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 choose between our topic and topics such as “She’s Wearing a Wedding Dress in her Dating Profile??”, “The Power of Social Media”, “Jews Batting Hunger”, etc. The interest proved once again that while environmental may not be the main topics of interest for 20 and 30 something Jews, it is centrally important to enough to some people that it needs to be present at every Jewish event. Plus, for many the environmental sessions sparked a passion in the participants, many of whom had not attending a Jewish conference before, studied Jewish texts, or heard about the Jewish environmental connection. Participants left these sessions excited to green their home communities and/or join the Jewish environmental movement.

In the first session, “Can Saving the Earth Save Judaism,” Rabbi David Seidenberg and I laid out the hypothesis that the Human-Earth relationship is the central tenet of Judaism and as such our attempts to protect the Earth are central to Judaism’s relevance in the past, present and future. Participants discussed the centrality of Earth in their relationships, and how a focus on environmental ethics can ‘save’ Judaism for them personally and for the Jewish community as a whole.

In the second session, “Forging a New Environmental Path for the Jewish Community,” Rabbi Seidenberg, Sarah Levinson from COEJL and I gave an overview of Jewish environmental ethics, and presented what is happening locally, nationally and internationally on these issues, and how each of us can get involved and make a difference. Through this session, participants were given the tools to get involved in the movement, and I know we will see a number of them appear on Jewcology.com or attend the Teva Seminar as their next step into this community.

While the issues such as dating, music and culture continue to outpace the environment in their appeal to most Jewish young adults. Tribefest proved once again, that for a small dedicated group, this is not just an area of interest, but central to their personal, spiritual and communal expression. I was delighted to be able be attend Tribefest again this year. What a joy to join those young adults on their Jewish journeys.

This year upon reading the Megillah, I was struck by something in particular. Every major character in this story, goes out of his or her way to fight for what he or she believes in, even when it is inconvenient, dangerous or unlikely. This is true not only for our heroes and heroines, but also for the villains too.

Vashti loses her exalted place in society and is excommunicated after she stands up for the independent sexual rights of women.

Mordechai sacrifices (or at least risks) his stature in the court by not bowing down to Haman. He also sacrifices his closest relative to the throne so that she will be in a position to help her people.

Hadas sacrifices her name, becoming Ishtar (or Esther). She sacrifices her autonomy to serve as her people’s representative in the court, and she risks her life and status to come before the King to fight to save her people.

Even Haman is constantly manipulating the King and using his position to get his anti-Jewish decree made and to get the treatment he believes he deserves as an ‘honoured man by the King.’

Throughout the story people are constantly advocating, manipulating, lobbying, positioning, etc., to be able to achieve something, usually for the greater good. God is not mentioned, even once. No one prays, except maybe during the fast of Esther, which also doubled as a public hunger strike, because Purim stands as a reminder we have to do it ourselves.

This Purim and for the rest of Adar, focus on an issue facing your community, society or the planet. Stand up, strive and sacrifice to help address a specific concern and to promote what you believe is a good alternative.

Indeed, environmental concerns seem to be fairly low on the international priorities list these days. Look at the recent failure of the Durban conference, in which governments, (most notably my own Conservative Canadian government), were unwilling to focus on environmental concerns choosing instead to lead with economic considerations.

It’s not a surprising response from world leaders, but it is a short sighted one. What governments are missing is that environmental issues ARE social issues. Climate change will be or possibly already is, a contributing factor to famine and social unrest in developing countries such as Sudan & Congo, and will play an increasingly larger role in the social and economic stability of western countries as well.

So what can Tu B’shvat, an ancient agricultural tax holiday, teach us in this time of social, economic and environmental unrest?

In its original context, Tu B’shvat, the ‘New Year of the Trees’, is the beginning of the agricultural tax season, a reminder that we have a communal responsibility to feed and clothe others. No matter how removed we are from the natural world, Tu B’shvat acts as an annual reminder these resources come from nature and agriculture and that our relationship to God and to other people is manifested through how we utilize these natural resources. We have a responsibility to ensure that people are cared for and the land is protected.

Social, economic and environmental concerns are completely interwoven, both in Jewish values and in modern life. We cannot address one without addressing the other simultaneously. It’s a lesson of particular importance in 2012 given the current physical and political climate.

Tu B’shvat 2012 is a call to solve social and environmental issues in one. This year make your theme environmental justice. Explore the interplay of social and environmental concerns throughout Jewish social and agricultural ethics. Discover easy personal and communal solutions that help both people and the planet.

We must protect clean water, clean air, arable land, and address the myriad of environmental challenges we face. We must simultaneously ensure the rights of individuals to access these resources and address the many social woes facing people and society.

In the shadow of the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and European unrest, let this Tu B’shvat be an opportunity to explore how Judaism pioneered environmental justice and how we can apply this approach in our modern daily life.

Chag Sameach!

Unfortunately, my job at the Jewish Federation has come to an end, while there is still much more work to be done. However, this shift is allowing me to get back to my core work and passion, teaching about the connection between Jewish ethics and environmental sustainability. Hineni, I am here, I am back!

Over the next months, I promise to come back strong. With new blogs, curriculum and programming on Jewcology that will push the Jewish community on issues of climate change, protecting Israel’s environment, food ethics and much more.

Over the next months, I will be hitting the road again, bringing my engaging form of Jewish education to communities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Toronto & Ottawa. Make sure your community is on my ‘hit list’, if you are not, please be in touch. Hearing about what has happened in the last year and finding my role. So look out, I may be contacting you.

Jewcology recent fundraising success continues to prove how important this work is. I am delighted to be back helping to grow this field and helping deal with the greatest problem facing humanity and through extension the Jews, in our lifetime.

For more information on my Jewish environmental passion, work, programs and upcoming schedule, check out my newly redesigned website, www.noamdolgin.com

Tonight will make 3 nights in a row that I have stayed up past 4am working, and had to get up again less than 4 hours later. Why do I do it? Why stay up late writing a simple blog post?

I wish I could say I am writing this blog in solidarity with the protesters at Occupy, in Tahrir Square, Tel Aviv, Greece… But I’ve done that in the past and it didn’t go viral or spark a government overthrow so what’s the point.

I wish I could say I am getting paid a large sum per word, so elaborate sentences with ornate language and idioms about how the Heavens and Earth were fashioned by divine inspiration, unfolding from rakiah the vastness that came before… But this is a volunteer gig here at Jewcology, we write for love of God and planet.

I wish I could say that my passion for Judaism and the environment runs so deep that I would never miss a scheduled blog. But I’ve missed plenty in the past, today could be no exception.

I wish I could say I write because I have a lot to say and lot of people who want to hear me? But as you can tell from this post, at this hour I have very little to say and I’m really not sure anyone is reading, at least anymore. But I do have a point, so please read on…

I wish I could say words just flow off my fingertips, longing for the page or the screen. But as many of you know, while I am good verbally, writing challenges me.

Finally, I wish I could say I do it for the challenge, but that would be plain untrue.

I write, even at this hour, even with a dozen things to do tonight before I sleep, if I sleep, because:

a) I’m going on vacation tomorrow and I’m super excited! Yay!!!! But if not now, when?

b) Jewcology.com, my blogging home and the top source for everything Jewish and environmental, needs your support today. From now till the end of the year, Jewcology has a matching grant, and must reach its fundraising goals to continue supporting and expanding their service (and to continue paying me huge sums of money to write verbose blogs like this.)

Support my late night writing and support Jewcology today to keep high quality writing, curriculum, resources and community, at your fingertips! Click here to donate now!

Matching Grant! Matching Grant! Matching Grant!! Support Jewcology no matter what time it is!

