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.

Jewcology is sharing this idea because we know there are some Jewish environmental leaders out there who could use $1000 to make a big difference.

Here are some details:

• The proposals are accepted on a rolling basis, but the final deadline is December 6. Eligibility guidelines here.
• If the idea meets the Terms and Restrictions, it will be featured on the #MakeItHappen website and be eligible to receive one of the micro grants.
• Between October and December 2013, up to 50 ideas will be selected to receive a micro grant of up to $1,000. Five ideas could receive up to $5,000.

What are you waiting for? Submit your idea here by filling out a short form describing what you'd like to do.

Join the conversation by sharing #MakeItHappen with your friends, fans and followers on Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can also browse ideas that have already been chosen and offer to get involved with them. See selected projects here.

Go straight to the site and get your microgrant today!

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed. Your generosity made a big difference! Stay tuned for more details as we continue our Year of Action and move toward the Year of Engagement in the coming months.

This campaign is complete, but we're still accepting donations to support the Year of Engagement! You can give here.

Thank you so much for your support!

MAKE AN ELUL DONATION TO SUPPORT JEWCOLOGY NOW!

With your support, in 2014 Jewcology and COEJL will partner on a "Year of Jewish Policy Engagement on the Environment," which will provide tools to help Jewish environmental activists and local leaders become more involved in environmental action at the policy level. COEJL will provide advocacy guidance and connection with mainstream Jewish institutions. Jewcology will provide our active audience of grassroots Jewish environmental activists.

It's a match! All donations in this campaign will be matched by a grant from the ROI Community, up to $5000. Now is the perfect time to support our work!

You can follow the success of the campaign, and share this exciting opportunity with your family and friends, at http://igg.me/at/engagement

Watch this short video to learn more from the Jewcologist and COEJL-er:

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

The mission-vision-values statements of our non-profit organizations focus on the necessity to provide for the welfare and needs of those in our community. Rarely do our organizations actively focus on the need to recruit and expand the internal talent to make the organization successful. The general misperception of donors is that low overhead costs maximize the effect of their donation (Pallotta, 2012). In order to make the case for “smart giving,” we need to invest in growing our own internal strength in order to role-model best practices.

Creating a strategic plan for pursuing sustainability focused operations is not intuitive: one must seek the most suitable resources and make changes in the most efficient manner. “Even if one has the desire, it takes time. With everything else that the members of our Jewish communal leadership have to do, they often don’t have time to learn this new discipline,” explains Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, founder and director of the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network (BJEN). Addressing environmental and sustainable issues can seem overwhelming and insurmountable without knowledgeable and dedicated staff.

The benefits of employing a Sustainability Manager can have a far reaching positive impact. Sustainability management, used as the conduit for cross collaboration and communication both in and outside an organization, can address: benchmarking products used/purchased and evaluating their economic and environmental impact, educating and engaging employees to help the organization realize and achieve its sustainability goals, identifying community stakeholders and collecting their feedback about the effectiveness of initiatives, pinpointing key partners to collaborate on projects and share resources, creating sustainability metrics for evaluating and demonstrating progress and outcomes, and being innovative as new opportunities are discovered (Slafter, 2010).

The rise of executive level Sustainability positions, as tracked by analyst firm Verdantix, is directly related to operational improvement by decreasing environmental impact and business risks. Additionally, as 68% of consumers are becoming more energy and environmentally conscientious and are actively taking measures to reduce their own energy consumption, they expect that the businesses they work in and organizations they support to be doing the same. While most companies cite cost savings as the impetus for adopting more environmentally sound operations practices, 53% of the companies surveyed created sustainability best practices because it was “the right thing to do” (SustainableBusiness.com, 2011). Ultimately, these efforts are anticipated to bring about system wide savings which can be used to enhance programs and community services.

The September 2011 issue of CFO magazine states that despite a slumping economy, nearly 70% of businesses anticipate spending even more on sustainability initiatives this year. Contrary to the stereotype that people who embrace sustainability are “tree-huggers” or “die-hard” environmentalists, executives are not forgoing profits in favor of environmental initiatives; the majority report that their sustainability actions and decisions actually increased profits (O’Sullivan, 2011). Sustainability initiatives have been shown to create an influx of resources and a venue to share best management practices that improve company outcomes.

