A JOFEE Journey

by Jakir Manela

I hated Hebrew School. Organized Jewish life was irrelevant to me growing up; after my Bar Mitzvah I considered myself free from synagogue beyond the annual Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur torture. As the grandson of survivors, my family was strong in our Jewish identity; I just had no interest in affiliation. No Jewish camp, youth group, or confirmation. But then I went to Israel, and those four weeks changed my life. I felt Jewish in a different way there, experienced a pulsing connection to the land and people of Israel, felt self-aware in new, profound ways.

A year later, I entered college ready for exploration and discovery. As a freshman I attended a conference where I encountered Teva, the seed of a movement that has grown into JOFEE – Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education. In discovering Teva and JOFEE, I found a Jewish identity that was inspiring and relevant: combining Jewish wisdom, experiential education, and a clear moral response to critical sustainability issues facing us all. Akin to Israel’s spark, JOFEE transformed my Jewish journey; it was my doorway back in.

Fast-forward 13 years, and I am now Executive Director of the Pearlstone Center, a dynamic Jewish educational farm and retreat center located just outside of Baltimore, and national JOFEE hotspot inspiring vibrant Jewish life. During my seven years working at Pearlstone, I have seen every denomination and age group of the Jewish community ignited by our work – from orthodox to reconstructionist, early childhood to senior citizens. And so I feel great pride in seeing the recently published JOFEE report illuminating a blossoming field of Jewish life which we call home.

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What My 7-Year-Old Has to Say about Earth Day

April 22 is not only the last day of Passover (for some) but also Earth Day. Here's a column from last year by Mayim Bialik for Raising Kvell


Today is Earth Day. I asked my 7 1/2 year old son what the main ways are that we make the planet a better place. He dictated the following:

1. Pick up trash. When you see trash on the ground or at the beach or anywhere, pick it up. And put it in the trash.

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Environmental Connections to Passover

By Richard H. Schwartz for Jewcology

In view of the many current environmental crises that face the world today, this pre-Passover period is a good time to consider environmental messages related to the holiday and the events and concepts related to the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt:

1. Today's environmental threats can be compared in many ways to the Biblical ten plagues:

* When we consider the threats to our land, water, and air, we can easily enumerate ten modern "plagues". For example: (1) climate change (2) rapid melting of glaciers and polar ice caps (3) destruction of tropical rain forests (4) acid rain (5) soil erosion and depletion (6) loss of biodiversity (7) water pollution (8) air pollution (9) an increase in the number and severity of storms and floods (10) increased use of pesticides, chemical fertilizer, and other toxic chemicals.
* The Egyptians were subjected to one plague at a time, while the modern plagues are threatening us simultaneously.
* The Jews in Goshen were spared the Biblical plagues, while every person on earth is imperiled by the modern plagues.
* Instead of an ancient Pharaoh's heart being hardened, our hearts today have been hardened by the greed, materialism, and waste that are at the root of current environmental threats.
* God provided the Biblical plagues to free the Israelites, while today we must apply God's teachings in order to save ourselves and our precious but endangered planet.

2. The Passover Seder is a time for questions, including the traditional "four questions." Additional questions can be asked related to modern environmental threats. For example: Why is this period different than all other periods? (At all other periods only local regions faced environmental threats; today, the entire world is threatened.) Why isn’t there more activism in the Jewish community (and other communities) about current environmental threats? Why aren't Jewish values applied toward the alleviation of environmental problems?

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For other great Pesach ideas, visit Jvillage Network's Passover Spotlight Kit.

Passover and Earth Day

From COEJL

Earth Day and Passover:

Earth Day and Passover occur in the same month this year. This allows us to consider the relationship between two holidays, which at first do not seem connected. Passover is an ancient religious festival described in the Torah and practiced by Jews for thousands of years. Earth Day is a human-created universal celebration started in 1970 as concern for the environment rose to new levels. One connects to sacred history, the other calls for a new relationship with our planet. Yet there is a deeper and more profound way in which they share a vision.

According to Rabbi Irving Greenberg in his book, The Jewish Way, Passover is not only a commemoration of a past event. It marks a morally significant moment in human history. “The overwhelming majority of earth’s human beings have always lived in poverty and suffering…Statistically speaking, hauman life is of little value…Power, rather than justice seems always to rule.” But Judaism asserts that this is not always the case. Some day history will be perfected and “much of what passes for the norm of human existence is really a deviation from the ultimate reality.” We know this because of the Exodus, the liberation of Israelite slaves. This event, says Greenberg, is more than a minor historical anomaly. It is a paradigm and inspiration for human liberation. It shows that humans are meant to be free and that God is concerned with humanity. While this redemptive experience did not immediately stop all oppression and evil in the world, it created an alternative reality of how life can and should be. It creates a “dream of perfection and thereby creates the tension that must exist until reality is redeemed.” Earth Day does the same thing for the environment by creating a tension which drives our efforts towards sustainability.

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