The SA/TO & Rel/Ed
Connection

There's a connection between Social Action and Judaism...

Think about it this way: (a new spin on Jewish observances)

• Keeping Kosher involves laws that describe the way an animal can be slaughtered. The kosher slaughter tries to ensure that the animal felt the least amount of pain possible. So although you're still eating the animal, by keeping kosher you know that the animal wasn't needlessly pained or harmed.
• Keeping Shabbat can involve not turning on lights and other electrical equipment. This, in some ways, helps our environment by not needlessly wasting electricity. (It keeps your electric bill down too!) Also, if enough people refrain from using electricity over Shabbat along with publicizing the need for solar power, the government and power companies will soon get the message that solar is the "wave" of the future.
• Praying three times a day is not only a standard of Conservative Judaism but it also helps us keep track of time and give thanks to God. Praying can make us better people and add depth to our lives allowing us to take in the grandeur of our world. Through prayer you can appreciate all of God's creations.
• Hand washing before meals is also a matter of Jewish ritual. Our world could be that much cleaner if we all just washed our hands more often.
• Saying a blessing before eating food can solve our societies current problems associated with obesity. When we say the blessing, we also ask ourselves if we really need and want to eat what's in front of us. You can look at blessings as a form of "mental dieting."
• Wearing a head covering, a kippah or even hat can also be a form of social action. Social action can even extend to making others feel comfortable. By wearing a kippah you keep your head warm, free of bald spots and make your Jewish identity and pride be seen so that others can identify with something Jewish.

If we look at our Jewish obligations in different lights, we see different things. The moral of this story is that you can find a social action project within everything you do. Many times people complain about the "Jewishness" of a USY convention, but if you just look at it as social action projects, everything becomes that much more understandable.