On the 15th anniversary of tragedies that shook our cities, our nations and our world, we remember when caring actions moved just as decisively to the forefront of our concern. In the hours, days and weeks that followed September 11th, 2001, we showed up; we volunteered; we shared; we sang; we grieved; we comforted. We bore witness and sustained each other "on one foot" of the tripod.

If we accept this challenge, we may find ourselves moving more slowly and mindfully through a frenzied world — and also more surely on the paths of kindness and justice. LEARN MORE

"We mourn the deaths of all whose lives have been cut short by hatred and violence. For all who survive to carry the wounds, we pray for healing and recovery.

"The tragedies are relentless and overwhelming — yet we cannot afford the luxuries of numbness or despair. No matter how heartbreaking the situation, there are always real, practical options for sharing our time and money, for bringing people together across differences to affirm our shared humanity."

 

It was an empty office on one floor behind the nursing station, cooled by a single air conditioner. It was called the "holding room.” As a chaplain, I sometimes accompanied the bodies that were held there.

Recent media coverage has heightened public awareness of Hart Island, the largest mass burial ground in the United States. Some of those buried on Hart Island are people whose time ran out — in a "holding room" or elsewhere — before next of kin could arrange for their funerals. They then became vulnerable to the general practice of using (presumably) unclaimed bodies without consent for anatomical education and research.

As the New York State legislature moves to curb this practice, we can leverage our own powers of choice to honor the dead as well as improve health care for the living. LEARN MORE

WAYS OF PEACE is pleased to announce the publication of COUNTING DAYS: From Liberation to Revelation for Jews in Recovery.

COUNTING DAYS guides readers through the season of spiritual preparation between Passover and Shavuot with daily reflections on Twelve Step principles, integrated with classical Jewish teachings.

It's a new resource for students of Mussar (Jewish ethical discipline) and Jewish mysticism, chaplains, spiritual directors, synagogue leaders, Jewish Family Service staff, and all who care about healing the scourge of addiction within the Jewish community and beyond.

“A wonderful addition to resources for Jewish people in recovery.” —Marcia Cohn Spiegel, Doctor of Jewish Communal Service

Addiction has been called the sacred disease of our time. Many spiritual traditions teach that it is human nature to be addicted in varying degrees—whether this is defined as the worship of false gods, or the suffering that comes from attachment.

While most of us may not suffer to the extremes that require medical or legal attention, the human spiritual condition of "dis-ease" is quite universal. And Jews across the denominational spectrum—from the most secular atheist to the most insular Orthodox—have found healing through the Twelve Steps of recovery from addiction, originally articulated by Alcoholics Anonymous.

Order COUNTING DAYS now to insure delivery in time for Passover!

"Everyone knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it," observed Morrie Schwartz in Tuesdays With Morrie. Two decades after Schwartz's death, it's illuminating to consider how difficult it was to find a publisher for the bestselling memoir that has now been translated into 45 languages, as well as adapted for the stage and television.

Those in the greater NYC area are welcome to join WAYS OF PEACE for these upcoming programs:

Facing Death As Jews

From Caring Community to Sacred Fellowship

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Some deaths are tragically preventable. WAYS OF PEACE dedicates the following resource to the memories of the four New Yorkers in four boroughs who have been killed in traffic accidents over the past few days.

Red Light, Green Light: Ethical Choices at Street Level

Tablet Magazine, 11/12/14

I probed further and discovered that there had been 10 times as many traffic fatalities in the State of Israel since 1948 as deaths from terrorist attacks. Something was terribly wrong. What could I do about it—immediately and continually? (...) READ MORE

Since Adar is traditionally a month for shaking off winter blues ("Be happy; it's Adar!"), it seems especially appropriate to extend it for two months through the current late winter. And the extension also suggests mindfulness of what it means to move from winter into spring through the cycles of our lives.

The 7th of Adar — exactly one week before the riotous celebration of Purim — is observed as the yahrtzeit or death anniversary of Moses. It has become customary on the 7th of Adar to acknowledge the hevra kadisha, the sacred Jewish burial fellowship that practices ultimate kindness in caring for the bodies of the dead.


