Tikkun olam, healing the world, is a basic tenant of Judaism and a guiding principle for many young Jewish adults. As a result, a multitude of service groups and charities support millions of individuals in need each year. With so many avenues to give back through, the process of getting involved with just one can become overwhelming. That’s where Avodah steps in, educating young people and helping connect them to a particular cause. “Avodah is your life’s work. It ties into our work as Jews, as …More

An organic farmer got rabbinical recently when he became rabbi for a day at Temple Sinai Congregation in Toronto. Last year, Daniel Hoffman met Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg in a coffee shop and discovered they had more in common than a first name. The two Daniels decided to switch jobs for a day. Rabbi Mikelberg spent much of his day tending to the earth on Hoffman’s farm, a process he likened to his rabbinical duties. “Both professions plant seeds for the next generation. Both ‘rabbi-ing’ and …More

President Bill Clinton will receive the Tikkun Olam Lifetime Achievement Award of the Jewish Federation of Arkansas. The federation made the announcement Monday and will bestow the honor at a Feb. 4 ceremony in Little Rock marking its 100th anniversary celebration dinner. “[President Clinton] has exemplified tikkun olam in Arkansas and throughout the world,” said Scott Levine, the federation's president. “He has been a strong advocate for the State of Israel and for justice for all …More

It might take the Metropolitan Transportation Authority months to fix a broken escalator, but mess with the Worlds Most Depressing Subway Poem and the agency will spring to action in a jiffy. The poem in question is A Commuters Lament, or a Close Shave, eight panels of porcelain enamel on ceiling beam spelling out an 18-word ode to futility and resignation, hanging oppressively above the seemingly endless corridor between the Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue subway lines at Times Square. Since 1991, the poem, by …More

At least a portion of my hometown of Omaha, Neb., may well be under water in the coming days. Pumps are in place at various locations, including at a nuclear power plant located not far from town. The Missouri River, which borders our city, has risen to potentially dangerous levels. Some Omaha residents have taken to sandbagging to help reinforce critical locations along the river. This potential disaster mirrors the serious challenge facing the non-Orthodox Jewish world. Non-Orthodox Judaism is confronted by …More