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“Tikkun Olam” is a buzzword in the Jewish community today but how many of us know the stories of those Jews who took part in the nation’s social justice movements? What values—Jewish and American—motivated them and what challenges did they face?

A new educational resource from the Jewish Women’s Archive provides some fascinating and provocative answers. Complementing the first Living the Legacy educational module, which focused on the role of Jewish men and women in the Civil Rights Movement, in September Jewish Women’s Archive will launch Living the Legacy: Jews and the Labor Movement. These new materials explore the way Jews fought for and with American workers.

“Jews and the Labor Movement” tells the stories of such organizers as Rose Schneiderman and Clara Lemlich, who put themselves at risk to organize industrial workers, and of Jewish laborers, who formed mutual aid societies, agricultural collectives, and other organizations. 

This module completes the collection of Living the Legacy’s classroom-ready lesson plans, primary sources, and traditional Jewish texts. All the materials are available free-of-charge at jwa.org/livingthelegacy so educators working in a variety of formal and informal learning settings can easily access them. 

“Teachers from all over are telling us that Living the Legacy provides a new and exciting perspective on Jewish history, engaging their students in a nuanced story of Jewish social justice activism,” says Judith Rosenbaum, Director of Public History at JWA. “By weaving historical sources with traditional texts and contemporary issues, Living the Legacy inspires students of all ages to see themselves as part of this long tradition and to view the world and their own futures through a Jewish lens.”

Living the Legacy: A Jewish Social Justice Education Project was made possible in part by funds granted by the Covenant Foundation. The statements made and the view expressed, however, are solely the responsibility of the authors.

About the Jewish Women's Archive

The mission of the Jewish Women’s Archive is to uncover, chronicle, and transmit the rich history of American Jewish women to the broadest possible audience. JWA is nationally recognized as a vital contributor to a more expansive and inclusive vision of Jewish life, past, present, and future. Through its innovative uses of technology and strategic partnerships, JWA has successfully changed the way history is researched, recorded, and taught.

Virtual Press Kit

A PDF version of this press release is available in the Living the Legacy Virtual Press Kit.

Press photos (including images from the curriculum, the JWA logo, and some photos of the curriculum in action) are available on the JWA Flickr page. Please reuse with respect to the rights information and citations provided.