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Shabbat is being associated with social justice. Shabbat is the radical concept that all people, regardless of their social and financial status deserve a day of rest. On Shabbat we can imagine a world in which all people experience freedom from work of all kinds. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his slim classic The Sabbath said it best:

“To set apart one day a week for freedom, a day on which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction, a day for being with ourselves, a day of detachment from the vulgar, of independence from external obligations, a day on which we stop worshipping the idols of technical civilization, a day on which we use no money, a day of armistice in the economic struggle with our fellow men and the forces of nature – is there any institution that hold out a greater hope for humanity’s progress than the Sabbath?”

Shabbat is described two ways in the Torah; in remembrance of the works of Creation and because we were once slaves and are now free. As such we do no ‘work’ on this day. But what does work really mean? According to Eric Fromm, an early 20^th century Jewish social scientist, “’Work’ is any interference by man, be it constructive or destructive, with the physical world. ‘Rest’ is a state of peace between man and nature.” (The Forgotten Language) Shabbat reminds us of our place in the order of world. We are free beings with free will and great ability, but we are also natural and social beings subject to the limitations of the natural world, our societies and our morality.

Shabbat’s place as a reminder of past oppression also serves to promote a just society. While most Jews are no longer slaves, slavery persists in many incarnations in many parts of the world. Individuals subject to wage slavery produce the very products we use to make our lives less laborious, including the computer I am using to type this blog. Closer to home, more and more families work longer hours for less pay while watching their savings and wealth evaporate. Families are locked into underwater homes, minimum wage jobs, and so much economic oppression, it’s hard to consider our society truly free. Every seven days, Shabbat gives us a taste of true freedom. But our experience of this freedom should be tempered by the knowledge that not all people are free to sample the joys of rest. Shabbat is a reminder of our moral and religious obligation to demand a society where everyone can afford to feed their family AND take time off to feed their soul.

Beginning in the bible, the values of Shabbat are extended beyond just the seven day cycle, to include a seven and forty nine year cycle for land. Shmita (Sabbatical) and Yovel (Jubilee) are years in which both people and land are required to ‘rest’ and are treated as equal regardless of wealth or status. In fact, the values of Shabbat and social equality extend so far in the bible that in the Jubilee year, land is redistributed to ensure no individual, family or clan can accumulate too much wealth at the expense of others.

The values of Shabbat can be applied and extended in other, modern ways as well.

“Sabbath, sabbatical and jubilee are all eruptions of wildness into the humdrum of the technical and economic order. Earth, plants, animals – even humans – are free to do as they will… The analogy, too, can be turned on its head. If the Sabbath is a wilderness in time, then wilderness is a Sabbath in space.” Evan Eisenberg, the Ecology of Eden.

Shabbat, or ‘the weekend’, has already come to dominate Western society. Sabbath, sabbatical and even T.G.I.F (Thank G!d it’s Friday) are commonly used in the English lexicon. As such we can build off this knowledge and understanding of the basic meaning of Shabbat to explore what rest, peace, celebration and appreciation of people and the planet can add to our society in terms of building a just society for all.

If every person in America stopped watching TV, using a computer and driving a car for just one day a week, we would save more than 500 billion pounds (250 million tons) of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year, going a long way towards mitigating the social and environmental implications of climate change. What if we went even further? What if every week, every corporation, every small business, every factory, every store, took one day off a week, cutting consumption of electricity and materials by more than 14% with one change? Shabbat could turn the tide on Climate Change, the most potentially disastrous global social and environmental concern.

Occupy Shabbat! Spend time occupying the values of this holy day. Eat, learn and pray in the streets. Spend time as equals with other members of our communities regardless of their background. Share food and celebrate the bounty of Creation. Learn, pray and even protest about social and political change, and celebrate a world we can believe in. Simply through the act of occupying the values of this day, we can help change the world.

To learn more about Occupy Shabbat, Occupy Judaism and the Occupy Together movement, check out Facebook.

“Sabbath in our time! To cease for a whole day from all business, from all work, in the frenzied hurry-scurry of our time! To close the exchanges, the workshops, and factories, to stop all railway services – great heavens! How would it be possible? The life of the world would stop beating and the world perish! The world perish? On the contrary, – it would be saved!” Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch, Judaism Eternal II:30 (19^th C)

Three of the most common modern arguments for fasting include: Through the act of fasting we cleanse our bodiy and soul; we keep ourselves focused on prayer and are not distracted by food and the socializing that comes with it; and we make ourselves suffer, inflicting a small amount of the pain on ourselves that we have inflicted this year on others. *

Unfortunately, for most people fasting as it is practiced today proves antithetical to its goals. Instead of cleansing our bodies, for many it is an unhealthy practice fogging the mind and weakening the body. The act of not eating, while it keeps us from ritual meals that dominate most Jewish holidays, distracts most of us to the point where hunger and not eating becomes the main elements of Yom Kippur, the opposite of a tool for focus. Finally, one could argue that the act of inflicting pain on oneself is not a goal of Yom Kippur, but that by this day in the Jewish ritual cycle we should be learning from our mistakes and looking forward to new actions in a new year.

Ever since Yom Kippur first emerged from being a purely priestly holiday, the Jewish masses have been missing its point. In fact our ancestors who created the Yom Kippur service, included a reading from the book of Isaiah where he laments the Jewish people for their misplaced energy on Yom Kippur, encouraging them to pursue a more forward thinking approach.

In Isaiah 58:3, the people ask G!d “Why did we fast and you did not see? Why did we afflict our souls and you did not know?”

G!d’s response is clear, and even though every Jewish community across the world, reads it aloud every year on Yom Kippur, millennia later we still have not heard G!d’s call. “Behold on your fast day you seek personal gain and extort all your debts. Because you fast for grievance and strife, yet strike each other with a wicked fist; you do not fast as befits this day, to make your voice heard above? Would such be the fast I choose, a day when humanity merely afflicts himself?

“Surely this is the fast I choose: To break open the shackles of wickedness, to undo the bonds of injustice, to let the oppressed go free and annul all perversion… Break bread with the hungry and bring the poor into your home; When you see a naked person, clothe him.

“Then your light will burst out like the dawn and your healing will speedily sprout… Then you will call and G!d will respond. You will cry out and G!d will answer ‘Hineni, I am here!”

This Yom Kippur, volunteer, donate & mobilize

Volunteer – spend the day at a food bank, shelter or stuffing envelopes for an important cause. Skip synagogue and pray through your actions.

Donate – What do you have that you no longer need? What canned food around your house will never be eaten? And most importantly, what can you ‘sacrifice’ personally, financially, etc., that can benefit others greatly?

Mobilize – If you are going to synagogue, talk about the Occupy Wall Street protests and police oppression in New York, the cuts to social services, high unemployment and poverty across North America and the world. Mobilize your community for social, economic and environmental change.

No matter whether one eats, prays, sleeps or volunteers on this important day, may we all strive to find a better path personally and communally this Yom Kippur.

* Other explanations for fasting on Yom Kippur include: We don't eat or drink because we are plugged into the highest essence of our being on that day, which is angelic and therefore we don't even need to eat. We are engaging in a process that if continued would kill us. So we get an actual physical experience of a process that leads to death and reminds us of mortality.

What is it about growing your own fruits and vegetables that alleviates fear? Why does Micah believe Hashem has spoken through the act of farming or gleaning? Why a grape vine and fig tree? Why not under the string beans or cherry tomatoes?

As I sit in my back yard, positioning myself between my grape vine, fig tree, string beans and cherry tomatoes, I begin to understand what Micah might have meant all those years ago.

