DCJCC volunteer effort: December 25th 2009

Herer are some views of the DC Jewish Community Center's annual December 25th volunteer effort. Many hundreds of volunteers serve serve food, cheer the aged, young, the homeless and the bereft.

I have been documenting the effort for about 17 consecutive years or so.

For more info visit: www.washingtondcjcc.org/volunteer
Thank you to Erica Steen, Randy Bacon, and Rose Cranna of the DCJCC for their leadership and help.

I was ably assisted, again, by Ruth Stromberg.
Pictured sites include Mother Dear's, DC Central Kitchen, Dream Academy, Change, Inc., and the DCJCC blood drive.

"Tzedek tzedek tirdof l’maan tichyeh— justice, pursue justice, that you may live" (Deut. 16:20).
What is it to pursue justice, and why is the word tzedek repeated?
Medieval commentators offered some ideas:
Saadyah Gaon — pursue absolute justice.  
Rashi and others — your courts should be exemplary.  
Ramban — the word tzedek is repeated to teach that justice is paramount, whether the judgment is in your favor or not. 
The Etz Hayyim bible commentary quotes Abraham Joshua Heschel, "You must actively pursue justice" and 
Simcha Bunem, "The means you use to pursue justice must also be just." - from a commentary by Jonathan Kremer in the Philadelphia Jewish Voice
http://www.pjvoice.com/v4/4202justice.html

Soft evidence of the deluge everywhere...

Views from my house and about, during and after the heavy snowstorm that blanketed everything deep cold and white on December 19th, two days before the solstice was marked. Hello winter my old friend...

See also
http://cpdpcolumbiapike.blogspot.com/2009/12/dreaming-earth-was-covered-deep-snow.html:

Documentation / Phillips

Photographs chosen from an assignment tonight at the Phillips Collection. Three of these are documentation of an historic performance art event, "Re: Happening," based on a work "Theater Piece No. 1" originally staged at Black Mountain College in 1952.


The other image, of the woman on the staircase, I simply just like.

Portrait of Dr. Michael Bourke "Champion of the innocent"

This portrait was recently made on assignment for the American Psychological Association's APA Monitor magazine of Dr. Michael Bourke, who is the US Marshall's Service's Chief Psychologist in charge of analyzing and apprehending sexual offenders who victimize children.

He has difficult and important work protecting the community. I found him to be a very positive, cheerful, and open person, who also clearly approaches his difficult mission seriously.

Portrait of an art collector

I made this picture recently of a noted art collector...

Writing with light.

J Street

I documented the inaugural J Street conference in DC this week. J Street is the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement. They had many members of Congress, the Obama Administration, the Knesset, and significant leaders of moderate Arab nations visit, support, sponsor, and speak to the 1500-plus crowd.

It was an energizing, positive success in galvanizing Jewish and other groups working to create an effective peaceful solution to the long sad conflict between Israeli Jews and their Palestinian neighbors.

These images are just a few of my personal impressions, and are included on the basis of visual integrity and preference, not politic nuances.

A sad handful of crackpot protesters outside the meeting had no effect on the proceedings whatsoever.

I pray this new coalition's voice resounds like a mighty shofar.

Peace. Shalom. Salaam. Pax.

For more information, visit:
http://www.jstreet.org
and:
http://conference.jstreet.org