By: Rachel Lerman

On November 10, 2015, workers and supporters in cities all around the country joined together to support the Fight for $15- a national campaign fighting to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. In Detroit, a large rally took place downtown in front of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center with over 300 people in attendance. A group of DJJ members met at the rally to stand in solidarity with workers, organizers and other faith groups who were there.

Last year, Rabbi Alana was invited to speak at a Michigan United Justice Assembly discussion on Police Accountability & Civilian Oversight. Her comments are included below.

Good evening.
It’s an honor to be sharing a few words with this powerful gathering
I was asked to speak on the theme of repentance.
Repentance is a concept which sounds a little foreign to Jewish ears…
The closest word we have for repentance is Tshuvah –
it means turning, or to return, or to go in the opposite direction
It operates on the assumption that the person doing t’shuva is GOOD,
good at their core;
that if they just turn around – RETURN,
then they will return to goodness and righteousness.
The word sin also does not translate easily to the Jewish faith.
it seems to assume intentionality.
Our word for sin, Chet, means “to miss the mark”
it assumes we meant to do right.
We aimed for goodness and we missed.