Join friends for routes through pine forests, farmland, and local villages, culminating in a barbecue lunch of kosher, pasture-raised meat from Grow and Behold, followed by an interactive marketplace of local, sustainable vendors, swimming and boating, children’s programming from Teva, and more! Your participation supports Hazon Philadelphia in running innovative Jewish programming on food, health, and  sustainability.

Not a cyclist? The Ride wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated crew, who support and cheer on riders, help behind the scenes, and then enjoy the lunch and afternoon with their rider friends. Registration sold out last year, so sign up today! hazon.org/phillybike

Download the free “Haggadah of the Inner Seder” (18 pp.). PDF, RTF, and DOC versions, along with a brief guide to the haggadah’s features, can be found at: http://neohasid.org/zman/pesach/InnerSeder/.
You can also go to neohasid.org for Omer Counter apps, and for information about David Seidenberg’s new book, Kabbalah and Ecology: God’s Image in the More-Than-Human World, published by Cambridge University Press.

You can support the Israel you want to see. All American Jews can vote in the World Zionist Congress election going on right now. One of the most common questions, we get is why it costs $10 to vote. As Mirele Goldsmith, a Green Israel slate member answers: “The American Zionist Movement has contracted with an independent company to run the online election.  This is to insure that the election is fair.  The registration fee is being used exclusively to pay for the election.  It is not a donation to the WZO.  I wish there was no fee, but it is a small price to pay to make a real difference in the future of Israel.”

Green Israel Platform: Peace for All • Green Energy • Sustainable Development • Diaspora Relations • Air Quality • Ecological Ecology • Animal Rights • Food Justice • Water Conservation • Schmita • Recycling • Encourage Environmental Start-Ups

Green Israel Slate: Eli Bass, Ellen Bernstein, Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Karin Fleisch, David Fox, Matthew Frankel, Ilana Gauss, Brett Goldman, Mirele Goldsmith, Wendy Kenin, David Krantz, Frances Lasday, Evonne Marzouk, Hody Nemes, Morgan Prestage, Shira Rosen, Richard Schwartz, Jacob Schonzeit, David Sher, Garth Silberstein, Marc Soloway, Lawrence Troster, David Weisberg, Eric Weltman, Laurie Zoloth

Please vote Green Israel. Go to http://jewcology.org/2015/03/votegreenisrael/ or worldzionistcongress.org for more info.

About Eden Village Camp: Eden Village Camp aims to be a living model of a thriving, sustainable Jewish community, grounded in social responsibility and inspired Jewish spiritual life. By bringing the wisdom of our tradition to the environmental, social, and personal issues important to today’s young people, we practice a Judaism that is substantive and relevant. Through our Jewish environmental and service-learning curricula, joyful Shabbat observance, pluralistic Jewish expression, and inspiring, diverse staff role models, we foster our campers’ positive Jewish identity and genuine commitment to tikkun olam (healing the world). Our 3 acre educational farm and orchard are based on principles of permaculture, sustainable and organic farming. We produce annual vegetables, perennials, and tend educational gardens as well as animals.

About the Farm Educator Apprenticeship: This is a paid six-month apprenticeship for young adults seeking hands-on experience. In the Spring build your knowledge based on agriculture, farm-based education and Jewish community. In the Summer, work at our 8-week intensive summer camp as Jewish Farm Educators. In the fall, take ownership and integrate your new skills by diving deeper into independent projects.  Live on-site at our beautiful camp, one hour north of New York City. By joining the farm staff at Eden Village, apprentices will hold two main responsibilities – tending our growing spaces and educating in our all of our programming through the spring, summer and fall. Apprentices will also have an opportunity to dive deeper into one of four focus areas: perennials, annuals, animals, and educational gardens. In these specialties apprentices will gain a deeper understanding of certain aspects of farming and will take on leadership and special projects to booster their learning and the learning of campers and program participants.

Details: April 14th, 2015 – October 22nd 2015, Apprentices receive full room and board at Eden Village, as well as a modest stipend. Extensive experience is not necessary but experiential curiosity is required. We recommend you explore our website thoroughly to get more information about our apprenticeship, farm, camp, and more at Eden Village Camp.

More questions? Explore the FAQ page. For all other questions, contact farm@edenvillagecamp.org

Young Urban Moshav is thrilled to have the opportunity to create a demonstration garden at the JCC of the East Bay. The garden is intended to serve the after school program’s garden curriculum and to function as a Jewish outdoor learning center for the community. The project site design will integrate best urban garden practices with Jewish cultural items such as traditional holiday foods and the fruits of Israel. The space will accommodate groups of learners and holiday activities. Young Urban Moshav’s participatory approach includes support with community engagement, from communications content and crowdsourcing to strategic connections with other Jewish green initiatives.

Artisan Katherine Gulley of Raised Bedlam Woodworks (left), Green Educator Ezra Ranz (center), JCC East Bay Berkeley After School Director Cassie Brown (right) enjoy the new beautiful redwood garden furniture that arrived in November.

Young Urban Moshav, a new Jewish food start-up, has been accepted into the Hazon CSA network and aims to develop a residentially-based Community Supported Agriculture program. The JCC East Bay garden will be an example of garden design and implementation that Young Urban Moshav is offering for other institutions and private residences as it embarks on its goal to grow a system of interconnected urban agriculture sites across the East Bay.

In developing this exciting demonstration garden, Young Urban Moshav is sourcing labor and products from within the community whenever possible. As of the end of November 2014, exciting progress has been made. The garden has received its first major contribution from Katherine Gulley at Raised Bedlam Woodworks in Berkeley. A beautiful redwood table and bench, including end planters and a garden box, are already on site! Katherine makes custom outdoor and reclaimed furniture. She herself grew up in Berkeley attending the JCC and proudly claims that she was at her after school program at the JCC when the big earthquake of ‘89 hit.

Chuck Weis (left), Jory Gessow of Gessow Landscaping (center), and Garden Educator Ezra Ranz (right) scope out the site for grading upgrades.

The garden site, an alley between the southwest corner of the JCC building and the adjacent commercial CVS building, is being graded during the month of December so that the main area in use will be flat. Approval has been obtained for a retaining wall and ramp, to be constructed by community member Jory Gessow of Gessow Landscaping. You might recognize Jory from the annual Tikkun Leyl Shavuot events as he is an avid participant of many years!

JCC After School Director Cassie Brown has been overseeing the project. Green Educator Ezra Ranz has been coordinating between the JCC and Young Urban Moshav on a volunteer basis while already growing some starts with students in small boxes on location (pictured in the featured image of this article). Facilities Supervisor Chuck Weis is managing construction details regarding the building site. Front Desk Supervisor Selena Martinez has been filling an insightful and exemplary advisory role. The garden design has been developed by Young Urban Moshav volunteer Talya Ilovitz, who now is updating the drawings to include the newest developments.

Next major steps include construction of raised garden beds and installation of drip irrigation as well as a spiral herb garden and worm bin. Material contributions are being graciously accepted, from lumber to soil, garden equipment and planters to irrigation supplies, seeds, plants and even worms! Please contact youngurbanmoshav@gmail.com if you would like to contribute to this exciting Jewish community garden.

Just before Yom Kippur, I posted Al Chet – Confessional for the Earth. So many are the deeds, misdeeds, and non-deeds in relation to the Earth for which we must confess, and then, hopefully, do teshuvah. With this post I begin a series of suggestions for how to implement changes that can help to make our confessional meaningful beyond its words, into actions.

I begin with a response to this phrase:

For the sin we have committed against You by believing we are doing enough.

Do you believe you are doing enough? I think many of us feel we are not. Maybe we even have in our heads ideas of what we should be doing, but we have a hard time getting motivated. Maybe we are scared, or just stuck, or overwhelmed by the many options running through our heads or coming at us in email blasts and other social media.

How do we find our own path? For it is our own path we must follow – the on-going process teshuvah is a very individual one, and that is what we are talking about – re-turning to G!d in a way that really alters our actions.

