A Renewal and Recommitment to Repairing the World
By Rabbi Ron SternWhen you enter Wise or any of our venues for the High Holy Days, a new and quite beautiful machzor (prayer book) will be in your hands. Of the many themes that percolate through the book, one is tikkun olam, which is indicative of the Reform movement’s core principals as well as the pillar values of our Wise community. From the earliest days, Reform leaders like our namesake, Rabbi Stephen Wise, were at the forefront of securing rights for laborers, safe haven for refugees, and of course, civil rights. From the late 1960’s representatives of our movement in Israel (Israelis all), founded youth movements, organizations to secure religious and LGBTQ rights, became Israeli clergy, and formed congregations.It’s in our DNA. We are a community that is deeply engaged in the world and seek to build a better society in this country and in Israel for the next generations. This newsletter comes as we are about to inaugurate 5780 (a new school year and a new Jewish year). We are proud of our work and will redouble our efforts in the year ahead. In place of one Mitzvah Day–the world needs us 24/7, 365!—you’ll witness an entire year of opportunities for you to become engaged in the deeply spiritual work of tikkun olam. Read on to learn about some of the offerings for this coming month and be sure to open this email newsletter each month to see how much you are needed to repair our world.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and world-changing new year!
SOVA: Prepare Your Donations for the New Year

Our partners from SOVA need your non-perishable food donations year-round: what better way to kick off the new year than to prepare your canned goods, boxed goods, and toiletry items to bring with you to our campus? On Rosh Hashanah you will receive your SOVA bag to fill for Yom Kippur but remember that you can bring your items to the Wise sanctuary every time you come. Our bin is ready for your generous contributions!
The Big Fill 2019:
Help Save the Syrian Children Bring Supplies to Kids in NeedCircle October 10 on your calendars as we prepare to help our partners from Save the Syrian Children by sending desperately-needed medical supplies, gently used clothes and toys to kids and families in crisis due to the violence in Syria. In the past, your generosity has helped fulfill our Wise mission to change the world for those in need. We will collect your donations, culminating in a packing day on October 20 to help prepare our items for shipment.VIEW A VIDEO OF GRATITUDE FROM THE BIG FILL 2018
RSVP HERE FOR THE PACKING DAY
Homes for Heroes: Help Provide Bedding and Household Items for Veterans

Our partners at Veterans Affairs are in high need for new sheet sets for our vets moving into new permanent housing! Wise members know how much of an impact these donations have: our Homes for Heroes volunteers do so much to provide new furniture, bedding, appliances, and amenities to formerly homeless vets. We are asking all in our community to make a contribution to help us shop for new bedding in particular—but all of your contributions go to a variety of needs for veterans moving into new, permanent housing. Our vets served us with distinction – now is our chance to serve them in deep gratitude.

DONATE NOW
Shabbat Services with Guest Speaker Voni Glick, IsraAID Co-CEO

Friday, September 20 | 6:15 p.m.
Voni Glick is an Israeli/Canadian citizen with more than 10 years’ experience in disaster response, international development, and non-profit management. He is IsraAID’s Co-Chief Executive Officer at the organization’s headquarters in Tel Aviv and is responsible for all the day-to-day leadership and general management of the organization. At a special Shabbat service, Voni will speak about the work IsraAID is doing all around the world to support disaster response and relief and to help during the international refugee crisis.
Jewish World Watch presents
Taste of TAP — Public Speaking (Workshop for teens) Sunday, September 22 at 10 a.m. | Stephen Wise Temple Tastes of TAP (Teen Ambassador Program) are Jewish World Watch’s stand-alone workshops focusing on skill building for teens engaged in social action. This workshop will teach teens the skills needed to feel relaxed and confident, whether talking to three people or 30 people. This session will be led by JWW’s Amy Cecil with special guest Joey Green, a former contributing editor to National Lampoon, author of more than 60 books, including Not So Normal Norbert co-written with James Patterson, and a JWW supporter and advocate.LEARN MORE AND REGISTER
Save the Dates for ISCD Weekend: November 15-17

With great excitement, Wise is proud and honored to announce a huge weekend featuring guests from Israel Sport Center for the Disabled! Athletes from ISCD will come to Wise to show off their skills in a special exhibition, tell their stories, and teach our kids what being an ISCD competitor is all about. On Sunday, Wise School’s 6th graders will lead the charge in their second annual kids vs. staff basketball game, raising funds to support our partners at ISCD in their work.

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