When I bought my house 4 years ago, there was no garden, it has taken much blood (literally), sweat and tears (of joy) to convert my driveway and yard into a veggie patch. And even now while the prep work is done, every year I must clear and prep the soil, plant and tend the veggies, clear the weeds, etc. It’s hard, tiring work and while I am full of appreciation for G!d and the natural cycles of the world, I know that the ability to feed myself is based on my ability to work the land. I am the master builder, the land and veggies my subjects and tools, and while G!d may have been the architect, I am (generally) in control of my destiny (winds, rains and freezing temperatures aside).

My grape vine and fig tree on the other hand are very old and take little annual effort. Both predate my ownership of this land. Both give fruit (over the next 3 weeks, Yeehaw!) without much work from me (besides a little pruning and watering). Unlike my tomatoes for which I take much prode, eating my grapes and figs is an exercise in appreciating the gift of food from Hashem and the natural world. As I sit under my grape vine I am reminded that the world works well on its own, with very little support or interference from humanity. I am reminded that for thousands of years, people lived as hunters and gatherers living off whatever bounty the world and Hashem would provide, and that all plants and most animals continue to live that way. I am reminded again and again that when Hashem spoke, the world was formed, in perfect balance for all its inhabitants.

It’s no surprise that the Hebrew term for orchard, Pardes, has evolved into the English word, paradise. Being surrounded by the consistent giving of fruit trees and vines is a utopian experience. Lacking not for basic sustenance, humanity is able to let go of the stress and challenges of daily life, and focus on the spirit and power of the world.

Unfortunately, human activity has thrown off this balance and there IS reason to be afraid. The world is no longer full of grape vines and fig trees that we can just eat from. We must fight daily to feed ourselves and work to protect the ecosystems which allow all G!d’s creatures thrive.

This September as grapes, apples, pears and even figs (at least in my pardes) begin to ripen, take a few moments to sit in an orchard or vineyard and experience the paradise of G!d’s world. Then think, how can I fill the word with more fruit trees and vines, how can I help make a world where everyone can sit under a vine and/or tree and truly not be afraid for themselves or the planet.

I do not ascribe to a ‘distinct doctrine’ known as environmentalism. It is not my ‘belief’ that I exist due my relationship with the Earth, I know it to be true. The fact is, each of us breaths eats and drinks from the Earth. We utilize Earth’s minerals, fossil fuels, and land in every moment. Our carbon footprint, our waste, and the resources we extract from Earth are not beliefs, they are an unfortunate reality (Someone else once called them an ‘inconvenient truth’). Teaching people about nurturing and sustaining that relationship for the betterment of the planet and human kind is not an ideology, it is a necessity.

Over the years I have explored and taught many isms: Judaism, Humanism, Zionism, Socialism, Libertarianism, and more. One of the challenges in my work as a Jewish environmental educator is to simultaneously separate and integrate the beliefs of Judaism with the facts of environmental responsibility. Fortunately, more often than not, the belief system of Judaism and the facts of environmental responsibility go hand in hand. Judaism is a belief that I hope will lead me to morally right behavior. Environmental responsibility is the reality of our generation if we hope to pass on a planet similar to the one we inherited.

This is not just a matter of definition. In the United States and around the world, the Right has effectively branded environmental responsibility, and, by extension science, as an ‘ism’, where it has been debated as a matter of ideology and relegated to far left politics. As a result, scientific discourse often holds equal weight to religious discourse in political and policy discussions, leading to endless debate and inaction, where action is imminently needed.

As religious environmental leaders we must lead the charge in separating fact from belief. We must work to place science and environmental responsibility on a separate plane from religious beliefs. This starts in our daily work, where we must effectively teach science AND religion to our students. We also need to go beyond our students. We need to take our message to the streets to politicians and religious leaders. Religion and science, fact and belief, data and isms; Each are separate and important, but should not be confused with one another.

I work daily to protect people and the planet from human caused environmental degradation and I ask you to join me. Not as an environmentalist, as a human being.

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PotatOde

I’m growing potatoes it’s ever so sweet

They grow underground and taste good to eat

They take up much space as the plant it abounds

You pile up dirt over the tubers in mounds

The plants grow wild, a darkish green color

Purple and white comes the small gentle flower

I am forced to choose between beauty and function

Do I remove the flowers at this early junction?

Doing so now would hurt the aesthetic

But might make the harvest less pathetic

If I am lucky the plants last a while

And potatoes abound throughout the pile

The plants that die early, I now eat their fruit

White, red and purple potatoes as loot

And while I assert these spuds hold great appeal

I quickly tire out potatoes at every meal

So to the potato in all incarnations

And to the people of all different nations

Who eat the potato, fried, baked or boiled

And to the farmer who has worked hard and toiled

To bring us our sustenance, carbohydrates and all

To hold us through winter, spring, summer and fall

With thanks to my soil, the sun and the rain

The cycle will continue and all start again

For the potato itself is a full seed

With everything a new potato might need

To start a new plant and give off new spuds

Which we will enjoy with (veggie) burgers and suds

Green, flat, with a little elf hat
Crispy, sweet, great to eat

I wanted a snow pea, I planted a seed
It grew past the radishes, carrots and weeds

It reached to the sky, up my stakes and trellis
My neighbors looked on, boy were they jealous

It gave a white flower, then a small pea
Which reached out from its blanket for something to see.

The pea grew quite quickly, we’ve had lots of sun
It’s time for the harvest, where we’ll reap a ton

One as a tester and one to confirm
One for my strength and one to affirm

I love snow peas, so crispy and sweet
There really is nothing better than fresh snow peas to eat

But how many have I harvested? Four, five or six
I’ve been so busy eating, my basket depicts

My love for this vegetable, fresh and in season
I eat them with passion beyond any reason

My thanks to the Source that created this all
A system that works from winter to fall

To feed a small planet, 7 billion humans alone
Imagine how many seeds must be sown.

We continue the harvest, the basket and me
Till all that was left on the plant I could see

Was small little pea pods not ready to pick
I’ll be back tomorrow, these things sure grow quick!

As quickly as they come, the last pea will be eaten
And I will be harvesting what’s new and in season

So here’s to the snow pea, today’s ample crop
And to the fine Earth which operates nonstop

To keep us well fed, healthy and happy
As long as we don’t treat her so crappy

With toxins, destruction and climate emissions stacking
Ongoing expansion of drilling and fracking

I could go on, but you’ve all heard that story
It’s an ongoing challenge and it’s really quite gory

So it’s a wonder that with all this destruction
My back yard is a place of ample production

Of beautiful green, crispy, elf hatted fruit
And I can eat dinner without having to pollute!

In these parts of the world, citizens have begun to recognize their collective power, and they are showing their deep distress at the status quo. Political scientists will spend the next several decades deciding what eventually tipped the scales toward popular uprisings around the world. However, for this outside observer, it appears that at its heart were people who had put up with enough. In the Middle East, they were angry about decades of oppressive regimes, and they wanted something new. In Europe it has taken strict EU and IMF imposed economic austerity plans that include the elimination of jobs, and reduction of wages and benefits, to kickstart popular uprisings.

It is a fact, that, regardless of where we look in the world, that our current economic and governmental systems favours an elite few wealthy and powerful people at the expense of the poor, indigenous and working class. This system in turn exploits natural resources with no reflection on the external or ecological costs of such extraction.

So what will it take to bring about a revolution in North America? One focused on social and environmental sustainable and equal opportunity for all (the American dream?). In the United States, unemployment, wage and wealth disparity are all at recent historic highs. Climate change and local environmental degradation are starting to take their toll on our countries, yet our governments continue to block environmental policy in favor of big business at every turn. (Shown once again by Canada’s recent performance at the UN in which it blocked the listing of Chrysotile Asbestosas a hazardous industrial chemical. By the way, this chemical is illegal to use in Canada, but continues to be produced here for export to less scrupulous countries).

