Living an Environmentally Conscious Jewish Life

The Jewish spiritual tradition offers ways to think and act in harmony with nature and for the benefit of the environment.

By Rabbi Fred Dobb for MyJewishLearning

The created world is both bountiful and fragile.

A Jewish environmental activist suggests that treating it with respect and care should be an integral part of our living out the Jewish concepts of Torah (instruction/learning), avodah (service/worship/work), and gemilut hasadim (acts of kindness).

"O child of Adam, when you return to Nature, on that day you shall open your eyes… You shall know that you have returned to yourself, for in hiding from Nature, you hid from yourself… And you will recognize on that day…you must renew everything: your food and your drink, your dress and your home, the character of your work and the way that you learn -- everything."

So wrote Aaron David Gordon, the pioneer-philosopher of Labor Zionism, at the dawn of the kibbutz movement in 1910. A century later, with species disappearing and pollution rising and the globe warming, it's time to do what Gordon said, in ways he could not have imagined, and indeed "renew everything." We must bring our entire being to the sacred work of Creation care -- and in so doing Jews are blessed with millennia of thought and experience to draw upon.

Awareness

The Jewish tradition offers myriad opportunities for uttering a formulaic blessing. We've got blessings for seeing heads of state, Torah scholars, and ugly people. Blessings over sunsets, meteors, rainbows, reunions, and bad news. Blessings for bread and baked goods and fruit and vegetables, all different. In the Talmud, Rabbi Meir suggests reciting 100 blessings each day (Menachot 43b) -- one every ten minutes of our waking lives. In other words, Jews should be constantly aware of the world around us, and should respond through gratitude and prayer.

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Celebrating Jewish Food in the Sunshine State

By Michael Kaminer for The Jew and the Carrot

My most pungent memories of annual childhood trips to Miami Beach involve food. There were free bowls of pickles at Rascal House, matzo ball soup at Pumpernik’s, danish at Wolfie’s.

But as a new exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Florida – FIU reveals, there’s much more to Jewish food in the Sunshine State than deli. As its title implies, Growers, Grocers & Gefilte Fish: A Gastronomic Look at Florida Jews & Food highlights key roles Jews have played in Florida’s food industries, from citrus groves to farms to canneries.

Among the highlights at the meticulously curated show: A full size replica of a revolutionary rolling chicken coop invented by a Jewish farmer; a giant soft-sculpture bagel, encrusted with 32,000 Swarovski crystals, by Coral Springs artist Jonathan Stein; and a recreation of Wolfie’s legendary lunch counter, complete with stools and menus.

The Forward spoke with Jo Ann Arnowitz, the museum’s executive director and chief curator, about the show’s tasty offerings.

Why were Jews drawn to food—related businesses in Florida in the first place? Based on what I saw in the show, there seems to have been an unusually high concentration.

Jews who settled here from all points on the globe adapted to their lives in the Sunshine State by working in any type of business where they could make a living, including becoming produce growers and cattle ranchers — not professions that naturally come to mind when you think of Jewish family businesses.

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Israel, Palestinians, Jordan Sign Water Deal

Sure it’s not a land deal, but maybe we’re getting somewhere?

By Adam Chandler for Tablet Magazine
As Oscar Wilde semi-famously wrote in Lady Windermere’s Fan: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Of course, the Middle East is not a four-act comedic play about a Victorian mother and daughter who are knocking boots with the same man (although sometimes it feels that way, nu?). Nevertheless, it seems important, extremely important, to note good things when they happen. If outrage (real or manufactured) can be summoned on a daily basis, why not take a holiday and summon some goodwill?

With that grandiose thing said, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan inked a deal yesterday to build a pipeline between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. The deal was signed in Washington, D.C., and will help provide drinking water to all three parties as well as help revive the Dead Sea, which has been slowly drying up for years (or ever since tour guides started warning visitors against peeing in it).

The project will bring about 100 million cubic meters of water a year from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to slow the drying up of the latter. It also will establish a seawater desalination plant in Aqaba, Jordan, to provide fresh water annually for all three signatories.

The World Bank is financing the project at a cost of $200 million to $400 million, with the three signatories to repay the bridge loans being used.

Silvan Shalom, who is Israel’s Minister of Energy and Water (it seems big deal when there’s a water minister), likened the deal to a dream of Herzl’s, by which he may have meant to “make the desert bloom,” but perhaps he meant more than that.

Sure, there were some detractors, but they were largely pessimistic about the deal on environment grounds.

Eli Raz, a geologist and biologist at Israel’s Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, praised the project as a symbol of regional cooperation, but said it would do little to alleviate the Dead Sea’s woes. The Dead Sea is losing roughly 1 billion cubic meters of water each year, he said, while the project would only return about 10 percent of that amount.

“As a symbol, it’s very good. In respect for the Dead Sea, the deficit, the water balance, this is nothing,” he said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry is returning to the region (yet again) for the second time in two weeks to press the Israelis and Palestinians on their flagging peace talks as well as continue to sell Israel on the Iran deal. Here’s what Kerry said at the JDC Centennial:

Kerry, who said he speaks two to three times a week with Netanyahu, addressed the peace talks. “I believe, as President Obama does, that Israel will be far more secure if we can also put to test the possibilities of the two-state solution. And so we will continue to attempt to do that despite the skepticism, despite the cynicism in some quarters.”

Kerry also swore again that the United States will not let Iran build a nuclear weapon. For more fanciful thinking on the dream of elusive peace, check out Jeffrey Goldberg’s thought experiment in which he argues that Israel should offer the Palestinians exactly what they want (with the previously established parameters in mind) to test them as a true partner for peace.

King Solomon and the Olive Trees

By Miriam Kresh for The Jew and the Carrot


It’s Hanukkah, and we’ve been hearing a lot about olive oil. But consider the olive tree; its noble wood and generous shade; its gnarled beauty; its fruit, and the pungent oil pressed out of that fruit.

A trip to the Galilee brought me to Druze villages where residents traditionally make their living from the olive harvest. My guide was Nivin, a young Druze woman. We drove past modern olive groves planted against green hills. She indicated where to stop, at the edge of another olive orchard. This one’s trees are 2000 years old.

They thrive on winter rains alone, and for this reason, the ancient farmers spaced them well apart, making room for each one to receive sunshine and moisture without competition. It was a cool, blue afternoon, and we walked between the great, silent trees with a certain awe. They had been set down into that soil as flexible saplings when Solomon’s Temple still stood.