Yet according to a study published by IBM subsidiary TRIRIGA, of the 92% of organizations that have established environmental sustainability policies and goals, barely one third of these companies have bridged the “sustainability chasm” and actually achieved their sustainability objectives. The study identifies what separates the “achievers,” those companies who have successfully established environmental policies and goals, from the “planners” and “stragglers,” who have yet to do so: the ability to integrate sustainability throughout the organization. In order to successfully bridge this “sustainability chasm,” executive management must be involved and organization-wide internal teams must be used to evaluate and implement sustainability strategies. Additionally, sustainability, especially related to energy efficiency, needs to be ranked as a top priority with dedicated budgets to support the initiatives (IBM, 2011).

MITSloan Management Review identifies these successful organizations as “harvesters”, embracers of sustainable activities that directly result in operational benefits. These organizations have changed their business model to one that distinctively supports sustainability rather than attempting to impose sustainability into a pre-existing structure. A key component in this design shift is clearly articulating that the responsibility for sustainable initiatives is not marginalized to the sustainability manager alone, but rather is a collective process with support from CEOs and cross-functional senior management who all support the objectives of the sustainability plan. This collaborative approach with internal stakeholders often leads to successful collaboration and networking both inside and outside the organization (MIT, 2012).

Over time, sustainable business practices become standard best management practices. They address long-term profitability and vision by establishing procedure for routine evaluation and benchmarking to assess operations and behaviors. Through the focus of sustainability, we can implement objectives that will not just have cost saving benefits, but actually leave a positive mark on our environment. Through these added benefits, non-profit organizations have the ability to transform the way the public thinks about charity, about giving, and about how change gets made.

Being attuned towards social trends is particularly important in the non-profit world, as our organizations are lay-led, and attracting a healthy donor base is essential to continue providing services. In a customer opinion study published by The Nielson Company in 2011, 83% felt that it was important for companies to have an environmental program (MIT, 2011). Through sustainability, Jewish organizations can excite and inspire their donor base as well as identify other potential stewards through a hallmark of responsible and sustainable practices. Especially true in the non-profit sector, sources of revenue rely on generous donors and philanthropic funding. Sustainable operations have the ability to attract additional sources of funding through grants from government, local utilities and other organizations with a focus on environmental restoration and community revitalization and improvements. By acting upon and responding to sustainability issues, Jewish communal organizations can demonstrate excellence in operations, while emphasizing the Jewish values inherent in these sustainability best practices.

Last year so many people jammed into the country’s de-facto national-park system, run by KKL-JNF, that parks were closed because they reached capacity. So, how many people was that, you ask? About one in every five Israelis — more than 1.5 million people — which is also about the same number of trees that have been planted in Israel since 2007 because of the work of the Green Zionist Alliance. That’s right, we’ve gotten a million-plus trees planted in the last five years.

Of course, as those who remember the recent Carmel fire know, it’s not just planting trees that matters, but the type and diversity of trees. That’s why one of the first things that we did after we first participated in our first World Zionist Congress was adding more trees to the planting mix. Thanks to our work, more varieties of trees are being planted today than the classic pine — and that includes trees suitable for semi-arid climates.

But when Israelis head outdoors today, it won’t just be the trees that they’ll be enjoying — many will be biking on some of the hundreds of miles of bike trails that have been built across the country because of the Green Zionist Alliance. That includes the Kinneret Circumference Trail, the Trans-Israel Bike Trail and many others — the list gets longer every year as our work gets more and more bike trails built and expanded.

Today Israelis also are enjoying both the nature reserve in Nes Tsiona, an open space in between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and the Samar sand dunes, near Eilat — both of which have been preserved because of the work of the Green Zionist Alliance.

This Yom Ha’atzmaut, give Israel an environmentally friendly birthday gift: Join the Green Zionist Alliance and help green Israel. Then go outside.

Cross-posted from GreenZionism.org

I'm very pleased to invite you to my home in Manhattan for a benefit supporting the extraordinary work of Eden Village Camp, the innovative Jewish farm-to-table & arts camp an hour north of NYC.