The recent economic crisis has given us the US and the world a great opportunity to rethink our economic system and our values. Many in the political elite have taken advantage of this opportunity to cut social programs and workers benefits. But why hasn't this crisis sparked more of a strong response from the middle and working classes who make up the vast majority. How is it that even with the evaporation of billions of dollars in personal wealth and millions of jobs since the beggining of the recession, the worst natural disasters in 3 centuries and civil unrest raging thtoughout the world, apathy and complancency still reign at home?

In the US, people are beginning to notice, as shown by the recent demonstrations in the Wisconsin parliament, the “coming out” events of undocumented immigrants, and direct eco activism such as the work of Tim DeChristopher, who now faces up to 10 years in jail for his “illegal” bidding at a public auction which helped save thousands of acres of land from exploitation.. But these isolated incidents have not sparked a revolution, they barely lit a flame.

Some grassroots movements have begun to spring up in recent years. Movements such as those that promote food activism, security, self production, fare trade. And while these movements have begun to gain momentum, they have yet to drastically change the way food is produce, transported or sold in North America.

So what do we need to do to help America and Canada address these social and environmental concerns? How can we change the paradigm that places economics and the wealth of a few, above the needs of the people and the planet?

Fortunately, Jewish teaching has some helpful insights into this question:

· Nachson, as he walks into the Red Sea entirely on faith, teaches us to live our lives the way we want the world to be, and God (and hopefully others) will help.

· The story of David shows us that the underdog can prevail with good strategy.

· The Maccabees who prove a revolution is possible, even against a much stronger and larger opposition.

· Jewish agricultural law which shows us an economic system that is both environmental and socially sustainable through laws such as peah and leket (leaving the corners of your field and fallen gleaning for the poor), shmittah and Yovel (Sabbatical and jubilee years) and many more.

However while Judaism can be a guide for us, global, national or regional solutions require us to look beyond the Jewish community to form a larger movement. In the US, using our faith based values we can build bridges with the primarily Catholic Latino immigrants, and with the working class, historically protestant and now more and more made up of Hindu, Muslim, and other religious groups. And of course we need to look beyond the religious community to partner with the millions of morally minded individuals with strong secular social and environmental ethics.

If the recent riots in Vancouver taught us anything, it’s that youth and young adults, even in this peaceful city, are looking to make a ruckus. There are real problems in the world larger, much larger than losing a hockey championship, so let’s funnel this frustration in a positive direction, build on this historic moment in time and start a sustainability revolution in North America. Our people will benefit, the planet will benefit, and in the long term the economy will benefit.

For most Jews in Israel or North America, Germany represents death and the end of possibility. But after being here for just over a week, what I see is life and potential. The Berlin Jewish communty, for example, which recently had less than 3,000 Jewish residents, now has more than 12,000 and they have come from all over the world: Russia, Israel, France, Netherlands, U.K., U.S.A., and more. These “chalutzim” (pioneers) are reshaping what was once the center of Askenazi Jewish thought. In the style of great German Jewish thinkers like Buber, Fromm, Rashi, Hirsch and Marx, they are debating what it means to be Jewish, to be ethical human beings and to be German.

For those of us in the Jewish environmental community, this is of particular interests as the Germans are the ‘greenest’ and most environmental conscious people in the world. A new initiative of the German Jewish community entitled ‘Jews Go Green’ is currenly in development, and I look forward to Germany once again becoming the frontline in modern Jewish thought.

My trip has been an interesting combination of experiencing Jewish life in Germany and viewing Jewish death, but the latter has been hard to focus on with the former such a pleasant surprise. I am writing currently from Wittlich, near Trier/Luxembourg, the town from which my grandfather was forced to flee in 1937. While no Jews remain in this small city, the community has gone above and beyond, restoring the synagogue and cemetary, building a Jewish museum, reaching out to each and every survivor and their families.

I came to my grandfathers birth place expecting to spend my time in mourning, instead I have been overjoyed by the response of the local community, their dedication to the memory of those lost and their desire to share the motto ‘Never again!’ Our local hosts were delighted by my interests in attending Shavuot services, so together we had the pleasure of joining the commmunity of Trier, just 30 minutes away. While most of the community was old, there was a core group of excited young adults and even an overly excited child, the German Jewish story is clearly not over.

Back in Berlin, before coming to Wittlich, I was faced with a dilemma I never thought I would have to face in Germany. For Tikkun Leil Shavuot (Tuesday night/Shavuot eve), I had to choose between the local synagogue service & learning, and the group of secular Israelis and Germans staying up all night reading the Book of Ruth in a private home. An active synagogue and a living room Havurah (community) in the heart of Berlin, represents an amazing return and renewal. I chose the Havurah, and while we may not have uttered a single prayer or lit a candle, we sat up all night discussing what it means to be Jews. It was a truly Jewish experience!

I am delighted to report that the spirits of Buber, Rashi, Marx and my Gandfather Paul live! The intellectual curiosity that created the Jewish enlightenment, the reform and orthodox movements, Marxism, etc. survives and even thrives! For the first time in my life I am proud to be a German citizen. I look forward to watching this diverse community grow and can’t wait till once again we can start to follow the German Jewish lead, hopefully down an ecologically sustainable path.

Am Israel Chai! The Jewish People Live!!

As a young adult, I often found myself asking questions like: 'Am I a Canadian Jew or a Jewish Canadian?' 'If Canada and Israel went to war, which side would I be on?' The truth is, I am both and neither. We all are. I am a Jew and I am Canadian (and American I must admit). I love Israel, both its people and its land. I love my Diaspora homes too. From the rainforests of the British Columbia to the wetlands of Florida. This duality of allegiances of love and connection to land is something I draw strength from, helping me to understand the intricacies of our global ecosystem. (I also have major problems with both, but that seems to just come along with caring and love).

The narrative that the Jews are ‘a people without access to land” is a good motivator for Zionist involvement and was true to much of 19^thCentury Eastern Europe, however it does not pay justice to the complexity of Jews historic connection to their home nations and home soils, across the world and across time.

Jews lived as farmers, dairy herders, etc., in close connection to local environment for hundreds of years in places as diverse as Russia, Iraq and Ethiopia. In these and other societies Jews created rural communities rooted in their local ecosystem, agricultural land, language and culture. While building roots in local environs, each community continued to pray facing Jerusalem, remembering the importance of that land as well. Through this duality, grounding in our local environs while dreaming of Jerusalem, the Jews solidified their position as a ‘people with two lands.” The same duality remains true in America today.

A recent growth in the Jewish farming movement has inspired young Jewish adults to work in Jewish farming communities across North America. Only 20 years ago it would have unheard of for American Jews to farm in America. Farming was an activity tied to land and as such was tied to pioneering the land of Israel. Jewish farming communities did exist in America throughout much of the mid 20^th Century, but focussed primarily on training farmers who would then move to Israel.

The Zionist model of Jewish connection to the land of Israel alone, was only a short period in American Jewish history. In the late 19^th through early 20^th Century, farming was a fairly standard, profession for an American Jew. In fact throughout the Southern United States Jews have owned and operated farms for close to 300 years. Over the past 100 years, the profession of farmer has lowered in status in American society and even more so in Jewish society. The push to be a successful doctor, lawyer or business man, made a ‘back to the land’ choice almost impossible for most Jewish young adults. Those who did so, we glorified only if done in the name of Zionism and pioneering spirit.

Fortunately, these attitudes are changing. The growth in interest and acceptance of Jewish farming in America is partly a response to the global environmental crisis, but its appeal goes beyond that. This movement represents a community acceptance that American Jews can love both America and Israel without conflict or contradiction, and a realization that we as American Jewry have a civic responsibility to protect the people, animals and land of Israel, America and the entire World.