The trees continued to grow slowly throughout the centuries, making new wood that curved outward, so that each tree’s heart was exposed, or curved back towards the mother tree so that a wooden hollow was formed that’s big enough for an adult to stand in. And those ancient trees are still producing fruit. Their branches were so heavy with sun-warmed, blue-black olives that they bowed almost to the ground.

As we walked through the orchard, Nivin told me a Druze folk tale, about the olive and King Solomon. King Solomon had the supernatural power of understanding all living creatures’ languages. He would leave his palace to walk through fields and forests, conversing with beasts and plants, gathering and distilling their wisdom. For this, all natural beings loved him. When the great king died, nature went into mourning. The trees deliberately shed their foliage, so that their bare branches rattled sadly in the winter gusts. But not every tree did this. To the disgust of the others, the olive stood in its full glory of green and silver leaves.

“Why aren’t you mourning the passing of Solomon?” the trees asked the olive. “Don’t you care? Look at us. The mulberry, the almond, the oak — all our greenery has fallen to the ground. Everyone can see how sad we are. Yet you are indifferent. You haven’t shed one leaf. Where’s your heart?”

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The New Jewish Food Commandments

Guidelines to ensure that fresh, local, and environmentally friendly food lands on your kids' plates

By Natasha Rosenstock for Kveller

Most of us are familiar with the Ten Commandments (or at least the Charlton Heston movie) and know all about those golden rules to live by. But while that covers idolatry and adultery, when it comes to the food we feed our family, a newer perspective could be of use.

Of course the Bible has its fair share of rules--keeping kosher, anyone?--but in these health-conscious and environmentally friendly times, it seems like we could use some additional rules, ones with an eye toward organic, local, and ethically produced food. Here are 10 new food commandments to ensure healthy and delicious eating habits that are good for you, your kids, and the environment.

1. Eat less meat, fish, and chicken. Make sure that what you do eat is grown in an ethical and sustainable manner.

Eating less meat is healthier for your body and the universe. Raising animals for food is often not just an unhealthy practice for the animals and those who eat them, but contributes to air, soil, and water pollution. Ethical, healthier, kosher options include KOL Foods, a company that ships out of Silver Spring, MD and Brooklyn's Grow and Behold Foods.

2. Eat dinner together as a family every night.

Eating dinner together every night helps children learn that life should not be composed of endless junk food snacks. When we eat real food, our body knows how to process it, we know we've eaten, and we feel full. Eating dinner together also gives parents an opportunity to model good eating habits, such as eating whole grains, piling your plate with steamed veggies, and limiting meat consumption.

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Greening Hanukkah

 From Jewish in St. Louis

Hanukkah is a time where we celebrate the renewal of the eternal flame and rededication of the Temple. It is a great time to rededicate ourselves to the goal of preserving God’s creation, conserving energy and helping the environment. Here are a few things you can do leading up to, and during, the holiday to rededicate yourself to making the world more eco-friendly.
Leading up to the holiday:

Buy gifts with a low carbon footprint—local stores that sell vintage, locally made or locally grown products are a great place to find these.

Consider offering the gift of time or one that fosters creativity—take your kids to the park for the afternoon or give them an hour’s worth of pottery making time at a arts and crafts store.

Create homemade gift wrap from recycled materials rather than purchasing gift wrap that will be used once and thrown away. For example, gift wrap can be created from used newspapers and magazines. As much as half of the 85 million tons of paper products Americans consume every year goes toward packaging, wrapping and decorating goods. Wrapping paper and shopping bags alone account for about 4 million tons of trash annually in the U.S.

Over the eight days and nights of Hanukkah:

Use Hanukkah candles made of beeswax or soy rather than paraffin candles made from petroleum. Beeswax or soy candles are made from natural ingredients and also produce less soot and smoke than paraffin candles.
Make a healthier batch of latkes by using local, organic potatoes and onions and cage-free, organic eggs. Look for a winter’s farmers market to buy your potatoes, onions and eggs.

Resolve as a household to conserve energy, identifying specific actions you can take over the next year. This could include replacing conventional light bulbs with CFLs, starting a backyard vegetable garden in the spring or doing more walking and less driving as a family.

Chag Sameach!

Greening Your Gifts at Hanukkah

By Kali Brodsky on behalf of CJP Families with Young Children Initiative

Want to go green at this year’s holiday celebration? Green expert and mom Stef Newman provides creative tips for encouraging your family to stay green this season. Stef strives to help parents “think outside their playroom” and take small but significant steps toward a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

What are some easy, affordable holiday gifts that kids can make for family and friends?
Saving money is likely going to be a continuing trend this holiday season. You can definitely involve your kids by having them make their own gifts instead of buying retail. Craft stores have a ton of ideas for kids to express themselves (at great prices!), like decorating clay pots for plants, making note cards, bookmarks, magnets, photo books or photo collages, and creating unique ornaments or picture frames with household recyclables, like cardboard, toilet-paper rolls and egg cartons. You can also whip up a batch of cookies or candy with your kids to decorate and give away, or help them create a video on the computer to send to loved ones.

What are some “green” ways to wrap and package holiday gifts?
There are wrapping papers available that are made with post-consumer recycled paper, but wrapping gifts doesn’t require fancy, expensive paper that will be thrown away as soon as it’s ripped off. Kids can decorate paper with their own designs. You can easily purchase a roll of easel paper or brown butcher paper, or use saved brown paper bags. You and your kids can personalize the paper with craft items like markers, crayons, stickers, glitter, glue, yarn and even bottle caps. You can also try wrapping gifts in old fabric and scarves, recycled aluminum foil or saved maps, or try putting gifts in baskets, containers or canvas bags that can be reused for other things after the holidays are over.

Where can families find eco-friendly gifts?
A great place to look for vintage or handmade items—everything from jewelry to clothing to stuffed animals and toys—is on Etsy. Etsy features an amazing collection of artists and other creative people who truly pass on their visions to you. There are also many stores, both online and even in your own neighborhoods, that feature eco-friendly gifts for your entire family. Another personal favorite is Craftsbury Kids, which offers classic, open-play toys and games at prices that won’t break your bank.

Kali Brodsky is the editor of JewishBoston.com. Feel free to reach her at editor@jewishboston.com.

Greening Reform Judaism

Greening Reform Judaism endeavors to promote an awareness of environmental considerations and environmentally responsible acts by integrating Jewish values, learning and actions that promote sh'mirat ha-adamah - protection and renewal of the world.

By going to the URJ Green website, you can visit such topics as:

URJ Camps and Congregations Go Green!

URJ Grant Supports GreenFaith Pilot Program

Green News

Travel Justly

And much more.  Visit URJ Green and find out what your organization can to do improve your carbon footprint.

