Congregation Adath Jeshurun is an inclusive, egalitarian Conservative synagogue. All are welcome irrespective of gender, race, or sexual orientation. We welcome dual-faith families who want to be involved in the Jewish community.
Why Immigration Matters
AJ's Annual Passover Gathering was held on the first day of Passover. This year's theme was "Why Immigration Matters" and Rabbi Carol Harris-Shapiro was guest speaker. Passover reflects our people's being strangers in the land of Egypt, and experiencing the enslavement of ungrateful hosts. The Torah says that we must be particularly sensitive to the plight of the "alien" among us, because we were strangers in the land of Egypt. We know the "heart of the foreigner." We understand in our DNA what it is like to be treated like a foreigner. That is one of the key messages of the Passover holiday.
We followed up our discussion about immigration with Rabbi Carol Harris-Shapiro on Sunday morning, April 29 when we explored issues surrounding undocumented immigration. Our conversation was sparked by an episode of "30 Days," a series created by Morgan Spurlock, where a passionate anti-immigration activist lives with an undocumented immigrant family for 30 days.
As a fitting cap to our discussions about immigration, on May 1, ABC News reported from the U.S. Court House in Philadelphia where 81 people from 39 countries became U.S. citizens. The ceremony included the reading of the winning essay submitted to the 2012 Edward F. Chacker Essay Contest that asked students to answer the question, "If you were chosen to advise soon-to-be United States citizens at their Naturalization Ceremony, what would you tell them are two economic or political problems you see facing the United States today? What role can we, as citizens, play to address these problems?" Edward F. Chacker is an AJ member and past Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Romania. Each year, a $1,000 scholarship is awarded to the winner of the essay contest. You can view the ABC News report below.
Because of the pain of the recent debate in our country on immigration, the Greater Philadelphia Jewish Coalition on Immigration has been recently established, and has designated April 1, through May 7, as a period of reflection and advocacy on the issue of immigration. In its call to the community, the organization articulates "the goal of mobilizing the area Jewish community to support and advocate for fair and just immigration reform on city, state and federal levels." One way to do this is to send a letter to your state representative. You can download a letter with specific wording here. Just open the Word document after it downloads, fill in the name of the Pennsylvania state representative or office holder, and sign your name at the bottom. Then drop the letter in the mail or email it to your representative.