So I offer for you a meditation to help you solidify your understanding of your way forward to a more complete relationship with the Holy One of Blessing and the Earth.

Meditation for a Stronger and More Active Earth Connection

• Step outside.
• Make yourself comfortable in a comfortable place. Give yourself a few minutes to settle in.
• Relax your breathing. Breathe in deeply. Breath out, slowly exhaling. Repeat, using the breathy word Yah - G!d – the Breath of Life.
• Now feel the Earth beneath your feet. Focus on the connection between your feet and the ground beneath. Feel your connection to Earth flowing up from below. Then feel the Earth’s connection to you flowing downward from yourself.
• Return to a few breaths of Yah.
• Look upward at the sky. Feel your connection to the heavens – the Sun, the stars, the Moon. Focus on that connection. Allow the energy of your connection to the heavens to flow down from above. Then feel the sky’s connection to you flowing upward from yourself.
• Breathe deeply.
• Close your eyes. Visualize your connection to beloved places, to important people in your life, to other living things. Allow their connection to you to flow inward to your heart. Allow your connection to them to flow outward in return.
• Breathe deeply.
• Use your own language and images. Feel a sense of gratitude. Ask G!d for strength and direction.
• Hold the silence. Hold the stillness. Hold the strength. Let the answers come.
• Breathe deeply.
• When you are ready, open your eyes.
• Feel yourself blessed and energized.
• When you are ready, move onward to what is next.

You may wish to repeat this, to modify and make it your own. Perhaps you want to add words – or a word – of prayer. Play with it until you feel a new sense of resolve and strength and courage to move forward.

Remember that the Confession for the Earth ends with these words:”we are the ones we have been waiting for.”

You can do it. I can do it. Together, we can do it.

And we will.

Rabbi Katy Z. Allen is the founder and leader of Ma’yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope in Wayland, MA, and a staff chaplain at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She is the co-convener of the Jewish Climate Action Network, a member of the Jewcology.org editorial board, a board member of Shomrei Bereishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth, and the co-creator of Gathering in Grief: The Israel / Gaza Conflict.

Cranberry Shabbat 

Saturday, October 25,  Raindate, November 1

Wachusett Reservoir, Boylston

Join us for our annual Cranberry Shabbat. We will intermix songs and prayers with wild cranberry picking, and share a picnic lunch at the end. Please bring something to share and your own drinks and utensils. (Warm soup sounds good for a picnic in October!) Also bring containers for the cranberries. Most of our pickings will be given to a homeless shelter for their Thanksgiving dinner. There may be muddy spots, so be prepared footwear-wise, and it could be windy and chilly along the water. Please RSVP to Ma’yan Tikvah for details.

contributed by all the organizations and initiatives on “the Map” http://jewcology.org/map-of-initiatives/

Here’s a quick bit of Sukkot Torah to start us off: “The four species of the lulav represent the four types of ecosystems in the land of Israel: desert (date palm), hills (myrtle), river corridors (willow), and sh’feilah, the lowlands (etrog). Each species has to be fresh, with the very tips intact – they can’t be dried out, because they hold the water of last year’s rain. Together, they make a kind of map of last year’s rainfall, and together, we use them to pray for next year’s rains.” I hope everyone enjoys the wonderful array of activities and ideas we are generating. We are a strong and beautiful network. Please add more to this list if you like: write to rebduvid86@gmail.com and I’ll update this page. I will also be updating the format and fixing the fonts — I don’t have time Erev Yom Kippur to do more than simply share this content. Thank you to everyone who shared, and g’mar chatimah tovah! Rabbi David Seidenberg, neohasid.org

Resources

from Judith Belasco, Hazon

http://hazon.org/educational-resources/holidays/sukkot/ Hazon also has an incredible array of resources on Shmita linked at: http://hazon.org/shmita-project/educational-resources/resource-library/

from the Religious Action Center

“Eco-Friendly Sukkot”  http://resources.rj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=1369

“Table Texts about Food Justice” http://rac.org/pdf/index.cfm?id=23602

from Max Arad and Rabbi Carol Levithan, The Rabbinical Assembly

“The Sukkah as Shelter: A Source Sheet” http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/jewish-law/holidays/sukkot/sukkah-as-shelter.pdf See also: http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/jewish-law/holidays/sukkot

 from Jeffrey Cohan, Jewish Vegetarians of North America

“Sukkot, Simchat Torah, and Vegetarianism” http://www.jewishveg.com/schwartz/hlydysu.html

from Rabbi Katy Z. Allen, Ma’yan Tikvah

Ushpizin for an Ecological Sukkot by Laurie Levy https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzF1ISt_50TyVG9lWE0zOXJpd1k/edit

from Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Shalom Center

14 articles on Sukkot at: https://theshalomcenter.org/treasury/114 including “Reb Zalman’s Prayers for the Earth on Hoshana Rabbah” and “Spread over all of us a Sukkah of shalom, salaam, paz, peace!”   from Rabbi David Seidenberg, neohasid.org “How-to Build a Sukkah For Under $40” http://www.neohasid.org/sukkot/a_simple_sukkah/ more links at: http://neohasid.org/zman/sukkot/ including “Eco-Torah for Sukkot”, “Hoshanot, the Original Jewish Earth Prayers”, and “Egalitarian Ushpizin with a Prayer for the Earth”

 from Canfei Nesharim via Rabbi Yonatan Neril

resources can be found at http://canfeinesharim.org/sukkot/ and on Jewcology http://jewcology.org/resources/sukkot-shemini-atzeret-resource-and-program-bank/

 also from Rabbi Yonatan Neril, for Jewish Ecoseminars

http://www.jewishecoseminars.com/let-the-land-rest-lessons-from-shemita-the-sabbatical-year/

 from Nati Passow, Jewish Farm School

Two resource sheets for Shmita to be posted on Jewcology – look for them on Monday before Sukkot

 from Anna Hanau, Grow and Behold Foods

Recipes (meat): http://growandbeholdblog.wordpress.com/tag/sukkot/

Events

We have three big regional festival events going on, Sukkahfest, Sukkot on the Farm, and Sukkahpalooza, and lots more local events:

 from Judith Belasco, Hazon/Isabella Freedman

Oct 8-Oct 12, Sukkahfest at Isabella Freedman Retreat Center http://hazon.org/calendar/sukkahfest-2014/

 from Pearlstone

Oct 8-Oct 12, Sukkahpalooza http://pearlstonecenter.org/signature-programs/sukkot/

 from Sarai Shapiro, Wilderness Torah

Oct 9-Oct 12, Sukkot on the Farm, Green Oak Creeks Farm, Pescadero CA http://www.wildernesstorah.org/programs/festivals/sukkot/   local events and projects:

from Hazzan Paul A. Buch, Temple Beth Israel, Pomona CA

Our synagogue will break ground during Sukkot on a 1/2 acre urban farm on our property, in cooperation with a local NGO. The farm will be fully managed by the NGO at no cost to us, and all workers are paid a living wage. The produce grown will be available for purchase to our congregation and sold at farmers markets in the area. A portion will be dedicated to those who are food insecure. Question for everyone: Do you know of any other synagogues who have dedicated their land in a similar way?  Please note this is not an urban garden, but a functioning not-for-profit commercial project.

from Becky O’Brien, Boulder Hazon

Oct 6, at 5:30 pm, family sukkot program, in partnership with the south Denver JCC Oct 12, at 4:00 and 7:00 pm, screenings of “Road to Eden”, co-sponsored with the Boulder JCC Oct 16, Sukkot Mishpacha, a program for young families at a local organic farm Rabbi Julian Sinclair stopped in Denver/Boulder on his recent book tour promoting Shabbat Ha’aretz; we hosted five programs with him earlier this month. We are leading a shmita hike for local staff of Jewish organizations to help them decompress from the hectic time of the high holidays. We expect that many shmita-related programs will arise throughout the year but we don’t yet know what they will be.

