Last chance to help us make Israel a greener, environmentally healthier land: Until the end of April you can vote online for the upcoming World Zionist Congress. The results determine, among other things, the division of power at the Jewish National Fund’s international board.

For the past decade I have sat on the JNF board, largely because of the support and intervention of the Green Zionist Alliance – a wonderful group of young environmentalists who decided to get involved and improve Israel’s environmental performance. This support has allowed me to represent them and pursue any number of important green initiatives which include:

· creating new sustainable forestry policies for the JNF,

· putting bike lanes on the organization’s agenda,

· creating a brand new “affirmative action” program to systematically reach out to Israel’s Arab minorities to finance environmental projects,

· increasing the organizational commitment to green building and solar energy,

· leading the fight to prevent JNF funding over the green line,

· expanding funding for forestry and agricultural research as well as river restoration projects, and

· fighting for good government and transparency.

There is a lot more that needs to be done. Whether or not I can continue depends on whether the “GZA” – or Aytzim as they call themselves these days gets enough votes. It only takes ten dollars to register and 3 minutes online to vote. (The polls close this Thursday April 30th). Here’s a link to Vote Green Israel: www.worldzionistcongress.org

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. And thanks to all of you who have already voted green for the support. – Alon Tal

(Considered by many to be the leading environmentalist in Israeli history, Alon Tal is a co-founder of the Green Zionist Alliance)

We dreamed, you and I,

my brother and my sister,

interpreter it has none,

an ancient dream it is,

as the days when we went forth from exile,

but you forgot it or did not elucidate it for yourselves,

and I did not recount it to you.

Grand is the dream,

vast like the void of the universe,

and we long for it with our souls,

but I will not remind you of it this time,

except for a small fragment/excerpt.
Now, please hear, my brother,

please hear my dream, my sister,

and remember that you also dreamed as I did.

 
In my dream–and here it is,

I arrive at the land.

And the land is neglected and desolate

and is in the hands of foreigners,

and the destruction darkens the light of her face

and destroys her spirit,

and an alien government corrupts her.

Distant from me and strange to me

is the land of my ancestors,

and I, too, am distant from her and a stranger to her.

The single connection that ties me to her,

and the lone memory that reminds me

that she is my mother and I am her son,

is–because my soul is also desolate

like her,

for it, too, fell into the hands of foreigners,

to destruct it and destroy it.

I feel the destruction and I ponder the ruins

with all my soul

and with every ounce of my being,

and a divine voice goes forth from the ruins and declares,

“Mortal! Consider these ruins,

and consider them once again,

turn not a blind eye to them.

And you shall know and gain insight

to what you already understand,

that the destruction is the destruction of your soul,

and the destroyer is the destroyer in your life,

in the midst of which you lived in foreign lands

and which clung to you until this time.

Remember this,

for your redemption requires this!

And as you continue to ponder and to dig deeper,

you shall see that from below the ruins

an orphan cinder still whispers,

saved by hiding from the spirit of that life,

and the spirit of the land breathes upon it

to bring it to life.

And when it totally abandoned that life,

which others created,

when you left their land and arrived here

to create a new life for yourself, your life–

then cinder smoldered and lived,

glowed and brought forth its flame,

and you returned and lived,

and your people and your land returned and lived.

Rabbi Katy Allen is a board certified chaplain and serves as a Nature Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit. She is the founder and rabbi of Ma’yan Tikvah – A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long. She is a co-convener and coordinator of the Boston-based Jewish Climate Action Network.

That’s why I am proud to be part of the Green Israel slate for elections of the World Zionist Congress.  If you care about the environment in Israel and have not yet voted in the election, your vote can make a difference in a greener Israel.  You can vote here: https://myvoteourisrael.com/

The vote costs $10, which pays for the cost of the election only.  All Jews are eligible to vote.  The election ends on April 30.

Here’s a little more information about the WZC and the Green Israel slate:

The World Zionist Congress exists to give Jews in the diaspora a voice in Israeli affairs.  Before 1948, the World Zionist Congress was the pre-state parliament of what would become Israel.  After Israel was established, most of its powers were taken over by the Knesset (Israel’s parliament).   But since all Jews have a stake in what happens in Israel, the WZC was retained to give diaspora Jews a voice.

The WZC retains considerable influence over several important institutions, including the Jewish Agency (which is involved in immigration), and the Jewish National Fund.  The JNF, which most people know as the organization that plants trees in Israel, owns 13% of the land in Israel.  Despite the identical name, the JNF in Israel is a separate legal entity from JNF in the United States.  It is the de-facto national forestry service of Israel.

Since its creation in 2001, with just a couple of seats, the Green Israel slate has passed seven laws at the Congress.  It has been able to use its position to appoint sustainability-minded members to the board of JNF in Israel, designate new nature preserves, quadruple the number of trees planted, and establish hundreds of miles of bike trails throughout the country.

You can see the slate platform here: https://vote.election-america.com/azm/bios/Green_Platform.pdf

And here is the Green Israel slate: https://vote.election-america.com/azm/bios/Green_Slate.pdf

If you care about Israel’s environment and would like to see it protected, please join me in supporting the Green Israel slate as the WZC election comes to a close.  Make sure to cast your vote by April 30!

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.

Still, it surprised me recently how I metaphorically fell apart when the government literally did.

There were reasons why the folding of the current government affected me.  After two years of hard work to promote a meaningful Shmita year and raise ethics at a national level, winning the commitment of three ministers and a deputy minister and partnering with Knesset members of all parties – all of a sudden there was nothing, a vacuum.

