JOIN for Justice

Jake Ehrlich lives in Michigan, and signed up for the our 2019 Don’t Kvetch, Organize!  course to support his work with Congregation T’chiyah and Detroit Jews for Justice. JOIN talked with Jake a few weeks after the course ended to share his experience in the course.

My hesitation in signing up for Don’t Kvetch, Organize! was around not being sure if the level was right for me. I’ve been more and more politicized and come to radical politics, and I wasn’t sure if I’m the right fit. But I’d heard lots of good things from people that I respect, and looking through the teacher descriptions it was exciting to see the diversity of folks represented.

I was hoping to come away with a sense of the nuts and bolts of organizing, including having skillful effective one-to-one conversations and moving beyond that into building relationships, how can we turn issues into a campaign, and how can we shift power. I was seeking to develop an organizer’s tool box and honing a vocabulary to talk about these things. And I got it – what stuck with me from Don’t Kvetch was developing clarity and fluency in speaking about organizing. It gave me the concepts and language to talk about what we’re doing, in a way that enables critical conversation, having the language to help us set goals and evaluate how well we’ve done.

I definitely feel I’ve become more effective in identifying people’s motivations in one-to-ones. I came in feeling strong in the relational component but not as strong in the actionable side, and the course gave me the framework to better conceptualize the strategy element of it. Another potent learning was the clear differentiation between activity and an action: i.e., that actions aspire to strategically advance a campaign, while activities may serve only to edify its participants. This distinction has been illuminating both in the work of political action as well as my work as a synagogue employee, helping me to take a long view about the broader impact of community-building instead of just “programming.”

As someone who has been politicized in other spaces, I felt like I had something to offer in the discussion forums. I would encourage organizers to use this space not only for their own education, but both to uplift and support the development of other organizers, and to practice how you would talk about organizing and the issues you work on.

Don’t Kvetch, Organize! invites a large swath of people to it, from Jews who are just starting to think about social justice and social action to people who have had some considerable organizing experience under their belt. It can be really rewarding to be part of a diverse online learning cohort and participating in the discussions.

You can learn more about the course here, and register below.

Register Today!

Rabbi Amy Eilberg lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and signed up for the our 2019 Don’t Kvetch, Organize! course to support her work at Faith in Action and with Truah. JOIN talked with Rabbi Amy a few weeks after the course ended to share her experience in the course. Here’s what she had to say. 

For anyone on the fence of taking this course, I would tell them you’re going to learn so much. There’s a lot of talk out in the world about “community organizing” but it’s not always clear what it is or what it’s made of. This course will really get you inside the world of how community organizers work and think. Community organizing is a powerful paradigm about how to make change on issues that are profoundly important to all of us. Despite being online, the course is done in a compelling and often interactive way and it was a really educational, wonderful experience. I recommend it very highly.

Before taking the course I wondered how the remote webinar technology would work for content that is so relational in nature. I was concerned it might not work as well learning at the computer, but it was clear that I wanted to take the course. My course instructor Rachel Leiken made really good use of the tech to maximize possibilities for interaction on the live calls. There was a cool whiteboard tool that was almost equivalent to an in-person group of people sitting in a room. It was different but still really interactive.

I found the videos incredibly compelling and useful. I especially responded to Meir’s teaching. He’s just a great teacher. It was conceptually clear and interesting, and he breaks down the issues in a way that changed the way I think about things.

One example was his analysis of the difference between a problem and an issue. It’s a very simple thing but it was powerful for me. I’m a person who has always been deeply engaged in “the big problem,” and feel that it’s meaningful to spend a lot of time and energy agonizing about it. And so do my friends! I surround myself with people like that. Meir was like a gentle knock on the head to say, “Do you want to agonize or do you want to make real change?” Maybe instinctively huge problems are animating for me, but if you want to make a difference, look locally and narrow in to where there are partners and you’re more likely to win. That was tremendously valuable for me.

You can learn more about the course here, and register below!

Register Today!

As we enter the high holidays, join us to reflect with Rabbi Lauren Tuchman and Rabbi Becky Silverstein. As the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate, Rabbi Lauren will lead us in imagining how vibrant our communities can be when we are more inclusive and work to “decenter the center.” Please join us for this exciting and dynamic conversation, moderated by Rabbi Becky Silverstein.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO RSVP here: https://bit.ly/2kSvr3E

You can access the Facebook event here.

TBZ is a wheelchair accessible location. If you need ASL interpreting or CART, please contact Cole at cpapadopoulos@joinforjustice.org as soon as possible, and by 9/25 and we will do our best to provide an interpreter. If you are able to offer ASL services, please reach out to Cole as well.