from Helen Bennet, Moishe Kavod House

Fri Oct 10, Shabbat in the sukkah Tues Oct 14, Sukkot Festival dinner, co-hosted with Ganei Beantown (Leora Mallach). Moishe Kavod is planning to run a series of learning and DIY sessions on shmita starting in November, with focuses on economic justice, food and ag system, and chesed/caring community principles.

 from Gail Wechsler, St. Louis Jewish Environmental Initiative (JEI)

Sun Oct 12, 4-6 PM, screening of the film “Fire Lines”, about joint Israeli and Palestinian fire fighting efforts during the Carmel fire of December 2010. The film includes environmental themes as part of the reason for the fire was overforestation of the affected area. The director, Avi Goldstein, will speak after the film.  In partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council, Webster University and the JCC.

followed by:

Sun Oct 12, 6-7:30 PM, organic potluck Sukkot dinner. In partnership with the JCC and its Garden of Eden, a community garden that grows organic fruits and vegetables to benefit the clients of the nearby Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry. Both events at the Jewish Community Center Staenberg Arts & Education Building.

from Michael Rosenzweig, Boulder JCC

We have a great event each year called Sukkot Mishpacha, where we partner with a local farm so the children and families can learn about environmental issues, do fun arts and crafts projects, and pick their own gourds. http://www.boulderjcc.org/events/2249/2014/10/14/boulder-jcc-events-calendar/sukkot-mishpacha/ Note: I have not included narrative detail in general here, but I found Rhonda Ginsberg’s description so delightful to imagine and I just didn’t think I could condense it. So here is what she wrote to me, with some minor editing:

from Rhonda Ginsberg, teacher, Carmel Academy, Greenwich CT

For Sukkot we do a 4 year rotation focusing on different aspects of the holiday.  The first year of the cycle we invite the ushpizin and have the 7 species at a festive meal.  The second year we look at wind with kite flying as a major activity, the third at rain and water, and the last year at stars and shade. Each exploration is done both from the Judaics side with text study and from the science/experiential side. This year we are looking at water.  For the K to 3rd graders, teachers act out the story “Why Does it Rain on Sukkot”, MS. Frizzle (science teacher) comes to teach about rain & why it’s needed, then students rotate through stations that are led by 4th graders and teachers.  At the stations they investigate kosher tops for pipework sukkot, create rain sticks, have various water activities & races, sing songs & learn the dance “Mayyim”.  For the 5th to 8th graders, they start with an appropriate text study.  Then, the 6th through 8th graders become the instructors teaching the other grades about the aspect of water that they researched and created a project for.  6th graders look at the water cycle, which they present through posters, dioramas, etc.  They also perform a song and skit on the water cycle.  7th graders research water pollution – causes, effects, and possible solutions.  8th grade engineering students investigate flooding – causes, effects, how engineers have created solutions.  8th grade honors biology students investigate droughts, concentrating on trouble spots in the Western US, Israel & the Middle East, and Africa.  They also look at causes, effects, & possible solutions.  Then we have a Simchat Beit HaShoava – the biblical Water Libation ceremony which took place during Sukkot in Temple times, with students singing, dancing, juggling, filling pools with golden pitchers, etc.

There’s a precious community garden nestled between buildings on a crowded cobblestone street high up in the city of Tzvat, Israel. It began 18 years ago as a memorial community garden, in memory of a son who passed too soon, and it became a city landmark. Today this sacred place, enjoyed by and open to all, is receiving loving support toward renewing the shared space.

The Garden Seeds: Untimely death of a son, grief of a mother, new friendship

First, a mother was seeking a way to honor her son who was killed by cancer as a teenager 20 years ago this past spring. Shirel Levine was considering planting a tree in his memory as she was grieving over her tremendous loss, as an American living in northern Israel. She met the wife of her doctor, and this righteous woman Tamar Bittelman (of blessed memory) expressed a deep compassion with Shirel for the loss of her son. Within 10 minutes of their first encounter, Tamar suggested a garden, and she offered to help set it up.

Steven’s Garden in Tzvat was first established with much communal involvement. The grand opening involved the unveiling of a mural, live music, food and celebration. Tamar and her husband Noach built the first garden beds and then weekly taught local children how to plant and grow food there. The garden lived on, and has been maintained over the years at a low-cost for the benefit of the community.

The author’s daughter from California visits the lemon tree that her kindergarten class donated to Steven’s Garden in Tzvat, Israel.

Somehow Steven’s Garden reached me throughout the years as I reside in the Western US. When I lived in Tucson in the 1990’s, I knew Steven’s sister and so our mutual friend Susan Silverman – also a gardener – ecstatically informed me about this sweet community garden when she visited Tzvat some years later. I personally met Tamar Bittelman in 2004 when I moved to the East Bay in California where she was teaching kindergarten. It wasn’t until 2010 that I discovered Tamar was a founder of Steven’s Garden, when my daughter’s kindergarten class at Oakland Hebrew Day School raised funds as a tzedaka project for Steven’s Garden, and purchased a lemon tree that was planted there. I visited Israel in 2011 for the only time ever with my children, and we visited the tree. Several young yeshiva bochers were enjoying the garden, sitting with their siddurim and chatting reclining on the bench under the mural. It was a joy to finally see this garden for myself, right across the street from the famous Kabbalah artist David Friedman’s studio.

Tamar Bittelman Tzeddekes: The Garden Founder’s Legacy

Tamar Bittelman was not only a kindergarten teacher but was also a co-founder of the Beit Midrash Ohr HaChaim, a unique unaffiliated independent Torah-learning center located in Berkeley, California from 1998 – 2012 under the spiritual guidance of Rabbi Herschel Yolles, the Samborer Rebbe z”l. Tamar started numerous gardens during her life, including a garden adjacent to Congregation Beth Israel in Berkeley before its renovation in 2004.

Tamar’s Tzvat garden legacy is an echo of the story of her grandmother, Esther Beker Reinin of the pioneering Sturman family who was part of Hashomer, an original Jewish defense organization in Palestine first established in 1909. Beker Reinin was part of the historic security organization, serving on horseback protecting the sprouting Jewish settlements. She was also involved in an agricultural school in Israel. Every year at the Beit Midrash Ohr HaChaim in Berkeley, Tamar would sponsor a kiddush to honor the anniversary of her grandmother’s passing, and she would retell stories. There was even a story of when Tamar was walking along a road in a kibbutz in Israel, and a some old-timers walked by her and stopped, and told her, “You look just like Esther Beker Reinin.”

Many of today’s Jewish environmentalists have met Steven’s Garden’s founder Tamar Bittelman. Tamar attended the 2011 Hazon Food Conference in Davis, California where her husband Noach Bittelman the Acupuncturist presented on Jewish health and spirituality, the Earth, and the Holy Land. One year after we attended the Food Conference, Tamar edited my first blog article for Times of Israel, where I recounted a special woman’s circle that we held at the Hazon event, in the broader context of women’s central role in redemption of the world according the Jewish tradition.

Tamar and Noach Bittelman moved back to Northern Israel from California in 2012. During her last visit to Berkeley one year ago, Tamar was excited to learn of my newest project, a Hazon CSA which is in its inception stages and includes in its food security concept residential and communal gardens, and a pop-up kosher vegan soup and salad restaurant. She made an extra call to me during her trip to share her enthusiasm for Young Urban Moshav, and agreed to serve on the Board of Directors.

Sadly, and to the shock of many who have declared her righteousness, Tamar passed away unexpectedly after returning to Israel, on a holy Shabbos during daavening 24 Shvat 5774 (January 25, 2014.) Tamar’s family has set up HaMorah Tamar Kindergarten Fund at Oakland Hebrew Day School in her memory. Tamar is buried in Tzvat, the same city in Israel where Steven’s Garden, which she founded 18 years ago, continues to grow.

The Memorial and the Garden Renewal

Steven’s mother described on Radio Free Nachlaot in August 2014 how others recount to her that they feel Steven’s beautiful energy in the garden. A memorial garden is an example of the environment as habitat outside our bodies for our emotion, spirituality, and communal sharing. It is a place of comfort and healing.

