Social Action Committee

“Tzedek, tzedek (justice justice) shall you pursue.”
—Deuteronomy 16:20

Our mission is to serve those who are disadvantaged or in need. We wish to educate and motivate Beth El members, and provide opportunities for adults, youth and children to do Social Action.  We recognize that, as Jews, we are commanded to pursue justice, and to participate in Tikkun Olam “Repairing the World.”

Our Social Action committee members volunteer their time, effort and talents to make the Beth El community a better place. Our current focus areas include:

Bikur Cholim
Specially trained volunteers are visiting members who are homebound, dealing with illnesses or other conditions that may limit their contact with the outside world.  Please call Joan Charlson if you would like to join us in this mitzvah.
Please let Rabbi Greenbaum know if you or someone you know would like to be the recipient of these special visitors at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling the Beth El Office at 412-561-1168.

Shiva Mitzvah Corps
Comforting the Bereaved / Nehum Avelim - The support of a strong community is most needed at the hardest time in people's lives. Each time a member of our shul is sitting shiva, the Shiva Mitzvah Corps helps serve food in the shiva home. Please call Adele Sufrin to help with this mitzvah. You can also join our “Minyannaires” club each weekday morning at 7:00 a.m. and each evening at 6:00 p.m., and on Sundays mornings at 8:30 a.m. to support those who must say Mourner’s Kaddish.  In order to let our members know when someone has had a loss so that we can support them, Beth El has established a Shiva Hotline.  In the event of a loss, we will email or call you.  To be added to the Hotline list, please contact Steve Hecht in the Beth El Office at 412-561-1168. 

Help the Homeless
Several Beth El members help serve food in the Rainbow Soup Kitchen on Tuesday mornings each week. Please call Leslie Clifford or Barb Zimmt if you would like to join them.

Help the Hungry
Beth El members collect non-perishable food items to donate to the Kosher Food Pantry, the East End Co-op and South Hills Interfaith Ministries throughout the year and during Project Isaiah over the High Holy Days. Please bring your food items to the bin outside the Rabbi’s office at any time.

Give Blood
Beth El holds an annual blood drive, and we periodically host an emergency blood drive at the request of the Central Blood Bank.

Annual Mitzvah Day
The entire congregation participates in our annual Mitzvah Day in the Spring as a community-wide social action day. We clean up our grounds and help our community in a variety of ways each year. Please contact Steve Hecht to volunteer for the important planning of this day.
 
Volunteer on Christmas Day
Beth El members volunteer on Christmas Day in local hospitals and senior care facilities so that workers can spend the day with their families.
 
Helping our Community
Beth El members reach out to help our community in times of crisis, and we will continue to do so as the need arises. During the great flooding that occurred in Heidelberg as a result of Hurricane Ivan, about 75 of our members went to the flooded areas and helped people in their homes and through an amazing level of donations. More recently there was a fire that consumed an entire townhouse building on the hill above Beth El, and we helped the victims who were left with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs, by making donations and providing them with a place to meet so they could support each other and become educated about their options in their dire situation.
 
B’nai Mitzvah Students Help
Each B’nai Mitzvah student performs a Social Action project of their choice as part of their preparation during their B’nai Mitzvah year.
 
Join our Teenagers
Our teenagers through their United Synagogue Youth (USY) chapter, lead services once a month at the Covenant of South Hills, the Jewish Senior Care facility on Bower Hill Road, and conduct numerous other Social Action projects throughout the year. If your teen would like to get involved, please call our USY Director Amy Karp.
 
Community & International Aid
Domestic and international, secular and Jewish projects are being explored by the Social Action Committee.

Being Green – At Beth El and in our Homes
As part of our effort to embrace Tikkun Olam – Repairing the World – Beth El is committed to a number of internal efforts to reduce waste and encourage environmentally-friendly products:

Recycling Paper - We collect paper trash for recycling every day in the green receptacles in our Parking Lot by the Office; you can bring anything made out of paper here to be recycled, including your junk mail, newspapers and magazines. Not only will you help the environment, but proceeds paid to us by the recycler benefit Beth El’s Nursery School.

Buy Reusable Shopping Bags - Our Nursery School sells eco-friendly reusable bags to replace the paper and plastic bags you receive when you go grocery shopping. Please call Carole Mantel if you’d like to join in saving the environment in this way.

Eco-Friendly Products – As much as possible, Beth El uses eco-friendly products throughout the synagogue, and recently converted to eco-friendly soap products in our main rest areas. We are always looking for other ways to improve our environmental footprint.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can “be green” in your own home – please visit the links below or submit your question to: “Ask Andy” - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it