Jewish Food Education Network

 For 3,000 years, Jewish tradition has grappled with what is fit- kosher- for us to eat. Today, questions about food have become ever more complicated as we come up against changing nutritional news, the use of chemical pesticides, and industrial farming. Health issues such as obesity and environmental damage are intrinsically connected to our personal and national food choices. In order to empower educators and individuals to teach these topics through a Jewish lens Hazon has created the Jewish Food Education Network (JFEN).

JFEN is a way for educators all over North America to connect with, share and learn from each other with the help of Hazon’s innovative food education resources and support.

JFEN Membership is open to all, whether you’re a full time Jewish educator or an individual looking to connect to a larger community.

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Celebrating a green Hanukkah

From GreenLiving

November 28 marks the first day of Hanukkah 2013. This eight-day Jewish holiday celebrates the miracle of a small jar of oil that lasted for eight days while the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple of Jerusaleum.

Green Hanukkah Hanukkah customs include lighting the nine-branched candelabrum (one candle per evening and the ninth candle known as the shamash), spinning the dreidel, gift giving and eating special food like potato latkes. This year a number of Jewish communities are incorporating green into their Hanukkah celebrations with enviro-friendly products and using the lighting of the menorah as a reminder to conserve resources.

Changing the light In the U.S. a national climate change campaign, A Light Among the Nations (subtitled How Many Jews Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?) launched in 2006 by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) encourages each household to change one light bulb each night of Hanukkah, switching from regular incandescent and halogen light bulbs to energy-efficient, cost-effective compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

Reflect on our resources Rabbis Arthur Waskow and Jeff Sultar of the Philadelphia-based Shalom Center have started also the Green Menorah campaign. "We invite people to light their menorah each evening and dedicate yourself to making the changes in your life that will allow our limited sources of energy to last for as long as they're needed, and with minimal impact on our climate," said Rabbi Waskow.

The green menorah Start off your Hanukkah celebrations with a enviro-friendly menorah made from recycled glass from Vertige, fashioned by the Quebec designer Jacques Rivard. Those with a predilection towards industrial art will enjoy the hand assembled 'Man-orah' created from left over steel pipe stock by designer Alyssa Zukas. The Femenorah version is adorned with genuine Swarovski crystals and is available at Not Schlock Big Cartel.

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Vegetarian Week Analysis: How Our Food Choices Can Help Avert a Climate Catastrophe

by Richard Schwartz for Jewcology

There is good news and bad news. Unfortunately, the bad news is extremely bad, perhaps the most inconvenient truth one can imagine: the world is rapidly heading toward a climate catastrophe. This is the view of science academies worldwide and of over 97% of climate scientists.

Global temperatures have been rising. The 12 warmest years since temperature records have been kept in 1880 have occurred since 1998. Every decade since the 1970s has been warmer than the previous decade. Glaciers and polar ice sheets are melting far faster than the projections of climate scientists. There has been a major recent increase in the number and severity of severe climate events, including heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and floods.

Many climate experts, including James Hansen, former director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Institute for Space Studies, believe that a safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 350 parts per million (ppm). Atmospheric CO2 recently reached 400 ppm and it has been growing by 2-3 ppm per year, making climate experts very concerned.

What has Hansen and other climate scientists especially worried is that climate change could soon reach a tipping point, unleashing a vicious cycle of rapid climate change leading to disastrous consequences -- melted sea caps, flooded cities, mass species extinctions and spreading deserts, among other events -- unless major changes in how humanity uses energy soon occur.

There is a very strong scientific consensus that climate change is happening, that it poses a major threat to humanity and that human activities are the primary cause, as indicated by many peer-reviewed articles in respected science journals and statements by science academies all over the world. These views were reinforced by a report released on September 27, 2013 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group composed of thousands of climate experts from many countries, that indicated, among other things that they were at least 95% certain that climate change is largely caused by human activities and that the oceans may rise by 3 feet by the end of this century. The conservative group ConservAmerica (www.ConservAmerica.org), formerly known as "Republicans for Environmental Protection," is working to reduce denial among conservatives.

The good news is that shifts toward vegan diets can make a major difference. It may seem naïve to argue that a mere change of diet could be a potent prescription for combating climate change, but the evidence is incontrovertible, and slowly the public is getting the message.

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Mysticism and Health Food

By Nachum Mohl

There is a current thought in the Health food literature that claims that drinking milk is not healthy, cows don't drink milk, why should man. There is also the claim that eating meat is not healthy, man was not born to be carnivorous. Since your magazine has a mystic corner, can you tell me what the mysticism says about this?

The question is interesting. To answer this question, you must understand the way and method in which the world was created. When the world was created it was created in four basic levels organic first, the earth and rocks. Then the next level, the inorganic, the trees, plants, etc. After that the third level was created, the animal, birds and fishes. Finally, the last level was created, man.

We can list them thusly:

 

If we ponder, which level is the strongest, which level has the most power, we would say that the first level, the level of the inorganic is certainly the strongest. Man has used the rock to build buildings used iron to build and strengthen his environment. It is the strongest.

The next strongest is the organic. Trees also give us protection from the cold and rain. Plants give us clothing and food. The next level,.the animal, can not shield man's environment, but also provides him with his bodily needs.

If we look a bit deeper, we must observe that the ground and rock has no need for the other three levels, it can exist alone. (Like the other planets or moon which is only rock)

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Jewish Groups Praise New EPA Rules

Washington, DC – The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) today applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s release on Friday of a revised standard limiting carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants.

“Carbon dioxide emissions are the leading cause of climate change, which is one of the great moral challenges of our time. This proposal takes an important step towards addressing the effects that our electricity generation can have on the Earth and human health,” said JCPA President Rabbi Steve Gutow.

These effect have been shown to have a disproportionate impact on communities of color, youth, the elderly and those living in poverty.

COEJL and the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism collected hundreds of signatures from the Jewish community in favor of the original rule proposed last year. The new rule responds to concerns raised in public comments to the prior proposal by setting separate standards for emissions from coal plants and natural gas plants and providing flexibility for industry while achieving similar outcomes.

“We hope that these revised regulations will be made final after the comment period and implemented without delay,” said Gutow.

“These rules were released during the holiday of Sukkot,” said Sybil Sanchez, Director of COEJL. ”Ecclesiastes Rabbah (1:4) reminds us that ‘One generation goes, another comes, but the Earth remains the same forever.’ Eating and sleeping outdoors in our sukkot makes us appreciate some of the many gifts we receive from the Earth — clean, breathable air, and fertile land in a stable climate. But we are confronted by the fact that the Earth is changing before us, and these resources will not be here for future generations unless we act now. Adopting these rules is an important part of that action.”

