Temple Isaiah is a Social Action Congregation!

Temple Isaiah's Social Action Committee is actively involved coordinating the efforts of Temple Isaiah's multifaceted activities, fulfilling the mitzvah of tikkun olam (repairing the world). Task groups that function within our committee’s framework address current issues of social justice on the local, national and international levels.

Temple Isaiah's Social Action Committee includes both service (Tzedakah) and social justice (Tzedek) programs.

Our service programs include Jewish Family Table, Literacy Project, Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen, Lexington Food Pantry, Project Ezra, and the annual Blood Drive. Projects include advocacy (e.g., Darfur), raising funds for special causes (e.g., Hurricane relief), and work with our Religious School and youth group including our annual Mitzvah Day.

Our social justice programs fall under our Temple Isaiah Organizing Project and are focused on addressing the root causes of injustice.  Organizing is fundamentally very different from how we have traditionally done our social action work. We engage people based on their own self-interests and identify the specific issues that are actionable (we can do something about it); winnable; important to the members of the Temple as well as people in other communities; and address a root cause of a problem, rather than a symptom.

Our organizing projects connect us to congregations from diverse religious, racial, and economic backgrounds, and together we become a potent voice for change. Health care, aging with dignity, the environment and affordable housing are but a few of the issues we are tackling through congregation-based community organizing. We are a founding member of the Greater Boston Synagogue Organizing Project and are members of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) comprising over 55 churches and synagogues working together to change our world.

Let us know you want to be involved with Social Action and we’ll help you find a way! Send email to

Additional information on annual Tzedakah activities is provided below:

	Jewish Family Table- Since its founding, Family Table has served a total of 225 families in the Greater Boston’s Jewish community. Temple Isaiah has been a part of that effort from the beginning and has always been considered “a model” participant in Family Table. Working closely with our Religious School, we gather food and other essentials for needy Jewish families.
	Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen- The mission of Bristol Lodge is to provide shelter, food, advice and counseling to homeless people in the Waltham area. Each month, Temple members cook or provide a meal that serves 75 homeless people.
	Lexington Food Pantry- Our volunteers, together with others, distribute packaged food and produce to approximately 50 to 80 local families who are in need.
	Project Ezra-At Christmas time, adults and children join together to prepare dinners, make cards, assemble meals, decorate packages and deliver meals to needy non-Jewish families. on Christmas Day.
	Literacy Project-Social Action embraces literacy as an important area of participation-both locally and globally. Locally, volunteers work in the Cambridge, MA public school system one-on-one with early readers.
	Red Cross Blood Drive - This is held annually and is highly successful, collecting 50-60 pints each year.
	Mitzvah Day - This annual Spring event offers young and old numerous opportunities to help make the world a better place.  Activities range from environmental cleanup programs to serving lunch at local shelters.