Two of my columns last week generated a lot of commentary.

My article on the United Church of Canada’s (UCC) general council meeting, during which several resolutions with respect to divestment in Israel were defeated, generated 18 comments, which must be close to a record at TD — certainly, it is the most talked about article I have written.

My theology article, which will be a regular Friday feature from now on, generated six comments — and the single longest reply I have ever written, a reply that is an article by itself.

I am interested that my UCC piece did not generate religious commentary. I did not write the article as a religious perspective but even so…

It’s that dearth of religious perspective that motivated me to form the Jewish Court for Social Justice. At yesterday’s meeting we discussed our organisation and formally decided to create the Beth Din Tzedeq (Bedatz), which has always existed on paper but which took a back seat to the formation of our evolving social justice perspectives.

Our division of labour has the Jewish Court for Social Justice organised to handle general matters of social and economic justice relevant to Canadian Jews and the Bedatz organised to handle issues of Jewish law with social justice implications.

I announced at the Capital Pride human rights vigil last week that the Bedatz will perform same-sex marriages and divorces.

The Bedatz is organised also to implement the Greenkosher(tm) standards now being researched by Dr David Brooks at our request. Animal welfare is also essential. No less essential, however, are propositions for fair labour, fair trade, and living wage. These are matters of social and economic justice for food industry workers.

I did a brief analysis on taxation with respect to living wage. A worker who earns $400 (Canadian) a week pays $15.95 a week in combined federal and provincial income tax at Band 3 (which presumes some but not all of, tax credits and other entitlements that reduce tax). A worker who earns $540 a week pays about $42 a week in tax — almost three times the tax on a 35% increase in income.

While the issue of living wages was discussed in terms of workers in the kosher food industry, it remains an issue generally. We learned in our weekly Torah reading this past Shabbat (Saturday) that employers have an obligation of prompt payment of wages. The Torah mandates daily, though modern Jewish law permits other options if this is customary in the general community.

The Torah does not mandate a living wage . But it does mandate that employers cannot penalise workers for taking lunch breaks or eating of the produce they are harvesting — another way of saying that the employer pays for lunch.

The Jewish Court for Social Justice is a court of social justice under Jewish auspices. It is informed by Jewish tradition but it is directed to the general community. Which brings me to one last point.

I had a meeting last week with the Collaborative Justice program in Ottawa. It needs money. This is a plea to all my readers, but especially my Canadian ones, to send a donation to the Collaborative Justice program. It needs your support.