can be paid over several years. If you have any questions about the endowment or ways to donate, please contact Stefanie Kushner (exec@tbemadison.org).

​​​​​​​The February 21 primary is crucial to the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Because there are two conservative and two liberal candidates running, and February's primary will advance the top two vote getters, it is possible that two candidates with the same judicial philosophy could advance to the April 4 spring election. Not many people vote in spring primaries, so the results can be affected by a small shift in voting patterns. 

The upshot is: if you want to make sure there is a candidate who reflects your values in April, you also need to vote in February!

What do you need to do to get ready?

• Make sure you’re registered to vote at your current address

• Request an absentee ballot if you will be out of town or busy that day

• Read nonpartisan candidate profiles and listen to candidate forums

• Learn how the court impacts issues you care about

To check your voter registration and request absentee ballots, check the state MyVote website.

For nonpartisan candidate profiles and links to candidate forums, try Ballotpedia.

For nonpartisan information about issues that may come before the Supreme Court, see Vote411. Important issues may include election administration, legislative redistricting, environmental regulation, government transparency, and reproductive health care.

Don’t put it off—if you’re going to be out of town, order your absentee ballot today! Municipal clerks also offer in-person early voting options in the two weeks prior to the election.
 

Looking to volunteer? Need a b’nai mitzvah project? Here are ways to help people in our community. 

Volunteer Drivers Needed for Immigration Appointments

The Dane Sanctuary Coalition provide rides for immigrants to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices in Milwaukee, Waukegan, IL, and Chicago, as well as the United States Immigration Court in Chicago. Recently we have started to offer local rides to immigrants who need to meet with local immigration attorneys but who live in parts of Dane County without much public transportation. 
 
When a ride is needed, Dan Zimmerman or Dineen Grow, the co-coordinators for the volunteer driver program, send an email to the list of volunteers. Volunteer drivers only commit to a specific ride based on their availability. For longer trips, partial compensation for mileage and parking is available. If you’re interested, we invite you to attend a virtual training session about the role and responsibilities of a volunteer driver, USCIS processes, and other information. Contact Dan Zimmerman by email or call him at 608-241-1158.  

Holiday Wish List for Porchlight Men’s Shelter

Porchlight shelter guests are always in need of personal supplies, and residents in Porchlight apartments need household items. During the holidays, Porchlight’s wish list also includes some games for entertainment at the shelter. Many of these items are easily ordered by using this Amazon wish list link and mailed directly to Porchlight at 306 N. Brooks Street, Madison, WI 53715. Items not ordered from Amazon can be dropped off at that address. Thank you for making the holiday season a little easier for Porchlight guests and tenants.
 
Cleaning supplies

• All-purpose cleaner and disinfectant wipes
• Floor cleaner (example: Pine-Sol)
• Bleach
• Dish soap (for individuals)
• Laundry soap (pods or powder)
• Brooms and dust pans
• Mops, buckets, or Swiffers

Household supplies

• Bowls and cups (microwave safe)
• Pots and pans
• Silverware
• Paper towels and toilet paper
• 13-gallon garbage bags
• Laundry basket

Shelter supplies—all travel size

• Toothbrushes and toothpaste
• Shampoo, conditioner, 2-in-1
• Bar soap/body wash and lotion
• Razors and shaving cream
• Deodorant
• Q-tips
• Antibiotic cream
• Burn cream
• Muscle cream
• Band-Aids

Serving Meals at the Catholic Multicultural Center 

If you are looking for a fun, easy opportunity to help the community and spend quality time with friends, you can help serve a meal at the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC). CMC provides free meals every day to community members on Madison's south side and people experiencing homelessness. Our volunteers set out and serve the food, join the meal, and then do the dishes and clean up. The Catholic Multicultural Center is located at 1862 Beld Street, Madison, WI 53713. 