Steven’s Garden holds the empathy of a woman hearing another woman grieving for her lost son, the generosity of creativity that builds and enriches the community, and comfort for mourners. It is a legacy of a grandmother and then granddaughter who loved, guarded and nurtured Eretz HaKodesh and the people of the land.

Community gardens can serve many functions, and Steven’s continues to hold potential for many possibilities. With financial support from the people who cherish this special urban garden in Tzvat, Israel, Steven’s Garden can be renewed with new benches, upgraded irrigation and maintenance, and a new sign that will include Tamar Bittelman’s name as founder of Steven’s Garden. Contributions can be made through the end of this year’s high holiday season through the crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo – click to learn more and contribute.

The world seems a little topsy turvy these days. A plane missing. 223 girls kidnapped in Nigeria. 3 teen agers kidnapped and murdered in Israel. A plane shot out of the sky. Israel in Gaza. Rockets in Israel. Too many children killed in the streets of Chicago. Too many deaths. When does it stop?

In the Fox River Valley, Illinois, after a punishing winter of epic proportions, it is nice to be outside. Six congregations, part of the nascent Prairie Jewish Coalition, sponsored the Topsy Turvy bus.

What is a topsy turvy bus? It is a school bus, bright yellow, with half of another school bus on top, welded together and running entirely on used food oil. It is a project of Hazon to draw attention to climate change.

Draw attention it does. You have never seen anything like it. Part school bus, part RV, part camper, five  people (and two support staff) are driving this bus from Colorado to Isabella Friedman Retreat Center in Connecticut.  Inside the bus there are sleeping quarters, a kitchen, storage space and even a library!

Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s commissioned the bus. The first tour raised awareness of wasteful spending at the Pentagon. Maybe this Topsy Turvy bus can bring peace! The second tour promoted the White House Organic Farm project. So it makes sense that on a sunny, Sunday afternoon, my congregation, Kneseth Israel, and Pushing the Envelope Farm have come together to host this event.

The residents, drivers, educators engaged all ages who turned out. There were yummy blueberry smoothies made by a bicycle blender. Even better vegan chocolate chip cookies made with three different models of solar cookers. This led to an interesting debate about whether you could use a solar cooker to cook a chicken for Shabbat.

The solar cooking and the bicycle smoothies remind me that I want to install a solar ner tamid, eternal light at our synagogue.  The brainchild of Rabbi Everett Gendler, one of the first Jewish environmentalists, Temple Emanuel of the Merrimack Valley installed the first one in 1978. It raises awareness about the power of the sun and the need to protect our environment, to be caretakers with G-d, in this glorious creation..

People could tour Pushing the Envelope Farm, owned by Rabbi Fred Margulies and his wife Trisha who built the farm from spare acreage on their Continental Envelope Company land in Geneva, IL. They are using it primarily as a teaching farm, with programs for schools, synagogues, churches and scout troops. With 14 acres, there is an organic CSA, various crops and farm animals.  A portion of everything they grow goes to the nearby Northern Illinois Food Bank.

The kids who came loved playing with the chickens and the goats. They loved making their own smoothies and solar cooked cookies. I loved seeing the signs in English, Hebrew, Spanish. And while the bees are critically important, to sustainability and our celebrations of Rosh Hashanah, I gave them a wide berth as I hiked by.

But maybe what I loved most is how this Topsy Turvey bus got all of us—from six congregations and from two years old to eighty, outside on a beautiful, summer day. It would seem that the world is not so Topsy Turvey. Maybe there can even be peace.

Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein is the rabbi of Congregation Kneseth Israel in Elgin, IL, and the author of A Climbing Journey Toward Yom Kippur. She blogs as the Energizer Rabbi, at http://www.theenergizerrabbi.org.

Reisterstown, MD – May 5, 2014 — Pearlstone Center is holding its 4^th annual Nevatim-Sprouts Conference, Sunday, July 13^th through Wednesday July 16^th. This professional development conference brings together early childhood, day school, and religious school educators from around the country for training in Jewish garden and environmental education. Participants learn the basics of educational garden design, share lesson plans and Jewish, environmental curricula, tour the state’s premier outdoor classrooms, harvest and prepare farm to table meals, and walk away with the tools, resources, and professional network needed to develop Jewish, environmental programming at their schools.

This year, in response to past participant feedback, an additional day was added to the conference to provide more opportunities for interactive lesson-plan modeling and group brainstorm. Hands-on sessions explore how to integrate an educational garden into your institution and bring the outside into the classroom to teach about the Jewish calendar, social justice, stewardship and responsibility, among other Jewish values. Pearlstone’s skilled staff utilize the center’s 4-acre organic farm, small animal pasture and trails throughout the conference. Continuing education credits (CEUs) from the Maryland Department of Education are available to participants.

Conference partners this year include RAVSAK, Pardes Institute, The Jewish Montessori Society, United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, Schechter Day School Network, Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism, PARDeS Day Schools of Reform Judaism and the Louise D. and Morton J. Macks Center for Jewish Education. “This opportunity to partner with such a diverse and impressive list of Jewish networks and institutions of Jewish education speaks to the impact this conference makes on educators and their schools. Participants arrive with challenges and questions and leave inspired and excited to ignite passion in their students for Judaism and our relationship with the land,” reported Neely Snyder, Pearlstone Center’s Director of Signature Programs and Nevatim Conference organizer.

4^th Annual Nevatim-Sprouts Conference
July 13-16, 2014
Pearlstone Center, Reisterstown, MD

For additional information, visit pearlstonecenter.org/nevatim

The Pearlstone Center ignites Jewish passion. Our retreat center, farm, and programs enable and inspire vibrant Jewish life. Engaging Jewish, faith-based, and secular organizations, individuals, and families, Pearlstone serves all ages and backgrounds throughout Baltimore, the Chesapeake region, and beyond.

Monday, June 9 – Friday, June 13, 2014 at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center

Join us for a week dedicated to renewing our relationship with the earth, gaining garden education skills, and studying eco-Torah. The Teva Seminar is the premier annual professional development opportunity in the field of JOFEE: Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education. Featuring leaders in the JOFEE field: Nili Simhai, Mordechai Leibling, Jakir Manela, Cara Silverberg, Brent Spodek, Arthur Waskow, plus a team of talented educators from Teva, Jewish Farm School, Eden Village, and many more.

Now in its 20th year, this multi-day, hands-on training program is designed for educators, camp counselors, community leaders, and anyone who is seeking training in the emerging JOFEE field. Participation in the Teva Seminar will enhance the work of your community ­– whether your organization is just getting started in this field, or you’ve been wanting to add goats to your camp’s nature center, take a field trip with your Hebrew school to the farm, or offer a kosher foodie series or farmer’s market at your JCC. Each workshop is accessible to people with all levels of experience in gardening,wilderness skills, culinary arts, and/or experiential Jewish education.

• Learn to infuse Camp, Hebrew school, synagogue, or JCC programming with JOFEE-based activities
• Build new skills in Jewish environmental education
• Get trained to lead hikes and outdoor games within a Jewish context
• Take home resources to use in your community

Use code WELOVEU50 for $50 off. Generous scholarships available.

Presented by Hazon, Adamah and the Jewish Farm School, in partnership with: 7Seeds, Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network, Canfei Nesharim, COEJL, Eden Village Camp, Ganei Beantown, Green Zionist Alliance, Jewcology, Jewish Farm School, Jewish Greening Fellowship, Moishe House International, Neo Hasid, Pearlstone Center, RAC, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Shalom Center, Shoresh, Urban Adamah, Wildnerness Torah, Yiddish Farm

This is a great resource to get you started: http://www.jewcology.com/content/view/Do-It-Yourself-Body-Care-for-the-New-Year

Time: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 5:00PM

Tu Bishvat — the full moon of Shvat — the New Year for the Trees is Wednesday! It's the Kabbalistic celebration of the cosmic Tree of Life, and it's been the focal point of Jewish ecology since the 70's. There are beautiful rituals, and NeoHasid has tremendous resources you can use to celebrate, including 3 different haggadot, source sheets, and the original Tu Bishvat blessing. Go to: http://neohasid.org/resources/tu_bishvat/

Tu Bishvat is the time we pray for the fruit trees to have enough water, sunshine, and love to be able to produce for all of us (all the creatures, not just humans). And it's a time when we reflect on fixing the "sin of the human eating the fruit of the tree of knowing" — which essentially means reflecting on how much and how greedily we take, and how we might change that.