The release of the proposed standards is a key point in the implementation of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, which he announced in June at a speech in Washington, DC attended by COEJL and JCPA.

“We look forward to the release of standards for existing power plants, as well,” said Sanchez.

More information can be found at www.coejl.org.

JCPA, the public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community, serves as the national coordinating and advisory body for the 14 national and 125 local agencies comprising the field of Jewish community relations.

The Coalition on the Environment in Jewish Life (COEJL), an initiative of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), deepens and broadens the Jewish community’s commitment to stewardship and protection of the Earth through outreach, activism and Jewish learning.

Inside the Artist’s Studio: Creating a Beautiful New Home for the Torah

Video: Judaica designer Alexander Gruss on Simchat Torah, the legacy of the Holocaust, and the value of handmade objects

By Efraim A. Klein for Tablet Magazine

Alexander Gruss and his wife Lorelei have been designing and creating Judaica through Studio Gruss for a quarter century. Their work has evolved in that time from small, hand-crafted pieces like mezuzahs, etrog boxes, and Seder plates for Passover to larger projects, including entire sanctuaries in places as far away as Keter Torah Synagogue in Michigan. “The whole process of design is something I keep learning,” Alex explained. “I always said yes to things I never did before.”

In this video shot in their expansive home-studio in Brooklyn, Alex discusses his life moving from his native Argentina to Israel and later the United States; how he views the significance of his art in connection to the Holocaust; and the cultural shifts he’s witnessed in how Judaica is designed. He also explains the connection between his work building arks for Torahs and the holiday of Simchat Torah.

Sharing Eden, a handbook to sustainable living

 Jews, Christians and Muslims unite to protect the environment

Leading UK Jewish, Christian and Muslim environmentalists have come together to launch Sharing Eden – a unique handbook that uses the teachings of the Abrahamic faiths to encourage a greener lifestyle for all.

As the Dalai Lama emphasised in his recent prayer service at Westminster, religious people must “take responsibility for the environment.” With more than 45 million* self-identifying Jews, Christians and Muslims in the UK, driving more sustainable living in these communities, as well as further afield, could make a significant positive impact on our environment.

Editor Lindsay Swan explains: “Sharing Eden is a remarkable example of interfaith collaboration to reach a common goal – a more sustainable future for all. The authors’ aim, as well as to build bridges between often-differing faiths, is to throw a green light on age-old traditions and practices. They provide clear, easy-to-follow advice on how we can all do our share to protect the Earth, whether we have a faith or not.”

The introductory handbook combines beautiful and enlightening texts from each faith’s religious teachings and worship to address some of the most prominent environmental issues faced today, such as waste, climate change and biodiversity. Drawing from both scripture and personal experience, each author brings a contemporary focus to the eternal challenge of caring for the Earth. The authors also hope to encourage further collaborative efforts and stimulate public awareness and debate on the book’s topics.

The book is published jointly by The Conservation Foundation and Kube Publishing and is available to buy from KubePublishing.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Waterstones.com (RRP: £4.99). For further information, please visit www.sharingeden.org.

* Data from 2009-10 Citizenship Survey: Race, Religion and Equalities Topic Report www.communities.gov.uk

The Authors:

Natan Levy has been Rabbi of Shenley United Jewish Community for four years. He is the Environmental Liaison for the Chief Rabbi’s Office and the Rabbinical Expert for the London School of Jewish Studies’ Responsibility Unit. From 2005 to 2008 he served as the Jewish Campus Chaplain for the southwest of England. Born and educated in America, he is passionately concerned with issues of environmental justice and global morality.

Harfiyah Haleem is a trustee of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES). She is also the editor of a collection of essays on Islam and the Environment and co-editor of the Muslim Green Guide to Reducing Climate Change. She works with people of all ages, delivering talks and workshops on sustainability to schools and universities.

David Shreeve is the Director of The Conservation Foundation, which he co-founded in 1982, and the Environmental Adviser to the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. He has co-authored two Anglican books, “How many lightbulbs does it take to change a Christian?” and “Don’t stop at the lights.” He was awarded a Lambeth Degree in 2003 in recognition of his influence in helping the Church’s understanding of environmental issues.

How to Create a Recycled Sukkah

by Rabbi Leah Benamy, Kibbutz Lotan

We on Kibbutz Lotan have the great privilege of living and working full-time in a community where all of us are committed to a special way of life. One of our core values, as stated in our community’s vision statement, is living in a way that nurtures the Earth and our particular corner of it: “We strive to fulfill the biblical ideal ‘to till the earth and preserve it’, in our home, our region, the country and the world.  We are working to create ways to live in harmony with our desert environment.”

Two years ago Kibbutz Lotan’s school-age children entered a regional contest to create “The Most Recycled Sukkah”.  The kids had fun putting their imagination and creativity to work building our communal sukkah, and their parents took pride not only in their efforts, but also in the message we succeeded in getting across, i.e.
that not everything is junk after it fulfills its original purpose! Of course, it also meant a heightened sense of ownership of that year’s kibbutz sukkah for the kids, some of whom went on to encourage their families to build the same sort of sukkah at their houses. Since then, we adults have noticed that our children on Lotan have given greater attention to the second “R” of the trio ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’: When my daughter relabeled a second-grade binder “Third Grade”, rather than throwing it away and buying a new one, I knew she “got it”.

Here are photos of sukkot built by the children from the communities of Kibbutz Ketura and Kibbutz Grofit – and the First Prize Winner from Kibbutz Lotan!

Suggestions for creating your own “Recycled Sukkah”
Create “stars” to sparkle inside your sukkah.  Take all those old CD’s and DVD’s, paint the labeled side, and decorate the shiny side with colored paper cut into triangle “rays”. Hang from the roof.  String together chains of empty (and rinsed!) soda cans and bottles.  Cover toilet paper rolls and string them together, too.

Create a groovy beaded entrance with soda bottle tops.  Punch or drill two holes in the sides of plastic soda bottle tops. Insert a string and tie a knot for each cap. Create a dozen or more strings full of bottle tops and you have your beaded doorway.  Create an “I Spy” game for visitors.  Line the top border of your sukkah with plastic figures and other small odds and ends your children collect. Have your kids create a poster of their own “I Spy” challenge. All your guests will be occupied with a fun game between dinner courses!

Think creatively about materials for walls. Take a loo a the photo on the next page of large egg cartons tied together. What about breaking down the sides of
corrugated cardboard boxes? How about old sheets or towels destined for the rag pile? A challenge: Create mats by weaving together plastic bags from the
super market.

