Active commitment to social justice is a hallmark of the Reform Jewish community. That commitment has inspired Reform congregations across North America to develop and pursue a wide range of activities and programs that help l’taken olam, to mend the world. By reaching out to the needy and the downtrodden, by forming coalitions of concern across religious and racial lines, by advocating for equity and justice, and in countless other ways, it is the congregations of our Movement that stand on the front line of the long, hard struggle to realize the vision of the prophets, to create communities informed by that vision.

Irving J. Fain, who died in 1970, was a passionate proponent of social justice and of the Reform Movement’s active commitment to the work of tikkun olam, and served for a decade as Chairperson of its Commission on Social Action. The Fain Awards, established in 1983 in his honor and memory, are awarded every two years to congregations whose work in the area of social justice is exemplary. Specifically, awards are presented to congregations that have successfully involved large numbers of congregants in their social action programs or that have developed genuinely innovative and/or particularly effective projects.

The 2001 Fain Award winners fully meet the high standard the Awards are meant to advance. We hope and expect they will inspire others to embark creatively and energetically on the road to justice. Indeed, all the programs submitted for consideration offer proof that congregations large and small, in every region of North America, are daily bringing Jewish values to bear on the world around them. In so doing, the ethical teachings of our tradition find expression in the lives of their members, thereby linking the Jewish past and the Jewish present - and, God willing, will serve as a text and a testament to future generations.

2001 Recipients

Temple Sinai Congregation, Toronto, Ontario
for Response to Homeless
Central Synagogue, New York, New York
for the Alliance for Freedom
Temple B'rith Kodesh, Rochester, New York
for the Jefferson Avenue Day Care Center
Am Shalom, Glencoe, Illinois
for their Year of Social Action
Chicago Sinai Congregation, Chicago, Illinois
for their Interfaith Initiative Against Gun Violence
Temple Sholom of Chicago, Chicago, IL
for the Harper House Project
Temple Beth El, Charlotte, North Carolina
for their Anti-Gun Violence Activities & Coalition
Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, Indianapolis, Indiana
for their Tikkun Olam Calendar
Isaac M. Wise Temple/K.K. B’nai Yeshurun, Cincinatti, Ohio
for The Interfaith Hospitality Network
Temple Shalom, Succasunna, New Jersey
for the Adoption of the Zvenigorodka Shtetl
Temple Gates of Heaven, Schenectady, New York
for the Pleasant Valley Elementary School Project
Congregation Ner Tamid, Las Vegas, Nevada
for the Interfaith Hospitality Network
Temple Hesed, Scranton, Pennsylvania
for the Back to School Project
Congregation M'Kor Shalom, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
for their Overall Social Action Program
Congregation Beth Shalom, Arlington, Texas
for Camp Impact - Mitzvah Corps
Temple Emanu-El, Dallas, Texas
for Jacob's Ladder
Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, Florida
for their Interfaith Programs
Temple Ahavat Shalom, Northridge, California
for the Million Mom March
Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, Brooklyn, New York
for their Homeless Shelter

2001 Honorable Mention Awards

Temple Chai, Phoenix, Arizona
for Literacy Project
Temple Emanu-El of Lynbrook, Lynbrook, New York
for Southwest Long Island Employment Network
Temple Israel, Westport, Connecticut
for The Impact of Mitzvah Day
Temple Beth Sholom, Santa Ana, California
for Adopt-A-Social Worker