You can get all the resources you need to make a seder/ritual meal (except the fruit) on neohasid.org. You can also get a simple 1-page haggadah/guide on neohasid.org. Here's a list of ingredients for an easy seder: 3 kinds of nuts (like walnut, almond, coconut), 3 kinds of fruit with pits (like olives, dates, avocado), 3 kinds of fruit with edible skin (like apple, grapes, peach, orange, carob), two bottles of white grape juice and one of red. The guide online will tell you how to do it. There's a list below of all the other Tu Bishvat resources you'll find.

And here's a bit of Tu Bishvat Torah, paraphrased from Pirkei d'Rabi Eliezer ch.12. It's from my book on ecology and Kabbalah — which is almost almost completed.

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>When God created the first human being, Adam Harishon, and stood the creature up, it was magnificent like one of the ministering angels. God said: "If I let this one be the unique and only human in the world, then all the other creatures will see it and say, 'this one created us'. Therefore, 'it is not good for the adam to be alone'. (Gen 2:8) So God split the human into male and female.

>When the Earth heard that there would be human beings would multiply, she trembled and quaked. The Earth said: "I do not have in me the strength to feed the flocks of humanity." God said: "I will feed humanity at night with sleep, and so share the burden with you."

According to this midrash, humanity must bet fed by our sleep, by our resting, by our dreaming, by being connected to the realm of the unconscious, to the realm of the soul. If we are not fed in this way, we can (will?) overwhelm and destroy the Earth.

What about the way we live now makes it hard to connect to the unconscious? How can we strengthen our connection to it?

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If you're in the Boulder CO area next week, I'll be leading a community-wide seder at Nevei Kodesh. And if you're in the Pioneer Valley of MA next Shabbat (Jan 17-18), I'll be leading Tu Bishvat learning at the Jewish Community of Amherst. And of you're in the Bay area, you can fond out about EcoJews of the Bay's seder at: https://www.facebook.com/events/601539973233485/

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Tu Bish'vat on neohasid.org:

Find ideas about leading the seder, commentary on the JNF, the prayer for the trees from the original seder, texts to learn and teach at your seder, and more.

"The works" for Tu Bishvat

Haggadot, brakhot, text study sheets, in one zip file. Direct download — 1 MB.

A simple Tu Bishvat Haggadah

An all-English simple haggadah for Tu Bishvat with intro.

A basic version of the well-known flowchart Haggadah

An haggadah all in English with a smidgeon of Kabbalah, accessible for beginners to Kabbalah or to Jewish practices.

One-page flowchart Haggadah plus more links

A flowchart haggadah on a single sheet, in three versions including. Plus some quick links to other resources.

The Ultimate Text Crunching Sheet for Tu Bish'vat

Study, for many days or for one seder, some of the great Jewish and Kabbalistic texts on fruit, trees and the earth.

Shirat ha'asavim ~ The Song of the Grasses

A rough recording of the well-known Naomi Shemer tune, in time for Tu Bish'vat.

How to make a Kabbalstic Tu Bishvat Seder

Instructions on how to run a seder, how to use the blessing from the first Tu Bishvat seder, and how to use the One-page Haggadah chart.

A Prayer for the Earth – Hebrew and English

Y'kum Purkan Lish'maya: A prayer for the earth, for use in your synagogue, minyan, or havurah; for Earth Day, Rainbow Day, Shabbat Noach, Shabbat Behar/Bechukotai, everyday.

Blessing from the first published Tu Bish'vat Seder

From the 16/17th century seder manual, P'ri Eitz Hadar, based on the Kabbalah of the four worlds. The original seder calls on us to bring blessing to all creation.

The Giving Tree: A Way to Honor Our Vision for Israel

Planting a tree for the future sounds like second nature, a wise investment for both Israel and the planet. But whether you think about doing this at Tu Bish'vat or during the Omer when it's really planting time, it's a little more complicated than donating to JNF…

Birkat Ha-ilanot

Once a year there is Jewish custom is to say a special blessing on flowering fruit trees. It happens in spring, especially during the Omer, but it's also a good teaching for Tu Bish'vat. You'll also find some other good tree texts here.

Longer meditations on Pri Etz Hadar

Imagine a Jewish practice which has the purpose of restoring all the species and creatures, and all the sparks they contain, to the fullness of blessing.

Tu Bish'vat wisdom

Three teachings about how holy eating brings blessing to all life and all creatures, submitted by Jacob Fine.

The Urban Adamah Fellowship, based in Berkeley, CA, is a three-month residential training program for young adults (ages 21–31) that combines urban organic farming, social justice training and progressive Jewish learning and living within the setting of an intentional community.

Through the operation of Urban Adamah’s one-acre organic farm and internships with social justice organizations, fellows gain significant skills, training and experience in all aspects of sustainable urban agriculture, community building, leadership development and food justice advocacy. The Fellowship’s experiential curriculum is designed to equip fellows with the tools to become agents of positive change in their own lives and in their communities.

Now in its third year, the Fellowship has graduated nearly 100 young adults who have gone on to work in the fields of environmental education and policy, sustainable agriculture, community organizing, Jewish education and social entrepreneurship.

Upcoming Fellowships

Spring: March 2–May 23, 2014

Summer: June 8–August 29, 2014

Fall: September 7–November 25, 2014

The cost of the Fellowship is offered on a sliding scale from $1,300 to $1,800. Program fees are highly subsidized and include room, board and all other program expenses. We accept 12­–14 fellows per season. Admission is on a rolling basis, and we encourage applicants to apply as soon as they’ve made the decision to enroll in a particular season.

Visit the Urban Adamah websitetoday to learn more and to request an application.

www.urbanadamah.org|510-649-1595 | info@urbanadamah.org| See us on Facebook

The Urban Adamah Jewish Community Farm, located in Berkeley, CA, integrates the practices of Jewish tradition, sustainable agriculture, mindfulness and social action to build loving, just and sustainable communities.

Contemporary ballet and environmentalism are not topics that often go hand-in-hand. That is until you meet Israel’s Vertigo Dance Company. The dance group’s unique approach to ecological activism is the inspiration for my new film Renewal.

Dance is one of Israel’s most impressive art forms, and it engages people worldwide regardless of language. Renewal is an opportunity for new audiences to learn about a unique and powerful aspect of Israeli culture, and gain new perspectives on dance and environmentalism.

The documentary profiles Vertigo, a world-renowned Jerusalem-based dance company that builds an Eco-Arts village to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle. The process of becoming green forces the dancers and their families to reconsider their art, their values, and their place in the Holy Land.

Renewal demonstrates creative ways to make art in a sustainable fashion, but many ask, how exactly can Vertigo make dance green? Well, here are four examples:

(1) Sustainable stagecraft

One of Vertigo’s famous pieces The Birth of Phoenix featured in the film is performed on a recyclable, portable stage space. This unique performance space redefines the concept of traditional theater with electric lights, and allows the company to bring their performances to communities in outdoor spaces across the globe.

(2) Sustainable rehearsal space

The company has created a rehearsal studio on the Eco-Arts village based on the tenets of permaculture design. They have refurbished abandoned chicken coops, and renovated them using natural clay, mud, and local recycled wood. The studios have huge windows bringing in natural light, allowing the company to create while being surrounded by nature.