In the American Jewish community the definition of what is means to be a pioneer or to be successful is changing. Young adults are encouraged to explore new professional and personal paths to help America, Israel and the World. In this age of global environmental crisis and interconnectedness, working to protect our planet locally and globally, is good for humanity, good for the Jews and good for Israel.

We have lots of prayers In Judaism for rain or other forms of precipitation, daily in the amidah and on special occasions like the 1stday ofpesach andhoshanah rabbah. We often recite al netilat yadiyah, the prayer said when ritually washing our hands, however, al netilat yadiyah does not mention water at all. In fact, there is no special prayer or blessing when consuming or utilizing water at all. When drinking water, the most basic element for our survival after air, the blessing shehakol is uttered, a catch-all blessing that doesn’t mention water either. There is no special blessing said over mikvah, the ritual immersion into water. And no special blessing said when it rains, except the general blessing for good news.

Why is it that water, our most precious natural resource has no special blessings and no special status?

In response to this lacking, participants at my second seder were asked to create a blessing for water. Below are some of the beautiful and inspiring blessings that came from the evening.

Blessings for Water

Blessed be the water which sustains us, delights us, is us.

Blessed be the water in which we come clean and the water we work to make clean again.

Thank you for the water inside and outside our bodies. Without it, we could not live. It’s wet & good!

Bless this water than cleans our hands, slakes our thirst, and fills the cells of our body. Bless this giver of life and health. Bless this gift!

Blessed are thou o' G-d who has blessed us with abundant water.

May clean water be abundant in all corners of the world, be provided as an inherent right for all humans and other creatures, and be available to sustain the plants.

May we be blessed in our appreciation of water not as a resource to be managed, but as a living spiritual part of this earth.

Blessed are you who gives us life through this clean, sweet, water. May it bathe and nurture us so we may grow.

Source of all blessing – Love cannot take this water for granted.

Thank you for this water which gives us the essence of life and creates substance for all.

Blessed who restores life!

Oh Lord our G-d, King of the universe, help me to remember how vital is your gift of water to your people Israel.

Holy! Healthy! Omnipresent! (H20)

L’Mayim!

Got a blessing of your own in Hebrew, English or any other language, please share.

We offer this reading and letter writing opportunity for you and your guests this Pesach. Hag Sameach!

The First Plague

And the fish that were in the Nile died and the Nile stunk, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt. – Shemot (Exodus) 7:21

The Nile was a miraculous source of life for the Egyptians. Worshipped as a God, it has no tributaries for its final 900 miles. It was the water of the Nile that drew Jacob’s family down to Egypt to escape drought and subsequently led to our people’s enslavement.

Before the first plague, Pharaoh was warned to free the Israelites or risk having the Nile turned to blood. The destruction of this life giving source should have been enough to break the will of Pharaoh and compel him to let our people go. But it wasn’t. Nine more plagues followed. The interest of oppressors in maintaining their grasp on power is strong and not easily broken.

Now we are faced with a similar crisis. Pittsburgh is home to Three Rivers. Unfortunately, our modern day Pharaohs are controlled by corporate interests whose actions risk are bringing on a modern day plague that threatens our water.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method of extracting natural gas from shale formations by drilling deep into the earth and injecting a slurry of water, sand and a proprietary blend of chemicals. This slurry fractures the shale and releases natural gas trapped within it. Much of the water injected is pulled back up to the earth. Some stays below threatening groundwater. The waste water which is removed is salty and contains many minerals from the shale formations including some which are toxic and radioactive.

Pennsylvania is the only state among the top 15 gas producing states not to tax the extraction of gas from fracking and the only one to allow wastewater to be disposed of in state waterways. In 2007, 99 permits were issued for fracking operations in Pennsylvania, by 2010 that number had skyrocketed to 3,445 taxing overburdened inspectors who are having their findings scrutinized by political appointees in Harrisburg.

The Israelites had to cry out, they had to demand freedom, before they could be liberated. The message of Pesach is not only a celebration of liberation, but a reminder that that we are given freedom for a purpose. In the seder we hear, "Let my people go that they may serve me". One of the lessons of our people’s Exodus to freedom is that we are called upon to speak truth to power. Now is the time for you to let your leaders know that they must act to avert the coming plague and save our environmental and personal health through the enactment and enforcement of appropriate environmental regulations and the careful monitoring and study of environmental and human health effects.

If you are moved to action, please sign and send the accompanying letter to Governor Corbett (attached)

You are also encouraged to donate your time and money to Clean Water Action – PA (http://www.cleanwateraction.org/pa)

Finally, visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Pipeline for daily updates: http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/

What is clear in my answers was a miscalculation of the short term threat of nuclear energy, especially in older reactors. After Chernobyl the world was promised that this type of disaster would not happen again, that safeguards were in place. It is clear now that this was not true. But are all nuclear reactors unsafe? Was it design, location, age or something else that causes this crisis? Which should we close down and which to keep open? Can we keep building modern nuclear facilities, are they safe enough?

We find ourselves faced with a terrible choice. Ideally the world would move towards wind, solar, geothermal and other alternative energies, but this is not the political and economic reality our leaders are choosing. Our societies are instead faced with the short term dilemma, as the grassroots works to change the political and economic landscape, of making the choice between nuclear and carbon based fuels such as coal and natural gas.

“I don’t think we are going to pursue civil nuclear energy in coming years,” said Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu when asked by Piers Morgan on CNN whether the situation in Japan will affect plans to construct nuclear plants in Israel. “The cloud of radioactivity, the uncertainty of what will happen with it, is the cloud that hangs over the people of Japan, and I think right now hangs over the world… I think we’ll go for the gas and skip the nuclear.” (Of course Israel is the leading provider of solar and wind technology in the world and has huge renewal energy potential, but that’s a discussion for another time.)

Coal extraction leads to thousands of deaths and immense environmental destruction annually (Approx 3500 miners dies each year in China, 50 in the United States). A far larger toll in six months, than have resulted in the 25 years since the Chernobyl disaster.

In both Israel and the United States a move towards natural gas exploration through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has the potential for similarly disastrous environmental and human health results. Concerns associated with fracking include ground water contamination and air pollution through the use of hydraulic fracturing chemicals and the mishandling of solid, liquid and gas waste. Already a well established practice in the United States, a study published in 2010 by the EPA reported contaminants in drinking water including: arsenic, copper, and more. Many of these contaminants are known to cause a variety of illnesses such as cancer, kidney failure, anaemia, and fertility problems.

In 2008, Israel’s Ministry of Infrastructure granted Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) the right to produce gas and liquid fuel from oil shale in the Elah Valley, where David fought Goliath, without requiring an environmental impact assessment or master plan. In August 2010, Adam Teva V’Din, the Union for Environmental Defence, challenged the legality of those rights, and requested a revocation of IEI’s mining license from the Israeli High Court. in November 2010 Rupert Murdoch and Lord Jacob Rothschild purchased shares worth $11 million in Genie Oil and Gas Inc., the company that owns 89% of IEI, Putting a lot of support behind the project and the move to bring fracking to Israel. No ruling has yet been made.

The ongoing nuclear disaster in Fukushima has brought the world’s attention back to the dangers of nuclear energy. This is an important awakening to a huge potential environmental threat and hopefully another motivator to implement alternative energy technologies. But while we close old and dangerous nuclear power plants, let us not rush to eliminate the technology entirely if the alternative is an increased dependency on coal and natural gas, even if just in the short term.

As is often the case, a more careful examination of the evidence is needed or our desires to do the right thing in response to the Fukushima disaster may cause us to do more damage than good.

Sign up now, this is a trip not to be missed!

