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

“May the merciful One turn our hearts toward the land,
so that we may dwell together with her in her sabbath-rest the whole year of Shmita.”

Harachaman hu yashiv libeinu el ha’aretz
l’ma’an neisheiv yachad imah b’shovtah, kol sh’nat hash’mitah!

הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יָשִיב לִבֵּינוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ לְמַעַן נֵשֵב יָחַד עִמָהּ בְּשָׁבְתהּ, כָּל שְׁנַת הַשְׁמִיטָה

The words of this blessing were written by Rabbi David Seidenberg. Nili Simhai made it into a singable liturgy by setting the words to the “Sosne Nigun” by Jonah Adels, z”l. (Listen to the song at www.neohasid.org/resources/shmita-harachaman.)Harachaman blessings come after the main part of the blessing after the meals, and they ask for special blessings, including blessings related to Shabbat and holidays. Sing it at your Tu Bish’vat seder and at every meal this whole Shmita year!

Shmita means “release”, and the Shmita year is about release or liberation for the land, liberation between the people and the land, and liberation between people themselves. This Harachaman blessing references all three kinds of liberation, and it does that by using three different verbs that include the letters Shin ש and Bet ב. The first, yashiv, comes from the word “turn”, lashuv, לשוב, and it refers to our returning to a right relationship on a heart level with the Earth. The second, neishev, comes from “to settle” or “dwell”, lashevet, לשבת, as in shevet achim gam yachad — how good it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together, and it refers to liberation between individuals in the year of release, when debts are canceled and food is shared. The third, b’shovtah, comes from lishbot, לשבות, to rest, and it refers to the shabbat that the land itself enjoys in the Shmita year, as it says, “the land will enjoy her sabbaths”. This is the true nature of tikkun olam: tikkun, repair and restoration, on all these levels together. That is what must happen to fix the world.

You can download the PDF at neohasid.org/pdf/Shmita-Harachaman.pdf or get a PNG graphic of the blessing at neohasid.org/resources/shmita-harachaman/ (there are 8 Harachamans per page) to use at your Tu Bish’vat seder and for every meal during this Shmita year.

The words fit into the song like this:

Harachaman hu yashiv libeinu
el ha’aretz, el ha’aretz
Harachaman hu yashiv libeinu
el ha’aretz, el ha’aretz 

l’ma’an neisheiv yachad imah
imah b’shovtah
neisheiv yachad imah
imah b’shovtah

kol sh’nat hash’mitah
kol sh’nat hash’mitah
kol sh’nat hash’mitah
kol sh’nat hash’mitah

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

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

Resources

from Judith Belasco, Hazon

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

from the Religious Action Center

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

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

from Max Arad and Rabbi Carol Levithan, The Rabbinical Assembly

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

 from Jeffrey Cohan, Jewish Vegetarians of North America

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

from Rabbi Katy Z. Allen, Ma’yan Tikvah

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

from Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Shalom Center

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

 from Canfei Nesharim via Rabbi Yonatan Neril

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

 also from Rabbi Yonatan Neril, for Jewish Ecoseminars

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

 from Nati Passow, Jewish Farm School

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

 from Anna Hanau, Grow and Behold Foods

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

Events

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

 from Judith Belasco, Hazon/Isabella Freedman

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

 from Pearlstone

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

 from Sarai Shapiro, Wilderness Torah

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

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

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

from Becky O’Brien, Boulder Hazon

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

from Helen Bennet, Moishe Kavod House

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

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

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

followed by:

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

from Michael Rosenzweig, Boulder JCC

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

from Rhonda Ginsberg, teacher, Carmel Academy, Greenwich CT

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

But the truth was, we didn’t need all that much. We had saved bags of clothing, toys and other baby gear from our older son. And we live in a generous community where neighbors had already given or lent us key things like a carseat, a baby swing, a jogging stroller and our choice of baby carriers.

And setting aside need, we didn’t really want a lot of new stuff. We try to minimize our impact on the planet. As best we can, we also try to minimize the number of things in our house.

So, instead of a traditional registry, we tried something new: the So Kind Registry created by the Center for a New American Dream (CNAD). The registry “encourages the giving of homemade gifts, charitable donations, secondhand goods, experiences, time, day-of-event help, and more.”

The registry spoke to me because while I didn’t need any new onesies for my baby, there were some things that people could do to help which would make a world of difference. Things like preparing food, taking pictures at our son’s bris, arranging carpools for our older son, and taking us to the local pool. I was much more excited about these ideas than another rattle or swaddling blanket!

I created the registry about a month before our son was due, because I knew I wouldn’t have the energy for it once he arrived. The system was easy to navigate. After a simple login, I was able to customize the registry with pictures of my family, and request gifts of different types, like time, experience, skills, or charitable donations. Most of my requests were gifts of “time” or “experience,” but we were also able to specify our favorite charity for donations.

After my new son was born, we added a picture of him to the registry and publicized the link via facebook. We included it in our birth announcements (sent via email and Paperless Post). We also put a note on the tables at the bris, telling people we were registered with So Kind and where they could find the website.