(3) Sustainable living space

Life mimics art. Since building the Eco-Arts Village, the directors of the dance company and their families live onsite on the eco-arts village, and have integrated sustainable practices into their personal lives including composting, carpooling, gray water recycling, and permaculture gardening.

(4) Ecological education

The dance company performs choreography that raises awareness of global environmental issues creating platforms for dialogue and discussion. They offer classes on clay building and permaculture design for both adults and children.

The Vertigo Dance Company are artists trying to reduce their carbon footprint in any way that they can. They express their love for the earth in both the themes of their dances and the materials under their feet.

The film is a celebration of the earth, and exemplifies how the passion to live greener has touched people worldwide in very different walks of life.

Sounds interesting, right? Go check it out! Learn more about Renewal, see the trailer, and join my film campaign:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/renewal-a-film-about-art-and-ecology/x/1085614

As a Jewcology community, we feel that the more Jewish environmental leaders who apply to this event, the more likelihood that the conversation will include challenges of sustainability. We encourage you to apply for this event. The deadline to apply is this coming Monday, July 15.

To apply, visit http://2030.nathancummings.net/

Here are the details from The Nathan Cummings Foundation:

In a time of significant national and global transitions, religious communities, faith leaders and those on a spiritual journey will play a central role in determining the future of our country, with global implications. We believe when individuals and communities articulate and embody their personal religious and spiritual values in the public arena this country is best able to fulfill its promise as a refuge for the outcast, provider of opportunities and mobility for all, and fulfill the promise of a robust democracy where power is held in the hands of the many.

Challenge we are seeking to address: In a rapidly changing world, where faith is as often a force for inspiration as well as polarization, how might we as people of faith, support individuals and communities connected to their religious and spiritual identities, to amplify their voice, vision and public leadership?

Is this a challenge that resonates with you or keeps you up at night? Would you invest four days of your life to wrestle with this challenge with a diverse group of leaders?

If yes, we invite you to complete an application to join us for the 2030 Challenge gathering application due on by Monday, July 15, 2013. If selected, travel, food and lodging will be covered by the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Below you will find the articulation of the broader context in which we are locating this challenge, our belief in the importance of a strong religious and spiritual voice in the public arena, information about outcomes, methodology, profiles of potential participants, and a Frequently Asked Questions section.

Please review the required preparation and questions and please submit the completed application online by 11:59pm EST on Monday, July 15, 2013. Please send questions to 2030challenge@nathancummings.org.

Timeline

Monday, July 15: Application deadline

Thursday, August 8: Selections announced

September 2013: Prep work (3-4 hours total)

October 7-10: Gathering in Garrison, NY

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As a “still-feeling-semi-new” Farm Educator Apprentice here at Eden Village, I feel I’ve been learning exponential amounts of new.

Post first week and a half orientation daze, I now feel I have a bit of a handle on how things operate here. The farm is really looking great! We have a lot planted in the fields such as baby lettuce, carrots, peas, hakurei turnips, beans, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, flowers and more. The whole site is starting to take shape for summer’s full swing, day by day, with one more bucket of compost and one more weed pulled.

I’ve been learning things like how to drive a tractor, how to make a bed in your garden using food scraps, hay, and leaves directly in the ground (called a lasagna bed), how to space rows of kale in the ground or thin out salad greens in the field, and even how to play guitar (slowly but surely!).

The biggest thing I couldn’t have prepared for though is living in this wonderful community. The force this place and people here have is something I could not have imagined on April 13th. Everyone is warm, kind, open, and truly chooses to see the light in the beauty of the every day. With each new morning here I feel a little more supported and a more full sense of self.

I’ve heard one interpretation of the word Shavuot, that it refers to Atzeret which means to “refrain” or “hold back”. As we leave Shavuot and enter Shabbat, I bless that every person finds a way to not refrain from stepping into something new, from opening yourself up a little bit more to a new friend, or even to not hold back when something is truly funny and you want to bust a gut!

Shabbat Shalom, With love,

Avi

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: israel.naturally2013@gmail.com.

Rocks in my Life

by Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein

They say that Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the world. It is an opportunity filled with new beginnings. Everything seems fresh and new. So much more so out in G-d's glorious creation, singing psalms that express that majesty. Many Rosh Hashanah mornings have found me at Plum Island before sunrise or a Walden Pond trying to figure out in Thoreau's words, "I went to the woods to learn to live deliberately"

They say that G=d is a Rock, capital R, Adonai Tzuri, G-d is My Rock. When I was first learning Hebrew this was the only word I knew for rock or stone. The Israelis laughed when I tried to use it to describe the beautiful Jerusalem stone. Tzur is only for G-d, they told me. But sometimes people get closer to G-d sitting on rocks. Jacob uses a stone for a pillow, had a dream and woke up saying, "G-d was in this place and I knew it not."

Recently I was sitting on the rocks on the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, ME. In Maine they even have an expression for this. The original tourists, rusticators, those summer people who came to places like Ogunqiuit and Bar Harbor by steamer, stage coach or train, would sit on the rocks for hours just looking at the ocean, thinking or painting. They called it rocking. As I sat there I was thinking of all the times I have sat there. Many major life decisions have been made sitting on those very rocks. My husband and I decided to have a child sitting there on a cold February morning. One April I rocked to decide whether I could finish rabbinical school, despite some overwhelming obstacles. One July I rocked and debated whether to accept a position as an educational director after ordination. More recently I returned to Ogunquit for my birthday all by myself to walk the beach and the Marginal Way, to sit on those rocks and to figure out what my vision of the rabbinate is. I completed my application for Congregation Kneseth Israel in my hotel room that night. I was impressed with their vision process. It seemed to mirror mine.

Now I am leaving those rocks. I will become the rabbi of Congregation Kneseth Israel in Elgin, Illinois. My last trip to Ogunquit, was a bright, sunny day. The ocean was a deep blue against the sky. It was breathtaking. When I stepped out of the car, I said to myself, "how can I leave this place?" I even called my daughter then in New York and said I couldn't leave. Then I sat there. I realized that those rocks will be there.They are eternal. I can return to them. Again and again. The high holiday liturgy says that we can return. Sitting on those rocks helps me prepare. Sitting on those rocks is a real concrete (pun intended) form of teshuva, return. To the Rock. To the rocks. To sit and meditate again. They say that Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the world. Now where is that more apparent than where the rocks and the water meet. May we all return.

Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein is the rabbi of Congregation Kneseth Israel in Elgin IL. www.ckielgin.org. She blogs as the Energizer Rabbi at http://www.theenergizerrabbi.org/. While in Massachusetts she honed her love of water at Mayyim Hayyim where she served as a mikveh guide and educator. Shabbat afternoons will find her out in nature or at a beach somewhere walking.

When: Sept. 7 — 9, 2012

Where: The Green Mountains of southern Vermont, just ~3½ hours drive from New York or Boston

Join us as we revel in the beauty of early fall in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont. Enjoy a Shabbat outdoors with warm days and cool nights. Learn about environmental challenges facing Israel as well as Jewish perspectives on global environmental issues. We will paddle to a secluded campsite on a mountain lake where we will relax, reflect, study and pray.

Click here for more information
and to register!

June 8 – 10: Delaware River Water Gap canoe shabbaton: We will paddle a stretch of the Delaware River entirely within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGRA). There is an abundance of wildlife (no promises we’ll see any) and the river is lively, offering several exciting stretches. The trip includes baking challah in a dutch oven, kabbalat shabbat services under the stars and more. 300.00 per person.

July6 – 8: AdirondacksShabbat Experience: We will paddle into one of the many remote wilderness lakes in the park where the scenery is magnificent, the wildlife abundant (no promises we’ll see any) and the people are few and far between. The trip includes baking challah in a dutch oven, kabbalat shabbat services under the stars and more. 300.00 per person.

July 15 – 19: Adirondacks: We will paddle the Bog River to Lows Lake and then down the Oswegatchie River This trip will take us into a very remote wilderness area and will involve portaging and some strenuous paddling. 375.00 per person.

