Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tirdof?
Tirdof: New York Jewish Clergy for Justice is a project of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ Community). Tirdof is the home for Jewish clergy to organize with our neighbors and allies for a New York City with freedom, opportunity, & dignity for all.
Tirdof is a supportive home for learning, organizing, and action for a powerful and committed cohort of Jewish clergy committed to pursuing justice in New York City. It is a place for rabbis, cantors, and clergy students in formation to learn about human rights and key racial and economic justice issues, develop organizing skills, build community with like-minded peers, and leverage a powerful moral voice in pivotal local campaigns. Through strong commitment to the values of justice, truth and peace — דין אמת ושלום (Pirkei Avot 1:18) — Tirdof seeks to build power among local Jewish clergy who are committed to human rights and social justice, to build a more vibrant culture of connection and organizing among our most powerful moral leaders.
What does Tirdof mean? How do you pronounce it?
The name “Tirdof,” (teer-dohf) echoes the familiar verse from Deuteronomy that begins “Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof”, meaning “Justice, justice, you shall pursue.” The name conveys the message that positive change will only come from sustained commitment and action.
Is Tirdof a partisan organization?
No. T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights & JFREJ Community are 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. As such, Tirdof does not endorse candidates or participate in any electioneering.
Are T’ruah and JFREJ Community merging?
No. JFREJ Community and T’ruah remain independent organizations whose work sometimes overlaps in New York, and often differs. This is a specific joint project to organize New York City-based rabbis, cantors,and clergy students. Each organization will separately continue their national and statewide work as always.
Who can join Tirdof?
In year one, we invite New York rabbis, cantors, & clergy students who affirm our shared principles AND are members/chaverim in good standing of T’ruah and/or JFREJ Community or JFREJ Action to join Tirdof . We will revisit and consider changes to this policy at the end of year one.
We welcome Tirdof members who are ordained as rabbis or cantors by Aleph, AJR, Hebrew College, HUC, JTS, Mechon Hadar, RIETS, RRC, Yashrut, YCT, Yeshivat Maharat, or Ziegler, or who received semicha from a traditional yeshiva and/or are members of the ACC, Cantors' Assembly, CCAR, IRF, Ohala, RA, RCA, RRA, or the New York Board of Rabbis. Those with other ordination or semicha may be admitted at the discretion of T'ruah. We also welcome rabbinical and cantorial students who are currently enrolled in one of the rabbinical or cantorial programs listed above for select programming, as outlined below.
Tirdof members are expected to live by high ethical standards. Members who are in the middle of an adjudicatory process within their rabbinic/cantorial associations are asked to refrain from engagement in our programs or organizing work until the process has been resolved. Those who are suspended from their rabbinic/cantorial associations for ethics violations will also be suspended from Tirdof for the same period, and those who are permanently expelled for ethics violations will no longer be able to be Tirdof members.
What’s the role for clergy students in Tirdof?
Clergy students who are either alumni of a T’ruah student program and/or JFREJ Community and JFREJ Action members in good standing may join Tirdof if they live in New York City and study for rabbinic or cantorial semicha or investiture as a cantor at one of the schools listed above, with the understanding that they will be members of Tirdof for the purposes of skills development and community building. They will be invited to participate in some but not all Tirdof programming and actions, as determined by Tirdof’s leadership in consultation with both T’ruah and JFREJ Community.
What about Israel-Palestine?
Tirdof does not engage in any organizing or advocacy related to Israel-Palestine. Members of Tirdof are welcome to engage in this work through T’ruah, JFREJ, or another organization. Such work will be separate from Tirdof. You can learn more about T’ruah’s position on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories here, and JFREJ’s position on Israel-Palestine here.
Does Tirdof partake in actions on Shabbat and Jewish holidays?
Our community aspires to move at a collective pace and in the rhythms of our ancestors and traditions. Shabbat offers a glimpse of the world to come, and demands that we stop to rest and nourish ourselves and each other. We do not organize or co-sponsor events on Shabbat or major Jewish holidays.