When: June 23 – 27, 2011
Where: Adirondack National Park, NY
How Much: $650.00

Co-leaders:
• Rabbi Howard Cohen, founder and senior guide for Burning Bush Adventures*
• Noam Dolgin, a leader in Jewish environmental education (www.noamdolgin.com)

For more info: www.burningbushadventures.com
Email: burningbushadventures@gmail.com
Call: 413-652-7086

*In business since 1989, Burning Bush Adventures is the established leader in combining backcountry guiding and Judaism.

Excuse #1: God told Noah that God would not destroy the world again, so it can’t happen.

Response: There is a classic story about a man who hears on the radio that a flood is coming and will destroy his home. His response, “Nothing to worry about, G-d will save me.” A man comes door to door telling everyone to evacuate, “G-d will save me.” The flood levels rise and so people come by boat and helicopter to save the man, “G-d will save me.” He continually repeats. Finally the flood engulfs his home and he is swept away and dies. He goes before God in the world to come. “Why didn’t you save me?” He asks. God looked at him inquisitively, “What are you talking about? I sent you news reports, and people on foot, boat and helicopter trying to rescue you!”

Excuse #2: God gave us dominion over all the world, so it’s ours to do what we like with.

Response: In Genesis 1:28 good gives humanity ‘dominion’ over all life. But in the never next line, that ‘dominion’ is limited, humanity may only eat seeds and fruit, and in fact that same food is promised to the animals as well. Humanities dominion is descriptive, not prescriptive. We must use the power of our intellect to feed ourselves and all creation.

Excuse #3: The Mashiach (Messiah) is coming (2^nd coming) in the next few years so it doesn’t matter anyway

Response: I have often been taught that to help bring the Messiah we should lives as if the Messiah is already here. Plus no matter when you believe the Messiah is coming, you must still live according to the Jewish commandments that inspire us to act including Bal taaschit, pikuach nefesh, etc. So even if Maschiach comes tomorrow (G-d willing) we should be acting environmentally responsible today.

Excuse #4: Environment and Climate change really aren’t Jewish/Religious Issues.

Response: Environmental responsibility is: Torah inspired behavior; Jewish ethics & morality; Behavior that affects every person, plant and animal on the planet for the better; Behavior that can protect Israel and other nations threatened by changing climates and other environmental challenges. Each of us personally and our Jewish communal buildings are contributors to the problem, so we must be part of the solution. While this is not exclusively a Jewish issue, the causes are universal and the solutions are universal , including the Jews/religious. And in the words of the great Reb Hillel. “If not now, when?”

Excuse #5: I just don’t believe scientists, on this and other topics.

Response: Whether you believe the scientist or not, Jewish law demands action whenever a threat is perceived. This is known as the precautionary principle, and is described by Rabbi Yaakov Ben Asherm of 13^th Century Spain as follows: "We don't need an expert [to save a life], since even doubtful danger to human life makes the law lenient. And it's forbidden to delay the treatment. " Tur OH 328 – to which Rabbi Caro adds, "the one who rushes to do so, look, this is praiseworthy! But the one who stops to ask, look, this is a murderer." Whether you believe the science or not, it doesn’t hurt to try our best to eliminate the potential risks to human health and our planet.

Heard other excuses? Have other responses? Please share.

While social, spiritual and networking opportunities also spotlighted as areas of interest, it was clear that food, nature based and service based initiatives had an attraction to at least 1/3 of the audience. (Confirming the results of the ‘Generations of Change’ Study, see previous post).

Watching these results develop naturally, with influence from myself, was refreshing and I hope I am able to support these people and initiatives in moving forward.

What was not presented was also a big lesson to me and informs the question of how people (at least young Jews in Vancouver) think about environment responsibility. No ideas where presented, and I have yet to come across one in the hundreds of notes from the event (though I still have many more to go through), regarding an energy reduction campaign, ‘Greening’ our synagogues and other community buildings, etc. Environmental advocacy was entirely represented through food.

In isolated Vancouver we haven’t heard of the Topsy Turvey Bus, the Jewish Climate Campaign, Interfaith Light and Power, etc. How can we help spread the voice of the climate movement to the smaller Jewish communities? Or should we focus on where the interest is? Food. Meet the people where they are. Presumably a measure of both, but that is hard in a community as small as ours.

During the last few months, a theme has begun to emerge in my blog. How do we engage the young adult generation in environmental advocacy and Jewish community? While today’s post may not have provided any new answers, I believe it helps give us insight into the answer. I look forward to pondering this question further and hearing any insights any of you might want to share.

Shabbat Shalom/Shavuah Tov!

While not particularly an environmental friendly event (judged by the location, quantity of disposable dishes, etc.) the organizers went out of their way to include two environmentally themes sessions, one on food and one on energy. Both were well attended with 100 – 150 participants.

Participants at these sessions asked a lot of good questions, particularly regarding how they can bring these ideas to their communities. They were interested and wanted to be more connected, but most s had not heard of our organizations or even our movement. (I was able to distribute a lot of Jewcology magnets!). It is clear that we still have a lot to do educating the general young adult population and the Jewish community as a whole about the work that we do.

On the flip side, as mentioned in my previous blog post the Jewish environmental movement is well represented in the motivations of many Jewish leadership and this was seen at Tribefest as well. Many of the presenters and Jewish leaders I talked to where well informed about our movement and excited about our growth and possibilities for collaboration.

Bridging the gap between the acceptance of Jewish environmental work within the Jewish leadership, and the continued lack of understanding or exposure by the general Jewish population, is a major concern that must be addressed.

This discrepancy has a number of dangerous effects which I believe are hurting our movement including:

* Lack of community support for environmental initiatives at synagogues and community buildings.

* Lack of political strength behind our legislative initiatives

* Lack of funding due to a ‘catch 22’, small numbers of private donations not growing fast enough to cover our needs, and large foundations believing we are not cutting edge enough for funding

I hope we can begin a dialogue as a Jewcology community about how we can bridge this gap and help our message spread beyond the leadership and into general Jewish community. And I hope that in years to come at Tribefest and other Jewish conferences we’ll continue to see more people who know about and want to get involved in Jewish environmental initiatives.

The survey divided respondents into a number of categories, based on 2 main factors. Establishment vs Non-establishment Jewish leadership, and Young (20s& 30s) vs Older. It asked a range of questions on Jewish identify, practice, affiliation, goals, fears and more.

When ask about their support for a range of progressive causes, ‘Jewish environmentalism’ ranked third, after ‘Social justice causes’ and ‘Gender equality & Women’s leadership’, with approximately 25% of respondents indicating support.

A more careful analysis of the data shows a number of important trends in the Jewish environmental community that are worth noticing and confirms much of what I have experienced over the past decade in my work as a Jewish environmental leader.

a) Jewish environmentalism appeal strongly in the non-establishment community (30%), but continue to have a hard time integrating into the establishment (19%).

b) In the establishment leaders, support for Jewish environmentalism is similar across age groups with a slight preference by the young (1% stronger). In non-establishment leaders, support was considerably stronger in the older generation (5% stronger).

What does this mean for our work?

First, much like in the society at large, while people care about the environment and always rank it within their top 5 issues, it is rarely a top priority even amongst social causes. One problem is that environmental responsibility continues to be defined separately from ‘social justice’ which is not true to our work and mission, and hurts our ability to reach the up to 65% of leaders who care about social justice. If we want to reach a larger proportion of the Jewish community, especially young non-establishment leaders, we must work harder to focus on issue of environmental justice and the interplay between social and environmental responsibility.

Second, while the Jewish establishment tends to define the Jewish environmental movement by its non-establishment young leaders and participants, the data shows that it actually appeals most to non-establishment older leaders and in my personal experience, particularly to women in their 50s and 60s. While programs for youth and young adults such as Teva and Adamah are clearly important, we must begin to expand our services to appeal to the older generations as well.