August 10 – 12: Adirondacks Shabbat Experience: (see above). 300.00 per person.

August 14 – 17: Adirondacks Teen Experience:We will paddle into one of the many remote wilderness lakes in the park where the wildlife is abundant (no promises we’ll see any) and the people are few and far between. Learn back country camping skills, fire building, map and compass along with a bit of Torah.

August 21 – 26: Moose Bow River in Jackman Maine with Rabbi Mike Comins of Torah Trek. Join us for a canoeing adventure in the pristine wilderness of northern Maine on the well-named Moose Bow River. Experience the magic of an untamed river, visit waterfalls, observe moose, beaver, martens, eagles and hawks, relish the smell of a campfire, delight at the stars dancing in the night sky on this wilderness trip infused with Torah and Judaism. Enjoy delicious vegetarian meals made even tastier when cooked over an open fire while serenaded by nuthatches and chickadees. Relax, learn, make friends, swim and explore inner and outer geography in a stunning natural setting.To register please visit torahtrek.org.

September 7 – 9: BBA & Green Zionist Alliancecanoe trip: As we revel in the beauty of fall in the Green Mountains of Vermont, GZA director, David Krantz, will lead sessions related to environmental challenges facing Israel as well as Jewish perspectives on global environmental issues. (Limited to 7 people)

September 16 – 17 Rosh Hashana in the Green Mountains of Vermont: Every year don't you say "I sure wish I could observe Rosh Hashana outside". Well this year you can. We will paddle out to a secluded campsite on a mountain lake. There we will relax, reflect, study, and pray.200.00 per person

September 25 – 26 Yom Kippur in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Sometimes you just need to get away in order to truly reconnect with others. Yom Kippur in the Green Mountains is a time for deep introspection. With the help of our ancient liturgy and the grandeur of the mountains we will reflect, reconnect and repent. 200.0 per person

October 5 – 7 Sukkot on the Delaware River Water: We will paddle a stretch of the Delaware River entirely within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGRA). The scenery is magnificent. There is an abundance of wildlife (no promises we’ll see any) and the river is lively, offering several exciting stretches. There are numerous heavily forested islands and interesting exposed rock formations. The trip includes baking challah in a dutch oven, kabbalat shabbat services under the stars, a natural sukkot of trees and sky and more. 300.00 per person.

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, harvesting and soil building. In the bet midrash (study hall), you will explore a variety of Jewish texts relating to contemporary environmental and food justice issues such as food security, worker rights, and land stewardship.

When: Sunday, June 3-Sunday, June 10, 2012
Where: Sustainable farms in the Greater Boston Area and Hebrew College, Newton, MA

Who: Anyone interested in food, farming and Judaism.
How: Tuition is $1000 + transportation; generous fellowships are available.

*College credit available for interested participants*

To apply click here.
To find out more about Fellowships available contact Rabbi Or Rose, 617-559-8636
To find out more about this program contact Rabbi Jacob Fine, (877)-537-6286 x3
Application Due: May 1st, 2012

I know that Tu b'Shevat has mystical meaning in addition to the more modern, environmental meaning we've given to it. For this seder, I wanted to blend a little of the mystical back into our understanding of Tu b'Shevat. I believe that this mystical understanding is not only complementary, but supportive of our goals at a deep level .

To achieve this, I began by reading from Inviting G-d In, Rabbi David Aaron's book about the holidays. Regarding Tu b'Shevat, he writes:

"The Torah teaches that G-d created the world so that we could experience goodness in general and His goodness in particular. Experiencing His goodness — bonding with G-d — is the greatest joy imaginable… If we eat and enjoy the fruits of this world for G-d's sake — because this is what He asks of us — then we are actually serving G-d and bonding with him. We serve G-d by acknowledging that the fruits of this world are His gifts to us and by willingly accepting and enjoying those gifts… We connect to G-d by serving Him, and this means obeying His commandments to enjoy the fruits of this world." (p. 158-159)

Rabbi Aaron goes on to explain that the mystical significance of Tu b'Shevat is to receive pleasure and have this act transformed into an act of service of G-d. He writes:

"An apple is not just an apple; an apple is a blessing. Maybe I could believe that apples come from trees but a blessing could only come from G-d. If I really contemplate the mystery and miracle of the taste, fragrance, beauty, and nutrition wrapped up in this apple, I see that it's more than just a fruit – it is a wondrous loving gift from G-d. When I taste an apple with that kind of consciousness, I cannot but experience the presence of G-d within the physical."

Thus, we began our seder with a true appreciation of the fruit as a gift from G-d. We began the seder with Canfei Nesharim's fruit meditation, but this time I tweaked it so that we could focus on the fruit not just as a blessing in itself but as a gift — from G-d! All the way through the seder, when we ate fruit, we savored it and we experienced it as a gift. This is part of the mystical beauty of Tu b'Shevat.

Just today one of the participants told me that every time she slows down to eat, she remembers what we learned and how delicious food can be.

The other thing I was interested in was having this seder make a real difference. That's not always easy to do, especially with a Tu b'Shevat Seder. So many things are happening at any one time, and the program does not lend itself to action. But this time we had a special opportunity. The very next day, on Tu b'Shevat, a group of environmentalists were going to meet with our delegate to Maryland's legislature to talk about bringing wind power to Maryland. This is a campaign our group is already behind.

The fourth world of the Tu b'Shevat Seder is emanation. It's about transcending physicality and I like to use the time to appreciate the importance of things we cannot see. I always ask: what things are important that we can't see? It's a meaningful exercise. People often take a few minutes to figure out an answer. Someone always figures out that "air" is something we can't see that's very important. Later on, someone usually comes up with "love." The suggestion I made this time: "the opportunity to make a difference." It's something we often cannot see. It may take many years before you can see any change at all! The emunah, the faith that it is possible is all we have for a long time. And althought it's hard to see, the possibility of making a difference is incredibly important.

That gave me the opportunity to speak of something else that we can't see: wind. And our group did something unique (thanks to Joelle Novey for suggesting it!): we sent a Tu b'Shevat card to our Delegate (Del. Ben Kramer) thanking him for his support of renewable energy, a friendly but encouraging reminder that people in his district care about this. You can download the card here.

Another thing you can see? The ripples of the difference you might make before they spread out. I experienced that when our efforts were covered in the Washington Post the next week!

I believe that we all have something meaningful to contribute to the world. Maybe the key is just this: to believe in something you can't yet see!

Can you hear the owls of Shevat calling? They are beckoning us to find ways to bring our Jewish communities outside. I’d like to share a simple program that gets our community of different aged folks bundled up and joining a night hike filled with owl calls, wind song, star gazing, storytelling and fair-trade organic hot chocolate.

Here’s what we do. We gather when the Shevat moon is waning, on a Saturday night post Tu B’Shevat. Peak owl listening time may be 4am, but we just ramble around after dinner, wide open and trusting to the mystery of what we may experience, happy to simply experience the night together. We begin sharing stories of special encounters we’ve had with owls or the moon, meeting a few of our owl neighbors through photos and calls and learning to listen with ears wide open.

We then stroll around the paved mile loop inside a beautiful park/cemetery. It is here where many in our village of 2000 choose to walk, jog or teach their children bike riding. It is nestled in the Berkshire foothills surrounded by forest, cliff and river. The perfect place for a night hike.

When walking in winter, the art of building a container for silence is crucial for the success of this program (less so for the Owls of Sivan program that might be enjoyed in early summer!). For us winter walkers, I’ve found that active pacing and group jumping jacks fare better than slow and mindful walking meditations.

When we arrive at the stations of our loop, marked by beautiful old trees or open spaces, we all call to our owl neighbors- the simple hoots of Great Horned Owl, and the more elaborate “Kugels and Jews, Kugels and Jews Y’all” of the Barred owl and then listen with all of our heart, soul and might. Can you tell it’s kind of fun? Even if we only hear back the song of night wind and tree cracklings, people don’t seem to mind. After all, we are surrounded by the outlines of tall, stout and gangly trees, a glorious night sky filled with stars, and the warm presence of each other.