But this reality did not break my spirit.  My difficulty was with the political atmosphere but normal life continued in the social justice arena. When I set up the “Israeli Shmita Initiative” I planned this year as one of unity, of connecting people, of joint mobilization to highlight the good that we share. The reality of elections achieves pretty much the opposite of this, and the current election system is particularly harsh.

It took me a while to realize that elections affect us only at a superficial level, leaving intact the many choices each of us makes on an inner level every day. The values of Shmita reside within us, where they retain the potential to influence society for the better. And I had a tool – our Israeli Shmita Tent.

So what is this Israeli Shmita Tent?  It is, as the name suggests, a huge tent with which we travel around the country, offering people a space for relaxation, eating fruit, swapping books (our ‘Take and Keep’ library), and a space for shared discussion about our social dreams. With our Tent we will go anywhere we are invited, and stay a few days, getting to know the place and its people, and discussing the possibilities of positive action arising from the values ​​of Shmita.

The Tent’s journey began early in the year, but the election made us raise our game – really plowing the length and breadth of the country, reminding us how good it all is. Here are some of the stories I’ve collected along the way:

On the pilgrimage “Connections on the Road to Jerusalem”, I pitched my tent next to the Teva employees, who took part in the march as representatives of the business sector: a commercial company which chooses to invest in sending its employees on a two day march calling for unity in Israeli society. Definitely exciting.

At Festival Indie-Negev, which I went to for the local culture (not for corporate sponsorships), I came across an interesting choice made by one of the festival’s producers who made teshuva, but did not cancel the event (which takes place on Shabbat) but placed alongside it a ‘Jewish complex’ where people could pray, hear Kiddush and engage in spiritual activities. It was packed throughout the whole of Shabbat, and I got into deep conversations of inestimable value.

In Yeruham I met a community which chose not to give in to the stigma attaching to many a southern town. Cultural and intellectual life is vibrant, there is huge social entrepreneurship in evidence, and a variety of institutions combine learning and practice: these are the result of just some of the wonderful choices of the local people.  If I had not settled in the Galilee, for sure I would pack my bags and move.

In Jerusalem we pitched our tent at the First Station complex – a commercial complex which is trying to reinvent itself as Jerusalem’s latter-day ‘forum.’  In seven sessions around seven themes we met many residents of the Holy City, and found creative ways to imbue the values of Shmita in their lives.

There were more: the ecological farm in Modi’in which completely recycles all its waste; the Zionist Youth Congress which continues to bring relevant meaning to Zionism today; the Emek Hefer march that brings people closer to nature; and many more.

So whether you are happy with the result of the Israeli elections or not, I hope that all of us remember that the real choices which matter are those we make every day – not just at election time, and that the values inherent in Shmita invite us to choose good!

Find out why your vote matters. Hear about green activism in Israel and how you can make a difference from Captain Sunshine, Yossi Abramowitz.  Yossi is the solar entrepreneur who built the largest solar field in Israel and is bringing Israeli solar technology to Africa.

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An election has started that gives you a chance to have a say about Israel’s environmental future. While most Jews are unaware of it, they are entitled to a voice about Israel’s future. That voice is the World Zionist Congress, which meets every four years in Jerusalem with the mandate to fund programs and create policies that will help achieve the goals of the Jewish People.  The Congress was initially set up by Theodor Herzl and led directly to the establishment of the State of Israel.  It has been a partner with the Government of Israel since that time but sadly, very few Jews know that they have a chance to speak up through their vote. if you are Jewish and over 18 years of age, you can make your voice heard by voting!

The voting takes place from January 14, 2015 through April 30, 2015.  Every Jewish person over age 18 is entitled to vote for the slate of his or her choice.  As with the first Zionist Congress held in 1897, there is a nominal charge to vote ($5 for persons under the age of 30 and $10 for those above the age of 30).  The charge is used to defray the costs of the election.

The 37th Zionist Congress will meet in October 2015 and will include 525 delegates representing Jews in many nations around the world. The United States will field 145 delegates who represent a variety of political organizations.  My slate is called Green Israel, which includes Ayztim–Ecological Judaism;, the Green Zionist Alliance, Jewcology.org, and Shomrei Breishit. We are focused on taking action to protect Israel’s environment, increase the country’s use of renewable energy, and to help Israel become a global leader in sustainable practice.

Why Vote for Green Israel?

Many groups will be competing to participate in the 37^th World Zionist Congress but few can have the impact that Green Israel can. While competing groups would like to have their voice heard on political issues involving Israel and its foreign or religious policy objectives, they may not have any significant impact because the Israeli Knesset has exclusive control over these issues. The Green Israel slate can make a difference on issues regarding land since the World Zionist Organization controls the Jewish National Fund, which owns over 14% of the actual land of Israel. What is done on that land (which includes nature preserves as well as cities) can be directly influenced by the World Zionist Congress. In other words, Green Israel can make a real impact and not just a symbolic one. We can create more environmentally friendly practices and help Israel be more energy independent if we can garner enough votes.

The Green Zionist Alliance (GZA) is the first environmental group to ever participate in the World Zionist Congress. Now Green Israel, which has become the umbrella slate for Aytzim, the  GZA and our other Jewish environmental partners, has been embraced by all streams of the Zionist movement — left to right, secular to religious, Reform to Orthodox. From the early Zionist pioneers to Israel’s modern environmental, water-saving, and renewable energy technologies, ecological sustainability has been a fundamental tenet of Zionism. Those who love the land of Israel must work to protect it. Voting for the Green Israel slate will help ensure that environmental sustainability stays at the forefront of Israel’s future.

