October 2025 Edition: Who Will We Be? Justice in the New Year 5786
Saludos, it is Angelique here!
This month’s Repairing Together theme:
Who Will We Be? Justice in the New Year 5786
We have emerged from the High Holidays—a sacred season of reflection, repair, and return. The gates have closed, but the work of becoming remains open. Now, as we step into 5786, we ask: Who will we be?
What does it mean to embody justice, to walk with intention, to build a world that reflects the deepest truths of our hearts?
We arrive in the season of Sukkot, our harvest festival—a time of joy, of gathering what has grown, and of remembering that everything we build is both fragile and holy. Under the open sky, we are invited to dwell in gratitude, to notice what shelters us, and to ask what we are cultivating together in this new year.
This month, we’re centering the work of inclusive democracy with the Allegheny County Youth Huddle—young people envisioning the world they’re inheriting and shaping the one we’ll all live in. Their courage calls us to listen, learn, and act with the same clarity: to decide who we will be in the years to come, and what role we will play in the shared future we’re building.
With heart,
Angelique Rivera (She/Her)
Advocacy Manager &
NCJW Pittsburgh Team
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“Rooted and Reaching” (5-Minute Grounding Practice)
Find your stance: Stand or sit with both feet planted. Feel the ground beneath you—solid, steady, holding you.
Breathe with the Earth: Inhale through your nose, imagining roots extending downward. Exhale slowly, releasing tension into the soil.
Name your intention: Silently whisper a quality you wish to embody this new year—“courage,” “clarity,” “compassion.”
Reach for what’s ahead: On your next inhale, extend your arms upward, palms open. Feel the stretch between root and sky—between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming.
Close with gratitude: Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Whisper: “I am here. I am becoming.”
Resource Highlight:
Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
Inspired by Octavia Butler's explorations of our human relationship to change, Emergent Strategy is radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help designed to shape the futures we want to live. Change is constant. The world is in a continual state of flux. It is a stream of ever-mutating, emergent patterns. Rather than steel ourselves against such change, this book invites us to feel, map, assess, and learn from the swirling patterns around us in order to better understand and influence them as they happen.
“And yes, I’ve heard the voices telling me I can’t. Too young. Too loud. Too much. But when I hear that, I think back to the women who deserved so much more. And I remind myself that when I push forward, I’m not just doing it for myself and my goals — I’m doing it for them, and for the millions of others who weren’t given the chance.”
Jer’Niyah Hanna, 11th grade, Allderdice High School
On October 1, over 190 Allegheny County teens gathered at the Heinz History Center for the third Allegheny Youth Vote Huddle—a day of civic learning, conversation, and connection.
As the first buses rolled up to the History Center, the excitement and anticipation were palpable. We had worked for months to connect with schools, train student leaders, and manage the hundreds of logistics required to bring together this many young people. Our eleven student leaders had built their confidence and skills, planned their presentations and stories, and they were ready.
NCJW-Pgh is proud to be a lead organization in the Allegheny Youth Vote Coalition, a group of nine local and national organizations advancing civic learning in Allegheny County. Working with local school districts, the Coalition has held programs for the past four semesters to increase civic engagement among our region’s youngest voters.
As students checked in, they joined issue discussion tables on topics ranging from Gun Rights and Gun Violence to Mental Health and Immigration. Each group explored their personal connection to the issue, the changes they wanted to see, and how their issue connects to the judicial system.
PPS Superintendent Wayne Walters opened the Huddle, followed by speakers Justice Cynthia Baldwin, Justice Kim Clark, and Public Defender Lauren Leiggi, who discussed the role of judges and what goes into a judicial election. The most powerful moments, however, came from the student leaders themselves. Jer’Niyah Hanna (PPS Allderdice) shared a story of empowerment, and Saga Aguilar Carroll reflected on her connection, as a Mexican-American youth, to a recent court case on racial profiling.
Student leaders illuminated the subtleties of judicial elections, led discussions on why youth voting matters, and facilitated plans for voter registration drives at their schools. They also explored prime source materials from the History Center’s collections to learn about an influential Allegheny County judge whose decisions shaped history.
Students left inspired to register themselves (if eligible) and their peers to vote. Along with our Coalition partners, we’ll be supporting school-based voter registration drives through the October 20 registration deadline.
What You Can Do:
Show your support for these hard-working students by getting out to vote on November 4. There is no such thing as an “off-year” election—on the ballot are critical judicial races, retention votes, school boards, borough councils, and more. Politics is local, and your vote matters, especially in these elections.
Don’t forget to flip your ballot for key judicial retention votes, and take a moment to review candidate information through sources like the PA Bar Association, League of Women Voters, and the WESA Voter Guide.
Many thanks to our partners in the Allegheny Youth Vote Coalition, the Heinz History Center, and to our generous funders—the Grable Foundation, AEO Better World Fund, Heinz Endowments, and our many individual donors. Your support makes this work possible.
Rachel Martin Golman; she/her
Sr Director of Social Impact
Repairing Together (Tikkun Yachad) Gathering
Who Will We Be? Justice in the New Year 5786
Thursday, October 23, 2025 | 6:15 – 8:30 PM
We have emerged from the High Holy Days — a season of reflection, repair, and return. Now, we ask: Who will we be in the year ahead?
Repairing Together (Tikkun Yachad) is a gathering for care, connection, and collective action. As we step into 5786, we will nourish our bodies and spirits, root into shared values, and explore what action looks like in the times ahead. Together we will explore what it means to shape a future where community and accountability guide us.
This evening will include:
A light meal with intentional space for connection
A collective care practice
And a local Guest Speaker
This is a free gathering, open to all.
Thriftique’s Threads of Change Designer Days Kick-Off 2025
October 29, 2025 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM EDT
Until Next Month!
Repairing Together Advocacy Newsletter
Building Collective Care, Collective Power, and Collective Action