Our TBE team is signed up to help on the third Tuesday of each month. Our next days will be Tuesdays, December 20, January 17, February 21, and March 21 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. If you’re interested in engaging with other TBE members to meet this critical community need, click the sign-up link. Although slots are currently full for December and January, please check the list for cancelations. Contact Sue Levy if you have questions.

Court Observers for Criminal and Eviction Court

Several Temple Beth El members act as court observers under a program run by the Nehemiah Center for Urban Development, watching and reporting on criminal and/or eviction court hearings. Observers make their own schedules and are expected to observe about four hours each month. For more information, you can contact any of those currently involved: Betsy Abramson, Lynn Silverman, or Cari DiTullio. 

Helping the Allied Wellness Center Essentials Pantry

Twice each year Temple Beth El members raise funds to purchase critically needed personal hygiene, cleaning supplies, and gas and grocery gift cards for the Nehemiah Allied Wellness Center Essentials Pantry. The first drive is in January around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the second is at Juneteenth. Between the two drives, we raised over $4,700 in 2022 to support our neighbors in the Allied area. The first drive of 2023 is currently underway for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. You can make your tax-deductible donation on the Temple website (select Allied Wellness Center as the donation type). You can also mail a check to Temple Beth El (2702 Arbor Drive, Madison, WI 53711) with “Allied Wellness Center” in the memo. 

The Allied Drive staff is now inspired to reach out to other Madison area congregations to follow our example, giving the Essentials Pantry a reliable source of funding for these items. If you would like to help with purchasing items, or getting the boxes ready on Mondays or Thursdays from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, contact Betsy Abramson to explore whether this volunteer role is a good fit for you. 

Middle School Literacy and Math Tutors

The Racial Justice Action Team is partnering with the Urban League of Greater Madison to recruit adults as literacy or math tutors in Madison’s middle schools. Volunteers complete online training and then select the middle school of their choice to commit to at least one hour each week working with individual students. You can begin to explore this opportunity by completing the volunteer tutor application. To learn more about it from a tutor who participated this spring, please contact Betsy Abramson, who tutored in algebra twice/week at O’Keeffe Middle School, at 608-332-7867. She learned a lot of algebra herself and reports great satisfaction in helping a 7th grader catch up on critical skills lost during the a year of online school.

Volunteering through Jewish Social Services 

Jewish Social Services succeeds because of its fabulous team of volunteers. Our volunteers serve as drivers, friendly visitors, events supporters, language tutors, helpers with the Refugee Resettlement program, and so much more. Here are some of our volunteer roles:

• Friendly visitor: Volunteers will visit and support people coping with memory loss and various forms of dementia. We will also have ongoing opportunities for training and staff support. Also looking for volunteer drivers, shopping companions, and persons to assist with blind and low-vision clients. 
• Locating and securing safe, affordable housing: For newly arrived refugee families, we need people to conduct searches for housing, make calls to prospective property managers and other partners, and attend showings.
• Community Action for Refugee Arrivals (CARA) program: Support JSS refugee clients by setting up apartments and engaging the broader community in ways to make Madison an even more welcoming place for refugees.
• Office help: Assist in keeping track of participants in various social and educational activities. Help with recording and tracking volunteers.
• Volunteer at holiday, social events, and Shabbats: Help residents, family, and friends at retirement facilities to celebrate Shabbat. Seat guests, pour wine and juice, distribute challah, and interact with the residents and their families.
• Learn to be an English tutor: Thanks to Jewish Federation of Madison through the Cheryl Rosen Weston Fund, Jewish Social Services is partnering with the Literacy Network to offer training and volunteer opportunities working with adult learners in English as a Second Language, GED preparation, and/or general literacy skills. Check for further descriptions, specific training dates, applications, and other details on the Literacy Network website. 

For all volunteer-related questions, contact Paul Borowsky at 608-442-4083 or paul@jssmadison.org. 

JSS is also revamping its refugee mentorship program to pair refugee clients with individual mentors. Two TBE members recently began mentoring an Afghan woman as a pilot pairing of sorts and have found the experience to be meaningful and enjoyable. Contact Erica Serlin or Lynn Silverman to hear about their experience and learn more about the program.

