Uri L’Tzedek is a nonprofit social justice organization that aims to inspire and mobilize the Jewish community toward tikkun olam, or “repairing the world.” The organization, whose name is Hebrew for “Awaken to Justice,” specifically aims to support, challenge, and inspire the Orthodox Jewish community.
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Uri L’Tzedek is led by a group of rabbis, philosophers, and activists who have dedicated their lives to providing the Orthodox community, as well as the Jewish community at large, with opportunities to effect social justice. The organization, founded in May 2007, fills a gap in the Jewish social justice community by providing Orthodox Jews with a basis from which to engage in local, domestic, and global advocacy and community service projects. It is primarily based in Manhattan, New York, and recently announced plans to expand to Los Angeles.
The great rabbi and Jewish philosopher Maimonides (Rambam) taught that a core purpose of halakhah (Jewish law) is to eradicate oppression and injustice from our societies. This is not only the Biblical prophetic mission but also the mission of the rabbinic tradition. Orthodox social justice, inspired by Jewish texts and traditions, believes that faith communities are charged with the task of ensuring that the most vulnerable and powerless in our communities are supported and given the tools to improve their circumstances.[1]
The Torah contains many explicit and implicit injunctions to participate in social justice. One of the most powerful is “tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” which roughly translates to “justice, justice you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20).[2] The word “tzedek” is variously translated as “justice” and “righteousness,” and it is the word from which Uri L’Tzedek derives both its name and its mission. This commandment, among others, demonstrates that the pursuit of justice for the powerless is a fundamental Jewish value. Orthodox social justice draws on such affirmations in sacred Jewish texts in order to mobilize and refocus the Jewish community around this important value.
Through its activism and educational Beit Midrash programming, Uri L’Tzedek supports a wide variety of social justice causes, including tenant rights, conflict-free diamonds, human trafficking, and global health.[3] In addition to mounting its own initiatives, Uri L’Tzedek partners with and supports other organizations that advocate on behalf of the most vulnerable in our society.
The Tav HaYosher, modeled after Bema’aglei Tzedek’s Tav Chevrati in Israel, is an ethical seal certifying that eating establishment workers are being treated ethically and legally. Uri L’Tzedek launched the Tav HaYosher on May 12, 2009, on the one-year anniversary of the infamous raid on the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant, which revealed violations ranging from fraud to defiance of child labor laws.[4] The Tav HaYosher, according to Uri L’Tzedek’s founders, is the Orthodox community’s response to these offenses. With a team of compliance officers operating at every Tav-certified location, the Tav HaYosher ensures that workers receive their rights according to federal and state law as well as ethical standards.[5] Less than one year after its launch, Tav HaYosher had already been awarded to three dozen kosher establishments in five different states, and it continues to expand.[6]
Uri L’Tzedek has a registered team on the micro-lending website Kiva, through which members can make loans to support entrepreneurs worldwide and combat poverty.[7] The Uri L’Tzedek Micro-Lending Team has provided loans to entrepreneurs in over 50 countries.
In April 2010, Uri L’Tzedek and Director, Rabbi Ari Weiss was accepted into the Joshua Venture Group, an organization that “seeks to reinvigorate and expand the Jewish community by cultivating the leadership and management capability of talented, passionate young Jewish social entrepreneurs and by investing in their visions and the growth of healthy, sustainable organizations.”[8] Slingshot: A Resource Guide to Jewish Innovation named Uri L’Tzedek one of America’s 50 most innovative non-profits. The organization also recently received a Capstone award. Additionally, its founder and president, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, was a Jewish Community Heroes Award Finalist[9], and was named one of the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36.[10] In 2009, founding board member Ari Hart was also honored among the 36 under 36.[11] Uri L’Tzedek operates out of Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas, which provides office space and professional guidance to innovative, up-and-coming organizations that are transforming the landscape of the Jewish community.