Monday, April 30th

6:00 – 8:00pm

Near Columbus Circle in Manhattan, NYC

Local organic Kosher hors d'oeuvres & wine served

Click here to buy your ticket: http://peteryarrowedenvillage.eventbrite.com/

The happiness, excitement and heartfelt way in which the Eden Village campers and staff interact is moving and beautiful. As founding president of Operation Respect, a non-profit working to assure each youth a respectful & safe learning climate, I am delighted to know of Eden Village as a place where kindness is cool.

I plan to share some songs, and we'll auction off a guitar specially hand-painted for the occasion. I'm honored to host this gathering of music, connection, and building a world with more kindness and inspiration for our young people!

All proceeds from our fundraiser will support scholarships for the transformative Eden Village experience. Please register for the event right now. (And at latest by Tuesday, April 24th) Register here: http://peteryarrowedenvillage.eventbrite.com/

L'Shalom and off we go!

Peter

P.S. – If you can't make it, please consider making a donation to support the scholarship fund: https://eden.donortools.com/my/funds/11072-Camper-Scholarship-Fund

~

Eden Village is honored to be recognized by the "Slingshot Guide" as one of the 50 most innovative Jewish organizations in North America!

With just 9 days left to go in this campaign, Jewcology has raised over almost $19,000 toward our match goal, and we have just $1009 to go by the end of the year.

Jewcology community, we have an extraordinary opportunity to unite the Jewish environmental movement and empower the Jewish community to lead environmental change and address the global sustainability challenge. If you believe in this effort, can you help us get the rest of the way to our goal?

You can help by:

1) Donating on our project page at Razoo: http://www.razoo.com/story/Support-Jewcology

2) Posting this message on facebook: “I support Jews protecting the environment! Do you? http://www.razoo.com/story/Support-Jewcology”

3) Posting this message on twitter: “Heal the world! @jewcology is bringing #Jews together for #environmental change. http://bit.ly/sVLiav”

4) Forwarding this message to your friends.

Thanks so much for your generous support!

On Chanukah we recall the victory of the few over the many and the weak over the powerful. We celebrate the miracle of the oil and of the reassertion of control over our historic homeland, the present-day land of Israel.

But, as history repeats itself, this Chanukah, the role of the Greek Assyrians and local Hellenized is being played by telecommunications-giant IDT Corporation, a multinational New York Stock Exchange-listed company that aims to frack for oil across Judea through its subsidiary Genie Energy, which owns Israel Energy Initiatives. Mega-philanthropist Michael Steinhardt chairs the board of Israel Energy Initiatives and news-magnate Rupert Murdoch, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Rothschild family-heir Lord Jacob Rothschild sit on Genie Energy's advisory board as major investors.

The few standing in their way of poisoning Israel’s water, land and air through hydrofracking across the state are the Green Zionist Alliance, fellow grassroots organization Save Adullam, GZA sister-organization Israel Union for Environmental Defense, Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and umbrella-organization Life and Environment. But all of our collective budgets look like pocket change to the tycoons behind Israel Energy Initiatives.

While fracking in America is for natural gas, in Israel the coveted fossil fuel is oil. If you’re unclear about how harmful hydrofracking could be for Israel — and why it’s even worse environmentally than the kind of fracking happening in the United States — you should read the GZA’s extensive report published in May. Or, better yet, read the GZA’s 34-page report published in Hebrew in August. We plan to have the report translated into English by the end of next month.

In 2010 our Israeli partners in the fight against fracking challenged Israel Energy Initiatives in Israel’s supreme court, asserting that the company would need permission from the ministry of the environment to frack because the 1952 Oil Act only should apply to oil that’s naturally recoverable — crude oil. The oil that Israel Energy Initiatives is after, though, is shale oil in the form of kerogen — rock saturated in oil like a sponge saturated in water. Consequently, instead of just drilling for oil, like rigs in Alaska, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia do, recovering shale oil requires both fracking and in-situ retorting — heating the ground to about 600º F.

