SEROvie, one of the only Haitian organizations offering services to LGBT communities, wins prestigious U.N award New York, NY; July 25, 2012— American Jewish World Service (AJWS), an international development and human rights organization, is proud to share that its grantee SEROvie has been awarded the prestigious 2012 Red Ribbon Award. SEROvie, along with the …
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We often say that there are 613 commandments in the Torah. One can certainly list that many, but no one person can do them all: not for lack of will, but because many mitzvot only apply to certain people or in specific situations. For example, some mitzvot are only applicable in the Land of Israel; …
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In his speech entitled, “The Modern Development Enterprise,” delivered at an event hosted by the Center for Global Development, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah praised AJWS’s international development work.
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AJWS is accepting applications from Jewish young adults throughout the U.S. for its 18th Volunteer Summer program. The year-long service-learning program brings participants, between the ages of 16 and 24, to developing countries where they live and work alongside grassroots non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for seven weeks to learn about international development principles and the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam.
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New York, NY; September 13, 2010—In an appeal called Reflect Back: Fast Forward, American Jewish World Service (AJWS) has asked American Jews to donate the money they would have spent on food, were they not fasting on Yom Kippur, to AJWS’s grantees fighting hunger in the developing world.
Read MoreParashat Korach tells of the mayhem and violence that often accompany political strife. After Korach the Levite challenged Moses’s leadership and Aaron’s priestly authority, a test was devised: God’s choice for priestly service would become known after Korach and Aaron each offered sacrificial incense. The divine response was unmistakable. The earth “opened her mouth and swallowed” alive Korach and his household. The rebel’s followers, in turn, were immolated in a fire “sent forth from God.”
Read MoreParashat Shmini begins as the week of inaugural worship in the Mishkan, the desert temple that enabled God to dwell among the Israelites, is coming to a close. But tragedy strikes when two young priestly acolytes, Nadav and Avihu, die at the altar. It is a brief and puzzling story: we are simply told that each brought his incense pan and offered incense on “strange fire,” even though God had not commanded it of them. And the next thing we know, they are consumed by God’s fire.
Read MoreThe landscape of global hunger can be efficiently surveyed through its statistical contours. Every day, hunger-related causes kill 25,000 people around the world. In 2007, the number of undernourished people increased by 75 million and in 2008 by 40 million—pushing today’s global tally past the one billion mark.
Read MoreThis week’s Dvar Tzedek was originally published in 2009. In Parashat Eikev, Moses reflects on the journey through the wilderness and prepares the Israelites for their transition into a new life of responsibility in the Promised Land. He begins, “And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that …
Read MoreThe flour, salt, oil, sugar, yeast, eggs and cinnamon were spread out on the vinyl tablecloth. We had moved the table to the modest cement block porch that jutted out from the doorless entryway to Marta’s house. It was Friday afternoon and this Salvadoran woman had opened her home to our group of American Jews …
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