Westchester Reform Temple is committed to pursuing tikkun olam (repairing the world) and tzedek (social justice) for impact locally, statewide, nationally, and globally through direct service, tzedakah, advocacy, and community organizing. As one of the pillars of WRT, we strive to weave social action and repairing the world throughout the fabric of WRT, incorporating it into our teachings, worship, and community.
With help from each of you, and the support and guidance of the incredible clergy and staff, together we will weave a thread of tzedek and tikkun olam throughout the tapestry of Jewish life at Westchester Reform Temple. Find upcoming opportunities here.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help making the first-ever WRT FLEA a huge success! We are so appreciative of your support securing amazing donations, sorting, organizing and transporting donations, your help promoting the event and for your time, muscle and creativity setting up the sale and working on the day of the event!
We raised $16,294 for Natal! Natal is providing critical mental health services to the victims of October 7th. We should all be proud of this meaningful donation to support Natal’s work. You can learn more about Natal here: https://www.afnatal.org/.
In addition to the money raised for Natal, our work together benefited the community in other important ways. Bringing together different generations in one room to bond over the thrill of finding a great deal and providing high quality items at affordable prices were two major goals for our event. We received this text message from a woman named Noreen who attended the sale. “GM. Ms. Weinberg. Thank you for having a wonderful flea market on Sunday Feb 9. I shopped for the underprivileged in Jamaica and Guyana. My only problem was I did not have enough cash on me. It was awesome. It was for a worthy cause and I hope you will do it annually.”
The items not sold at our sale were distributed as follows:
With gratitude for all of your time, effort and support,
Marin & Remy
Get Involved at WRT and Make a Difference:
The WRT community has many different entry points into Mitzvot opportunities – ECC Mitzvah Corps, Family Mitzvah Corps and Monthly Mitzvah Corps. WRT is committed to creating change in the world by actively helping our local, national, and global communities. Through a combination of hands-on activities, learning experiences, and goods drives, WRT strives to better our world by doing mitzvot.
WRT is committed to teaching even our youngest children that they can assist in making the world a better place. With that in mind, the WRT Early Childhood Center (ECC) Mitzvah Corps organizes programming that ECC children, and their families, can learn from and contribute to, with the goal of teaching the next generation the Jewish values of tzedakah (charitable giving) and tikkun olam (repairing the world). Learn more…
Family Mitzvah Corps is a community of families engaging in hands-on social action work together. Through monthly community services opportunities, parents and children have the opportunity to come together to interact with the broader world. Learn more…
We all find ourselves in need of support sometime and you don’t need to know the people you are helping in order to make a difference in their lives. With this in mind, each month, Monthly Mitzvah collects new and gently used items of need for individuals and groups in Westchester County. Over the years, our community’s contributions have supported individuals, families, and pets! Please open your heart – and your closets – to see what you might be able to donate. Learn more…
The last Monday of Each month, Cooking4HOPE provides monthly hot meals to HOPE Community Services of New Rochelle. As part of our JLL and Sharing Shabbat curriculum, student grades take turns making to go sandwich bags for clients of HOPE Community Services. Families and individuals can also sign up to make sandwich to go bags for HOPE and snack to go bags for the Mt. Vernon Recreational Department at home. Through these different opportunities, we make and donate over 600 sandwich bags and 25o snack bags each month. Reach out to volunteer your time to bake or to pack lunch and snack bags. Cooking4Hope is funded by WRT’s Hungry and Homeless Fund, so please continue to support these efforts by contributing to the Fund. Contact Sharon Stiefel to learn more sharon.stiefel@wrtemple.org.
The WRT Racial Justice Working Group empowers congregants to grapple with the role that race has played in shaping America. Through personal and communal work, the working group strives to use this understanding to build a better local and national community. To learn more click here or email sharon.stiefel@wrtemple.org.
WRT is proud to have incorporated sustainable building practices throughout the WRT campus, as a physical example of one of our congregation’s five pillars: Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). Everywhere our visitors step, look drink, and breathe, they discover thoughtful choices that make WRT a truly green community. Learn more…
WRT Mitzvah Fair – Bring More Light Into this World
This year, WRT brought local organizations, the WRT community and the local community to learn more about volunteer opportunities for all. Attendants were able to participate in hands on mitzvah projects and while learn about future opportunities while listening to live music and eating great food! Click here to learn more about the event. Email sharon.stiefel@wrtemple.org to volunteer to get involved in next year’s WRT Mitzvah Fair.
