The Khalid Jabara 'Tikkun Olam' Memorial Library

Today, as we do each year on , we pause to remember Khalid & Heather. We each honor their memories differently and we would love to hear the ways you can honor their memories today too! If you get a chance, let us know how you honor their memory in the comments. We are choosing to make someone else laugh today because Khalid always made us laugh!
If you'd like to honor Khalid's memory with a donation today, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/3t8v66v6

Join me. Our children are not safe and it is our job to do everything that we can to hold them forever close.

With frigid temps in the forecast for Monday, the MLK Day parade has been postponed and with it a surprise Hot Toast parade performance that was in the works 😢 🥶 BUT that didn’t stop the kindness masters at @bnaiemunahpreschool from getting out on the streets for their own ☮️ parade this morning. I was so inspired this morning when I walked in and saw their signs and smiles and overall mensch-likeness, this little song came to me as we started the march. Monday’s parade might be postponed, but peace and freedom and kindness and equality and love definitely aren’t. Happy early MLK Day y’all!

Will you help us? We are running very low on winter coats (9 months to children's size 8). Donating a new or gently used coat today will keep a little one in our community warm tomorrow!

Donations can be made at 1110 South Denver Avenue Monday through Friday between 9am and 4pm.

Join us at the parade!

Video: FOX23 speaks with a local Rabbi and a Muslim interfaith leader about their friendship A local Rabbi and a Muslim interfaith leader say they hope their friendship can be an example amid what's happening in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

On Schools, Religious Liberty, and the High Holidays
A Note From Rabbi Kaiman:

I’m sure many of you have noticed that most of the high holiday celebrations fall on the weekend this year. As a public school student, I always felt a mix of emotions regarding this annual run of special services and celebrations. On the one hand, I loved the opportunities afforded to me by my family’s insistence that we take these days off school in order to observe these core rituals. It was a special time to experience the distinct music of the season, explore the big ideas embedded in these holidays, and connect with friends and family in ways that deepened relationships. Taking these days off from school was absolutely essential to my own formation and expression of Jewish identity and culture.

And at the same time, I always dreaded these days, especially when most of them fell in the middle of the week. Missing class is never easy, all the more so at the beginning of the school year. Even in the best-case scenarios, I found myself a few days behind my peers and with make-up work needing my attention. Sometimes, my public school would even penalize me for absences. As a Jewish kid who cared about celebrating the holidays, it was nearly impossible to win an attendance award. But more than that, what my schools communicated to me was that my traditions were different and that the system wasn’t designed to accommodate my needs.

Much has been said in the public domain over the past several months about the role of religion in public education. There are those in Oklahoma who use the language of “spiritual war for the souls of our kids” and promote explicit moments for prayer in our public schools. Others have suggested that the Ten Commandments be posted in every classroom and that Oklahoma history teachers should be trained using a curriculum that stems from a private conservative Christian liberal arts college. These ideas are often promoted as protections for religious liberty. But they seem to favor one form of religious and political expression over others.

As a religious person, I am very much in favor of protections for religious liberty, but I wish I didn’t have to care whether the Jewish holidays fell on the weekend. For me and the students of our community, I have a feeling that religious liberty might mean something different than what some of our educational leaders promote at rallies and press conferences. I want schools that are sensitive to the many needs of their students and work to uphold protections. I want educational systems that are cognizant of structural challenges and work to address those issues in ways that are aware of the diversity that I represent.

I don’t want the children and families of our congregation to have to think about whether they will confront a penalty in their school setting if they choose to participate in Jewish religious life this holiday season. Unfortunately, I know their realities are not that much different from what I experienced myself. Public life doesn’t always take into mind the experience of the Jewish community. That’s okay. We’re a small minority. We don’t expect the OU and TU football programs to schedule their lives around our holidays, either. We’ll figure out a way to adapt.

But I do wish that when our educational leaders spoke about religious liberty for our children, they did so in a way that included people who think, believe, and practice in ways that might be different. There are plenty of challenges in our public education system. These imperfect systems need constant improvement. In that way, I agree there is a need to protect the souls of our kids. But I would like to think we can accomplish that goal while protecting religious liberty for all. Jewish families shouldn’t have to worry if our holidays fall on a weekend or not. That’s a form of religious liberty I’d like to see protected.

This weekend, I’ll be celebrating the Jewish New Year. As I do so, I’ll be hoping for a year ahead filled with productive, meaningful, and fulfilling expressions of community that transcend rhetoric and polarization. Let us all be more sensitive to the needs of one another. May this be a blessing for us all.

Love this! It was the opening of the Khalid Jabara Tikkun Olam Memorial Library. Dr. Gist was an avid supporter.

We got a shout out from the American Alliance of Museums about tomorrow’s Women’s Living History Museum! Produced in collaboration with the Philbrook Museum, this Social Justice Story Hour features past and present B’nai faculty as well as Tulsa artist Annie Ellicott.

Aretha might make an appearance at the Women’s Living History Museum tomorrow at the Philbrook, 1:00-3:00. Just sayin’.

Aretha Franklin, the 18-time Grammy Award winner known as the "Queen of Soul," was born on this day in 1942. Franklin was one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold 75 million records worldwide. She was also the first female performer ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was ranked #1 by Rolling Stone magazine on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers." One of her most famous songs, "Respect", was considered an anthem of both the civil rights and women's rights movements. In discussing the wide appeal of the song, Franklin stated: “We all require and want respect, man or woman, Black or White. It's our basic human right. That's why people still relate to that song so much.”

To introduce children to this musical legend, we recommend the inspiring picture book "Aretha Franklin" (https://www.amightygirl.com/aretha-franklin-little-people) and the illustrated biography "Who Is Aretha Franklin?" for ages 8 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/who-is-aretha-franklin)

For adult readers, there is also an excellent biography about the life and legacy of this musical trailblazer, "Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin," at http://amzn.to/2nRTYpp

For many stories for children and teens of pioneering girls and women in the arts -- both in real-life and fiction -- visit our "Creative Arts" section at http://amgrl.co/2ibkDIQ

For a diverse selection of books for young readers that encourage respect for others, regardless of their s*x, race/ethnicity, class, religion, s*xual orientation, or ability, visit our "Acceptance & Tolerance" book section at http://amgrl.co/2nui6vU

And for more inspiring stories of pioneering girls and women throughout history, you can sign-up for A Mighty Girl's free weekly email newsletter at https://www.amightygirl.com/forms/newsletter