Fain Awards
Announcing the Recipients of the 2019 Irving J. Fain Social Justice Award
The Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism (CSA) is proud to present the Irving J. Fain Social Justice Award, in recognition of congregations leading excellent and impactful social justice programming and initiatives. This year, the CSA received a
One Way Our Congregation Pursues Global Social Justice - And How Yours Can, Too
At Temple Emanuel (TE) in Metropolitan Washington, D.C., we are dreamers of peace and justice. An ancient Jewish Mishnah teaches us, “Whoever saves a single life is like saving worlds." The verse from the prophet Amos reminds us, “Let justice well up as waters
Fain Award Criteria
The Irving J. Fain Award seeks to honor URJ congregations that work to create a world filled with justice, compassion, and wholeness. Grounding their work in Jewish values, these congregations have created programs or initiatives that aim to : Galvanize the congregation and community around a social justice issue Stand
Tzedakah and Sadaqah: A Fain Award Perspective on Building an Interfaith Community of Justice
It all began during the summer of 2015, when a group of friends were looking for a location to break fast together for a few evenings during Ramadan. Because their mosque was a good half hour away, the group of Oak Park and River Forest (just west of Chicago)
Building Deep and Lasting Ties to Heal the World
This summer, as we gathered on the eve of Pride Weekend for one of our congregation’s many justice-focused Kabbalat Shabbat services, we put our arms around each other and sang: “We are a gentle, angry people and we are singing for our lives.”
As I felt the
