The Charlotte Jewish News - October 2014 - Page 20
“Leave the Corners of Your Fields” Put
into Action by Temple Or Olam
From the publicity they re
ceive, it seems that meaningful
tikkum olam opportunities are
big, splashy events where selfies
and group grins for the press are
required. This is a small percent
age of the population that does
wonderful work in a big way.
Most of us, though, are more at
tuned to the daily kindnesses and
assistance that are within our
power to give.
Temple Or Olam is in the thick
of an ongoing activity that is qui
etly supplying our lower-income
population with healthy fresh pro
duce that would be normally out
of their budget or geographically
unaavailable. The Society of St.
Andrew has been coordinating
gleaning opportunities since 1979
and in North Carolina since 1992.
Their philosophy is an ecumenical
outreach of “food for the body,
God’s word for the spirit, commu
nity of love for the heart, opportu
nity for those who desire action.”
It’s the latest iteration of an an
cient practice from Deuteronomy
that tells us to leave the unhar
vested portion in the field for the
widow, orphan, and alien so that
we all may be blessed (Deu.
24:19). “The North Carolina
Gleaning Network is going
strong, salvaging over five million
pounds of fresh produce for the
hungry each year. In this agricul
turally diverse state, gleaners
work to salvage everything from
strawberries to sweet potatoes to
collard greens.”
Or Olam has been one of the
gleaning partners for several
years, recently coordinated by Ar
lene Filkoff. Mostly done in the
summer and fall, gleaning dates
are relayed to the Society by farm
ers who have finished their me
chanical harvest. The Society
wants the very usable produce that
has been left behind, contacting
communities like TOO to provide
the labor. Most of these dates are
very last-minute, usually no more
than a week ahead of time. Such
short notice requires our mem
bers’ continuous dedication for
several months, a difficult task in
our very busy lives.
Temple Or Olam’s members,
both young and less so, have
gleaned on almost every weekend
this summer. In today’s world of
pristine supermarkets and con
tainer gardens, walking between
rustling com rows or stomping in
the mud between tomato plants, is
both an adventure and a lesson for
adults and children. Those cold,
pink orbs lined up in their green
boxes in the produce section don’t
quite compare to the sharp, acrid
smell of a tomato plant while
holding the firm, red flesh of a re
ally big one.
The fall will keep us just as
busy in Cabarms and Rowan
counties. Our members have
helped in the pulling of over 25
tons of produce, including 18,200
lbs. of com and 5,000 lbs. of
tomatoes in Cabarms alone,
which have reached Charlotte and
five other counties’ food distribu
tion sites and food pantries, usu
ally within 48 hours. On Saturday,
September 6, the haul was 3,000
lbs. of tomatoes in two hours.
We have celebrated Rosh
Flashanah as the day in which
God created this world and all hu
manity. Why not consider the
many ways Jews can and should
reach out to care for God’s cre
ation, all of it? Abraham and
Sarah’s tent was open on all four
sides, so the rabbis say, to wel
come strangers. The religious cul-
o
(/
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s
3
ture that our ancestors created ad
vocated welcoming others and
caring for those in need. What bet
ter way to welcome others into
our circle than to give them equal
access to the fmits of the earth in-
Gleaning tomatoes.
tended for all? Gleaning is a very
tangible way we can care for the
earth and our fellow travelers.
http://www.endhunger.org/glea
ning_network.htm ^
Havurat Tikvah
Of course, Flavurat Tikvah has
been very busy the few weeks,
welcoming in the new year.
Although Rosh Flashanah has
come and gone once again, we
still have plenty of holiday plan
ning ahead of us.
To start off this month, Flavu
rat Tikvah held lay-led Kol Nidre
and Yom Kippur services on Oc
tober 3 and 4, respectively. Now
that the Day of Atonement has
passed until next year, all we
have left for the season are cele
brations.
First off, Sukkot begins on
Thursday, October 9 (the 15th of
Tishrei). On Saturday, October
11, Flavurat Tikvah will honor the
holiday with a potluck dinner in
the Sukkah at a member’s house.
The following Thursday, Octo
ber 16, marks erev Simchat
Torah, and so we will hold a serv
ice and celebration, led by Char
lie Brown, at Avondale
Presbyterian Church Fellowship
Hall.
After all of the holidays,
Havurat Tikvah is planning an
adult-ed Israeli movie night for
November 1. We will also host a
Jewish Literature Program on
Saturday evening, November 15.
Havurat Tikvah is an affiliate
of the Jewish Reconstmctionist
Federation, providing a
comfortable, family at
come. If you are interested, we
invite you to visit, get to know us,
and to become part of our congre
gation of nearly 60 households.
For more information about
any of our activities, check out
our website (www.havurattik-
vah.org). You can also find Havu
rat Tikvah and Havurat Tikvah
Teens on Facebook. If you have
any questions about membership
or other aspects of Havurat Tik
vah, give us a call at 980-225-
5330. «
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