Third, in other questions it becomes clear that a number of issues have a much stronger appeal to establishment leader. These include ‘Helping Jews find real meaning in being Jewish’ (72%), ‘Jewish education for children & teens’ (71%), ‘Threats to Israel’ (50%), and more. Fortunately each of these is a part of our work as Jewish environmental leaders. By showing the community that our works is an ideal example of engaging Jewish education that helps Jews find real meaning in being Jewish and by focusing on the very real environmental threats that face Israel today, we can help bring our message more into the main stream establishment community.

This survey has given us the entire Jewish community a great opportunity to understand what is inspiring the current and next generation of Jewish leadership. I hope we in the environmental movement can take advantage of its results to improve our services and expand our appeal.

To read the report and see data and conclusions visit http://avichai.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Generation-of-Change-FINAL.pdf

]]> https://beta.jewcology.com/2011/02/generation-of-change-how-leaders-in-their-20s-and-30s-are-reshaping-american-jewish-life/feed/ 2 https://beta.jewcology.com/2011/02/my-oh-mayim-rethinking-water-usage-in-a-land-flowing-with-milk-and-honey-but-little-water/ https://beta.jewcology.com/2011/02/my-oh-mayim-rethinking-water-usage-in-a-land-flowing-with-milk-and-honey-but-little-water/#comments Wed, 09 Feb 2011 10:19:51 +0000 http://jewcology.org/2011/02/my-oh-mayim-rethinking-water-usage-in-a-land-flowing-with-milk-and-honey-but-little-water/ Ushavtem mayim b'sason.Draw water in joy. A classic song of joy danced to at every celebration by millionsof Jews worldwide. Jews sing and dance about water at every proayer service and celebration. Through our prayer, song and dance, we hope that Israel willhave enough water for the coming year.

The last couple of years have seen the harshest drought to hit the region in decades. Demand for water is high and continues to grow as population expands, therefore Israel's fresh (sweet) water resources are quickly drying up, and Israelis know it.

Israeli society Is quickly working to address the region's water shortages before the crisis becomes even more acute. Developments are being made daily to conserve water in agriculture, industry and at home. There are initiatives to reduce water consumption, reuse semi-dirty 'grey' water, and rethink techniques to produce or collect water, some that even fuse cutting-edge technology with ancient agricultural practices.

Reduce

Israel's most famous water saving innovation is drip irrigation. Now in practice in most of the arid world, Israel's Netafimbrand irrigation systems specialize in computer controlled drip systems that nearly eliminate evaporation. By releasing small amounts of water through holes in piping and by regulating the times of day you water, nearly all water is absorbed by the soil.

In some communities, older systems of water collection and storage are being used to solve the problems of today, including a move back to terracing (the ancient technique of levelling land to hold water) and planting native trees and crops which require less water. Great examples of these ancient techniques include gardens such as Satafnear Jerusalem where ancient aqueducts and cisterns are in use once again to water communal garden plots; Kibbutz Keturain the Arava desert, where UN sponsored research is being conducted to find low water and high salt tolerant crops (such as the Sereus cactus fruit) using traditional indigenous plants for commercial growth in desert regions; and in the work of JNF – KKL using traditional terracing and pool creation techniques to restore forests in the North and protect the desert in the South.

In Israeli homes, many techniques are employed to reduce water consumption, though many more could be implemented. Every toilet in Israel is ‘dual flush’ meaning that you have a choice as to how much water to use when you flush the toilet, unlike in the United States where the vast majority of toilets use a full gallon of water with every flush. Home appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines, as in most of Europe, are built to conserve water and energy with every load. These one time purchases combined with water conservation education in the schools and media continue to go a long way in reducing personal water consumption.

Reuse

One of the most promising developments for Israel's water future is the use of grey water for agriculture and home. Grey water is water that is previously used but is still suitable for reuse in certain functions. For example, homes in a grey water system would reuse shower water in the toilet or to irrigate home gardens. Agriculturally, communities such as kibbutzim and moshavim could use their combined grey water to irrigate ertaincrops (Israeli health code requires that llcrops irrigated with grey water are grown off he ground. Therefore yes to dates, no to melons). This system allows communities living in areas with little water, such as the desert South, to effectively double the amount of available water. This ancient technique of reusing water, combined with modern waste water treatment and agricultural technologies combine to create a powerful model that if used broadly could go a long way in reducing water consumption.

Rethink

While a portion of society is busy finding ways to reduce water consumption, other researchers are finding ways to create new fresh water. The most popular current initiative is in desalination, removing salt and other products from sea water to make it suitable for agricultural and domestic use. Purification of sea water has been practiced on a small scale in Eilatsince 1965, however the first large scale desalination plant opened in Ashkelonin 2005, and now desalination produces up to 20% of Israel's total water. While desalination is a step forward for water in Israel, it does have its detractors. The process is extremely energy intensive, with most of the energy produced using non-renewable fossil fuel sources (primarily natural gas and coal). So while desalination may be solving one environmental challenge, this solution could be contributing to other problems such as climate change and air pollution.

As a Rabbi recently told me, we live our lives walking backwards, meaning we make choices for the future based on what we know from the past. Over the millennium on this small piece of land, lack of water has caused many civilizations to collapse. Fortunately, many others have flourished through efficient use and distribution of water and effective desert agricultural techniques. Using these experiences as a warning, and knowledge as a guide, Israel can develop its water policies as a thriving modern society based on three thousand years of history, on our ancient homeland. I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

While at my core, the cause I am working toward is environmental sustainability, the work is primarily Jewish education. Nature, ecology, environmental responsibility, are all tools to teach a Jewish value of responsibility for self, people, humanity and all Creation. Fortunately, environmental ethics are also a way to teach responsibility for self, community, humanity and all species. So the two really are in complete alignment and my conscience is clear.

So today, instead of focussing on my environmental work, I will focus on Jewish education and what inspired me to remain connected to my Judaism.

In my role as a Jewish educator, I am faced daily by the challenge of what excites people and connects them to Klal Yisrael, the community of Israel, and Jewish practice. I work to encourage Jewish identity and practice by exploring how Judaism is relevant in the lives of my peers. To do that I use the tools that have so successfully worked for me, in my Jewish journey.

My personal path to Jewish identity has been infused by a strong sense of community, past, present and future, and by ethics and personal practice. I grew up in a spiritually supportive Jewish Renewal home and attending summer camp and youth group. Both environments fostered in me a true sense of community, personal action and dedication to tikkun olam (repairing the world.)

Community – Being part of a larger community of passionate Jews who care about the same things that motivate me, and who share spirit and learning, has always provided me with the tools to connect to my Jewish identity. As I grew, my sense of community grew to include all of humanity and Creation, and it was exciting to see that there was always a community of Jews dedicated to these issues for me to work with.

Jewish ethics and morality – The lessons of Gimilut Chasadim and Tzedakah (acts of loving kindness and righteousness), tikkun olam, environmental responsibility and more, which permeate the bible and Rabbinic literature guide me in my struggle to find a proper moral compass. Though I am not a halachic Jew, I believe in these ancient teachings and using them as guides to find answers to the litany of challenges facing humankind and all of Creation.

Personal practice – Judaism provides me with a structure and community in which to find personal spiritual and ethical practice. For example, the holidays provide me with an opportunity for reflection and action structure throughout the year on a variety of important themes, and the act of saying a blessing before I eat provides me with the tools to connect the act of eating to the structure of Creation.

The face of the Jewish community is changing. For many, Jewish identity is not about synagogue or belief. It is about community and action. My current Jewish motivation is to help others see the beauty in Jewish ethics and morality, create their own personal practices, and help them find or found a community of likeminded caring individuals to mutually nurture their Jewish practice and identity for the betterment of themselves, their communities, humanity and all Creation.