A resource for you, your Rabbi, Educational Director, Youth Group Leader,
and Committee Members, e.g. ARZA, WRJ/MRJ, Social Action, etc

When it Comes to Waterworks, Congress Works!

By Rabbi Jack Bemporad for The Huffington Post

Once you hear Jordan's story, you won't forget it.

Jordan is a young American radiologist who traveled to the outskirts of Honduras' capital city on a mission trip with her church college group. She was there to assist with much needed basic medical services at a community center called Campamento Betel (Camp Betel). Soon after her arrival she bonded with a young friend and patient, a full-of-life 9-year-old boy who enjoyed soccer and laughing with the other children of Camp Betel.

The boy had come to the medical clinic because an infection had spread to his left eye. Jordan and her team diagnosed what's called a Neglected Tropical Disease. NTDs, often caused by lack of clean water and poor sanitation, are so widespread that they impact 1.4 billion people, 500 million are children. The doctors prescribed a course of treatment for the boy, the key to which was a steady routine of hand and face washing with clean water.

A year later Jordan returned to Camp Betel for a second tour with the clinic. She was surprised to see her young friend back at the clinic. The infection had grown and now formed a tumor over his left eye and part of his face. The once cheerful child was morose, dark, and distant.

Despite following doctor's orders, his parents were shocked that their son's condition had worsened. The doctors were not.

Water around Camp Betel is unsafe. Like one sixth of the world's population, his family has neither safe water nor appropriate sanitation. For them, water -- the foundation of life -- is a disease-ridden gateway to illness. The World Health Organization lists 25 dangerous diseases as "water-related," resulting in somewhere between three to six million deaths each year, mostly affecting children. Almost 800 million people have no safe drinking water and an astounding 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation worldwide. But unlike so many complex problems, sustainable solutions to the global water crisis really are within our reach. We have the technology. We need the leadership. This past week we may have seen just that.

Continue reading.

Green Your High Holidays

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are right around the corner. There are a number of things you can do as a way to resolve to be more environmentally aware this new year.


Use local and organic ingredients in your meals: The healthiest foods for the holiday are foods that are grown locally without any pesticides. Food purchased from local farmers or that you grow yourself will be fresher and have a higher nutritional content than food flown in from hundreds of miles or more away. If you are planning to serve the traditional snack of apples and honey, consider that eating locally made honey has been shown to reduce the severity of allergies as well.

Turn off your gadgets: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are holidays that focus both on spending time in worship and spending time with friends and family. Turning off your phone, tablet, iPod and other gadgets will keep you focused on what the holidays are about and reduce your energy use at the same time.

Decorate your holiday table naturally: Head to your backyard or a local park and create a natural centerpiece for your holiday table. A basket with acorns, pinecones and colorful leaves will make the holiday festive. Avoid purchasing centerpiece items that will go right to the landfill when you are done using them.

Get to services more sustainably: If your level of observance involves walking to services for the High Holidays, you are already doing what you can to have a transportation carbon footprint equal to zero. If you don’t or can’t walk to services, carpool wherever possible with family, neighbors and friends. Another option is to take public transportation if your synagogue is near a bus, train or light rail line.

Best wishes for a sweet and green New Year!

This blog originally appeared on jewsininstlouis.org 

A Very Green Rosh Hashanah

Lisa Borden's Blog for Jewcology.com

On Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate the New Year and give thanks for the creation of our world. We dedicate time to family and friends and we reflect on our past year and celebrate the start of the new year. It's the perfect time to make new goals for the year ahead and try to do better for yourself, your family, and our world.

Shopping for the holidays
Be eco-"logical" about planning your family gatherings right from the get-go. Shopping locally for an organic Rosh Hashanah meal, apples and honey will not only help support your neighbours and community, but you will also serve kind, chemical and pesticide-free food. And don't forget, shopping tools can be as important as the food itself. What a shame it is to carry home glorious food in a toxic throwaway.

Tote the right thing
Plastic bags are a thing of the past, but if you're toting a 99 cent reusable, you could be doing more harm than good. Non-woven polypropylene reusable bags are made from the same stuff as disposable plastic bags -- petroleum (ick!) and have been found to have high levels of lead. It's time to carry on (literally!). Arm yourself with a bag that will last you all of your shopping to come. Try a fair-trade bag that is lab-tested, lead-free and is washable.

Dress your table
In Judaism, the colour white signifies transformation and purity. We strive to ensure that everything is clean, neat and sparkly and we traditionally dress our tables with a white tablecloth and white napkins. In keeping with the tradition, lose the chlorine bleach and adopt safe and responsible practices. Rosh Hashanah is a sacred holiday, so make sure your personal and shared environment is safe for your loved ones, and our planet.

Hands off!
Is it worth wearing gloves and feeling like you might pass out just to have shiny happy silver? Harmful silver polish has danger warnings about inhaling it or touching your skin. Do you want that hazard on your soup spoon? I would advise cleaning your silver with natural toothpaste or putting it in a sink with aluminum foil on the bottom -- just add warm water and salt. Same sparkly results, but fume and residue-free. Take a whiff of that!

Table toppers
When you pull out the "good stuff" for the holidays, make sure it's actually, truly good for you. I believe that napkins and tablecloths that are vinyl, backed with plastic or even cotton, treated with chemicals (you know the ones that claim they are stain-proof or wrinkle-resistant?), should absolutely be avoided. Some consider cotton to be the world's 'dirtiest' crop due to its heavy use of insecticides. Choose natural linens like organic cotton, but regardless of your choice, please make sure they are reusable.

Continue reading.

Spotlight On: Jonathan Neman, Sweetgreen Co-Founder

Talking to the LA native about Shabbat, sustainability, and the salad chain’s New York City debut 

By Jillian Scheinfeld for Jewcy.com 

“Sweetgreen for lunch or Sweetgreen for dinner?” This was a common question throughout my college career, and I’d say four times out of the week it would be one or the other. I’m not the only Sweetgreen freak—there are many fresh food lovers, and many of my friends, who have flocked to the D.C.-based salad establishment since it opened in 2007, seeking salads, health juices, and frozen yogurt.

New Yorkers, get excited: Sweetgreen’s first New York location opens today in the Nomad Hotel on Broadway and 28th Street.

I spoke to Jonathan Neman, who, along with Nicolas Jammet and Nathaniel Ru, founded the salad chain, which also produces the annual Sweetlife festival at Merriweather Post Pavillion in Maryland (featuring artists such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, and The Shins). From opening their first location in Georgetown, which had no room for diners to sit and eat, to gearing up for their New York City debut, the Sweetgreen crew knows what they’re doing—and they’re clearly doing it well.