To learn more about GZA’s past work and past legislation as well as about the resolutions we are planning to bring to the 37th Congress, please see: http://www.aytzim.org/congress .

Please vote for a green Israel by voting for the Green Israel slate at: http://worldzionistcongress.org .

Thirteen Jewish organizations, under the umbrella of the Green Hevra, have issued the following joint statement today publicly calling on the U.S. government to reject the Keystone XL pipeline:

It has become abundantly clear that we are consuming far too many fossil fuels. In this Sabbatical/Shmita year, when the Torah calls for deeper gentleness toward the Earth, we are especially conscious of the dangers to the Earth from the drilling, transporting and burning of tar-sands oil. The resources that would be devoted to the Keystone XL pipeline should be devoted instead to initiatives in clean energy, a fast-growing field in which we hope the United States will take a leading position.

Climate change, worsened by burning more and more oil that the Keystone XL pipeline would permit, poses a grave threat to the security of the United States, Israel and the world.

Jewish tradition is not monolithic, and the issues around the pipeline are complex. But the Jewish community has consistently sought to take a stand in favor of creating a better world for all. It is hard for us to believe that building the Keystone XL pipeline could possibly do so.

This is not the first time that Jewish organizations have taken a stand against Keystone XL and we call upon fellow Jewish leaders to join us in encouraging President Obama and Congress to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.

Signed by the following members of the Green Hevra:

Amir

Aytzim: Ecological Judaism

Eden Village Camp

Energiya Global

Habonim Dror North America

Hazon

Jewish Climate Action Network

Jewish Farm School

Jews Against Hydrofracking

NeoHasid.org

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College / Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

The Shalom Center

Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs

There is a place in Shabbat tefillot where we should have “Yemima bat Avraham Avinu haKadoshah” in mind together with all who died Al Kidush HaShem. It’s the part called “Av HaRachamim” found before Ashrei of Musaf.

Karen Yemima Mosquera Barrera, 22, was buried on the Mountain of Olives in the Holy Land this week. The story of Yemima’s life is becoming known during these days preceding the anniversary of the death of our matriarch Rachel.

Sabrina Schneider stands behind Yemima’s mother Rosa Cecilia Barrera and sister at the funeral. Source: Metro Ecuador

“She was buried at midnight of Oct. 27th – on the Mount of Olives. The cemetery facing the Old City of Jerusalem – the site famous for being the place where the righteous ones will first be resurrected at the End of Days,” wrote Chaya Lester, co-founder of Shalev Center, spoken word artist, and tour guide in the Holy Land in the Jewish arts online publication Hevria.

“It is the greatest spiritual aliyah that any man or woman has ever attained in the history of Am Yisrael, granting her the privilege of being buried on the highest point of the Mount of Olives and earning her the title ‘HaKedoshah Yemima bat Avraham Avinu, H”YD,’”wrote Sabrina Schneider, women’s health and childbirth worker and relative of Yemima. “Among many other things that were said in her hesped, one Rebbe said she will be the first to rise from the dead.”

Schneider’s posek, Talmid of HaGaon Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, t”zl advises all of Am Yisrael that there is a place in Shabbat tefillot where we should have “Yemima bat Avraham Avinu haKadoshah” in mind together with all who died Al Kidush HaShem. It’s the part called “Av HaRachamim” found before Ashrei of Musaf.

Schneider has been posting updates to her facebook wall since the senseless tragedy at Ammunition Hill light rail station October 22, 2014, where the first to die was 3 month old baby Chaya Zissel Braun. A look into on Yemima’s background was published in Voices Magazine blog when she was in critical condition at Hadassah hospital October 24. Reports included information for praying, offering charity, or doing other mitzvot for her recovery.

The Foreign Ministry of Israel flew in Yemima’s family from Ecuador following the attack. The Jerusalem Mayor and the Ecuadorian Ambassador to Israel were at the funeral, but no state representatives attended.

“My daughter died in God’s name. I don’t want her death to be in vain,” said Yemima’s mother Rosa Cecilia Barrera at the funeral. “Her dream was to come to Israel to start her life. I am heartbroken. No one can heal my sorrow.

“It pains me that these terrorists are so full of hate and they set out to murder innocent people… She was murdered just because she was Jewish.” In fact, Yemima was murdered on her way to study Torah.

Rachel Cries for her Children

Mothers of the then-kidnapped boys Rachel Frenkel, Bat Galim Shaer and Iris Yifrach appeal to the United Nations. Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Website

Earlier this year, we heard from the mother of a kidnapped boy, when she spoke at the United Nations in defiance of a request from the government of Israel appealing for the safe return of her son and the two other abducted boys. Rachel Frankel, director at the Jewish women’s studies institute Advanced Halakha Program at Matan and Jewish law instructor at Nishmat, continued on as a spokesperson for the missing and then murdered children.

Rachel Frankel said kaddish at the funeral for her 16 year old son Naftali Frankel on July 1, 2014. It was the first time most Israelis and Jews on the planet saw and said “Amen” on a blessing spoken by a woman. “Rachelle Fraenkel became a public leader, a national heroine and, just as important, a religious heroine as well, over the 18 days that her son and his friends were missing,” wrote Haaretz reporter Yair Ettinger.

Rosa Cecilia Barrera and Rachel Frankel are two of many mothers grieving the loss of their children to violence, terror and war. May these mothers and all the mourners be comforted.