So here is our challenge. To redefine the Jewish understanding of our connection and responsibility to the environment, from a one day annual celebration to an intrinsic daily behavior. But where to start?

Other Holidays

Since the community understands holidays, I suggest a focus on:

Shabbat – A weekly holiday about celebrating the World as it is; A day when we don’t watch TV, use computers, go out to eat, drive, etc.

Sukkot – The fall harvest festival; A chance to eat and sleep outside

(While Pesach & Shavuot are also harvest festivals, they have other strong themes that tend to dominate Jewish practice of these holidays.)

Prayer

Our daily and Shabbat prayers are filled with praise of G!d and Creation, plus warnings about what will happen if we don’t behave responsibly. Encourage communities to take time to examine the ecological content of our prayers, through appreciation comes responsibility. Prayers to start with include:

Birchot Hashachar – Thanking God for our bodies and a world that are working properly

Psalm 150 – Kol Haneshama Tehalel Ya – All Souls (All of the soul) praise G!d

Shema 2^nd Paragraph – this oft skipped section explores the environmental consequences of not following G!d’s commandments

Food

Every Jewish event has some food. While this is a great chance to schmooze, it is also a perfect teachable moment. How and what we eat reflects our Jewish value, and what we serve as a community can be a great lesson to those eating.

Eliminate Disposables dishes (or use compostable) – everyone will notice immediately and it’s a great chance to teach bal tashcit.

Buy local or organic – It may not be as obvious at first, but let everyone know where their food comes from and why this meal is better for the planet and support local famers.

Go Veggie – eliminate the herring and the tuna salad from Kiddush. A great chance to present Jewish values of vegetarianism or the ecological benefits of meat reductionism.

Defining Our Work

It’s time for the Jewish world to know that environment responsibility is a daily Jewish imperative. That starts with us using Tu B’shvat as a launching off point for these other important topics, and not as an end in itself.

Good luck and Hag Sameach!

A walk on the beach is a lesson in nature’s complexity. Whitecaps give way to waves churning onto the shore, where winter storms have deposited a year’s worth of driftwood and sea weed. Seals and sea lions maintain an ongoing truce as they patrol their respective aquatic territories for fish, and eagles soar and dive against a ever-changing cloudy backdrop. A few moments of observation is all it takes to realize that the interplay of these and every other element of the scenery is far too much for my human eyes and mind to comprehend. Marveling at the majesty of it, my wife asks “do you think someone could write an algorithm for life at the sea shore?” It’s a good question for a scientifically-minded person like myself. I think about the many processes that culminate in this time and place; Tides and other hydrological effects, biology, meteorology; But I can’t possibly comprehend them all. Instead I choose to appreciate the miracle of this moment through awe. “Ma Gadlu Ma’aseacha Hashem, Koolam bechocha assita” How great are your works Haashem, all you have created in Wisdom.”

Humanity strives for information, hoping that with scientific explanation and development we can meet the challenges facing the world today. However, we continue to lack wisdom (chochma) and understanding (bina). Without these two qualities, it is difficult if not impossible to truly acquire and use knowledge (da’at)

My whole life I have been fascinated by the dark and mysterious oceans covering the vast majority of our planet. Over the years I have gained knowledge and acquired facts about the oceans, but as I look out over the waters today I do so with a lack of true understanding of the impossibly complex interconnectedness of the ocean world. Can any of us truly understand the oceans, especially when all we see is the surface of this deep and vast world? Our tradition finds aquatic animals so foreign to us, so removed from the terrestrial animals we know, that the laws of Kashrut don’t even consider them meat. Many decision-makers still believe that they can ‘Wash all our problems away.’ Even with our best scientific devices, we lack Bina, understanding, of the oceans and the creatures that inhabit them.

Turning now to the life on land, two (or are they one?) of my favorite trees are found in a patch of old growth forest on one of the many bluffs on the island. Judging by their height and girth, they are far older than any living person, having patiently born witness to the rise and fall of the ocean tides for generations. Though they began their lives as separate entities, they have since fused part way up the trunk. They are linked by a shared limb through which they share water, nutrients and presumably much more. Rabbi Daniel Seigel (The Hornbisher Rebbe) has named them Hochma and Bina; a reminder that these two qualities must be found together in our search for da’at, knowledge.

I wish I could say how to find true wisdom and understanding. It took the trees a human generation just to find each other and begin to share. Fortunately we have generations of Jewish tradition pointing us back to the Creator, to the source of wisdom, understanding and knowledge. It gives us tools to be in awe and admit that we cannot comprehend the grandiosity of our world.

“Ma Gadlu Ma’aseacha Hashem, Koolam bechocha assita” How great are your works Haashem, all you have created in Wisdom.”

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To support campaigns that will help mitigate climate change.

Duration: 30 minutes

Materials: Used cardboard, Posterboard, Paper, Pens, Markers, Computers, if available

Background:

This is a program to help students implement a comprehensive greening strategy in your synagogue. It should not be completed until after students have learned about climate change and chosen a greening project to implement.

Procedure

1. Divide the students into four advocacy groups, with at least one student from each previous workgroup in each new advocacy group.

2. Assign each group to a different medium for advocacy. These include:

a. Online campaigns. Send email and letters from the web

b. Letter writing, the old fashion way. Considered much more effective than emails per letter.

c. Education and outreach. Inform others about the issues, and about where candidates stand on the issues

d. (*Optional) Protest. Bring the issue to a public place where we hope people and politicians will notice.

e. (*Optional) Lobbying. Using your positions and connections to convince someone to make a change.

3. Distribute instructions sheet (below) and sample letters (for online and letter writing groups) have students prepare or conduct their campaign for 15 minutes.

4. Photocopy the materials prepared by the 3^rdgroup (education and outreach)

(*Optional) Ask the 4^thgroup (Protest) to present what they have prepared.

(*Optional) As parents arrive, hold a mini protest around the synagogue.

5. As parents arrive distribute the flyers developed by the 3^rdgroup.

6. Mail the letters written by the 2^ndgroup (letter writing)

*Optional – Some parents and communities may not appreciate this form of expression. Please make sure a protest or lobbying will be well received by parents and the synagogue board before conducting this part of the program.

Materials developed by Noam Dolgin and the Shalom Center

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Duration: 15 – 40 minutes

Materials: Flip Chart, Dry Erase Board, Markers

In advance of this project, consult with the synagogue greening committee and find a project or selection of projects for theses students. Projects should be synagogue specific. Good easily achievable projects include:

Changing all light bulbs to low energy compact fluorescent

Arranging a carpool board or list serve for the school

Researching recycled paper distributors for the synagogue office

Procedure:

The goal of this session is to empower the students to be involved in ‘greening’ the synagogue, taking the first steps in beginning a project, and laying the groundwork so the students will have a clear idea of what to do in the weeks to come.

1. Give a background on any synagogue ‘greening’ initiatives already underway. Explain to the students the project options available to them.

2. If you have more than 1 option, have students discuss and vote on a project.

3. Chose one student to take notes on a poster board (paper, so you can keep it).

4. Conduct a brief brainstorming session on how to implement the project. Write down all suggestions.

5. Eliminate any suggestions that are not realistic, based on conversations with teachers and/or common sense

6. How will you best accomplish this task? Decide on actions to take, and how you will divide responsibilities amongst the group. Use the “Greening our Synagogue Worksheet” on next page.

7. Divide into subcommittees. Examples: education, research, decorating, lobbying

8. Develop a to-do list for each group

9. Fill out form

No matter how far you get in the session, it is important to write up a to-do list and to try to get the students to develop a timeline with certain deadlines. These two factors increase the likelihood of the project’s success. .

Materials developed by Noam Dolgin and the Teva Learning Center

All content is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. (Ie. Tell other where you got it from and don't sell it)