That process, of course, takes an immense amount of energy. And in Israel that energy comes from burning coal. So fracking in Israel is, economically speaking, trading coal for oil. If you look at it in a vacuum, the transaction may make sense, since oil has a higher market value than coal. But once you look at the whole picture, fracking becomes nonsense because it involves burning both coal and oil. Environmentally speaking, fracking for oil is a disastrous idea, one that would lead to massive increases in the country’s carbon footprint.

In 2009 Israel agreed at the Copenhagen climate-change talks to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 percent and to increase renewable-energy production to 10 percent of the electric grid, up from the roughly 1 percent it is today. If Israel proceeds with fracking for oil, in all likelihood it will miss its climate-change targets by wide margins.

And, like in the United States, fracking may poison the water supply. But in Israel, water is even more precious than in America. Already, Israelis and Palestinians together use 20 percent more water annually than is naturally replenished. Over-reliance on the Sea of Galilee and the region’s aquifers is already threatening their usability as fresh-water resources. Fracking could damage an already fragile water system.

“The company's and the government's approach toward the safety of our drinking water is cause for deep concern,” said Rachel Jacobson, a leader of Save Adullam. “This level of risk to the aquifer is completely unacceptable.”

Israel Energy Initiatives argues that it only needs permission from the infrastructure ministry, which it has secured. In Israel’s sometimes slow-moving judicial system, the case has not yet been heard, and may not appear before the court until Pesach. But it may be irrelevant now: This month the infrastructure ministry said in the Knesset that it would have the ministry of the interior interpret an old law in a way to permit fracking to move forward without need for regulation of any kind, making the legal challenges moot. An official announcement is pending.

The fracking fight in Israel is far from over, but this Chanukah, we may have to make the miracle ourselves. Support the Green Zionist Alliance as we work to protect Israel’s environment by helping prevent hydrofracking in Israel. The GZA is only able to green Israel with your support. Please make your tax-deductible donation to the Green Zionist Alliance and help green Israel today!

Cross-posted from GreenZionism.org

This month marks the end of the 10th anniversary of the Green Zionist Alliance. Back before Israel’s Tent Cities and Occupy Wall Street, the Green Zionist Alliance began 2011 by becoming part of a successful effort to change the equation of what percentage of natural-resource profits goes to companies and what percentage goes to the Israeli public, who collectively own the resources. Fighting against some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, the Green Zionist Alliance and its allies pushed a new law through Knesset that will put billions of dollars into education, healthcare and environmental protection — money that, without our intervention, simply would have gone to multinational corporations.

We followed that up with another David-versus-Goliath fight: Stopping hydrofracking in the Elah Valley, the historical battlefield of the original David and Goliath. We convened a Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael / Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) committee to investigate the potential impact of hydrofracking in Israel. The committee’s 34-page report, which has since become the official policy of KKL-JNF, called for a dozen research questions to be answered through laboratory work before fracking should be allowed in Israel. In the meantime, the issue of fracking is on the docket of the Israeli Supreme Court and it’s anticipated that the GZA’s KKL-JNF report will weigh heavily on the court.

We also helped launch a new grassroots network, Jews Against Hydrofracking, so that we could fight fracking in America as well as in Israel.

Just a few weeks ago, the Green Zionist Alliance’s representatives on the board of KKL-JNF intervened in KKL-JNF’s eviction proceedings of a Palestinian family from their Jerusalem home. We were successful in getting a delay of the eviction; we’ll keep working on protecting them and other disenfranchised voices. This follows our efforts to prevent a Bedouin village from being razed so a forest could be planted in its stead. If you read the minutes of the KKL-JNF board meeting that discussed the Bedouin, as published in Haaretz, you’ll see that the GZA representatives — Dr. Alon Tal and Dr. Orr Karassin — are the board’s only voices of reason on this issue.

And in May we launched a campaign to save the Samar sand dunes from destruction. A unique ecosystem of endangered species located in Israel’s Arava Valley, the remaining dunes of Samar were scheduled to be razed in October. Thanks to the efforts of the Green Zionist Alliance and our partner organizations in Israel, the dunes have been granted a temporary reprieve and they are still standing today.