After 40 minutes or so, we arrive at a pavilion with benches, short walls just enough to support our backs and block the wind and a simple roof. The trees are still with us as we enjoy hot chocolate, introduce the great role of the moon in Jewish tradition and a hear a few stories from Chelm and Reb Nachman that are dedicated to the moon. What might you share when everyone gathers around with hot cocoa?

If you want to explore ideas- feel free to write me at david@maggiddavid.net. Of course, the best ideas are to be found in the silence that fills the night. There, in the darkness, it becomes easy to feel how the entire universe vibrates- and how those same vibrations also move through us. Happy Hiking!

The purpose of our trip was to give us, rabbis, educators and activists, a unique opportunity to delve further into the spiritual basis of our environmentalism. We went to Alaska because the wilderness experience would allow us to recharge our spiritual senses without the usual interruptions and distractions of modern technological civilization. While we were “out on the paddle,” we had no contact at all with anyone else and aside from an emergency radio, no means of communication with the rest of the world. We also spent a great deal of the trip in silence. We did not speak while we ate. We were silent much of the time while we were in the kayaks and sometimes we stopped paddling and just drifted with the currents listening to the wind, the water and the eagles. Every morning we prayed together, studied and meditated using a technique called “mindfulness training” adapted from Zen Buddhism which allowed us to live in the moment and to focus on where we were in the world at that moment.

Our guides taught us about the history and the ecology of Tebenkof Bay and the Tongas National forest that it is part of. While Tebenkof is a wilderness area with very strict rules as to its use, logging was still allowed in the Tongas National Forest and we could see large clear cuts as we flew in a sea plane from Petersburg to our first campsite. The trees in this old growth rain-forest are mostly Sitka spruce. They are hundreds of years old and yet they were mostly cut for pulp to be used in newsprint. We learned that the trees, the eagles, the bears and salmon are all linked in an incredibly complex ecological system. The trees drop needles into the waters providing nutrients for the insects which the salmon eat. The salmon are eaten by bears and eagles which then defecate the nutrients back into the soil and onto the tops of the trees. Scientists have found salmon isotopes in the needles of the Sitka spruce.

We also learned that the natives who used to inhabit Tebenkof Bay, the Tlingit (pronounced “Klingit”), lived there for 5,000 years and the only disturbances they left were an old totem pole in an overgrown burial site and a few indented areas in the middle of an island that had been a village for 800 years. The salmon was central to their diet and their culture and salmon fishing is still one the major activities of the whole region. The salmon were running while we were there and 24 hours a day they were jumping out of the water for reasons of their own. Tebenkof Bay was filled with sea otters, sea lions, mink, Sitka deer, black bears, bald eagles, hundreds of kinds of birds and whales. For several mornings a whale came by our campsite feeding on the small fish amongst the kelp and the sound of its breathing was a counterpoint to our morning prayers.

We learned in a way that we could not have understood before the tapestry of creation that interconnects us with every part of the world. This is a lesson that we may know intellectually but because of the barriers we erect, both physical and psychological, we live as if we are not part of creation but somehow separate and immune from the effects of our over consumption of its gifts.

This problem has been called by some environmentalists “biophobia” the fear of the natural world. Environmental educators see this fear in children at summer camps who are afraid to be outdoors; by teachers who find children coming to kindergartens who do not know how to use their bodies. Many children have spent so much time in front of the computer or the television set and so little playing outside that they cannot walk with any agility and don’t know how to cut paper. Biophobia is not confined to children. Many adults express their fear of the real world by retreating into the “virtual world” of the Internet. Biophobia is also is the disconnection from the real world of other human beings. It is an alienation from life with all its physicality and contingency.

Environmental spirituality tries to the awareness of our interconnection with each other and the rest of creation. When we achieve this awareness, we are more likely to look outside ourselves and truly understand how our actions affect the entire world. We will then know why we cannot continue to consume the world without consideration or restraint.

In order to begin this sense of awareness we must stop, listen and look and thereby be mindful of the world. We can then see and feel what Abraham Joshua Heschel called the sense of the ineffable, that awareness that creation is a mystery calling out to us in a soundless voice now blocked by the noise and business of our lives. We can sense the ineffable, in Alaska, in New Jersey or anywhere if we open up our spiritual eyes. Then we can respond with love, awe, humility, gratitude and blessing to each moment in our lives. We will then can find meaning in our actions, in the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the work that we do. We will understand that every action in life is in some ways an ethical choice that is not without consequence.

We will soon celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees. Every year on Tu B’Shevat, I try to remember the centers of the living web of creation that the great Sitka spruce in Tebenkof Bay. I will try to think about how a tree can tell us a lot about the history of its place and how humans have acted upon it. I will try to think about how much I really know about the place where I live and the kind of effect my life has upon it. I will try to see how a tree can show me my place in the Order of Creation. With the trees, the salmon, the deer, the whales, the bears and the eagles, we are voices in that great choir of life that with its every breath praises the Creator of the Universe.

Teva Ivri Is Spreading the Light in Jerusalem – Meet JiVE!

At Hannukah, we learn that even one little bit of oil can spread a lot of light – all it takes is a group of dedicated Jews to uncover it. Teva Ivri is excited to introduce you to a new project which is helping young Jews light the spark of their Jewish identity and helping the holy city of Jerusalem to shine.

Meet JiVE: Jerusalem Volunteers for the Environment , Teva Ivri’s newest innovative environmental education program! JiVE connects young Jews from around the world to Israel through community service and Jewish learning in Jerusalem. Participants clean up parks, work in community gardens, and study Jewish texts on conservation and nature appreciation. A highlight of this program is the “peer exchange” with young Israeli environmental and social justice leaders.

Founded by Rabbi Shaul Judelman, former director of the Eco-Activist Beit Midrash, JiVE provides engaging service learning for Israel programs from across the denominational spectrum. For an afternoon or for a week, young Jews develop a hands-on relationship with Israel and Jewish values by getting to know a community garden or urban nature site and the local residents who oversee it. They work closely with young Israelis from SPNI’s Gari’n Dvash, who share their personal stories and their choice to do environmental work in service to their country. On break from the day’s work, participants explore the Jewish tradition’s approach to environmental questions with skilled environmental educators.

JiVE promotes a Jewish culture that values sustainability and facilitates a new bond between youth of the Diaspora and the people of Israel. We welcome you to join us in creating a sustainable Jerusalem and Israel – in person on your next visit, or from afar via the Teva Ivri website.

As always, Teva Ivri thanks you for your support and encouragement!

Happy Hannukah!

Einat Kramer
Director, Teva Ivri

I attended Doug McKenzie-Mohr’s workshop on Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community Based Social Marketing and learned much about how to be more effective.

Sometimes, doing the right thing requires too much effort. Sometimes people think that it requires too much effort. Hence, we must understand the barriers that people perceive in engaging in sustainable behavior. We then should try to reduce those barriers by making the behavior more convenient and more beneficial to the person doing it.

In addition, it is often useful to get people commit themselves to the behavior and to provide reminders for behaviors (e.g., stickers reminding people to turn off unneeded lights).

It is also useful to establish and use the norm that the community expects certain behaviors. One reason that curbside recycling works well is that people see their neighbors recycling and know that their own behavior will also be noticed. To establish such community norms, it can be very useful to persuade respected community members to adopt the desired behavior and for these people to encourage their friends to do likewise.

If you are thinking about attending one of these workshops, go to https://register.cbsm.com/workshops/workshop-schedule. However, unless you feel like traveling to Vancouver in November, you should check this link in several months, so that you can see when and where workshops will be offered in the winter and spring.

A considerably less expensive, but also less effective, way of learning this material is to buy Doug’s book which has the same title as the workshop. It is published by New Society Publishers, www.newsociety.com and also available through Amazon.com.

Stan Kaplowitz

Professor of Sociology

Michigan State University

kaplowi1@msu.edu