Where did you grow up and what did you study in college?
I grew up in Los Angeles, and I studied business management, entrepreneurship, and finance at Georgetown University.

How did the idea for Sweetgreen originate? Why salads?
Sweetgreen originally was something we wanted to build for ourselves. We looked around and nothing like it existed. The whole lifestyle is built off this life that we live. Could you have a meaningful productive life that’s still fun, and can you still eat healthy food and have it be delicious and affordable? So from the beginning we wanted to create a lifestyle surrounding healthy food.

Did the idea for ‘Sweetlife’ idea come before Sweetgreen?

It was Sweetgreen first in terms of thinking about salad, but it was always thinking about this idea of a greater lifestyle.

Who thought of the name?
Continue reading.

An Environmental Confession for the High Holidays

by Rabbi Lawrence Troster for the Huff Post

The Jewish month of Elul is the last month in the year and marks the beginning of the season of repentance that culminates with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Ten Days of Repentance, also known as the High Holidays.

The Jewish concept of repentance is called Teshuvah ("return" in English) and one of the critical aspects of repentance is the act of confession. In the High Holiday liturgy are numerous public confessions that are couched in general terms for a whole series of sins.

Jews confess primarily in public rather than in private, and in general terms rather than in specifics, because this allows everyone in the community to confess without shame or embarrassment. Public confession also binds the sins of one person to that of the whole community so that all take responsibility for one another. While Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) once wrote that we confess in specific terms only for sins between one person and another, sometimes it is worthwhile to confess publicly for other kinds of sins. If we have sinned against a particular person, we are supposed to go to them, confess and ask forgiveness. If they have died, we are supposed to go with a minyan of ten people and confess over their graves. In all our acts of repentance, we are supposed to try and undo the damage we have caused.

While the traditional list of sins is fairly comprehensive, the time has come to add a new one: the careless destruction of Creation. At a conference for Jewish environmental scholars that I once attended, I heard an environmental educator say that we can become more environmentally aware and responsive by publicly confessing our environmental sins. He then proceeded to do so. Everyone there laughed a nervous laugh of embarrassment, because we all realized, without saying a word, that we all have such sins to confess.

I, too, have committed environmental sins in my life. Here is one that would be more fitting to confess over a river in Northern Ontario (you will soon see why), but because this is the season of repentance, I do it now.

When I was sixteen, as part of my summer camp program, I went on a canoe trip in Northern Ontario and I participated in a frog massacre. I had been going to this camp in Haliburton for nine years, and now I was a CIT (counselor in training). Five of us and a "tripper" (a counselor who specialized in taking out canoe trips) set out in two canoes from the middle of Algonquin Park for a six-day trip that would take us to North Bay.

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20 Ways to grow, think about, and EAT food

From The Vermont Quarterly, University of Vermont (UVM)

 

by Joshua Brown | Megan Camp ’84 | Lee Ann Cox | Jon Reidel G’06 | Amanda Waite ’02 G’04 | Jeff Wakefield | Thomas Weaver | Dave Zuckerman ’95

The study and practice of food systems threads through academic disciplines, across political boundaries, and into the lives of every individual on the planet. As complex as these questions are, they might be boiled down to this—creating positive approaches to food for the wellbeing of the environment, farmers, and ourselves. Extension Dean Doug Lantagne ’77 directs UVM’s Transdisciplinary Research Initiative on Food Systems, a focus particularly well-suited to Vermont. On a visit to the state several years ago, author Michael Pollan, a leading voice in the food movement, was struck by the passion, expertise, and innovation he found in Vermont and at the state’s university. Read on for a glimpse of some of this work being done by UVM faculty, students, and alumni.

AGRICULTURE & AESTHETICS
A social geographer’s view
"Food systems, to me,” says Cheryl Morse, assistant professor of geography, “is not just about food choice. It’s about the landscape that provides the food.” Here in Vermont, the look of that landscape—the idyllic pastoral scene, the “sweeping view with a mountain in the background and a maple tree in the foreground”—cuts right to the soul of the state for most people. The irony, Morse says, is that classic mix of farm buildings, open land and forest was a nineteenth century creation of the state to lure back people who had fled after the Civil War, whether as tourists or to live. “They crafted a narrative about the rural ideal and the agrarian landscape of Vermont,” she says. Leave the land alone, and it wants to be trees.

According to Morse, it’s not just agriculture that’s keeping spaces open but private landowners who see scrubby boundaries creeping in and bring out the brush hog. “It makes people really sad,” she says. “It makes them think people aren’t taking care of the land. So it’s not so much an ecological perspective they’re coming from, it’s more from a cultural historical legacy.”

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Tel Aviv's Gastronomic Amusement Park

Israel’s freshest and zaniest produce, plus wines, cheeses, fish and meat, beckon visitors to this high-end daily market in Tel Aviv port.

By Viva Sarah Press for ISRAEL21c 

On a walk through a farmers market in France, Israeli food journalist and entrepreneur Michal Ansky came across some of the most delicious-looking red tomatoes. When she asked the tour guide about them, she wasn’t expecting to hear that they were imported from Israel.

“In Israel, there are the best fruit and vegetables and herbs I’ve ever seen. But it doesn’t reach the customer. Usually the good stuff goes to export,” Ansky, who specializes in food products quality, tells ISRAEL21c. “There is no buyer diversity here.”

So Ansky, together with chef/journalist Shir Halpern and architect/entrepreneur Roee Hemed, founded Shuk Hanamal (Port Market) to give customers more choice, better products, and knowledge about where their food is coming from.

The one-stop shop for the best ingredients and produce is located in a hangar at the Port of Tel Aviv, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. During the week, vendors in the covered market offer up local and seasonal fruits and veggies, specialty wines, cheeses, baked goods and fresh meat, fish and deli goods. There are also imported delicacies that are unavailable locally. Think Eataly in New York, but in Hebrew.

On Friday mornings, Shuk Hanamal welcomes the Tel Aviv farmers market vendors and it is culinary and gastronomic heaven for everyone. The small producers set up stalls packed with locally grown, exotic-looking, super-tasty fruits and vegetables that you don’t usually see in Israel. 

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Israeli Invention Will Cool Cyclists Off On A Hot Day

 BY AYA EPHRATI, for NOCAMELS

Cycling can be a strenuous activity – especially during long rides in the summer heat. Two Israeli inventors now think they have the solution to the severe discomfort of overheated riding: Q-FOG. They describe their invention as the “world’s first spray device for cyclists, which attaches to the bicycle handlebar.”

