Justice & Compassion

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Join Temple Israel of Boston’s efforts to make a righteous impact in our synagogue, city, and beyond!  

“Do justice, love mercy.”

— Micah 6:8

Tikkun Central is the space to act, engage, challenge, and connect for justice and compassion. 

Tikkun Central is our members, staff, clergy, community partners, and everyone in our orbit who wants to partner for change. Our work is dynamic and reflects our changing world and our mission to make a righteous impact.

Our volunteers are currently…

VOTE24 Campaign

We invite members to volunteer to protect democracy and fight against voter suppression with our Voting Rights Action Team. We do this work in partnership with national and local organizations. Contact Sandy Wixted to participate.

TI GBIO Core Team

ORGANIZING people for powerful change with TI and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO).

TI is one of 59+ Boston area institutions bringing people together across faith, race, class, and neighborhood to act powerfully for the public good. We listen to, engage, train, and mobilize our communities to address big problems with specific changes. Recent wins include police reform, affordable housing, and access to telehealth.

TI Cares

CREATING and STRENGTHENING connections within our Temple community through acts of kindness in times of sorrow and joy.

We are a caring community of members connecting with others during times of celebration, grief, joy, and challenge. We are growing our Acts of Kindness Army: a group of people willing to consider doing acts of kindness when their schedule permits. There is never any pressure or commitment and our work is not centered around meetings; it is done through actions. Examples of our work include:

  • Delivering honey jars at Rosh Hashanah, Hamantaschen at Purim, and meals for members going through difficult times
  • Writing condolence cards and welcome emails
  • Visiting our seniors
  • Sending Hanukkah care packages to college students

Are you in need of support? We are here for you! Please contact Amy Sherr

(TI CARES is supported by the Mike and Marilyn Grossman Caring Community)
Racial Justice Initiative

LEARNING and TAKING action to advance equity and justice with the Racial Justice Initiative. 

Our areas of focus include:

Economic Justice, Voting Rights, Criminal Justice, Anti-Racism Education, Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Caucus Group
Environmental Justice

CONFRONTING the climate crisis and repairing our natural world with our Environmental Justice Team

The Torah teaches that we are stewards of the earth—shomrei adamah—and that it is our job to preserve and protect it for future generations. We are a growing community of congregants who desire to translate that mandate into action. We act at many levels: we have taken great strides in greening the Temple Israel building, saving our congregation money and reducing our consumption of fossil fuels; and we work, both within our congregation and in partnership with others at the city, state, and national level, to tackle the climate crisis and environmental injustices. We offer many levels of participation and many opportunities for learning and engagement!

Our areas of focus include:

TI’s Dayenu Circle, Shabbat of Environmental Justice, Green Team, Climate Conversations
Immigrant Justice

PARTNERING with people encountering our immigration system and DEFENDING their right to live in dignity and safety, with our Immigrant Justice Team.

Join a team with other TI members to mentor incarcerated students. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rates in the world and spends $80 billion annually on prisons, only to have the majority of inmates return. Nationally, half of all inmates return to prison within a year (75% within five years). However, for those who earned a college degree, the recidivism rate drops to less than 5%. Education is the single strongest factor in reducing recidivism. Email Tali Puterman to join a team.

See the Partakers College Behind Bars Mentoring program flyer.

Engage with us

  • Connect with Tali Puterman  Assistant Director of Social Justice Engagement to learn more. 
  • Sign up for JustNews, our weekly Justice Newsletter to learn more about upcoming opportunities.
  • Do you have questions, concerns, or interest areas? Complete this form to let us know your thoughts and questions.

Join Us for These Upcoming Events

There are many ways to act for justice. You can write postcards to combat voter suppression, call your local senator to advocate for health care reform, deliver a meal to a fellow community member in need, facilitate a conversation about racism in our community, or join a strategy team to broaden Temple involvement on an issue that matters deeply to you. We invite you to participate in these and other opportunities to affect positive change.

Shavuot to Juneteenth: A Journey Toward Liberation