Washington, DC has countless inspiring organizations that are working every day to improve the lives of people in need. During your time at Summer JAM, you will work on two service projects in conjunction with your studies in the courses. You will work at these sites for roughly four hours a day, three days each week. Past organizational partners and projects have included:

• Arlington Refugee Services --Arlington Refugee Services -- running a day camp for children from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sudan.
• Manna – working on a construction project building low-income housing.
  Urban Tree House – clearing the Anacostia River of pollutants and invasive plant species.
• Capital Area Food Bank – sorting thousands of pounds of food for the hungry.
• SOME (So Others Might Eat) – serving meals to men, women, and children
• DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence – distributing information on the shelter to local residents.
• Bright Beginnings – coordinating activities for the children at this day care center for homeless children
• Washington Middle School for Girls – helping run a summer enrichment program.
• Community For Creative Non-Violence – interacting with residents and helping to beautify the largest established homeless shelter in the country.
  

While on JAM, you will focus on two topics of study. Each course will include: a direct service project, meeting with policy experts, Jewish study related to the issue, and a lobby visit on Capitol Hill. Our 2008 courses are:

Aizehu Ashir, Who is Rich?: A Jewish Understanding of Poverty

Will my parents’ income level dictate my SAT score? Why should the rich have to pay more taxes than other people? Why are some Americans who work full time unable to pull themselves out of poverty? How does supply and demand influence salaries and earning potential?

In this course we will explore questions of economic disparity through the lens of Judaism. As our service project we will be coordinating activities for homeless children at Bright Beginnings Child Development Center in DC’s Sursum Corda neighborhood. Our experiences in the field will inform our learning, which will focus on real-life scenarios, Jewish texts and values, current policy, and upcoming legislation as it affects one of our country’s most vulnerable populations: the poor.

Chonen Hada'at: Crisis in the American Classroom

Which is greater—study or action? If we look to the Talmud, we see that Rabbi Tarfon believed that action was superior, whereas Rabbi Akiva preferred study. After further discussion, they both agreed that study was better because it lead to action. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin 40b). Based on this and other texts, we can conclude that Judaism holds education in high esteem. How can we use our Jewish knowledge to improve education in this country?

In this class, we will couple study and action as we examine some of the deep questions facing the American education system. Many schools struggle with aging buildings, funding cuts, and violence. We will examine a variety of potential solutions—such as vouchers and magnet schools—to the socio-economic and racial problems our schools face.  We will ground our inquiry in our hands-on experience tutoring students from low-income neighborhoods at the Washington Middle School for Girls. Throughout the course, we will reflect on the connections between Judaism and education, and how we can use each to deepen our understanding of the other.

Ki Gerim Hayitem: The Strangers Among Us

The Jewish people first forged our collective identity during slavery in Egypt. As a result, many of our traditions and commandments are based on our being strangers in a strange land. Both then and now, the world presents us with several serious questions involving strangers. Domestically, millions of immigrants (legal and illegal) make up the fabric of all sectors of American life.  Internationally, millions of people are displaced from their homes every year because of violence and oppression. Often, they are left without homes, food or shelter, or even a country that accepts them.

For our service project, we will work hand-in-hand with local immigrants and help them in their struggles. We will study Jewish views on outsiders and how we, as insiders, are obliged to treat them. We will look both inside and out and wrestle with the meaning of our identities—as Americans, as Jews, and as human beings.

Refuah Shelaimah: A Holistic Approach to Judaism and Healthcare

Runny nose?  Cough?  Headache?  This may sound like a Nyquil commercial—but for Americans without health insurance, these minor problems could mean a lot more than a day or two of discomfort. If left untreated, these relatively innocent symptoms could turn into a prolonged illness, a lifetime of medical debt, or the untimely death of a loved one.

For our service project we will fulfill the mitzvah of bikkur cholim (visiting the sick) by volunteering with patients at the Lombardi Cancer Center. We will examine Jewish attitudes toward the sick by reading ancient texts, and we will look at public policy and healthcare initiatives to see what America has done for—and to—the infirm. With an eye to the 2008 presidential election, we will examine the current American healthcare system, the proposed alternatives, and the consequences of each.