As they explain on their Indiegogo page: “Cooling apparatuses for cyclers available on the market today are not the most comfortable and efficient. They have to be carried or worn on our bodies and this can create discomfort while riding. Q-FOG is a new and innovative, field proven cooling water sprayer that addresses the cyclist’s need for a minimalistic, comfortable and easy to use device.”

“The idea of ​​Q-FOG was born on a particularly hot day,” Inventor Arik Bar Erez tells NoCamels. ”I rode my bike, sweating, and suddenly I passed a house where the sprinklers were on. I knew immediately what needed to happen. I had to build a small device for bicycles that will provide the same pleasant and refreshing experience.”

“Until Q-FOG, the problem was that my inventions always remained in a drawer. I realized that the Q-FOG is too good of an idea to be left in the drawer, and began developing the product along with my partner today, Kobe Rain,” he continued.

Continue reading.

How I Became A ‘Green Zionist’

by Arielle Sperling, Special To The Jewish Week

When I think about growing up in the suburbs of New York City, I remember blue and white Yom Ha’Atzmaut cupcakes and Israel advocacy seminars. I was raised with a joyful love of Israel that is inherently part of who I am.

Starting college at Colgate University last August was a breath of fresh air. My friends, peers, and professors did not all think like I did. My Zionism was challenged, and rightfully so: just loving Israel was not enough anymore. I wanted to speak up for Israel, but I quickly found that politics put everyone around me on the defense. I needed to find a way to show my pride in Israel, and to protect and defend her at the same time.

As a freshman I developed an interest in environmental studies. I became a recycling buff and joined a group that promotes sustainability in the local community. Discussions with my father transitioned from politics to photovoltaics. Now I was juggling my passion for Zionism with my new enthusiasm for the environment, and it became increasingly important for me to find a way to link the two.

A disagreement with a friend helped me understand that the causes are intricately connected. I’d spent the day teaching school children about why they shouldn’t drink from disposable plastic bottles. That evening I had dinner with my friend, who, lo and behold, was drinking from a plastic bottle. Halfway through my lecture on the evils of plastic, he stopped me. “Don’t you think there are bigger things to worry about? I thought you cared about Israel.” I got quiet, embarrassed at his affront. But it was his prying questions that helped me tie the issues together.

“I do care about Israel,” I said. “Think about it. Billions of gallons of oil are used each year to produce, transport, and dispose of plastic bottles. It binds us to oil-rich, politically corrupt, anti-Israel countries. If we lessen our dependence on oil, just imagine the possibilities for the way politics would play out. Can you imagine an Israel that doesn’t rely on oil?”

With a nod, he threw out the bottle. I smiled. That was when I became a “Green Zionist.”

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Residents appeal against redevelopment of Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin

Portobello residents object to proposed demolition of five terraced houses

Residents of Portobello are appealing against Dublin City Council’s decision to approve plans for a expanded Irish Jewish Museum on the site of five terraced two-storey houses at Walworth Road.

The proposed development, which is being handled by the Office of Public Works, would involve demolishing the five houses and building a two-storey over basement museum incorporating a café and synagogue.

The new structure would also include archive storage, an audiovisual theatre, toilets and staff area at basement level, more generous exhibition space on the ground and first floors as well as a museum shop and a garden to the rear.

A synagogue was first opened in 3 and 4 Walworth Road in 1916 and was used for regular worship until the early 1970s. With a steep decline in the area’s Jewish population, the two houses were turned into a museum in 1985.

Its mission is to collect, preserve, interpret and present material evidence of the Jewish people’s experience in Ireland and their contribution to Irish society as well as promoting public awareness of the Holocaust.

The Walworth Road synagogue is the last remaining physical evidence of Portobello’s once-thriving Jewish community, which at its peak accounted for up to 80 per cent of the population of this tightly knit part of Dublin.

The three adjoining houses have been vacant for some time, having been acquired for the museum’s future expansion in an area that is zoned Z2 -- “to protect and/or improve the amenities of residential conservation areas”. 

 Continue reading.  

Arizona Is Fertile Ground for New York Matzo

YUMA, Ariz. — Here, on a Christian farmer’s land five miles from the Mexican border, lies the holiest of fields for some of New York’s most observant Orthodox Jewish communities. Wheat harvested on these 40 acres is destined to become matzo, the unleavened bread eaten by Jews during the eight days of Passover.      

It is not an everyday plant-and-pick operation, and the matzo made from this wheat is not everyday matzo.

Yisroel Tzvi Brody, rabbi of the Shaarei Orah synagogue in Borough Park, Brooklyn, stood at the edge of one of the fields on Monday, stooping to rub a grain of wheat between his wrinkled thumb and index finger. Removing his glasses, he brought the grain close to his eyes and turned it from side to side, like a gemologist inspecting a precious stone.

“It is to ascertain that it’s not sprouted,” Rabbi Brody explained. “If it has, it’s not valid.”

For seven weeks, while the wheat grew in scorching heat under impossibly blue skies, two men clothed in the traditional black and white garments of the Hasidim stayed in a trailer overlooking the crop, to be able to attest that the wheat, once matured, had been untouched by rain or other moisture. Workers were prohibited from carrying water bottles in the field. Dust danced in the air as the wind blew, but unpaved roads could not be wet while the wheat was growing. The goal was to prevent any natural fermentation from taking place in the grains before they were milled into flour and the matzo was baked, sometime in the late fall.

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Empire Kosher Poultry fined $99,000 for environmental violations

Infractions of America’s largest kosher poultry producer include chemical spills and unauthorized discharges.

By JTA

Empire Kosher Poultry was fined $99,000 by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection for repeat violations dating back to 2008.

The infractions at America’s largest kosher poultry producer, which has its plant in Mifflintown, Pa., included chemical spills, discharge of untreated industrial wastewater into the nearby Juniata River, improper storage of solid waste and a lack of reporting to state authorities of some unauthorized discharges.

For example, a state inspection on March 15 revealed an unreported industrial wastewater spill that an Empire employee said was from the chicken de-skinning operation area. Inspectors found a wastewater manhole that overflowed to the ground and into a storm water conveyance system, spilling chicken skin and fat into the areas.

The earliest citation, in May 2008, faulted Empire for having dysfunctional dissolved-air-flotation machines, not maintaining proper records, failing to provide secondary containment around storage containers in the feather pit, and having chemical spills and process waste in the feather pit.

As after other inspections, Empire told state authorities that it would take corrective actions.