Over the past 11 years, the Green Zionist Alliance has passed a multitude of laws at the World Zionist Congress, mandating the development of community gardens at immigrant-housing centers; support for sustainable, organic and local agriculture; and installation of photovoltaic solar panels and rainwater-savings systems. We also quadrupled funding for afforestation in Israel, developed environmental programs for Rwandan villages and declared new nature reserves in Israel. The Trans-Israel Bike Trail and the Kinneret Circumference Trail were built because of our work, and every year new bike trails are built and expanded in Israel because of the Green Zionist Alliance. At the same time, we’ve held educational programs and conferences coast to coast across North America.

But the GZA is only able to green Israel with your support.

Think of the Green Zionist Alliance as your way of changing Israeli environmental policy. As individuals, none of us may be able to have much impact; but joining together as an alliance, we become a force of nature. And the more support that you can provide, the stronger our collective force will become.

We have accomplished a lot in our first decade, but we still have a lot more to do. Please make your tax-deductible donation to the Green Zionist Alliance and help green Israel today.

Cross-posted from GreenZionism.org

After a week of hard work by our leaders and sponsors, we’re excited to announce a new total. Jewcology has raised over $17,000 toward our match goal, and we have less than $3,000 to go by the end of the year.

Now we’re turning to the Jewcology community for help.

We have an extraordinary opportunity to unite the Jewish environmental movement and empower the Jewish community to lead environmental change and address the global sustainability challenge. If you believe in this effort, can you help us get the rest of the way to our goal?

You can help by:

1) Donating on our project page at Razoo: http://www.razoo.com/story/Support-Jewcology

2) Posting this message on facebook: “I support Jews protecting the environment! Do you? http://www.razoo.com/story/Support-Jewcology”

3) Posting this message on twitter: “Heal the world! @jewcology is bringing #Jews together for #environmental change. http://bit.ly/sVLiav”

4) Forwarding this message to your friends.

Thanks so much for your generous support!

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!

Jewcology’s goal is empowering the Jewish community to lead environmental change and address the global sustainability challenge. It enables this through social media engagement tools for the global Jewish environmental network, leadership training to empower leaders, and a shared library of Jewish environmental content for educators, lay-leaders and rabbis.

Jewcology is partnering with many other Jewish environmental organizations, such as Hazon and COEJL, and individual Jewish environmentalists worldwide, to connect and empower the global Jewish environmental community.

In its first year, Jewcology:

• received over 18,000 visits from more than 10,000 unique visitors representing 101 countries;
• hosted over 400 blog posts and nearly 500 ideas shared by Jewish environmental leaders and organizations;
• built a global network of 400 registered users who are uploading resources, posting blogs, joining on-line communities and commenting on each other’s posts; and
• trained 48 Jewish environmental and social justice leaders to tell their stories in a way that motivates communities to action.

But there is still so much more for us to do! We need new and enhanced technologies, increased PR and more professionalization so that Jewcology can realize its full potential.

To support our work in 2012, Jewcology has received a matching challenge grant of $20,000, and has so far raised over $14,000 toward the match. Funds raised will be used to improve social media tools, expand leadership trainings and professionalize the project’s efforts. Can you help us get the rest of the way to our goal?

You can help by:

1) Donating on our project page at Razoo: http://www.razoo.com/story/Support-Jewcology

2) Posting this message on facebook: “I support Jews protecting the environment! Do you? http://www.razoo.com/story/Support-Jewcology”

3) Posting this message on twitter: “Jews can make a difference in the global environmental challenge. Help @jewcology make a difference, http://bit.ly/sVLiav ”

4) Forwarding this message to your friends.

Thanks for your generous support!

On September 25, 2011, Eden Village Camp held our first annual Festival of Eden. The event was a tangible way for the community to experientially connect with principles of sustainability, environmentalism, and Jewish tradition.

