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JOI Session | Dec. 18, 2009

In this session, we continued exploring the meaning and evolution of justice in the Jewish tradition. Rabbi Stephanie Kolin led us in a stimulating discussion, beginning by asking us to reflect on lessons derived from our last session together: What is the meaning of justice in the Hebrew Bible? Our answers: one that returns the

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JOI Session | Dec. 10-13, 2009

The theme of this retreat was power: how do we think about power as organizers, how do we approach building power, and what does it mean to use power responsibly? Meir Lakein led the fellows in an exercise based on the Melian Dialogue by Thucydides, in which the superpower Athens offers the tiny island of

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JOI Session | Dec. 4, 2009

We are digging into the Jewish legacy of social justice through biblical text study. To set the historical context, Rabbi Stephanie Kolin started our session with the first appearances of the concept of justice in ancient civilizations. We then worked through text from the Torah, the Prophets, and Writings. What does it mean that

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JOI Session | Nov. 20, 2009

This session we discussed the first chapter of the book There Shall be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice Through Jewish Law and Tradition by Rabbi Jill Jacobs. In pairs, we reflected on little known laws like the Sabbatical Year, every seventh year when all debts are forgiven, and Jubilee Year, every 50th year when all

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JOI Session | Nov. 6, 2009

At Friday’s JOI session, fellows revisited the art of the 1:1, paying special attention to the role agitation plays in these intentional meetings. Together with Rabbi Stephanie Kolin, the group discussed what makes a good agitation, including respectful pushing, trust and the ability to tie action to a developing leader’s self-interest. We also read from

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