On May 28, Empire agreed to pay fines totaling $99,000. Approximately $15,000 was paid to Pennsylvania’s Solid Waste Abatement Fund and another $84,000 will go to the state’s Clean Water Fund over a period of about five months.

There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there

By Sharon Palmer, R.D. - Environmental Nutrition Newsletter for JewishWorldReview.com

"Healthy food is expensive." That's often the belief surrounding nutritious foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. However, evidence indicates that it might not be true. A May 2012 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that, on a per serving basis, many whole plant foods, such as grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, are less expensive than foods we should consume in moderation, such as sweets, chips and fatty meats.

It makes sense that minimally processed plant foods should be lower in cost than more highly processed selections; after all, the less food processing and packaging involved, the lower the food cost. (Think whole potatoes vs. potato chips.) However, even healthy whole foods, such as fresh berries, macadamia nuts and wild salmon, can be costly because of availability, cultivation and transportation.

But if you base the majority of your food purchases on seasonal, local nutrition bargains--foods that provide high nutrition content for a relatively low cost--you can allow for a splurge on wild-caught fish, delicate raspberries or specialty nuts more often.

Check out our nutrition experts' top picks for nutrient-rich food bargains. Prices are based on average retail surveys from the U.S.D.A. and U.S. Department of Labor.

1. Eggs (16 cents per large egg)

"Eggs are rich in protein, versatile and good for any meal or a snack. Eggs also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two cousins of beta-carotene, which may help prevent age-related eye disease," says Virginia-based registered dietitian Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., author of "Diabetes Weight Loss, Week by Week."

2. Onions (12 cents per small onion)

Rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins B6 and C, the onion offers a much needed nutritional and flavor punch. They also contain phytochemicals, such as quercetin and allyl sulfides, which are linked to heart health, immune function and anti-cancer effects. Add them to a number of dishes, such as soups, stir-fries, and casseroles.

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Urban Adamah: Celebrating the Jewish farm tradition

by Catie Damon for newvoices

Across from Red Sea tobacconist and flanked by a dive bar, parking lot, and storage unit is Urban Adamah, a one and a quarter acre Jewish urban farm in the heart of Berkeley, California. Rows of collard greens, chard, onions, beets, and peas radiate from a newly-built yurt and cob oven. Inside the farm, the surrounding city falls into a distant hush. Young people pushing wheelbarrows occasionally look up to greet wandering strangers.

Urban Adamah is completely open to the public so long as tasty fingers are kept to themselves. Host to a residential fellowship, a Hebrew school for children from the San Francisco Bay Area, and a farmer’s market, the farm donates every vegetable and flower they grow to the community. Founded by Adam Berman in 2010, Urban Adamah originated as a spin-off project from Adamah, a Jewish leadership residential program in Connecticut.

Now they are their own, unique program, mixing organic farming with social justice. They offer sustainability discussions along with their public Jewish holiday feasts and are a part of the growing number of environmentally mindful Jewish farms across the U.S.

I was able to talk to Zach, one of the program’s participants, this week. He told me most of the eleven to fourteen fellows that work at the farm are not San Francisco Bay Area natives. The majority are twenty-somethings with roots scattered across the country who felt disillusioned with Judaism after college. Now, they all live together in an “ugly cement” house with big kitchen a couple of blocks away while working full time at Urban Adamah.

For fellows like Zach, Urban Adamah has given them a fresh approach to Judaism that centers on gratitude. Gratitude for all living things and an awareness of the transformative process of nature we are all a part of.

“Like the laws of Kashrut, what is it really saying?” he explained to me. “Pay attention to what goes into your body. Be aware of your food source.” I notice that the entire farm is sprinkled with these “back to basics” biblical references.

Zach leaves to continue farming and I go up to a sign that reads: Bal Tashchit, translated as “do not destroy” from Deuteronomy. The principle prohibits us from cutting down fruit trees in times of war, even if it were to help us defeat our enemies. This law was later expanded to include avoiding all types of waste.

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Green & Just Celebrations

Jews United for Justice has produced a little booklet with a big mission: to work for the day when every one of the $30 million dollars that Jewish families in our area spend on weddings and bar and bat mitzvah celebrations every year will be spent in a way that reflects Jewish values. Each section of the booklet offers specific suggestions for how families can make purchasing choices for their special day in ways that are mindful of workers’ rights and environmental impact. The book is illustrated throughout with Jewish teachings, and with the real-life stories of more than forty DC-area families who made creative green and just choices for their own celebrations. Click here to download to a PDF copy of the guide or the Engagement Jewery Supplement.

Order Printed Copies of the Guide:
If you live in the Washington region:

We have guides available free to individuals in the Greater Washington area who are currently planning a simcha. Click here to order one.
We also can provide them free of charge to to rabbis, officiants, teachers, congregations and schools in the area who will use them in their work with bar and bat mitzvah families and with couples planning Jewish weddings or commitment ceremonies. Download an order form if you are interested in ordering guides to use with your institution.
If you live outside of the Washington region:

For individuals and communities outside of the Greater Washington area, the guides are available for $5 per guide (including shipping) - click here to have one sent to you.

Out Of The House And Onto The Farm

At Eden Village program, local home-schooled kids get hands-on learning and a chance to socialize.

Putnam Valley, N.Y. — On a sunny afternoon last week, while the rest of New York’s schoolchildren were stuck indoors, 15 kids were literally rolling around in the dirt while their parents looked on approvingly.

The children, most of whom are home-schooled, are students in the Farm and Forest Home School program, a unique project of Eden Village Camp and the Jewish Farm School.

In its second year, Farm and Forest — believed to be the only example of a Jewish overnight camp catering specifically to home-schooled children — teaches a curriculum of nature-based education and Jewish values.

Participants, who range in age from 5-14, come to Eden Village Camp, in this Hudson Valley town, every few weeks during the fall and spring to learn science, agriculture, and Jewish thought in a hands-on setting.
Each session draws a few dozen participants, with 10 families consistently attending the program.

Home schooling has become increasingly common in the United States in recent years, with the U.S. Department of Education reporting 1.5 million home-schooled children nationally and 125,000 in New York state. While no data is available on Jewish families who home school, Ellen Brown — who coordinates Farm and Forest Home School — said that it is becoming more common than it once had been. Officials at the Torah Home Education Group, which sponsors an annual conference, put the number of Jewish home-schooling families at between several hundred and a few thousand.

At last week’s session, the group went on a nature walk in the forest together then broke into two groups: the ones 8 and under scavenged for seeds and worms across the farm while the older group wrestled with some weeds before planting kale, chard and collard greens.

Continue reading.