Eden Village Camp nourishes the connections between self, community, earth, and spirit with socially and environmentally conscious programming that is firmly rooted in Jewish tradition. The Festival of Eden showcased this philosophy through hands-on workshops on organic cooking, fermenting, keeping backyard chickens, natural building and more. We planted a peace pole on our farm, enjoyed our petting zoo, delved into the Jewish agricultural cycles and how they relate to the holidays, made gourmet Fall soups and solar-baked cookies, embarked on a spiritual hike in the forest, enjoyed live music all day, browsed tables set up by partner organizations and a silent auction…. a smorgasbord of learning and fun!

Excellent food – harvesting, preparing and enjoying – is a major part of our ethic. The Eden Village kosher organic kitchen prepared Chimichurri Roasted Veggie Seitan Skewers with a choice of sides, as well as artisan pizza in the camp’s cob-oven, which we built last spring during the Jewish Farm School’s natural building intensive course.
The food and farm-to-table workshops at the Festival of Eden illustrate the ways in which Eden Village is redefining the conversation and practice of what is possible in institutional food. The menus are determined by what is seasonally available from local farmers, what is harvested from the Farm at Eden Village, and what available ingredients we have. All our food for summer camp and Spring/Fall programs are made from scratch, and even food staples like rolled oats, beans, and sugar are organic.

The Festival of Eden connected the broad vision of making the world a better place with the small, personal, practical steps each of us can take to live more sustainably. Participants of all ages experienced the power of creating change, and gained skills and insight: how to make kraut, how our local ecosystems and food system work, how to thrive in the outdoors, how to make fire. It was an amazing day that offered a glimpse into our deeper community – when our campers immerse themselves here for a week or more, we see their self-esteem growing in step with their awareness and awe for the organic oneness of creation.

We want to make the connective, transformative experience of Eden Village Camp possible for all kids, regardless of their ability to pay. The Festival of Eden was our first large-scale fundraiser aimed at raising money for our Scholarship Fund. We were happy that we raised about $15K! We received over $80,000 of scholarship requests last year and were not able to meet the demand by a long shot. This festival, sponsored primarily by the amazing Saul Schottenstein Foundation B, helped us tremendously in nearing our fundraising goal, and also allowed us to reach new families, campers and community partners. Wonderful all around!

We’re endlessly grateful to the many partners that make Eden Village a reality, and were glad to see, inside of the Festival, a microcosm of our camp community and vision in action. May we all be blessed with an exciting sense of purpose, resilient connections, meaningful relationships and creative fun!

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Parshat Ki Tisa opens with G-d commanding Moses (Moshe) to take a census of the Children of Israel by collecting a half-shekel coin from each adult. The silver from these coins is to be used to make the sockets that hold the planks of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle that will be G-d's sanctuary among the people.[1] The previous two Torah portions (parshiot), Terumah and Tetzaveh, feature detailed instructions for the construction of the Mishkan and all its utensils. At the beginning of Parshat Terumah, G-d tells Moshe to call for a donation of precious goods to be used in the project:

“…gold, silver, and copper; and turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool; linen and goat hair; red-dyed ram skins, tachash skins, acacia wood; oil for illumination, spices for the anointment oil and the aromatic incense; shoham stones and stones for the settings…”[2]

The silver half-shekel, which is to be used to make the very foundation of the Mishkan, is not proscribed until now, two parshiot later. What is unique about these coins that they are not listed with the other materials donated in Terumah?

The Midrash says that G-d showed Moshe a half-shekel coin made of fire and said, “Like this one shall they give.”[3] The Noam Elimelech explains that money is like fire; it can be used to create, protect and nourish, or it can be used to harm and destroy.[4] The silver half-shekel stands at the opening of our parsha as a warning of the potential dangers of wealth.

Many of the donations for the Mishkan came from the great wealth that the Israelites, following G-d's command, requested and were given from their Egyptian neighbors as they were preparing to leave slavery.[5] In Biblical times, Egypt, more than any other nation, was noted for its prosperity. The thought of Egypt evoked massive pyramids and palaces, heavily adorned with gold and precious materials. The yearly flooding of the Nile produced fertile soil that was farmed to feed vast populations. Not coincidentally, in the Book of Genesis, both Abraham and Jacob go to Egypt when there is famine in the Land of Israel.

