Repairing the brokenness in our world and pursuing justice are central mandates within Judaism. In Deuteronomy 16:20, we are taught: tzedek, tzedek tirdof - "justice, justice shall you pursue so that you may live."'

But recently I was struck by what could be seen as mixed messages. Judaism stresses the importance of kavod  (respect) for the Tzedakah recipient. To that end, according to Maimonides, the highest form of tzedakah is giving and receiving anonymously. If this is so, how are we as Jews supposed to do this repair work and from whom are we supposed to learn it?'

Right before Rosh Hashanah, while helping lead tefila (prayers) in a second grade class at the Rashi School, I shared the well known story of If Not Higher by I.L. Peretz to seventeen eager students. I chose this particular story to illuminate the theme of tzedakah in our teaching about the High Holidays.'

The story If Not Higher focuses on a community and its rabbi at the High Holidays. The rabbi is nowhere to be found every morning as the holidays are drawing near. It is only when one of the rabbi's students decides to sneak into his house and hide under his bed does he see that his rabbi has been disguising himself as a woodsman and traveling into the forest to deliver wood to those who are homebound, ill and elderly. This rabbi's actions follow Maimonides' ladder of tzedakah that teaches that anonymity is one of the highest levels of giving and receiving tzedakah.'

Contrast this model to the story of the rabbi who willingly allows his students to watch his actions. His students understand that even in the mundane act of watching the rabbi tie his shoes there is something important to learn about how to be in the world.'

How can we expect others to know how to repair the world if they do not have direct access to the stories and to those people who are engaged in it every day? '

Our greatest teachers of tikkun olam (repair of the world) not only show us how to respond to the myriad needs in our world, but they also demonstrate how humility, empathy and kavod are at the core of their work. There is a wealth of teachable moments every time someone's story and good work can be shared with others. It should not take a student to hide under his/her teacher's bed to untangle the mysteries of how one can repair the world. Would this town have fared differently if the rabbi had publicly shared his personal passion to ensure that every elder had heat in his home and then described how he went about doing it? Or...if the rabbi's own story and mitzvah work set off deeper questions within his community and congregation as to how they could reach out and make a difference? It is for this reason that we at Rashi, employ the combination of exploring Jewish texts about tzedek and tikkun olam along with face to face encounters with "good people" who share their stories. The arrangement provides our students with not only the "why" we have this mandate but also the "how" to go about fulfilling it.'

Organizations such as the now-closed Ziv Tzedakah Fund and the new Good People Fund seek to spotlight the stories such as the one of the rabbi in Peretz's book. Both organizations have been at the forefront of teaching us that these good people should not be put on a pedestal and "far away" or hidden from us, but rather, they should be in our midst - be our teachers - be our role models...'

At the Rashi School, Boston's Reform Jewish Day School, an important aspect of our social justice curriculum is identifying "Tzedakah Heroes", spotlighting their good work, and creating opportunities for our students in grades K - 8 to meet face to face with some of these people. If you walk up the stairs to the second floor, you cannot help but be drawn to a huge wall covered with framed color photos of these good people whose work has impacted organizations, and programs that address a wide variety of concerns in the local community, the nation and the world. '

As our students encounter these different tzedakah heroes, they become a captive audience as each hero's powerful story addresses the questions: why this "problem" bothered me, what I thought I could do to respond to it, what was the most challenging part of making it happen, who did I get help from, and what made it successful? These are the very stories that inspire students to engage in their own acts of tikkun olam. On the first floor of the school, there is a similar Tzedakah Hero wall that displays photos of Rashi students and descriptions of the mitzvah work they are doing. It is exciting to watch the wall fill up with photos as the year progresses.'

Each time the work of a Tzedakah Hero is shared; each time we can meet face to face with these individuals and hear their stories; each time we can create opportunities for our students to expand their repertoire of ways to respond to the brokenness in our world and to those who are broken, the plethora of ways to engage in mitzvot is no longer a secret, it is illuminated in inspiring and creative ways.'

Let us not hide the good work we are doing in the name of anonymity, humility and kavod. Instead, as we share our stories, let them illuminate the kavod that is at the core of our thinking and our actions. Let us find every opportunity to have our students, our congregations, and our friends meet face to face with these people and find their passions in the stories that are shared.'

Trying to untangle the mystery of why there is so much suffering in the world can be daunting. Learning how to repair the world from people in our midst need not be.