Our great matriarch Rachel Imeinu cries, in the Jewish bible, the book of Jeremiah, grieving the exile of her children. And the Creator annuls a decree against the Jewish people in her merit, promising that they will return home.

Avi (C) and Rachel (R) Frankel and their son (L), recite Kadish close to the body of their son Naftali Frankel, 16, (unseen) during his funeral service in the Jewish settlement of Nof Ayalon, in the Israeli West Bank, on July 1, 2014.(AFP PHOTO/DAVID BUIMOVITCH)

Heart and Prayer of the Jewish Matriarchs

As we read in the book of Samuel during Rosh Hashana, Hashem “remembered” Chanah and blessed her with a child after her heartful pleas. The way that Chanah prophetically prayed at the holy site became the basis for how Jewish people pray the Amidah – sober and standing, with their lips forming their words from the heart.

We have a story about Yemima praying Shemona Esrai, and it serves as another model for devotion. Yemima prayed the Amidah so devoutly that she did not notice that a 7.1 Richter earthquake hit, describes Varda Epstein in her blog post after attending Yemima’s funeral. This experience as well as a dream that her mother had, propelled Yemima to go to Israel from Equador, her country of origin. “She would bring her mother and her sister over to Israel and help them follow in her footsteps,” Epstein wrote.

In a report in Israel HaYom, Yemima’s teacher compared her to another great biblical woman, Ruth. “She was like Ruth the Moabite, who came here and sought to be part of the Jewish people… She really loved Israel, and was connected to it in an exceptional way.”

Yemima converted to Judaism 5 months ago. Like so many people across the Americas today whose ancestors were forced to convert to Christianity or die, many descendants of Converso Jews have retained some rituals, and Yemima’s mother had inherited the customs of lighting candles Friday nights, and covering mirrors in the home after the death of a family member. Yemima is not alone in her passion to return to her Jewish spiritual roots, a phenomenon among Conversos from the American Southwest and southward. In Jewish tradition, converts are highly regarded for making the incredibly heroic life transformation.

A week after her burial, next Monday night November 3, 2014 is on the Hebrew calendar 11 Cheshvan 5775 the yarzeit of Rachel Imeinu, also referred to as Jewish Mother’s Day. Customarily, Jews around the world honor the anniversary of the Matriarch Rachel’s passing collectively and individually.

The Grace of Rachel Imeinu

“Take me to Israel! That’s my country! That’s where I’m going to marry and have children, and that’s where I’m going to die and be buried,” Yemima’s mother heard her exclaim one night while she stayed up late studying Torah at home in Ecuador, according to Sara Yoheved Rigler who wrote about Yemima’s tragic death on Aish HaTorah’s website. Yemima worked hard and travelled far to reach her spiritual status and eventually the sacred site on the Mountain of Olives where she was buried.

“My dream is to be buried on the Mount of Olives, because when Moshiach [the Messiah] comes, I will be the first to rise up and be in the Holy Temple. Can you imagine that?” were Yemima’s words, her friend Yael Barros recounted of their walks outside the Old City walls.

Various blogs quoted NRG news’ report that Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat at the funeral described Yemima as, “a delicate soul and guardian of peace who fought to be a Jew.”

“A modest, perfectly righteous convert sacrificed her life for her people, in the Holy City,” writes Varda Epstein of Yemima. Yemima and Rachel Imeinu both exemplify the grace of a Jewish woman, and they both died tragically young.

“At her funeral, one Rebbe said that Yemima is the modern-day prototype for TODAY’s righteous woman… Just by learning about her life, we as women elevate ourselves spiritually,” Sabrina Schneider posted to her facebook wall.

“She was known especially for her tzniut (on ALL levels not just clothing),” in other posts, Schneider described Yemima’s outstanding character. “She was fearless, patient, strong, silent, wise, gentle, compassionate and respectful of others… not to mention, smart.”

Wendy Kenin (left) and Chaya Kaplan Lester (right) visiting Rachel’s Tomb, Summer 2011. Kever Rachel is the 3rd holiest site to the Jewish People.

Yemima travelled far to reach her exalted resting place on the Mountain of Olives, just as Rachel Imeinu travelled far before she was planted in Bet Lechem – the third holiest site to the Jewish people. Yemima worked hard to attain her Jewish life, as Mama Rachel struggled spiritually for years before Hashem blessed her with children.

Yemima succumbed to injuries on the second day of the Jewish month Cheshvan. A week after her burial, next Monday night November 3, 2014 is on the Hebrew calendar 11 Cheshvan 5775 the yarzeit of Rachel Imeinu, also referred to as Jewish Mother’s Day. Customarily, Jews around the world honor the anniversary of the Matriarch Rachel’s passing collectively and individually. Thousands visit Rachel’s Tomb, and more gather around the world to learn Torah in her merit. Saying blessings, giving charity, and doing mitzvot are some of the customs that can be performed individually.

“It is to this beauty of Jewish nature and character that we return during the month of Cheshvan by reconnecting with our matriarch Rachel, with our own Jewish nature, and with ourselves,” writes Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh on the Chabad website, who says that Rachel is described as the most beautiful woman in the Torah. In contrast, he makes reference to terrorism in relation to Jewish nature. “True Jewish beauty and grace destroy the enemy indirectly by leaving him void of any beauty or grace himself, making him irrelevant and powerless.”