Imagine moving to a new country because of circumstances beyond your control and leaving behind your old life, your family, and your friends. You may have been living in a refugee camp for years, or war has suddenly made staying in your country dangerous. You may have experienced trauma and devastating loss. Your new country has customs and a culture that are completely different from your own, and you don’t know the language or anyone who lives there. This is the situation for many of the refugees who have been settled in Madison.

Since 2016, Jewish Social Services of Madison (JSS) has been a refugee resettlement affiliate of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Over just this past year, JSS has resettled over 143 people from countries as varied as Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This could not have been done without the support of Open Doors for Refugees, an all-volunteer organization that works closely with JSS to help refugees make Madison their home. Additionally, many community-based organizations, state programs, and congregations have worked together with JSS to help our new neighbors receive health care, integrate their children into the school system, get employment, learn English, and stay safe and secure. Many TBE congregants volunteer with JSS and Open Doors for Refugees to help set up homes, provide initial food and supplies, provide winter wear for new arrivals, and help with transportation to appointments. 

JSS has initiated a program called Aljirani (this word combines Arabic and Swahili and means “neighbor”), which is a six-month volunteer program that pairs a refugee or refugee family with one or two companions from the Madison community to be mentors. The purpose is to provide emotional support and practical help to enable refugees to feel welcome in the community, and to build confidence and self-sufficiency as they begin their new lives. 

We are two of the TBE volunteers who have joined this program. We have been working with an Afghan woman, meeting in her home, joined by her sister-in-law and several of their younger children. Our time together is filled with acting out various situations, including introductions and learning and using basic vocabulary as well as playing games involving new words. Sometimes our time together has been challenging, as the woman we mentor has gone through trauma and can sometimes be sad and withdrawn, but at other times is joyful, as the women laugh at us and at themselves in response to our playacting. We are learning their customs and they learn ours. We have been touched by their hospitality, offering us delicious food and drink, including such treats as homemade flatbread and sautéed spinach with onion and garlic (dodey and saag) and sweets with milk tea (shodu chay).

Anyone interested in learning more about any of these volunteer opportunities is welcome to contact Lynn Silverman or Erica Serlin. We are the co-chairs of the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Action Team and would be happy to tell you about our work.

White Christian nationalism poses a threat to our democracy and to our faith. But people of faith are pushing back. Rev. Jennifer Butler, founder in residence of Faith in Public Life, is on a “Faith and Democracy Tour,” visiting states where democracy is most threatened. Her goal is to inspire and equip communities to reclaim their faith and protect our democracy, grounded in spiritual disciplines that have strengthened justice-centered communities for centuries. 

From February 5 to 7, 2023, Rev. Butler will be in Wisconsin to train communities to reclaim their faith traditions. Rev. Butler is partnering with Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, the Wisconsin Council of Churches, WISDOM, MICAH, the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis, and other faith organizations and congregations to empower communities to push back more effectively against the misuse of religion, and interrupt the grip of hypocrisy and heresy on white Christians in particular, across the current social and political landscape. She will draw from her decades of successful coalition-building and organizing and from her book, Who Stole My Bible?, which is a guidebook for all seeking to reclaim faith-centered justice.

Events during Rev. Butler’s visit include:

Sunday, February 5, 2:00 pm
Workshop: “Talking to Friends and Loved Ones Caught Up in Conspiracy Theories and Christian Nationalism”
First Baptist Church of Waukesha (247 Wisconsin Ave., Waukesha). In-person only.
Monday, February 6, 7:00 pm
“The Rise of the Christian Right and White Christian Nationalism”
Unitarian Universalist Church West (13001 W. North Ave., Brookfield). Livestream option available.
Tuesday, February 7, 7:00 pm
“American Democracy and the Role of Faith”
First Baptist Church of Madison (518 N. Franklin Ave., Madison). Livestream option available.

