Exploring, then Exploding: What We Mean by Tikkun Olam Presenter: Rabbi Ari Hart
What do overpriced tefillin, divorce, and letting captives languish in jail have to do with "Tikkun Olam?" Find out as we explore the earliest appearances of the 2000-year-old phrase "tikkun olam" and understand what the rabbis of the mishna meant when they used it. This session will bring participants to a deeper and more relevant understanding of what tikkun olam is all about that can inform the justice work of any school or synagogue. This 9:35 am to 10:30 am. breakout session is designed for teachers working with students in middle school - high school
Rabbi Ari Hart serves at Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob, a modern orthodox synagogue in Skokie and is also a leader of multiple initiatives that bring the Jewish community and the world together to create positive social change. Rabbi Hart was a founder of Uri L'Tzedek (Awaken to Justice): The Orthodox Social Justice Movement, co-founder of the Jewish Muslim Volunteer Alliance, and was the founding director of Or Tzedek, the teen institute for Jewish social justice. He previously served as Associate Rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and as Director of Admissions for Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. An activist and a thought leader, his writing has appeared in the Jerusalem Post, NY Daily News, Shma Magazine, Haaretz, the Jewish Daily Forward, the Huffington Post, and other publications, and was recently selected by the Jewish Week as one of the 36 "forward-thinking young people who are helping to remake the Jewish community." Rabbi Hart received his ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York City. He also studied in Jerusalem at Yeshivat HaKotel and the Advanced Study Program at Machon Pardes.