Yemima’s life demonstrates the spiritual growth and pure aspirations that can be achieved by each person, and should serve to inspire and increase the prayers, devotion, and grace of the Jewish people as we cry and pray for peace. May the memory of the holy be a blessing.

Sabrina Shneider articulates about Yemima’s passing:

Am Yisrael has gained a great soul in shamayim along with our great patriarchs and matriarchs. A tremendous warrior for peace. She is a tzadika amitit, more alive now than ever. B’zchut her mesirut nefesh to give her life al kiddush HaShem all of Am Yisrael along with the entire world should merit to see a geula shleima karov v’yameinu!

Two weeks ago, on Rosh Hashanah, we marked not only the beginning of another year in the Jewish calendar, but the beginning of Shemitah, the Jewish sabbatical year.  Every seven years, Jewish farmers in Israel are commanded to let their lands lie fallow, not to plant, plow, prune trees or in any way improve the land, to harvest only what they can eat themselves (from perennial plants that do not need to be sown each year), and to leave the rest for whoever wants to pick them. In addition, at the end of the Shemitah year, we are commanded to release debts.

Shemitah has become a hot topic among progressive American Jews, largely as a result of an awareness campaign by Hazon, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America.  Given my involvement with Hazon, and the Jewish environmental movement more broadly, people I speak to are often surprised to hear that I am deeply ambivalent about efforts to adopt some form of Shemitah-observance outside of Israel.  My reservations are threefold:

1. As an Orthodox Jew, who sees Shemitah primarily in halakhic (legal) terms, I’m leery of efforts to redefine Shemitah in a way that is counter to the halakhic tradition. By suggesting that Jews outside of Israel should be practicing some version of Shemitah, we risk disparaging the halakhic tradition, which tells us Shemitah is primarily about agriculture and exclusively applies to the land of Israel.
2. There also seems to be something almost anti-zionist about taking a commandment that by law only applies in the land of Israel (a “mitzvah teluyah ba’aretz”), and applying it elsewhere.  This would seem to represent a basic denial of kedushat ha’aretz, the sacred status of the land of Israel in Jewish law and imagination.  To be sure, in the days of the Sages, Jews in Egypt and Babylonia adopted practices that by law only apply in Israel, such as tithing their produce, but even so, they stayed away from Shemitah (and, in fact, tithed even during the shemitah year, when Israeli farmers practicing Shemitah were of course exempt from tithing).
3. Any effort to transpose Shemitah outside it’s existing halakhic framework depends on a clear understanding of the underlying values of Shemitah. While I have no theological or halakhic objection with the attempt to identify the underlying values of mitzvot such as Shemitah, this is a process that requires serious study, and must be approached with deep humility and an open mind. Otherwise, it is all too easy to just look for our own pre-existing values in the mitzvot.  As an environmentalist who believes that in order to survive as a society, we need to move beyond industrialized, petroleum-driven mono-crop agriculture, it would be very easy for me to say Shemitah must be about practicing sustainable agriculture. It’s much harder to honestly ask what Shemitah is doing, and to look for answers with an open mind among the details of the law and the writings of great thinkers.

Because of these serious reservations, I have been hesitant to join in with others in the Jewish environmental world in adopting shemitah-type practices outside of Israel, or practices deemed to be “in the spirit” of shemitah.  But I do want to participate participate in this once-every-seven-years opportunity for a conversation about halakha, values, and utopian social visions.  As an Orthodox rabbinical student, the most obvious and natural way for me to start engaging with Shemitah, is simply to study the sources. After spending this past summer studying the laws of Shemitah as found in the Mishnah, the Yerushalmi and in Rambam, and reading what some Jewish thinkers over the centuries have said about the underlying values of Shemitah (for an excellent summary, see Shemitah by Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon).  I found myself, in spite of all my reservations, thinking about taking on practices for the year that would embody some of the underlying values of Shemitah.  The question remained how to do so in a way that would be respectful of halakha and sanctity of the land of Israel, and that would be intellectually honest.

The third concern is in some ways the easiest to address.  While I still believe it’s impossible to fully understand the meaning of a mitzvah without actually practicing it, in the case of Shemitah this is not a realistic option. Even in Israel, less than 2% of the Jewish population is professionally involved in agriculture, and in any case, legal work-arounds enable the agricultural economy to continue to function during the Shemitah year with some minor adjustments.  Without the option of an immersion in the gestalt experience of keeping Shemitah, our next best option for understanding the mitzvah and its underlying values is a thorough study of the halakhic and philosophical literature on the subject.

Even after spending a summer studying the subject of Shemitah, I don’t feel like I can say what THE value behind Shemitah is. Even were I much more learned and wise than I am, and even if I felt I understood Shemitah perfectly, my instinct tells me that few mitzvot, if any, can be boiled down to a single motivating value, certainly not a mitzvah as complex as Shemitah.  However, I do feel that, based on what I’ve read as well as my own thinking, I can with some confidence describe SOME of the values that seem to be inherent in Shemitah.

This removes the third concern.  What about the first two? These amount to a worry that by removing Shemitah from it’s traditional halakhic parameters, we risk insulting the halakhic system and denying the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael.  Both of these concerns can be addressed by adopting practices and a rhetoric that make it clear that we are not attempting to co-opt halakhic Shemitah for Chutz La’aretz.  While I know that others have made different choices, I would never dream of refraining from plowing, pruning, planting, or harvesting in the United States, the activities which constitute the core of Shemitah observance in Eretz Israel.  However, by taking on some purely voluntary restrictions that are intended to have some of the same effects as Shemitah, without attempting to mimic the form of the mitzvah, I hope to experience a taste of Shemitah without doing a disservice either to the halakha or to Eretz Yisrael.

