Education Subscribe
A selection of initiatives, blogs, resources and communities on Jewcology which focus on education.
From the Blogs
From Light Green To Dark Green: Committing to An Effective Jewish Environmentalism
- January 7, 2013
Tu Bishvat which takes place later this month has become over the last 40 years the Jewish Earth Day. Whatever its origins, Tu Bishvat is the most likely time that synagogues “do” Jewish environmentalism. And while this is a good thing, it tends to isolate the environment as an issue like any special Shabbat program that happens once a year. And while the present Jewish environment movement has been doing a very good job on educating and activating the Jewish community on the issues of food sustainability and energy conservation, there is still a great ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- December 5, 2012
The fifteenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Toward a Wiser Use of Energy released! One of the most significant sustainability challenges of our time is how we produce, use, and relate to energy. Today’s energy technologies have greatly increased material standards of living among human societies. But they also have driven significant environmental changes which are beginning to have noticeable impacts worldwide, including climate change, the BP oil spill, and Japan’s nuclear crisis. ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- November 16, 2012
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The fourteenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Let the Land Rest: Lessons from Shemita, the Sabbatical Year released! Shemita, the Sabbatical Year, comprises a number of the 613 commandments (mitzvot) of the Torah . With today’s environmental challenges, these mitzvot may be more relevant and needed today than at any time in Jewish and world history. We will explore each of these commandments in an attempt to understand their timeless wisdom and application for today’s world—a world which so desperately needs a ...
Green Your Conference
- November 14, 2012
Conferences offer the opportunity to meet new people, exchange ideas and learn about new developments in your fields. They also tend to be very wasteful of natural resources — but they don’t have to be. The following tips would help to green conferences of all sizes — even ones as large as the World Zionist Congress and the Jewish Federations’ General Assembly. Click here to continue reading this article.
Israel Environment Tour
- October 24, 2012
Baruch Sienna, a Jewish environmental educator, will be leading an amazing nature/environmental tour to Israel this Feb. 26-Mar. 7, 2013. We will be hiking, birdwatching, and visiting (and eating at) organic farms, learning from environmental organizations about water pollution/restoration, waste/recycling, and alternative energy initiatives in Israel. The places we are visiting are awesome. For a full itinerary, visit www.arzaworld.com, or call toll free: 1-888-811-2812 to register or for more information. Email: ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- October 23, 2012
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The thirteenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability released! Rebbe Nachman of Breslov identifies the desire for food and drink as the central desire of the human being, and the one from which other desires emanate. In Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen’s “A Treatise on Eating,” he cites the mystical book of theZohar, which calls the moment of eating “the time of combat.” This is because in eating a Jew must engage in the spiritual fight to ensure the act ...
Shabbat Noach is Coming!
- October 16, 2012
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In celebration of Parshat Noach this coming Shabbat, Jewcology is proud to share a wealth of resources on the topic of Noach. Please enjoy and share these resources from many of our partners and participants so we can all benefit from the lessons of Parshat Noach. Explore all of our Parshat Noach resources Here's a sampling: Countering Destruction - Lessons from Noah Although the flood and the life of Noah occurred thousands of years ago, the story of Noah offers important lessons about how our actions affect the world. The Torah teaches that ten generat...
Teach your kids about being “green” at every opportunity!
- October 10, 2012
Cross posted from Environmental Tip of the Week, http://environmentaltip.blogspot.ca/2012/10/teach-your-kids-about-being-green-at.html Teach your kids about being "green" at every opportunity! For example, recently I made a bus out of Legos for my daughter. She loaded it up with little toy people, animals, and food. While she was pushing it around on the floor, I asked her if it was a solar-powered bus. She responded yes. I've explained to her in the past, but said again, why it's better for the environment to power things with energy from the sun. I ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- October 9, 2012
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The Twelfth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth, has just been released! In the first chapter of Genesis, twice in three verses, G-d speaks of humans ruling over other living beings. In the second instance, after creating Adam and Eve, G-d blesses them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." What does it mean for humans to subdue the ...
Eco-Friendly Clothing
- July 9, 2012
Consider your closet as a possible way to help the planet. It can be difficult to find eco-friendly fabrics. Many clothes are made from petroleum based fabrics, such as polyester. Even natural fabrics are grown or treated with major amounts of pesticides and chemicals that aren’t good for the environment. When possible, look for organic cotton. While they aren’t yet widely available, you can also try to find clothes with labels certifying the clothing as fair trade or environmentally friendly, such as Fair Trade Certified, GOTS – The ...
Shabbat and Environmental Awareness Materials Released – Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment
- May 2, 2012
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The fifth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Shabbat and Environmental Awareness, has just been released! Today we live in a society which is constantly doing without sufficient regard to being, and at the same time, transforming the natural world without taking time to reflect on the long-term consequences. Shabbat as a spiritual practice offers great potential to reduce consumption and thereby benefit the natural world. In addition to our summary article, longer article, source sheet and podcast, we are proud to ...
