The Central Conference of American Rabbis adopted a statement of principles in 1999. It includes these aspirational thoughts about our role in the realm of social justice:

We bring Torah into the world when we strive to fulfill the highest ethical mandates in our relationships with others and with all of God's creation. Partners with God in tikkun olam, repairing the world, we are called to help bring nearer the messianic age. We seek dialogue and joint action with people of other faiths in the hope that together we can bring peace, freedom and justice to our world. We are obligated to pursue tzedek, justice and righteousness, and to narrow the gap between the affluent and the poor, to act against discrimination and oppression, to pursue peace, to welcome the stranger, to protect the earth's biodiversity and natural resources, and to redeem those in physical, economic and spiritual bondage. In so doing, we reaffirm social action and social justice as a central prophetic focus of traditional Reform Jewish belief and practice. We affirm the mitzvah of tzedakah, setting aside portions of our earnings and our time to provide for those in need. These acts bring us closer to fulfilling the prophetic call to translate the words of Torah into the works of our hands.

Border Interfaith:
Temple Mount Sinai is a founding member of Border Interfaith, a congregationally-based community organization affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation. Through Border Interfaith, we act publicly in El Paso and in Austin, using the power of our people and our relationships on behalf of middle class and working families.

Border Interfaith came into being in 2000 as the Westside Interfaith Alliance, before expanding in scope and power. It was instrumental in crafting a fair and just civic response to the floods of August 2006, and in ensuring that the rights of El Paso County residents were not abused by the Sheriff's Department on the basis of race or economic attainment.

If you'd like to learn more about community organizing or Border Interfaith, send a note to Rabbi Bach.

Knitzvah:
Please join us for an evening of knitting and schmoozing while performing a lovely mitzvah.

"Knitzvah" knitters come together to knit and crochet items to give to our local hospitals and those in our community who are in need.

We will meet on the last Tuesday of every month, in the library from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. All are welcome. Come and learn how to knit if you are interested in fulfilling this mitzvah.

Please contact Ellen Goodman for more information.

Location: 
Temple Mount Sinai
Zork Library
4408 N Stanton St
El Paso TX 79902

Fair Trade: 
Temple Mount Sinai is among several houses of worship in El Paso that serve fairly traded coffee. Our "house blend" is Mirembe Kawomera("Delicious Peace"), a coffee sourced from a Ugandan producers' cooperative comprised of Jewish, Christian and Muslim farmers. They believe that by working together and investing in their future, they can lower tensions and replace strife with harmony.

You can learn more about Fair Trade here, and get involved here.

Clicks For Causes:
Here's an easy way to make the world a little bit brighter, with no cost and very little effort – http://www.care2.com/dailyaction/homepage.html