by Howard Schneider, Chair
Or Emet’s Reverse Tashlich Event is now “Earth Tashlich”
Or Emet’s committee has changed the name to Earth Tashlich. The intent is to convey a positive message promoting the health of our planet and its lakes, streams, and oceans. This exemplifies our communal responsibility to “repair the world.”
Adults and children are welcome to join us on Saturday, October 3rd, at 10:30 AM at Marydale Park, 542 Maryland Ave. W., St. Paul (parking lot located on Dale St. N. just south of Maryland) for a brief program, plus:
- refreshments, enjoying friends, playground fun, and maybe some music!
- cleaning up litter and trash from Loeb Lake and park grounds.
Traditional Tashlich Observance
Or Emet has long observed
High Holiday Tashlich (thanks to hosts Alan and Sharon Miller) with a gathering to symbolically cast away transgressions of the past year. The 2026/5787 traditional Tashlich will be held on September 12th.
High Holiday Collections of Food /Personal Care Items
We will collect donations of non-perishable food and personal care items at the Rosh Hashanah (September 11th), Kol Nidre (September 20th), and Break Fast/Yom Kippur (September 21th) programs. These donations are delivered to the always appreciative
Hallie Q. Brown Community Center food shelf in St. Paul. Their food shelf includes dry goods, canned items, bread, paper goods, personal hygiene products, and pet food. Please contribute generously!
Loaves and Fishes
We are starting a new location for our Loaves and Fishes volunteer activity: Hope Presbyterian Church in Richfield. They typically serve 180-200 meals Monday through Friday. The church has a modern kitchen and currently provides the meals with to-go boxes. Richfield, population 37,000, is a first-ring suburb fueled by post-World War II growth with modest homes. From nearly all-white through the 1980’s, it is now a much more racially diverse community with sizeable Black (11%) and Latino/Mexican (18%) populations.
Our volunteer pool is ready to get started and to increase from a quarterly (4x year) to a bi-monthly (6x year) schedule. The first shift is Wednesday August 26th, 2:24 – 6:45 pm. We volunteer on Wednesdays.
- Shift 1: 2:45pm–4:45pm
- Shift 2: 4:45pm–6:45pm
Update on Refugee and Immigration Operations
Though we’ve seen a drawdown of Metro Surge aggressive actions, the Trump administration’s pursuit to deport people, even those in a legal process, continues with zeal.
One example is the “Mega Master” hearing process that began the spring in several other cities and arrived at the Whipple Federal Building in June. These hearings may include anywhere from several dozen to nearly 100 people scheduled to appear at the same time.
Often with little notice of these hearings, MinnPost (6/2/26) reported that, “some miss hearings because they are unable take time off work, arrange childcare, schedule travel, or retain a lawyer.” The government claims the purpose is to reduce backlog cases. MinnPost added that at the June 1 hearing, the court moved applicants’ evidentiary hearings (when decisions often made) from 2027 and 2928 to August, September, October of this year… radically reducing their time to prepare materials.
But it’s an example (DOGE revisited) of “move fast, but raise due process issues.” SJ/SA Committee member Michal Moskow has seen this in action as a volunteer with the Advocates for Human Rights court observer program. She captured Mega Masters in a drawing!
Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Pramila Jaypal conducted an oversight visit to the Whipple Federal Building on July 24. Not all was great. First, Reps. Omar and Pramila had to sign paperwork that they would not talk with detainees.
They asked questions of Homeland Security and ICE officials about any changes to local enforcement policies following Metro Surge. Representatives Omar and Jaypal reported that some were received with frustration and no clear answers. Perhaps most shocking was the use of leg restraints… even for those detainees being held in single occupant cells.
Or Emet members are welcome to join the Social Justice/Social Action Committee and/or offer input on activities and issues. If you wish to be involved, get in touch.
