The highschool students are participating in Hevrah, a three-week social action program at Camp Newman. They have studied together, written essays and poetry, performed street theater, written a worship service and prepared packets for each of them to take home to their congregations to raise awareness of the plight of undocumented workers and their families in our nation today. One group went to advocate at the offices of Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and Senator Diane Feinstein of California. They later joined the street theater performers and signature collectors in downtown San Francisco.

The students encountered every conceivable response to their petition efforts. Most people who were spending their lunch hour on a sunny day outdoors in downtown San Francisco waved them off. A very small number of those lunchgoers said hateful and insulting things about immigrants. Many refused to sign the petitions, but over 800 did. The students supported each other and learned over the course of two hours how to better approach and speak with total strangers about immigration reform. They learned to ignore the rudeness they occasionally encountered and were empowered by the many success stories they experienced and retold to one another. Many people thanked them for the work they were doing. They changed minds on that plaza, convincing many people to sign petitions they were initially reluctant to sign.

Yesterday, the members of Hevrah learned the power of knowledge and advocacy. They learned how to transform rejection into determination to work harder for what they believe in. And, over three weeks, they learned why Jews care about social justice and how we can make a real difference in the world. Yesterday, the 120 members of Hevrah and their staff served the reform movement with courage, determination and compassion. And I couldn’t help wondering what we would do, in turn, to support them. After spending three weeks studying and working hard on one of the most complex and daunting policy issues of our day, what will they experience when they come home next week? Will they have opportunities in their youth groups, religious schools and congregations to share what they have learned, not only about immigration, but also about social justice advocacy? Will they have an outlet for their passion and commitment to social justice? Will we – the adults who surround them – thank them for what they did and encourage them to do more? Or will we, too, like many adults they met yesterday, wave them off? It is our obligation to create opportunities for them to continue their work and build on their commitment when they return home.