Honoring God’s Image

Israel human rights activist to visit Troy,
Ann Arbor and Lansing.

ASCHERMAN’S SCHEDULE
There are three days to hear
Ascherman and to learn about Torat
Tzedek.
• Tuesday, May 1, at 7 p.m. “A
Rabbinic View of Human Rights
in Israel” at Congregation
Shir Tikvah, 3900 Northfield
Parkway; Troy. Call (248) 649-
4418 for more information.
• Wednesday, May 2, at
noon. A lunch and learn at
Temple Beth Emeth, 2309
Packard, Ann Arbor. Bring
your own lunch; coffee and
tea will be served. If you
would like to attend, call
(734)-665-4744.
At 6 p.m., there will be a fundrais-
ing dinner for Torat Tzedek at the
Ann Arbor Jewish Community Center,
2935 Birch Hollow, catered by Karan
Balmer. If you are interested in attend-
ing, contact Harvey at harveysomers@
gmail.com or Martha at mkransdo@
umich.edu.
At 7:30 p.m., there will be a com-
munity open talk: “A Rabbinic View
of Human Rights in Israel” at the
Ann Arbor JCC. Everyone is wel-
come. Light refreshments will be
served. Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner
from Ann Arbor Reconstructionist
Congregation, Rabbi Rob Dobrusin
from Beth Israel Congregation, Rabbi
Elliot Ginsberg from Pardes Hannah,
Rabbi Josh Whinston from Temple
Beth Emeth and Madrikha Julie Gales,
the spiritual leader at Jewish Cultural
Society, all plan to join in welcom-
ing Ascherman. Co-sponsors for
the events at the JCC are Ann Arbor
Reconstructionist Congregation, Beth
Israel Congregation’s Social Action
Committee, Jewish Cultural Society,
Pardes Hannah and Temple Beth
Emeth.
• Thursday, May 3, at noon there
will be a lunch and learn at
Congregation Kehillat Israel, 2014
Forest Road, Lansing. Bring your own
lunch; coffee and tea will be served.
Call (517) 882-0049 if you plan to
attend.
From 5-7 p.m., there will be an open
house at Beth Israel Congregation’s
“2010” Garfinkel-Schteingart Activities
Building, 2010 Washtenaw Ave., Ann
Arbor (next to the BIC Main Building).
Everyone is welcome. Light refresh-
ments will be served. If you are inter-
ested in attending, contact Harvey or
Martha for more information. •

MORDECAI SPECKTOR /
AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD

R

abbi Arik Ascherman’s spring
speaking tour will feature
talks in Troy, Ann Arbor and
Lansing May 1-3. During his last visit
in November 2014, then in his 21st
year as leader of Rabbis for
Human Rights, he inspired
listeners as he discussed his
work and highlighted prog-
ress as well as challenges.
As the community pre-
pares to observe Israel’s
70th birthday, Ascherman’s
message will provide a
reminder of the importance Rabbi Arik
Ascherman
of committing to under-
standing and discussing
critical issues of human rights.
Last September, Ascherman
founded a new Israeli human rights
organization, Torat Tzedek or “Torah
of Justice.”
On his speaking tour last fall, the
Kroc Institute at the University of
Notre Dame described the new orga-
nization this way: “Its goals are to
strive for a society that honors God’s
image in every human being … and
that protecting human rights and tak-
ing concrete action … is a human and
religious obligation in general and, in
particular, a Jewish religious obliga-
tion.”
The group also noted that
“Ascherman serves as a role model,
demonstrating that it is both possible
and obligatory for a religious Jew to
work for universal human rights and
uphold international law, based on the
Jewish tradition.”
Ascherman’s own description of
the mandate for Torat Tzedek is as
follows: “My niche through the years
has been to work for universal human
rights as a Jewish religious obligation
and to present the foundation for this
obligation in Jewish sources.
“On principle, I have always
believed, that in the human rights
field, we must have ‘One foot in the
grassroots and the other among the
decision and opinion makers.’ I have
never been somebody who just sat in
an office.
“Our greatest successes have been
the result of fieldwork that gave us the
knowledge and the moral voice when
we went to court, the Knesset, the
international community and/or the
press.”
He continued, “I have faith in the
eventual triumph of justice, human
rights and our highest Jewish values
in Israel. Our work is about expressing
that faith through action.”

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April 19 • 2018

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