I’ve been particularly interested Rav Kook’s idea of the Shemitah as a special year to disengage from the burden of worldly pursuits, in order to allow the inner divine light to shine more fully.  I’m also interested in the Chinukh’s idea that Shemitah is about relinquishing personal control over the earth and recognizing God’s sovereignty over the earth.  So, beli neder (without taking a vow) I’ve decided to adopt three special practices for the year that seek to reduce my own exploitation of natural resources, help me reduce my involvement with an unsustainable and spiritually toxic consumer culture and allow me more time and energy to focus on the things that really matter in life, all without attempting mimic the halakhic observance of Shemitah in Eretz Yisrael.  First I plan to forgo recreational air travel (one of the most expensive and resource-intensive means of getting from point A to point B). I’ve also decided to avoid buying any new non-consumable goods— any clothes, appliances, hardware or books I buy for myself this year must be used.  Third, I’ve decided give up my mobile data plan, in order to take back some the time and mental space that I had relinquished to the constant checking of my mobile device.

I feel it’s important to emphasize that I do not see these choices as way of observing Shemitah.  The halakha is very clear about what observing Shemitah means, and that, with the exception of releasing debts, it only applies in Israel.  They are, rather, my way of trying to bring some of the values of Shemitah into my life this year.

Finally, I want to say that my intention in writing this has not been to disparage anyone else’s approach to Shemitah.  For all the concerns I’ve described, I think it’s exciting that Jews of all stripes are talking about what Shemitah means and trying find ways to live the fundamental rhythms of Jewish time.  Moreover, I think anything that gets more Jews thinking about how to live a more spiritually and ecologically sustainable life, in a way that is authentically Jewish, is a good thing.

Yet for many Jews, climate change is still not seen as a “Jewish issue”. Now, to me it seems obvious that the decimation of life on our planet is as fundamentally important to Jews and Judaism as any explicitly Jewish issue. And the possible extent of impoverishment, disaster, and famine that could be brought on by climate change must be a Jewish issue if justice is a Jewish issue, which it surely is. But in case that simple logic doesn’t work for you, let’s be absolutely clear about what the specific Jewish implications might be.

According to a Ben Gurion University study, if we enter an era of what scientists consider extreme climate change – meaning an increase in average global temperature of more than 2 degrees – the Negev desert will expand 200 km northward. That means the desert will stretch far beyond Beersheva, beyond Raanana and Haifa, all the way into Lebanon. Almost all of the sh’feilah – the agriculturally productive lowlands – could be gone. On top of that, Tel Aviv will be under water due to rising sea levels. If that’s not an existential threat to Israel than nothing is.

So if you’re a Zionist or you care about the Jewish people and you think that the issue of climate change is not as important as “energy independence”, you have your values upside down. If you think the natural gas boom caused by fracking is good for Israel, or tar sands oil is good for Israel, then your picture of the world is missing some essential facts. Protecting Israel doesn’t just mean getting off of Arab petroleum, it means getting off of all petroleum. If you’re not advocating for that, you might as well be calling for the destruction of the state.

This week we will be praying for another year of life. We will blow the shofar to recall God’s original act of creation, and to herald the yearly renewal of Creation. This week we will also be ushering in the next Sabbatical year, the Shmita, when debts are canceled, the land is released, and the power that comes from possessing the land is lifted. And yet we still live in a world where mountains, along with all their ecosystems, are torn off in order to tear out coal. We still live in a land where polluted water is not considered too high a price to pay in order to extract oil and gas that will pollute our atmosphere. Where the debt to nature we incur will be paid by future generations, or, to use the Torah’s expression, where “we eat the flesh of our sons and daughters”. (Lev. 26:29)

Let’s make this Rosh Hashanah, and this Shmita, the year when all of that changes. Let’s get our institutions and portfolios to divest from Big Oil. Let’s get our synagogues and communities to stand up for the Earth. Let’s repay our debt to the planet with blessings and gratitude and right actions. Let us listen to the wake up call of the shofar and respond: “Hayom harat olam!” – “today, a new world is conceived!”

Rabbi David Seidenberg is the author of Kabbalah and Ecology: God’s Image in the More-Than-Human World, published by Cambridge University Press, and the creator and director of neohasid.org. An earlier version of this article appeared in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal.

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.

Ushavtem mayim b'sason — draw water in joy — is a classic song danced to by millions of Jews at celebrations worldwide. When we sing and dance about water, we are praying that Israel will have enough for the coming year. Currently, demand for water is high, and Israel's fresh-water resources are quickly drying up. Israeli society is working hard to solve the region's water shortages before they become a crisis. Developments are being made to conserve water in agriculture, industry and home. There are initiatives to reduce water consumption, reuse semi-dirty grey water, and rethink techniques to produce or collect water. They fuse cutting-edge technology with ancient agricultural practices.

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Book review by Dr. Alon Tal.

Of the five controversies that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators left to be considered in the final status talks, the one revolving around water is, presumably, the most readily resolved. While the right of return and the status of Jerusalem are not given to speedy resolution, the water issue can be resolved by technological fixes, pragmatism, ever-improving science and better management — all of which would lead to reasonable compromises and progress on the water issue. Most Israelis and supporters of Israel agree that the present hydrological conditions faced by the Palestinians are untenable and unsustainable. It is unfortunate, therefore, that Mark Zeitoun has chosen to write an extensively researched tome that is really a polemic that does little to break the present deadlock or help the Palestinian cause he so eloquently advocates. The theoretical basis on which Power and Water in the Middle East rests is too rigid to capture the complex and dynamic regional reality that drives water allocations and policy, and the book often lapses into outdated facts and adversarial rhetoric.

