Temple Chai students and chaperones who traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the RAC's Bernard and Audre Rapoport L'Taken Social Justice Seminar pose in front of the Capitol. Back row, from left: Morgan Spatola, Andrew Shalen, Nathan Cohen, Hannah Miller, Izzy Gilbert and chaperone Erin Purvin. Front row, from left: Chaperone Rachel Yakar, Piri Lanes, Rachel Perelman, Karis Feldman and Allie Weintraub.
Photo courtesy of Rabbi Evon Yakar
Nine Temple Chai teenagers - accompanied by Temple Chai Rabbi Evon Yakar, his wife, Rachel, and Erin Purvin, Temple Chai's youth adviser for grades 7-12 - visited Washington, D.C., Jan. 9-12 to participate in the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's Bernard and Audre Rapoport L'Taken Social Justice Seminar.
The conference, which united more than 200 Jewish students from across the country, included a Havdalah service at the Jefferson Memorial, a trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the opportunity to meet with their state's congressional representatives on behalf of the RAC and Reform Judaism. The Arizona teens gave presentations to legislative aides from the offices of Sen. John McCain, Sen. Jon Kyl, Rep. Harry Mitchell and Rep. John Shadegg.
The students spoke on issues such as economic justice, climate change and energy policy, GLBT rights and international human rights; Rabbi Yakar said that at each meeting a paragraph provided by the RAC was read that thanked Congress for passing a resolution in December recognizing Israel's right to defend itself and appealed for continued support.
"(The experience made me realize) I can make a difference," said Allie Weintraub, vice president of Temple Chai Temple Youth (TCTY). Weintraub discussed the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), an initiative to provide health-care benefits to children in families that do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance, with legislative aides; the initiative was later passed Jan. 14. "I was always interested in human rights," she said, "but I didn't know how to get my point across."
"This is an experience that brings Judaism to life because (the students') speeches ... have to include a Jewish voice, because they're coming to (the Capitol) on behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism and they have congressional appointments because of that," said Rabbi Yakar. "They have to articulate (Judaism) within the context of the issue they are raising, and it allows the students to bring that Judaism to life in a way that I hope will be a tool and a skill that they can use in the future."
