Hurricane Harvey engulfed Houston on August 27th 2017. It was the third storm to hit Houston in a two-year period and is the second costliest US disaster in recorded history. Now, more than half a year later, Houston has slipped from the national headlines and from our national Jewish communities’ consciousness. Yet the need remains urgent, particularly for communities already impacted by poverty and injustice. Repair the World, in close partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, has been leading the call for a national Jewish volunteer mobilization to work with communities to rebuild. The effort has been coordinated through the newly formed Leadership Coalition for Jewish Service (LCSJ). ActNowHouston, an initiative of the LCSJ, has been placing volunteer groups within the ongoing recovery work coordinated by on-the-ground national and local agencies.

“See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it.” – Midrash Kohelet Rabbah, 1 on Ecclesiastes 7:13

With winter almost behind us and new life poking through the thawed ground and budding on the tips of trees, we remember how beautiful, unpredictable, and delicate our world can be. When natural disasters like Harvey shatter lives, communities, and ecosystems, we are reminded of our responsibility to the land and to each other. OneTable and Repair the World are coming together this Earth Day (4/22) to bring to your Shabbat table an intention around the earth and the work we have to do together to fix and keep it.

ActNowHouston offers groups the opportunity to make a difference in Houston’s recovery at no program cost and with significant subsidies for travel. For more information on how you can register to help with ActNowHouston please visit: werepair.org/act-now-houston

At OneTable, we invite you to hold tradition in one hand and your beliefs, experiences, and passions in the other. Every week Shabbat dinner offers a chance to be present, build community, and reflect.

Through ritual you can carve out moments to connect with yourself and others. Check out our Earth Day Shabbat dinner guide here: