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Erica Ackerman, Climate Activist

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This Q&A with Erica Ackerman was written for the April 2025 Washtenaw Jewish News, as part of climate outreach coordinated by A2J Climate Circle initiative.

A member of the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation, Erica is a climate activist who serves on the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club Huron Valley Group.

Erica, tell us about the origins of your climate activism

I became a climate activist leading up to the 2008 election. Working with the groups “Obama for America” and then “Organizing for Action,” I developed presentations to raise climate change awareness. We coordinated climate change symposiums in Dexter, Jackson, Canton, and Ypsilanti. 

How did you become a leader with the Sierra Club?

In 2018, longtime Washtenaw County activist Dan Ezekiel asked me to run for the Sierra Club of Huron Valley executive committee, and I was honored to step up.  At the time, funding for climate initiatives in the city of Ann Arbor was in doubt. The Sierra Club mobilized our community to attend city council meetings and to make their voices heard.  These efforts were impactful, and in 2019 the Ann Arbor city council passed the A2ZERO plan.  A key goal of A2ZERO is to realize community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030.

Have Jewish values played a part in your climate activism work?

Yes, for me it all seems integral; Jewish values lead to wanting to protect our environment, and advocating for the earth leads to appreciation of Jewish values, especially around Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).

Regarding activism in the Jewish community, prompted by our rabbi, I recently participated in lobbying through Jewish Earth Alliance, where we pushed our US Senators to defend our progress on climate action. 

Advice for others who want to get involved?

The Sierra Club could definitely use more people who are active and interested in taking action.  Start by attending the monthly Sierra Club program meetings, held on the third Tuesday of the month, 6pm to 7:30pm, in-person at the downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. The programs offer a mix of nature talks and environmental activism.

In addition, Sierra Club Executive Committee meetings are open to the public.  They are held on Zoom, the first Thursday of every month at 7pm. If you are interested in the Sierra Club Executive Committee Zoom link, text me (Erica) at 734-330-0163.

Exciting Times at Beit Sefer!

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Since returning from Winter Break at the end of January, the Beit Sefer has jumped back into action for the second semester of the school year.

Highlights have included a Tu B’Shvat seder led by Rav Gavrielle, where students and parent guests tried a wide array of fruit and sipped on their four glasses of grape juice.

Tu B’Shvat material continued the following week as students had the opportunity to plant and take home cuttings, allowing them to connect with earth and the cycle of nature.

Currently, the Beit Sefer is preparing this year’s Purim spiel, written by Josephine Speyer and Mollie Meadow. Students will be acting out the story of Esther with a creative twist, and will have costumes and props to match. The performance will be staged on the morning of Sunday, March 16th, during Beit Sefer’s normal class time.

Hamantaschen baking in 2024


Finally, there will be a very exciting Hamantaschen baking party for Beit Sefer students and families at the home of Carol Lessure and Jon Englebert. Email Carol at clessure@gmail.com for more information.

AARC’s Year of Water

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“No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.'” – From Martin Luther King’s I had a Dream, quoting Amos 5:4

וְיִגַּ֥ל כַּמַּ֖יִם מִשְׁפָּ֑ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה כְּנַ֥חַל אֵיתָֽן׃

But let justice well up like water,

Righteousness like an unfailing stream.

(Amos 5:4)

I would like to take this opportunity, on MLK Day 2025, to announce AARC’s Year of Water. We will be bringing attention to water justice and infusing water wisdom from Jewish tradition into our prayer services and other programming during the rest of 5785. We do not have to wait until Shmitta years to shed light on the importance of the miztvah of taking care of our planet.

It is my hope that turning our attention to the theme of Water will not interfere with our other efforts of Tikkun Olam, but rather, that such holy work will sustain and nurture us in all our endeavors, for if we work toward purifying and cleansing our waterways, we also purify and cleanse ourselves. As we already know, 60% (give or take) of us is made up of water.

I know that our community is deeply invested in Tikkun Olam, which has many many different faces, as there is so much brokenness in the world. Our community’s commitment and interest in Tikkun Olam is one of the things that I cherish most about us. May we continue on that path of repairing and healing the world with strength and resilience, as a community and as individuals.

B’ahavah,

Rav Gavrielle

Join as Rav Gavrielle Leads AARC Book Group, January 26, 2025

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Once a year, our Rabbi selects a book for interested members of the congregation to read and discuss. “It’s become a tradition we all look forward to, and it helps draw new members to the AARC book group.” comments Greg Saltzman, AARC book group coordinator.

All are welcome on Sunday, January 26, 2025 as Rav Gavrielle leads the AARC book group, and any interested friends, in discussing
Loving our Own Bones, Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole,
by Rabbi Julia Watts Belser.


Lunch and More!

Rav Gavrielle will join us for lunch from 12:20-1 PM at
Emily and Avi Eisbruch’s house
2561 Bunker Hill Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Please email Emily Eisbruch at eisbruchs@gmail.com if you plan to attend the in-person lunch and indicate any dietary restrictions you have.

From 1:00 – 2:00 PM, Rav Gavrielle will lead a hybrid in-person/Zoom discussion of the book: Loving Our Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spir­i­tu­al Sub­ver­sive­ness of Know­ing Our­selves Whole
by Rabbi Julia Watts Belser.
(2023, nonfiction, 237 pages).  

I recommended 
Loving Our Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spir­i­tu­al Sub­ver­sive­ness of Know­ing Our­selves Whole 
because I am fascinated and moved by how Rabbi Julia Watts Belser – a person living with disability, rabbi and scholar of disability studies – artfully weaves together multiple perspectives “to re-imagine our world as more welcoming, pushing against the violence of normativity, and challenging broader systems of marginalization and broader political messages that constrict us in the way we live.”   

– Rav Gavrielle

For AARC history buffs, below are two photos from the archives.

December 2023, Rav Gavrielle led the book group in discussing Judaism Disrupted.

May 2022, Rabbi Ora led the book group in discussing Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible!

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, January 26th

Annual Membership Meeting 5785

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This past Sunday morning, AARC members gathered at the JCC to meet and discuss the state of our congregation and what it means to them.

The first half of the meeting was spent discussing business matters, such as departing (Erica Ackerman, Deborah Fisch, Debbie Gombert, Rebecca Kanner, Keith Kurz) and incoming members of the board (Dave Nelson, Josh Samuel, Robin Wagner), the budget, and other highlights from the past year.

The final half of the meeting was spent on an activity planned by Lisa Wexler, Julie Norris, and Debbie Gombert. Members made pairs, and eventually foursomes and octets, where they discussed what AARC means to them, and notice the themes that came up. Finally, the groups were tasked with making a short poem, song, or human sculpture, that conveyed these themes and ideas.

Near the end of the meeting, each group shared what they had worked on. The results were all unique, and yet each was filled with joy, heart, as well as themes of togetherness, justice, and diversity.

Thank you to all of those who were able to attend and participate!