Register here

According to the American Red Cross, every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. There’s no substitute for blood: when a patient receives blood, it was given by a generous donor in advance. Many of our congregants are already blood donors. If you are, we invite you to join our team, and see the collective impact our congregants are having. 

Download the Red Cross Blood Donor app from your app store if you don’t already have it.

1. Click "impact" at bottom right

2. Click "create or join a team" 

3. Search "Temple Beth El Madison WI" and select the team

If you’ve never donated or have done so only occasionally and have questions, please contact Aleeza A. Hoffert at engage@tbemadison.org to connect you with one of our team members to answer questions. Thanks to everyone doing this important mitzvah and helping to sustain the lives of others.

Temple Beth El supports two major food drives every year: on the High Holy Days and at Thanksgiving. Both drives were a great success, reflecting the generosity of our congregation and recognition of how many people in our community are in need of help.

The High Holy Day Food Drive this year raised $17,646.00, to support our partner organizations with hunger relief initiatives. The Social Action Committee has allocated the money as follows:

Temple Beth El has once again been recognized as a bronze level sponsor of the NBC-15 “Share Your Holidays” Fund supporting the Second Harvest Foodbank, making our congregation the largest noncorporate sponsor of the fund. Second Harvest distributes millions of pounds of food each year to support food pantries and meal programs all over southern Wisconsin.

The Thanksgiving Basket Drive was also a success. Our Religious School children and their families gathered food to support the Goodman Community Center’s Thanksgiving Basket Drive, which provides all the ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal to 4,000 families. To make it fun, the Religious School classes compete every year to see which class can collect the greatest number of supplies. TBE members can also make monetary donations to Goodman to support the basket drive. This year’s contest was won by the third grade class:

          
We are grateful to all the TBE members who donated to these food drives. We are proud to be part of such a caring community.

We were so happy to come together, in person, for our third annual Trivia Night. Over 70 members and friends of TBE gathered in the social hall on November 5 for a night of fun that began with a beautiful Havdalah service led by Cantor Jacob Niemi. 

This year a few new highlights added to the fun and helped our fundraising efforts:

• Wine Pull: Participants were encouraged to pick a number and receive the corresponding bottle of wine to enjoy, for a $20 donation. All wine was donated by members of the TBE Board of Trustees. This netted almost $200 in donations.
• “Heads or Tails” and “Dead or Alive”: These fun games were led by Carly and Brian Jacobson, netting almost $100 in donations. 
• Video questions from Rabbi Jonathan Biatch: submitted as he was biking around Israel.
• Babysitting: for children whose parents were busy showing off their trivia skills

This night of quizzes and camaraderie netted $1,500 to support TBE’s programs and services. 

Thank you to those who helped plan the night:

Rozan Anderson
Linda Berman
David Bookstaff
Steve LaBelle
Susan Lipp
David and Shelley Schwarz

And, most of all, thank you to all the participants who came to have fun and support TBE!

This year’s membership renewal materials should be arriving in your mailbox right around now. 

The contribution you make through the Temple Community Contribution program has a significant impact on our entire community, allowing TBE to thrive and grow. We hope you will consider increasing your support this year to help us meet rising costs. We are grateful that many TBE members have recognized our increasing expenses and adjusted their contributions to help us meet these costs. 

“Temple Beth El has been a great community for us and for our kids. It seems the cost of everything has gone up, so we felt it was important to help TBE keep up with this.” 
—Josh Mezrich and Gretchen Schwarze on their decision to increase their membership contribution

You can actively renew your membership, choosing your level of giving, by returning the renewal form or by managing your contribution online by December 30, 2022. If you do not submit your renewal information, your membership will automatically renew at the beginning of 2023, with a 10% increase. Please see the renewal materials you received in the mail for more information about how to contribute. 

If you have any questions about your membership renewal, please contact Executive Director Stefanie Kushner at 608-238-3123 or exec@tbemadison.org, or plan to join our Membership Renewal Information Session, via Zoom, on December 15 at 7:00 pm. 

