Lay Leaders Subscribe
A selection of initiatives, blogs, resources and communities on Jewcology intended for use by lay leaders.
From the Blogs
Earth Etude for 24 Elul
- September 10, 2012
MEDITATION on ELUL by Richard H. Schwartz Elul is here. It represents an opportunity for heightened introspection, a chance to consider teshuva, changes in our lives, before the “Days of Awe,” the days of judgment, the “High holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The shofar is blown every morning (except on Shabbat) in synagogues during the month of Elul to awaken us from slumber, to remind us to consider where we are in our lives and to urge us to consider positive changes. How should we respond to Elul today? How should we ...
Tell Your Story and Motivate Your Community!
- April 3, 2012
"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 ...
Cleaning and Greening Our “House” for Passover
- March 27, 2012
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In the days before Passover, Jews around the world traditionally spend time cleaning and checking our homes for “chametz” – leavened foods forbidden during the holiday. It is also traditionally a time for soul searching, for clearing out old “stuff” and ways of doing things. During this season of renewal, we at Teva Ivri are finding ways to check not only our homes but also our “houses of prayer.” Along with the Council for a Beautiful Israeland Green Now, Teva Ivri has just announced the first “Greenest ...
A Jewish Environmental Proclamation
- March 1, 2012
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When God created the first human beings, God led them around the Garden of Eden and said: “Look at my works! See how beautiful they are – how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it. - Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 1 (on Ecclesiastes 7:13) We are witnessing a time in which the future of the planet is at stake. The climate crisis is escalating, and it is upon each one of us to do what we can to change course. In the Torah it is ...
Last Day to Order Free Haggadot
- January 25, 2012
Good Chodesh! Today is Rosh Chodesh Shevat; according to Beit Shammai, THIS is the new year of the trees! In any case, we wish you a good and green new month. Tu b'Shevat is in just two weeks, on Tuesday-Wednesday February 7-8! Today is the final deadline for orders of free haggadot this year. You can order up to 25 Haggadot absolutely free by posting your request on our facebook page. Please post the number of haggadot you are requesting, your location, and the community where the materials will be ...
Great Video – Get Ready for Tree B’Earthday!
- January 10, 2012
The trees are God's great alphabet: With them He writes in shining green Across the world His thoughts serene. ~Leonora Speyer
Exciting Tu b’Shevat Raffle – Win a Great Prize!
- January 5, 2012
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Exciting Tu b’Shevat Raffle - Win a Great Prize! Jewcology and Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center are pleased to announce an exciting new raffle opportunity. You can win an all-inclusive free pass to the Isabella Freedman Tree b’Earthday Tu b’Shevat Retreat (a $200 value!). It’s easy to enter! Just post your favorite reason for celebrating trees in the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center community on Jewcology (www.jewcology.com). Raffle Rules: Entries must be posted in the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat ...
Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment
- January 1, 2012
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Core teachings on 18 topics linking Torah and the environment were released between Tu b'Shevat 5772 and Tu b'Shevat 5773 as part of Jewcology's Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim and a host of other organizations who shared materials across the Jewish community. The materials were shared at least 145 times on the web, in at least 99 social media postings, and reached over 51,000 people during the course of the year, as part of a Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment. The materials comprise the most comprehensive set of ...
Networks and the Jewish Environmental Movement
- November 21, 2011
On November 8-10, I traveled to Boulder, CO for a unique post-GA event: the NetWORKS Gathering, organized by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation. According to the organizers, the event brought together "a group of exceptional innovators, activists and network curators pushing the boundaries of the most vibrant organizations, projects and communities comprising Jewish life today." It was an honor to participate and to represent a network that I'm quite fond of - the global Jewish environmental community as gathered together on Jewcology. In ...
What is Public Narrative?
- September 9, 2011
Although I have participated in all three of the Jewcology Public Narrative trainings, I still struggle to succinctly describe the experience (don’t tell). So I did what all good folks do in this day and age, I googled it. Marshall Ganz, Professor at the Kennedy School, long time organizer, has this to say in his course outline where he teaches the tenants of it: The questions of what am I called to do, what my community is called to do, and what we are called to do now are at least as old as Moses’ conversation with God at the burning bush. ...
Jewish Environmentalists Explore Purpose, Community and Action
- April 5, 2011
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Who are you? Who is your community? And what do you need to be doing now? These fundamental questions are key to making change in any community. Yet many leaders spend little time focusing on them, or identifying how to communicate them to their audiences. Last year, I helped organize a leadership training for lay leaders seeking to make environmental change in their Jewish communities. One of the focuses of the discussion was inviting people to state their purpose. I was surprised how many of these active Jewish environmental leaders could not clearly explain ...
Jewcology Leadership Trainings
- March 1, 2011
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Connecting to the Heart: A Leadership Tool for Engaging the Unengaged Are you seeking to make environmental change in local or national Jewish communities? Looking for ways to move people that do not always share the same views as you? Would you like to learn how to use a leadership skill to connect to people’s hearts? How can we use the stories of our lives to inspire, teach, and motivate others? In this training we will learn to share the experiences and values that have led us to devote our lives to Jewish-environmental education and action, and to connect ...
Connecting to the Heart – Leadership Training March 13-14
- February 27, 2011
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Do you care about protecting our environment? Would you like to educate the Jewish community to learn more about this important issue? As you engage your family, school, or community, would you like to be more effective at speaking to people who don't always share the same views as you? Join us in March for a new in-person leadership training opportunity which will empower you to engage those who are not already involved in environmental action, and in so doing, raise the level of environmental engagement across the Jewish community. This training is ...
Siach: An Environment and Social Justice Conversation
- November 4, 2010
Human rights. Land Use. San Francisco. Community Organizing. New York. Tzedek. Race. Beit Midrash. Tel Aviv. Poverty. Immigration. Lobbying. Farming. London. Young Adults. Food Access... May 12-15, 2011 Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center Falls Village, Connecticut The first annual Siach conference will launch a global network of experienced Jewish environment and social justice professionals, as well as highly dedicated lay leaders, from Israel, North America, and Europe to connect and collaborate upon a shared passion and commitment to Tzedek ...