Soul Journeys Through Living Soil – at JMC Brooklyn
- May 1, 2012
Hi folks - I hope you'll check out this unique event happening in downtown Brooklyn. Click here for full event info. Join the Jewish Meditation Center of Brooklyn and Adamah for a teaching by Sarah Chandler (followed by our weekly sitting meditation at 8pm!) Soul Journeys Through Living Soil As we move through spring time and notice the trees bloom with flowers and green, we may miss out on the life force of activity within the soil below us. The interconnectedness of organisms, ions, roots, water and air ...
New Materials Released for Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!
- April 18, 2012
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The fourth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Sustainability in the Land of Israel, has just been released! Rabbinic teachings on Yishuv Eretz Yisrael (settling the land of Israel) highlight the common Jewish duty to live sustainably. Our Sages made short-term sacrifices in order to preserve their resources, actions we should emulate to help us find ways for today's reality on the Land. See all Sustainability in the Land of Israel Materials! Share Year of Jewish Learning Materials with your community. ...
Jewish Farm School Launches College Accredited Experiential Learning
- April 18, 2012
The Jewish Farm School and Hebrew College are partnering to offer you a weeklong, intensive course exploring the intersection of Judaism, agriculture and contemporary food justice. In this week-long, service learning experience, participants will explore the relationship between Judaism, agriculture and contemporary food justice issues. This unique seminar will include farm work, text study and meetings with activists, community leaders, and business people. On the farm, you will gain hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture techniques such as planting, ...
My new book – here’s what Senator Joe Lieberman says about it:
- April 10, 2012
SIMPLE ACTIONS FOR JEWS TO HELP GREEN THE PLANET: JEWS, JUDAISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT http://www.jewishgrowth.org/cgi-bin/books.cgi?action=details&book_id=10048 "In this important book, Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins reminds us all of the perils that our environment faces today, and he specifically challenges us to look to our heritage as a guide to becoming better stewards of our earth. As God commands Adam in the Book of Genesis to protect the garden, Rabbi Elkins too challenges us to be protectors of God's good earth and everything that exists on ...
Report from Tribefest 2012
- April 5, 2012
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This past week, 1516 Jewish Young Adults from across North America descend on Las Vegas for a Jewish conference like no other. Most were focused on gambling, night clubs and meeting other Jews, but a small but dedicated group were there to find other eco-conscious Jews and get connected with the Jewish environmental movement. Two sessions where held on environmental issues, with more than 60 people attending at least one of the sessions and hundreds visiting the Jewish environmental table and taking information. A good response considering participants had to ...
Earth Day Mitzvah Mania Cultivates Community in Chicago: This Earth Day, Slow Down and Dig In
- April 4, 2012
CHICAGO, IL -- The Gan Project, a Jewish social and environmental justice organization, is pleased to announce their first annual Earth Day Mitzvah Mania. The Gan Project grows organic, heirloom produce on its quarter acre Homestead located in West Rogers Park, Chicago. Of that produce, half is gleaned by the community, in accordance with the ancient agricultural practices outlined in the Torah, and half is donated to the ARK food pantry. “We see the roots of Judaism grounded in the agricultural practices of our ancestors and believe that engaging in contemporary ...
Tell Your Story and Motivate Your Community!
- April 3, 2012
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"You have to claim authorship of your own story and learn to tell it to others so that they can understand, appreciate, and share the values that move you to act, because it may move them to act as well." (Marshall Ganz, developer of the Public Narrative training) Jewcology is partnering with the Teva Seminar on Jewish Environmental Education to bring back our engaging and effective Public Narrative Leadership Training. In 2011, nearly 50 Jewish environmental leaders were empowered to tell their stories and the stories of their communities, and to ...
The New Plague: A Name Change for Climate Change
- April 1, 2012
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After reading the following article, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Climate-Change-Panel-Says-Expect-More-Extreme-Weather--144966925.html, titled “Climate Change Panel Says Expect More Extreme Weather,” it is hard not to make the immediate connection to the story of Pesach. “The 594-page report is the work of 220 authors from 62 countries. It cites thousands of scientific studies. Enough is known, the editors say, to make good decisions about how to manage risks of climate-related disasters.” It discusses the ...
Raising a Jewish Environmentalist?
- March 12, 2012
This past weekend, I attended the Kayam Beit Midrash, an annual event at the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Baltimore. I was proud to attend for the second year with my family – my husband and my beautiful 7-year-old son. We spent the weekend learning about Shemittah, the amazing Jewish mitzvah to let the land rest every seven years. I really appreciate the Kayam Beit Midrash. Through their passions for Jewish learning, farming and agriculture, they manage to bring together a really diverse and interesting group of people. I got to see a lot of old friends, ...