Every contribution is truly appreciated. We thank you, and we look forward to all the possibilities ahead.

Important things to know about this election:

• Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. 
• You can register to vote at the polls on the day of the election. Check with your local clerk about early registration opportunities.
• The last day to order an absentee ballot is November 3, but don’t wait that long—ideally your ballot should be mailed back to the clerk at least one week before the election to be sure it arrives in time. Drop boxes will not be available for this election.
• Offices on the ballot include Governor, Attorney General, US Senate, US House, State Assembly, and Sheriff. In Dane County, there are also referenda on marijuana legalization and repeal of the 1849 abortion statute.
• You can find comprehensive election information on the state MyVote website, including how to register, absentee voting, photo ID, your polling place, and what’s on your ballot. 

More information and assistance are available through the League of Women Voters of Dane County.

The TBE Civic Engagement Action Team has been working hard throughout the summer and fall to make sure voters are registered and ready to vote. There is still time to help if you’d like to get involved in nonpartisan voter support.

On July 10, six TBE volunteers had a great time helping canvass a south Madison neighborhood before the August primary, joining 30 volunteers from eight congregations to provide nonpartisan information about the August primary. This program was a collaboration between the Wisconsin Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign and the League of Women Voters. We joined in again on September 29 and October 9 to reach another neighborhood in northeast Madison. The League of Women Voters of Dane County identified the neighborhoods based on low voter turnout, where going door to door can be especially helpful, and provided training and maps of the assigned routes. 

In various studies, researchers find that contact with volunteers can increase voter turnout by up to 9 percentage points. Unlike a conversation on a social media platform, face-to-face interaction is personal, and two people having a respectful conversation on a doorstep are more likely to find common ground. Our participants enjoyed meeting each other, chatting with their Dane County neighbors, and most importantly taking steps to strengthen our democracy.

On August 15, 19 TBE members gathered at Temple and on Zoom to write postcards to voters in low-turnout areas of Virginia, providing information and encouraging them to vote. We did this as part of the “Every Voice, Every Vote” campaign of the Union for Reform Judaism. This campaign was part of a national effort to strengthen our democracy by encouraging and protecting voter participation, grounded in our Jewish values and commitment to racial justice. We wrote a total of 1,090 postcards!

At UW registration in September, multiple TBE volunteers helped staff a voter registration station at Union South. Campus voter registration is a regular program of the League of Women Voters of Dane County and BadgersVote, a campus organization. We also provided voter registration and information at an open house at Hillel on September 18, together with the League and the Dayenu Circle of Madison, a Jewish climate action group.

There are still some opportunities to help, before and even after the election on November 8. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin is recruiting people who want to serve as nonpartisan election observers and people who would like to work with voters who cast provisional ballots to make sure they submit their photo ID by the end of the week.

• Election Observers: The League will provide online training, assign volunteers their polling place(s) to observe, and provide volunteers with a reporting form to record their observations. They will do their best to assign you to a location near your home. You don’t need to be a League member to volunteer for this important civic action. You can learn more about the Election Observation Program here. 
• Provisional Voter Outreach Volunteers: The League and its partner VoteRiders are organizing an effort to assist provisional voters to ensure their votes are counted. In Wisconsin a voter can be issued a provisional ballot if they did not have a photo ID to show on Election Day. Provisional voters have until the Friday following the election to “cure” their ballot by showing their municipal clerk a valid photo ID. Volunteers will be trained on the photo ID requirements, how to contact provisional voters, and how to help provisional voters cure their ballots. 

If you have questions about either of these programs, contact League of Women Voters of Wisconsin’s voter education manager, Eileen Newcomer, at enewcomer@lwvwi.org or 608-256-0827. 
 

