Elegant Search Platform to Enhance and Energize Discourse on Jewish Social Responsibility
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) has officially launched a searchable online database of Jewish social justice texts designed to support rabbis and Jewish educators who want to teach about Judaism and social justice.
The database, called On1Foot, is an educational resource that allows users to search and browse hundreds of biblical, rabbinic and contemporary Jewish texts about social justice, upload new texts and create custom source sheets using the texts and suggested discussion questions.
“On1Foot offers an extraordinary opportunity for rabbis, Jewish educators, Hebrew and day school teachers and Jewish social justice activists to bring serious Torah study to bear on the great social injustices of our time – poverty, hunger, conflict and discrimination,” said Aaron Dorfman, AJWS’s Director of Education. “On1Foot will make the canon of Jewish justice literature more accessible, provide user-friendly tools to bring that literature to life in the classroom and energize and deepen Jewish engagement with social justice.”
Useful for the development of sermons and divrei Torah, classroom training and volunteer enrichment, family education and Bar and Bat Mitzvah preparation, On1Foot was created with the following goals:
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To make the full catalogue of Jewish texts on social justice available and accessible to users.
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To extend the breadth and depth of Jewish social justice education.
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To serve a central forum for discussion within the Jewish social justice movement.
By increasing access to these texts, the site will increase the frequency with which Jewish educators and clergy teach about social justice and facilitate text study in this context. Clergy and educators can now more easily create substantive, expansive and interesting teachings that go beyond the simplicity of pursuing justice and allow for nuance.
On1Foot has brought the expertise of a wide array of Jewish social justice organizations across the United States and around the globe together in one place; the site will facilitate collaborative conversation about issues of justice, equality and social activism. On1Foot is a project of American Jewish World Service and is co-sponsored by AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, Hazon, Tzedek, Mechon Hadar and Uri L’Tzedek.
Rena Cohen says
May 21, 2009 at 4:10 pmI have often wondered about American Jewish World Service and their concern for the Jewish community. Is it real or is it fake. Why in fact would they want to provide Jewish social justice texts designed to support rabbis and Jewish educators who want to teach about Judaism and social justice.
I once wrote to them for help with feeding poverty stricken Jews in Israel. Lev U’Neshama is currently sending monthly food boxes to 145 Tsfat families as well as feeding local Ethiopian preschoolers whose families don’t even have sufficient funds to send them a morning snack to school.
Their reply was that they don’t get involved with Jews in Israel or in fact with Israel at all. They were helping Arab women in Gaza though, that they would do.
I find it so interesting that AJWS is involved around the world doing good things for people who hate the Jews and who if given the choice would stab us in the back. I guess that those who hate us are are learning this first hand from Jews who refuse to help other Jews, but will instead help our enemies first of all. When will our fellow Jews learn that social justice begins at home. If we don’t help our own family first then what are we actually teaching the world?
nancy greenberg says
July 8, 2009 at 9:28 pmI have tried twice to register for on1foot and when trying to submit my registration, it closes down on me and tries to send an error report.