JOIN for Justice

The theme of this retreat was power: how do we think about power as organizers, how do we approach building power, and what does it mean to use power responsibly? Meir Lakein led the fellows in an exercise based on the Melian Dialogue by Thucydides, in which the superpower Athens offers the tiny island of Melos a choice: they come under the flag of Athens on a tribute paying basis, or war will ensue. The role plays of this dialogue reveal participants’ views about power, Lakein suggests, and help them understand the “scripts” about power that many of us play out in public life without realizing it. Lakein went on to lead the group in a exploration of power over vs. power with, the tension between the world as it is and the world as it should be, and the issue of compromise. He also facilitated the fellows’ exploration of the following questions about their work: Who am I helping to build power? To what end? How? What stands in my way?

The fellows created multi-faceted Shabbat experience to share with one another, with individual fellows planning and leading two services and two group activities. The themes of the Shabbat were joyfulness, peace, sustainability, and community.

Later in the retreat, Rabbi Alissa Wise facilitated a training on anti-oppression work and how it connects to the fellows’ practice of mussar. Starting with a timeline recounting the history of White Supremacy in the US, and a look at how US Jewish history relates to that, Rabbi Wise led the fellows in exploring principles and practices of anti-oppression work, the traps that commonly befall anti-oppression activists, and the ways that mussar practice can support the work we do to disrupt sexism, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and many other forms of oppressive behaviors and systems.

Finally, JOI staff member Rebecca Herst led a discussion of the article “The Tyranny of Structurelessness” by Jo Freeman, guiding the fellows though an exploration of the myth of “structurelessness,” and how informal and formal structures within groups impact the groups’ ability to meet their goals.

We are digging into the Jewish legacy of social justice through biblical text study. To set the historical context, Rabbi Stephanie Kolin started our session with the first appearances of the concept of justice in ancient civilizations. We then worked through text from the Torah, the Prophets, and Writings. What does it mean that we are reminded over and over that we were once slaves in Egypt? To treat others as we would want to be treated? Why is the text, which is read by the ruling class, include a warning that the corrupted rulers are too far removed from the widow and orphan to even have the chance of experiencing empathy? And what are the texts trying to tell us when they lump the priests’ helpers, a highly respected population, in with the widows and orphans? And again, what is with all the repetition? We looked at different instances when “true justice” was evoked, when the human element is taken into consideration over strict constructs of written law. It is in this type of justice, the bringing together of righteousness and justice that we find an established equity. This word, mishrim, is closely rooted to the Mesopotamian misarum- a cosmic state of balance and what is closest to the order of creation.

At Friday’s JOI session, fellows revisited the art of the 1:1, paying special attention to the role agitation plays in these intentional meetings. Together with Rabbi Stephanie Kolin, the group discussed what makes a good agitation, including respectful pushing, trust and the ability to tie action to a developing leader’s self-interest. We also read from the Book of Esther, in which Mordecai agitates his cousin Esther to act in her own self-interest and that of her family to defend the Jews from potential annihilation. Agitation can be the tool that turns on the light bulb for people who have accepted powerlessness in their lives or with regard to a particular issue. By changing the way others think about circumstances they have accepted as unchangeable, organizers can begin to build power and develop new leaders.