On September 15, the Racial Justice Action Team hosted a discussion on housing discrimination in Dane County. The starting point for discussion was the extraordinary play by Lorraine Hansberry, “A Raisin in the Sun,” which first premiered in 1959 and which was presented this summer at American Players Theatre in Spring Green. APT describes the play as “a stunning classic that examines the ways racism suppresses the lives and aspirations of Black families.”

Austin Johnson, lead housing staff of the Urban League of Greater Madison, led a discussion of the play’s relevance and current barriers to home ownership by African Americans. Mr. Johnson reviewed federal mortgage guarantees beginning with the New Deal and how the practice of redlining, developed to assess the risk of lending, severely undermined the ability of Black people to buy property. Discriminatory lending practices led to much lower home ownership rates and made it much harder for Black families to create generational wealth. This in turn led to greater racial segregation, distance from job opportunities, underinvestment in certain schools, and concentration of poverty within cities across the country. The feelings of financial despair and being trapped in a bad apartment are explored in “A Raisin in the Sun.”

Although redlining was outlawed by the 1968 Civil Rights Act, its effects persist today. Appraisals in Black neighborhoods are consistently below market, and there have been instances where a single house has been valued at one price if the appraiser believes the homeowner is white and half that much if the appraiser is aware the homeowner is Black. 

There are also significant differences in the rate of home ownership between white and Black individuals and families. Those differences are even worse here in Madison, where white people own homes at more than three times the rate of Black people:

Mr. Johnson noted that unlike a number of Midwest cities, Madison does not have much of a Black middle class or Black middle-class neighborhoods. The Black population is only 7%, with few Black businesses or Black gathering spaces, and there are also strong disparities in incarceration and school success. As a result, Black people are sometimes uncomfortable here and more transient than in Milwaukee or Chicago. 

The Urban League of Greater Madison has been working to address these issues in a variety of ways. On the housing front, it has bought and rehabilitated 16 family homes in south and northeast Madison, then worked with first-time home buyers to provide financial coaching and down payment assistance, arrange mortgages, and offer education and support for property maintenance. A local organization called “Own It” is working with realtors and lenders about ways they can help equalize opportunities for home ownership.

The Urban League is also developing the Black Business Hub, a home to retail and other businesses owned by Black and other entrepreneurs of color, ranging from start-ups to established business looking to expand. It will offer a place-based system of entrepreneurial supports including loans, grants, technical assistance, and networking. For a deeper look at the many projects happening in South Madison and the potential they have to address Dane County's long-standing racial disparities, see here. 

Rabbi Bonnie Margulis noted that many other organizations are working on all aspects of housing in Dane County, including homelessness, rentals, and home ownership. A housing summit is scheduled for January 31, 2023; watch more information later this year. 

In July 2022 the Temple Beth El Immigrant and Refugee Rights Action Team invited Carmel Capati, the lead immigration lawyer with the Catholic Multicultural Center, to speak about humanitarian parole for Afghans who want to come to the United States and what it would mean to provide financial sponsorship for someone seeking humanitarian parole. 

Ms. Capati told the heartbreaking story of a 13-year-old boy who had been separated from his parents when the airport in Afghanistan was bombed during the evacuation. Although this boy was rescued by an American marine and brought to the US, his parents and four siblings are still in Afghanistan. Their only hope of being reunited is through a process called “humanitarian parole,” which includes a pledge of financial sponsorship for each family member as an essential component of the application. 

After hearing the story and gaining an understanding of what sponsoring a family would mean, a group of us agreed to help this family achieve their goal of reunification. The group includes several of our Temple members, members of the two other Jewish congregations in Madison, members of three churches, and other members of the Dane Sanctuary Coalition. A local church will be sponsoring two family members, and several group members agreed to complete the paperwork to become official sponsors for the remaining four. Others in our group of 13 have agreed to contribute financially and to support this family in other ways (providing transportation, mentoring, etc.) as they adjust to a whole new culture and begin a new life. 

Unfortunately, only 2% of Afghan humanitarian parole applications have been approved nationally, but three have recently been approved for a different family in Dane County. We plan to do what we can to facilitate this family’s chance of reunification!

