Civic engagement is the process of addressing an injustice, with the goal of improving our collective future. Civic engagement is non-partisan, although it may involve political processes to change local, state, or federal policies. Civic engagement may entail mobilizing consumers or other stakeholders to use their power to alter unethical or unsustainable institutional practices.

Civic engagement connects Jews with Jewish community both inside and outside the walls of synagogue buildings, connecting the loosely affiliated more profoundly and meeting the unaffiliated in the secular world. As synagogues embrace civic engagement, Jews who are instinctively drawn to this work become confident voicing the teachings of our faith, living Jewish values as they transmit them to the next generation. Civic engagement through our synagogues empowers us to respond as Jews and as Jewish institutions to address the serious challenges facing our country today.

That’s fine. Just as we do not expect every congregant to participate in all three of the synagogue’s traditional pillars –Torah study, worship services, and acts of loving-kindness — we know that civic engagement appeals to only a segment of the congregation. Embracing civic engagement as a fourth leg engages many American Jews with a Judaism they find relevant, connecting them profoundly to their synagogues.

The book is intended for a diverse group of readers: clergy across the streams of Judaism, synagogue board members, lay leaders, steadfast volunteers, involved and uninvolved congregants, Jewish activists, intrigued secular Jews, and inquisitive non-Jews who see the foundational value of this work.

Over the course of two years, we interviewed fifty clergy and lay leaders in eighteen American synagogues. These synagogues ranged in size from 130 to 1,300 families — located in progressive states and in conservative states, in cities ranging from one hundred thousand to a few million in population. Yet, each made a meaningful difference advocating for change as a Jewish congregation.

Rabbi Judith Schindler and Judy Seldin-Cohen spent ten years collaborating on social justice initiatives prior to researching and writing Recharging Judaism.

Their first project was the award-winning documentary “Souls of Our Students: Appreciating Differences,” recently updated with the addendum “A Transgender Focus.” They spearheaded the first Jewish-sponsored site for the Children’s Defense Fund® Freedom Schools.

Their extensive work in homelessness and affordable housing includes creating an advocacy policy for Temple Beth El, a second award-winning documentary “Souls of Our Neighbors: Fears, Facts & Affordable Housing,” and the website SolveThePuzzleCharlotte.org, now hosted by the Homeless Services Network. Seldin-Cohen also serves on the advisory council for the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice, for which Schindler is the founding director.