Yet Egypt stands as the Torah's prime symbol of the gross misuse of material possessions. “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for aid,” the prophet Isaiah says, “they did not turn to the Holy One of Israel and they did not seek out HaShem.”[6] Even though Egyptian wealth was at times used for good, feeding many in times of famine, the Egyptian relationship to wealth obstructs the awareness that G-d is the predominant power in the world. Rebbe Natan of Breslov[7] sees Egypt as the heart of materialism, pervaded by a lust for money so intense it became idol worship. According to the Midrash, Egyptians worshiped the sheep, a symbol of wealth.[8] Egypt's massive construction projects deified the wealth from which they were built, and the kings and queens whose power ordained their construction.[9] It was this spiritually toxic relationship with property that G-d wanted the Israelites to leave behind when they departed from Egypt.[10]

Leaving, however, was not enough. G-d intended that through the Exodus, Israel would create a new paradigm of materialism in the world.[11] Rebbe Natan explains that “Israel was exiled to Egypt in order to purify the wealth from there, because in the wealth… there fell all the [holy] sparks.”[12] The Torah does not condemn personal possession, even great wealth, but demands a certain mode of usage. Riches do not exist for their own sake or for the sake of man's ego. Rather, all the abundance of the earth is focused on the implementation of G-d's Will.

The elevation of the wealth of Egypt occurred through the construction of the Mishkan, which was built from the donations solicited at the beginning of Parshat Terumah. From a certain perspective, the opulence of the Mishkan and the Cohen Gadol, the High Priest, whose lavish clothing was also made from the donated materials, may seem ostentatious and elitist. But the essence of all of this holy finery is that it originated in Egypt's culture of acquisition and material perversion, and passed through the purifying fires of the hearts of the Children of Israel, who gave willingly, rather than hording the wealth. This transformation returned the idea of wealth to its essential state, as a means through which G-d's in-dwelling Presence is made manifest in the daily lives of human beings.

However, the rectification of Egypt's wealth did not proceed unhindered. Parshat Ki Tisa climaxes with the tragedy of the Golden Calf, the ultimate example of the Noam Elimelech's destructive fire. Just as they are poised to affect a worldwide paradigm shift, the Children of Israel stumble. Moshe fails to appear in the moment he is expected, and the Israelites panic and demand a tangible representation of G-d's power. In contrast to the intricate details of the Mishkan (the viable channel for G-d's glory) the Golden Calf was made haphazardly, after the people demand no more than, “Make us gods that will go before us!”[13] The people celebrate the Calf, but their worship is empty worship; the golden statue is not a pathway to G-d.

Unfortunately in our time, we often see religious institutions with opulent external structures and well-paid clergy, but do not sense that these places are truly Tabernacles of G-d. Well-meaning congregants donate to the shul in exchange for a conspicuous honorary plaque, a personal parking spot or an entire building bearing their name. Yet, as contemporary commentator Dr. Aviva Zornberg points out, the most precious golden parts of the Mishkan (the Ark and the golden Cherubs resting on top of it) were not within view of anyone, ever, except for the Cohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, and to him only through the fog of incense.[14] In contrast, the Golden Calf, and the orgies that attended it, stood exposed before all the people.[15] Proper use of material wealth sanctifies G-d's name in a way that is modest, practically unseen, and yet affects the whole world for good.

Today, wealth is portrayed as a gateway to personal fulfillment, power and status. Consumer products, from cars to clothes to personal electronics, promote a life that is generally a race for acquisition rather than a quest for righteousness and communion with G-d. Overpaid and misbehaving celebrities have become objects of worship, following one another to more indulgent levels of extravagance and glamorization, like the idolized sheep of ancient Egypt. Consumption has become an end in itself. The conveniences of modern life have freed us to pursue more consumption, while spiritual and emotional fulfillment is at an all-time low, as evidenced by the meteoric rise of the self-help and anti-depressant industries. People are seeking wholeness and healing, but they are turning towards consumer products and profit-driven media to find them.