We’ll be meeting approximately monthly to explore providing other forms of support and assistance if and when this family arrives (which could take months to years). They will probably also be eligible for resettlement services through Jewish Social Services, Open Doors for Refugees, and the Dane County Immigration Affairs Office. 

Please contact Erica Serlin or Lynn Silverman if you would like to join us or would like to learn more about this important project.
 

Have you ever heard the term “climate change refugees” and wondered what this means? TBE was honored to welcome environmental scientist Dr. Angie Dickens on June 29 to discuss climate change and its effects on global migration. This was a joint presentation to the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Action Team and the Environment and Climate Change Action Team, followed by a lively discussion among the participants. 

Dr. Dickens has worked at the interface of environmental science and policy at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and a six-state regional planning organization. She also leads a social justice group at Christ Presbyterian Church and is a frequent speaker on the effects of climate change.

Climate change has had devastating effects throughout the world in the form of extreme heat, river and rain flooding, fire weather, droughts, frequent severe storms and hurricanes, rising sea levels, coastal flooding, erosion, and loss of water in snow, glaciers, and ice sheets. These all lead to what are called “push factors” in migration. When climate changes results in agricultural degradation and the disappearance of land, people don’t have enough to eat. They lose their sources of income and there is widespread unemployment. People who are already poor suffer increased poverty and deteriorated living conditions. Unstable political situations and violent conflicts are exacerbated. 

Ironically, the people who suffer the most from these changes, those in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia, are the people who have contributed the least to climate change. For example, the wave of immigrants from Honduras in 2021 was caused by the devastating hurricanes there in November 2020. The US reacted negatively to this wave of migration, but we contributed to the forces leading to these severe weather events.

Although the US, as a more affluent county, is better able to adapt, we too are beginning to see devastating effects and have seen people migrating within the US to different parts of the country to escape droughts, fires, and severe weather.

Dr. Dickens said that it is imperative to cut greenhouse emissions. She emphasized that while we cannot stop climate change, we can make a significant difference. She noted that there is a huge range for action, on the individual as well as the systemic level, including reducing home energy use, transportation emissions, and the waste we generate, as well as making dietary changes. She provided this website with additional resources. She also enumerated efforts we can make to facilitate systemic change, including lobbying Congress for legislative action on climate change, supporting executive actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, supporting state and local action, and getting involved in an environmental justice group.

Some people may be able to adapt and stay in their homes. However, there will be many others for whom adaptation is not possible, and we can choose to make pathways to immigration more humane. In fact, shouldn’t people forced to leave their homes due to climate change be considered refugees—climate change refugees—and be given the same considerations as people needing to flee their homeland due to violence? Aren’t the devastating effects of climate change just another form of violence?

Dr. Dickens ended her presentation explaining why this issue is the responsibility of people of faith and commented that all religious traditions emphasize a call to care for the earth and the vulnerable. As Jews, we would add the focus on welcoming the stranger. Here is a recording of her presentation if you would like to listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcEDZe5z39Q
 

Each year, our Religious School children and families in partnership with our Social Action Committee gather food and donations to support the Goodman Community Center’s Thanksgiving baskets. Each grade competes in doing this mitzvah to see which class can collect the greatest number of canned or boxed goods, such as cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, broth, canned veggies, and more. 

We don’t have to tell you that food costs are up—you’ve probably seen the prices climb on your go-to foods yourself. Rising grocery costs have hit all our families in different ways, and some in our community will have difficulty making their holiday dollars stretch across every warm celebration of the season. Just getting the turkey will cost 57% more than in 2020! 

At a time when many are excitedly anticipating large family celebrations with platters of food and happy memories, others are wondering whether that holiday meal will find its way to the table. In the face of rising costs, we have the power to come together and ensure as many people as possible can enjoy a homemade-quality holiday meal with those they love most. 