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NAGOYA, Japan — Jerusalem faces unique challenges and opportunities. Conservation of our natural and built heritage is a solemn commitment, but we must also assess and implement the potential for urban revitalization. We need to expand our mass-transit system (the first of its kind in Israel), encourage active transport (biking and walking) and focus on development of the city's strengths, such as cultural and religious tourism, while not neglecting to address its weaknesses, in order to provide comprehensive solutions for solid waste and sewage in a transboundary area of geopolitical conflict.

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BEIT DAGAN, Israel (Dec. 7, 2012) — By 2050, agricultural yields will have to increase by 50 to 70 percent in the developed world and 100 percent in the developing world to meet the food needs of the 9.3 billion people on the planet, according to Prof. Ada Rafaeli, associate director of Israel's Agricultural Research Organization, the research arm of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The organization is marking its 90th anniversary this week with a conference on the coming world food crisis.

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NEW YORK (Sept. 16, 2011) — Hydraulic fracturing and in-situ retorting for oil in Israel should be banned in Israel pending further research into the environmental effects of the relatively new fossil-fuel extraction techniques, according to a new report issued by Israel’s Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael / Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) at the initiation of the Green Zionist Alliance.

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At different times in history, Jews have engaged in growing crops, tending fruit trees and shepherding animals in the Land of Israel. These activities were critical to provide food to sustain Jews living in the land. Yet they also may have presented challenges to environmental sustainability in the Land of Israel. Jewish tradition can teach us about sustaining the land over time, both in pre-modern times and today.

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KIBBUTZ KETURA (Dec. 26, 2009) — The folk rock musician James Taylor laments in one of his songs, “And in between what might have been and what has come to pass, a misbegotten guess alas and bits of broken glass.”

The ongoing tragic saga of the Arab-Israeli conflict can be summed up in this poignant line. This conflict repeats its refrain of violence and dehumanization over and over again. Like a song, its lyrics do not change.

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For most of my professional career, I have researched environmental issues in Israel. While issues of water scarcity and loss of open spaces loom large among the country’s problems, the more I study the more I’ve become convinced that many of its environmental problems are rooted in underlying socio-political problems. This could be direct — as when the inequitable distribution of land resources favoring Jews over Arabs leads to wasteful use of land resources — or this could be indirect, as when the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Israel and Arab states deflects resources away from pressing social needs like the environment and education, in favor of military expenditures.

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The application deadline is today — Monday, March 31.

Visit our website to for info on the application:

http://www.greenzionism.org/greenisrael

Select IsraelExperts as the Trip Organizer, June – Green Israel as the Trip Selection & enter Referral Code GZA30.

This ebook is the most comprehensive study in English of how Jewish traditional sources teach us to protect our natural resources and preserve the environment. From food to trees, energy to water, wealth to biodiversity, the book studies eighteen topics where Jewish tradition has a relevant lesson for today's environmental challenges. All materials were comprehensively studied and reviewed by scientists and rabbis before printing.

These materials were originally created for the Canfei Nesharim/Jewcology Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment in 2012, and were released between Tu b'Shevat 5772 and Tu b'Shevat 5773. The materials were shared widely throughout the Jewish community, reaching more than 50,000 people. Source sheets, podcasts and videos are also available separately for each topic.

The ebook can now be ordered for your Kindle or Ebook device.

Podcasts now available: Another exciting release from the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment: all podcasts from our series are now available on iTunes! To see the full series, simply search “Canfei Nesharim” in the itunes store, or go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/canfei-nesharim/id646475293?mt=2. You can listen to the podcasts right there, or click "view in iTunes " and then click subscribe to have them appear in your iTunes podcast library.

Don’t have itunes? All items are also available for listening or downloading at http://canfeinesharim.podbean.com/.

Check out all the materials, including source sheets and videos, at www.canfeinesharim.org/learning or www.jewcology.com/learning.

No offense to any Neanderthals.

But The Beet-Eating Heeb, for one, might have to revise his assessment of Israel’s Rabbinical leadership.

On one issue that is near and dear to BEH’s heart, and probably to yours as well, the newly elected Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel recently made a very enlightened statement. And BEH is all for giving credit where credit is due.

Chief Rabbi Lau, after viewing televised footage of horrific abuses of animals at (yet another) kosher slaughterhouse, issued an unusually strong statement of condemnation.

His statement came in response to seeing chickens packed in filthy cages without food or water, writhing turkeys tossed into metal boxes with their throats cut, and several other forms of cruelty at a Soglowek slaughterhouse in Northern Israel.

“As a human being and as a Jew, I was shocked by the footage, by the brutal behavior of those employees toward helpless animals,” said Lau, according to Israel’s Ynet website. “Such things shouldn’t happen. The Torah forbids us to act in this way and obliges us to be extra vigilant with regard to animal welfare. We cannot remain silent in the face of such things. We will act firmly and sternly against this factory.”

The slaughterhouse, after a brief closure, has reopened. It remains to be seen whether Soglowek will improve its practices.

Nonetheless, Lau’s tough talk heartened The Beet-Eating Heeb for two reasons.