We step forward as a community to offer what we can: quiet presence and simple actions to accompany the dead as well as the living — helping each other to move from the winter of grief into the eventual springtime of hope and renewal. It's a tradition worth sharing throughout the year.

Whether your community maintains a hevra kadisha, is in the process of organizing one, or simply wants to grow further in the direction of kindness, please consider offering a program during this season to help move your caring efforts forward.

If you would like to bring WAYS OF PEACE to your community for such a program, please contact us. Meanwhile, for those in the greater NYC area, stay tuned for these upcoming events:

On Beyond Zombies: Facing Death as Jews

Thursday evenings March 3rd, 10th, and 17th in Brooklyn, NY

Sacred Fellowship: Growing Our Caring Community

Shabbaton March 12th-13th in Beacon, NY

WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of promoting justice and kindness across lines of diversity.

If you'll be in the NYC area, please join WAYS OF PEACE at NightShul on Thursdays January 14th, 21st and 28th for

FROM SPARE CHANGE TO SOCIAL CHANGE:
A TASTE OF GENEROUS JUSTICE

We'll learn how we vote with our wallets for the state of our world, and how we can harness the power of our own money for social, environmental and personal transformation — no matter what we earn. Join us as we turn the tithe!

Free passes are available on a limited first come, first served basis. Contact us for details — or to bring "A Taste of Generous Justice" to your local community.

WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of promoting justice and kindness across lines of diversity.

Hanukkah means Dedication or Rededication. Centuries before our candle-lighting practices were standardized, one school of Jewish sages would kindle eight lights on the first night of the holiday, and decrease to one by the final night.

This approach may more directly evoke the miracle we still celebrate — not the amount of available fuel, but the rededication to hope against all odds. Even a single candle can spread great hope with its light.

And as our sages also taught, "Even as each small metal-scale joins into a great armor-plate, so with just-giving each and every coin joins into a great account." Simple, incremental sharing of our abundance keeps the hope shining.


In 2015 our work was again highlighted in Tablet Magazine and The Forward. Our workshops and retreats were well-received across the country. Between publications and programs, we continued to support individuals and families through crucial transitions in their lives.

We welcome your support of our efforts. And if you’d like to bring WAYS OF PEACE to your community in the year to come, we'd love to hear from you.


WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of promoting justice and kindness across lines of diversity.

Of course, like eating and sleeping, giving is not a one-day event. Every time we open our wallets or check our bank balances, we face choices about how to share our money. That's why WAYS OF PEACE works to reclaim the culture of just-giving  throughout the year: simple, equitable, and regular.*

In 2015 we launched Generous Justice, our new network of learning circles for just-giving. Personal money choices have the power to save lives — and now a multi-generational cohort of change-makers is bringing the principles of just-giving to their home communities, from coast to coast in the U.S. and Canada.

Generous Justice leverages donations by inspiring people to give more to a range of worthy causes. Participants join a dialogue across millennia of Jewish prophets, sages, activists and artists to support each other in putting more of our money where our mouths, hearts and minds are. The financial pie can be divided more equitably at the grassroots, as just-giving becomes an everyday way of life.

Your donation to WAYS OF PEACE will help Generous Justice continue to take root in communities near and far — on Giving Tuesday and throughout the coming year. Read more about this transformative program, and about our other programs and services.

Support WAYS OF PEACE Today!

* WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of promoting justice and kindness across lines of diversity.

By the time most of the runners pass my block, the "winners" of the citywide race have been already been announced. But the rest of the marathoners keep going, sometimes simply walking, cheered on by the crowds — all in agreement that it is vital to keep taking steps toward a challenging and worthy goal.


Twenty years ago, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin z"l was assassinated. In Rabin's breast pocket were the lyrics of Shir LaShalom, an anthem written in 1969 by two young Israeli soldiers.

As we rededicate ourselves to hope on this 20th anniversary, WAYS OF PEACE is offering a singable English translation of Shir LaShalom, originally written to commemorate the first anniversary of Rabin's death. LEARN MORE

WAYS OF PEACE continues to pioneer a new model of social entrepreneurship through our own just-giving,* and we welcome your support of our marathon.

With many blessings of hope for the seasons ahead,

Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips
for WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources

* WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of promoting justice and kindness across lines of diversity.