This year, the Goodman Community Center plans to provide 4,000 families in Dane County with everything they need to prepare a Thanksgiving meal at home. That’s more than 25,000 Dane County residents (including 10,000 children!). For the first time in many years, they expect the cost of a basket to go up. They can’t do it without us!

Please contribute to the Goodman Center’s 34th annual Thanksgiving basket program in one of these ways:

1.  Donate items from our list (one item, several items, or a whole flat!)

   Bring items to Temple and place them in the collection bins in the coatroom from October 19 until 11:00 am on Sunday, November 20. Anyone can donate these items, and the grade will be credited for the donation, even if it was made by a family with no students in our school. Our Mitzvah Core students will count the items on November 20 and load them into a Social Action Committee member’s car for delivery that afternoon. 

   We are collecting these items:

   • Boxes of macaroni and cheese (4K)
   • Boxes of stuffing (Kindergarten)
   • Aluminum roaster pans (1st grade)
   • Cans of fruit (2rd grade)
   • Cans of vegetables (3rd grade)
   • Gravy (4th grade)
   • Broth, any kind (5th grade)
   • Cans of cranberry sauce (6th grade)
   • 16–24 oz bottles of vegetable oil (7th grade)
     
     
2.  Make a monetary donation (online or by check)
   Let the Goodman Community Center do the shopping! They’ve worked with local businesses to get better prices, so any financial gift you make will go a long way. A donation of $80 will provide a family with a full meal. Monetary donations also help purchase perishable items such as dinner rolls, milk, butter, eggs, onions, potatoes, carrots, and pumpkin pie that are secured by the Goodman Community Center and added to the baskets.
   • Donate online: Go to the Goodman Center’s Thanksgiving Baskets page at 
     https://www.goodmancenter.org/events/thanksgiving-baskets and click Make a Donation. You will come to a donation page with a blue bar that says “Make a Gift to Our Thanksgiving Baskets Drive”: 
     
     Enter the amount and donation frequency and click “Donate.” On the checkout page, enter Temple Beth El in the “Gift made as part of a food drive organized by:” field to credit our food drive!
     
   • To donate by check: 
     Make checks payable to Goodman Community Center. 
     Please include Thanksgiving Baskets (Temple Beth El) in the memo. 
     Mail checks to: 214 Waubesa St., Madison, WI 53704
3.  Give Your Time
   It takes a lot of volunteers to make Thanksgiving baskets a success! Volunteers are needed for numerous tasks to ensure they can fill every basket. If you have time to give, learn more and sign up here: https://volunteers.goodmancenter.org/thanksgiving-basket-volunteering/

If your family needs a Thanksgiving basket:
Registration for Thanksgiving baskets opens on Monday, October 17 on the Goodman Community Center’s website. Baskets are totally free, and registrations are first-come, first-served. Open to Dane County residents only. Learn more and look for the registration here.

For more information about Thanksgiving baskets, contact Rochelle Alpert Sherman or Aleeza A. Hoffert.

We may not be able to stop the costs from going up, but we can do something to ensure that holiday memories continue to be made through food, family, and a good time. Thanks for giving so many grateful families a holiday meal to enjoy together!

For many years Mitzvah Day was a signature event for Temple Beth El. On that day, congregants of all ages would come together to do work needed by others in Dane County. It was an opportunity to serve our community, model Jewish values for our children, and strengthen our congregation by working together.

By popular demand, Mitzvah Day is coming back on Sunday, April 23, 2023. We expect to offer a wide range of projects suitable for all ages and abilities, such as cooking, sewing, painting, and planting. Everyone is welcome and everyone is needed. We will work both at Temple and out in the community, with a nosh beforehand and a community meal after. 

Planning for Mitzvah Day is now underway. If you would like to captain a project or help in some other way, please contact one of our co-chairs: Lynn Renner, Linda Reivitz, and Staci Rieder, or Aleeza A. Hoffert in the office. Come join us as we have fun by doing good!