The rabbi specifically invoked “tzar baalei chaim,” the Jewish prohibition on inflicting unnecessary suffering on animals. He acknowledged the reality that the laws of kosher slaughter only apply to the last seconds of an animal’s life. What happens in the modern factory farm and during transport to the slaughterhouse typically involves multiple forms of cruelty, but is not governed by kashrut.

Second, Lau’s response to the Soglowek scandal stands out in vivid contrast to how America’s kashrut establishment has reacted to similar situations in U.S. slaughterhouses.

The most obvious example is the infamous Agriprocessors case, in which undercover investigators from 2004-2008 documented shocking cruelty at what was then the world’s largest glatt-kosher slaughterhouse. In response, the Orthodox Union, the country’s largest kosher-certification agency, repeatedly denied that anything was amiss.

Indeed, the Orthodox Union engaged in a public-relations campaign on behalf of Agriprocessors, essentially telling kosher consumers, and veterinary experts, not to believe what they were seeing with their own eyes.

Don’t take The Beet-Eating Heeb’s word for it, although you certainly can. Documentary evidence of the OU’s shenanigans can be found in the archives of the OU’s own Website.

Why would Orthodox rabbis bend over backwards to defend the perpetrators of cruelty?

BEH can answer in one word: Money.

The OU is the United States' largest certifier of kosher products. It’s a very big business. The amount of money that the OU collects from kosher certification is not available on Guidestar, but suffice it to say, the total amount has quite a few zeros.

Agriprocessors was the sordid intersection of the country’s largest slaughterhouse and largest kosher certifier. Compassion, ethics, and concern for animals didn’t stand much of a chance. Neither did Judaism or Jewish values, for that matter.

Mark BEH’s words. There will be another Agriprocessors. There will be another videotaped, well-documented case of heart-wrenching, stomach-turning cruelty at a large American kosher slaughterhouse.

After all, kosher slaughter in the modern, factory-farming era resembles an assembly line. Make that a disassembly line. The point is, the sheer volume of animals, and the rapid line speed of the slaughter, all but ensures that cruelty will occur.

We can only hope that next time, America’s Orthodox rabbinate will not sacrifice compassion on the altar of economic expediency.

Israel Naturally: Apr. 29–May 8, 2014

A UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT TOUR IN ISRAEL
Connect to your roots through an active nature & eco-tour led by The Natural Bible author Baruch Sienna.
Discover beauty and meaning through the lens of nature and the environment. Experience the interrelationship between Jewish spirituality, nature, the Bible, the Land of Israel, and the environment.
Explore the Israel rarely seen by tourists.

Highlights include:

• Hiking

• Plant and Animal Nature Reserves

• Environmental initiatives

• Organic farms

• Shabbat in the desert

• Unique geological formations

• Study with experts

$4599 All inclusive* including air travel.

To register please call: 877-999-8868

* For more details, http://www.ihtours.com/itinerary=160

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

The ability to harness energy has been essential to life since the start of humanity. This ability, of course, has come in many different forms and has gone through massive transformations over the centuries. In the 18th and 19th centuries, coal fired the steam engine — arguably the most vital technology of the Industrial Revolution. It was the discovery of oil that allowed the revolution to flourish even further in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in essence altering civilization. Today, there is little we do without using some form of energy. Energy is necessary for the production of food and water. Energy moves us from place to place — be it by car, train, airplane or other modes of transport. In the form of electricity it heats and cools our homes, it provides our light, it turns our machines on and it allows for instant communication between people on opposite ends of the globe with a push of a computer button. In short, it powers life as many people in the world know it. There is increasing evidence, however, that the era of cheap, easily available energy is coming to an end; it may be time for another transformation that will harness new forms of energy to power our lives.

Most of the energy the world consumes comes from non-renewable fossil fuels. Although we can never know the precise quantity of fossil fuel reserves that remain, and although estimates of available reserves of each type vary greatly, it is clear that it has become more difficult to locate and to access previously undiscovered reserves of oil, and it is generally believed that we are nearing or already have reached “peak oil” — when the global production of crude oil peaks. As resources are depleted, extraction costs will become higher, and production will gradually decline to zero. With demand for energy projected to increase significantly, it is vital that new sources of fuel be found.

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Naomi Lipstein recently completed her master’s degree in environmental studies at the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where she wrote her thesis on energy security and renewable energy policy in Israel. Previously she worked as director of marketing and communications at the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey and as a producer, editor, and writer for television stations and networks, including ABC News and Fox News Channel.

Dr. Alon Tal co-founded the Green Zionist Alliance, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East, and Israel’s Green Movement party, which he currently chairs. A winner of the Charles Bronfman Prize and the Henry Ford European Conservation Award, Tal also serves as one of the Green Zionist Alliance representatives on the board of directors of the Jewish National Fund in Israel. He served as chairman of Life and Environment and as a consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A faculty member at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Tal also has taught at Harvard, Stanford, Tel Aviv University and University of Otago in New Zealand.

The Jewish Energy Guide presents a comprehensive Jewish approach to the challenges of energy security and climate change and offers a blueprint for the Jewish community to achieve a 14% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by September of 2014, which is the next Shmittah, or sabbatical, year in the Jewish calendar.

The Jewish Energy Guide is part of COEJL’s Jewish Energy Network, a collaborative effort with Jewcology’s Year of Action to engage Jews in energy action and advocacy. The Guide was created in partnership with the Green Zionist Alliance.

Sign up here to join the Jewish Energy Network and receive weekly articles from the Jewish Energy Guide.

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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!