And yet we celebrate the Exodus from Egypt every year at Passover, as if we were free, without even realizing that the ultimate slavery is not chains and forced labor, but the deification of wealth and human achievement. All of Egypt was enslaved to perverse materialism, and it was for this reason that G-d decimated the land and sent Israel out with its wealth. G-d commands Moshe to collect the half-shekel in the context of a census. “Ki Tisa,” often translated as “when you count [the people],” literally means “when you lift.” The elevation of material possessions elevates each of us when we dedicate all that we have to the furthering of righteousness in the world. The Jewish people were born out of the rejection of material worship, and charged with the mission of transforming the way societies view wealth. Were we to really embrace this spiritual work, we would undoubtedly be a light unto the nations, and offer a model for satisfaction in Divine service over gratification in material excess.

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Suggested Action Items:

• Dedicate your wealth in service of something that will elevate you and make G-d's Presence manifest in your daily life.

• Choose to buy something that is better for the environment, even if it will cost more.

• Consider sponsoring a Torah and environment project through Canfei Nesharim.

Shimshon Stüart Siegel, a writer and editor for the Eitz Chayim Hee series, spent two years learning at the Bat Ayin Yeshiva in Gush Etzion. He currently lives in Jerusalem and works at a post-high school education program for the Jewish Agency. Shimshon has a film degree from Boston University, and is involved in film and theater arts in Israel.

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[1] Rashi on Exodus 30:15,16

[2] Exodus, 25:3-7 (translation by Artscroll Mesorah)

[3] Rashi on Exodus 30:13

[4] Noam Elimelech (Reb Elimelech of Lizensk; Poland, 18^th century) on Ki Tissa, p. 130 in edition of Yarid Hasefarim, Jerusalem 1995.

[5] Exodus, 12:35-36

[6] Isaiah 31:1 (translation by Artscroll Mesorah)

[7] Rebbe Natan is the main student of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (Ukraine, 17th-18^th cent.) Tikkun Mammon, the spiritual elevation of money and property, is a recurring theme in Breslov Chassidic teachings.

[8] Shemot Rabba 11; In Gemara Chullin 84 a-b Rabbi Yochanan says “A person who wants to make themselves wealthy should become involved in [raising] sheep and goats.” Understood in this context, the slaughter of the Paschal Lamb and the smearing of its blood can be seen as a dramatic statement of the rejection of the wealth-centered worldview of Egypt

[9] Torah Studies, adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, p.169; based on Igrot Kodesh, letter, 11^th Nissan, 5725, vol. 23 p. 361-365.

[10] For more on the conflict between material desire and Divine love, see the commentary on the Torah portion of Yitro entitled “Love of G-d and Material Wealth” in Canfei Nesharim's Eitz Chaim Hee series.

[11] The construction of the Mishkan was the first time that rectification of the material was attempted on a national level. Both Abraham and Jacob made elevations on wealth. For Abraham and the wealth of Egypt, see Likutei Halachot, Shabbat 7:75, based on Bereshit 13:2. For Jacob's work elevating wealth at Shechem, see Tractate Shabbat 33b; Likutei Mohoran 23, paragraph 1.

[12] Likutei Halachot, Purim, 6:9

[13] Exodus 32:1

[14] Dr. Aviva Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture,Image/Doubleday: New York, New York, 2001. "…in Byzantine art and architecture…gold serves the 'politics of bedazzlement'; it represents blinding power. One looks and is amazed. In the Mishkan, however, the gold remains, in an important way, invisible. [author’s italics] It is donated by the people in the most homely, familiar forms – personal jewelry, for instance. But the interior of the Mishkan is never seen by them, never grasped by their eyes. It is, strictly – and for all but those who serve in the Mishkan, the priests and the Levites – the stuff of imagination…"
[15] Rashi on Exodus 32:6

Topics covered:

• Is environmentalism a Jewish issue?
• Where do I start?
• What are CFL bulbs and why should I use them?
• Which is better and what's the difference: Local vs. Organic foods?
• Farm raised, free-range and cage-free: So many labels, what do they all mean?
• How can I measure my efforts?
• How can I solicit support for congregational greening efforts from my board?
• Is there funding available?

Is environmentalism a Jewish Issue? Yes! Our story of peoplehood begins: “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.” (Genesis, 2:15)

Learn more at http://urj.org/green/101/faq/#jewish.