Our results were mixed. We didn’t get all the gifts we requested, but we did get some totally awesome things that we wouldn’t have gotten if we didn’t ask. As a result of the registry, we found someone who took professional photographs at the bris for free, and a neighbor bought us a month-long membership at that local pool. (She said she was thrilled to find out what we really wanted.) People arranged time to visit and help out the week my husband went back to work. Other people made us meals, and lots of people donated to our favorite charity.

Here’s what I learned for next time:

• Be very specific about what you want and when you want it. For example, we asked people to help with carpools, but we didn’t specify the week, and we asked them to help with weekend playdates but didn’t specify individual dates or times. That meant that coordination was necessary, which prevented some people from volunteering – and even some people who offered to help weren’t available on the right days.

• Make sure that there’s something for everyone to give. We had a lot of out of town family and friends who wanted to get us something, but the gifts we asked for were really from local people. We had no way for out of town people to contribute, and so many of them sent us clothing or toys anyway. Other people told us that they would have liked to have given us something, but didn’t see anything that would work for them.

• Some “things” actually are helpful. In the end, we needed swaddling blankets. And I wanted a memory book for the baby’s first year. One of the best unsolicited gifts we got was a starter-set of eco-friendly diapers and wipes. If we’d put a bit more thought into it, we could have included these things on the registry and people would probably have appreciated that option.

• People are used to giving things. While everyone was a good sport about our non-thing registry, I could tell that they were unaccustomed to the idea. Let’s face it, it’s easier to buy a quick present online than it is to take a Sunday afternoon and entertain another kid (especially when you aren’t sure which Sunday and if you don’t have a kid the same age). I think that’s why we didn’t get everything we asked for.

• I was used to getting things. I must admit, I liked getting packages of presents at my door! I had to remind myself that we were getting fewer than we might otherwise because we’d specifically told people not to get things for us, not because people weren’t happy for us.

In the end, we still got a number of tangible gifts, but certainly fewer than we would have if we’d created a regular registry, or even if we hadn’t made it clear we didn’t need any things. So, hopefully, we achieved our intention of less impact on the planet. We certainly did succeed at less clutter in our house.

But I also learned that, in our culture, people express their love and happiness by buying things. Telling people we didn’t need anything reduced our friends’ opportunity to show us their love.

If we’re truly going to reduce consumerism in our culture, we need to find better ways to show love for one another, even if we live at a distance, and even if all we can manage is a couple quick clicks on the computer and $20.

I would certainly recommend the So Kind Registry to anyone who wants to receive gifts of kindness, rather than gifts of things you don’t need. I hope the things we’ve learned will help you!

Join the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (the RAC) in commemorating Earth Day with an online information session on how to successfully create a green “culture” in your congregation. How do we make our environmental efforts an integral part of the culture of our congregational communities? How do we align our actions with our Jewish beliefs of environmental stewardship? Our synagogues have the potential to model environmental behavior and inspire individual action and advocacy. Join expert rabbis and staff from the RAC and GreenFaith in discussing how our congregations can foster a “culture” of environmentalism that goes beyond independent greening initiatives.

Join: “Earth Day Every Day: Creating a Green Culture in your Congregation” – Thursday April 24, 3:00pm ET

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

It’s the end of the Year of Action! During the last twelve months, Jewcology has been pleased to host and share 24 actions to help you save energy and reduce food waste. Together, our community has taken action and saved resources, and demonstrated the difference we can make together!

It’s not too late to report your actions on Jewcology so that we can show the full impact of the difference we’ve made. In honor of Tu b’Shevat, please report your actions on your individualized savings page during the month of Shevat! **Can’t access this page? Simply log in to Jewcology and it will display for you.

Explore the full list of actions and our results in this campaign.

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.

Become a partner in engaging your community this year!

Together, we will organize Jewish campaigns throughout the year to help you learn about opportunities to make a difference on key environmental issues at the national and state level, to get to know your elected representatives, and to engage your community.

How can Jewish environmental advocacy make a difference?

The Jewish community has a long history of championing support for Israel and social justice causes. For the last twenty years, we have been learning and changing our behaviors to protect our environment. To address this critical global challenge, it is now time for us to unite in support of sustainable policies that reflect our Jewish interests and values, to make a meaningful impact at the state and national levels and beyond.

Explore our current Year of Engagement Opportunities:

• Campaign #1: Wish Your Reps a Happy Tu Bishvat
  
• Basics of Advocacy for Jewish Environmentalists: A Citizen Training Webinar
  

Campaign #1: Wish Your Reps a Happy Tu Bishvat!

We are beginning the Year of Engagement with a simple but effective way to begin a conversation about environmental advocacy with your family, community, and elected officials.

For our first Year of Engagement campaign this year, we encourage you to send a simple letter to your representative to wish them a Happy Tu Bishvat and explain why our nation needs sustainable climate and energy policies.

On Tu Bishvat, many Jewish communities get together for seders and to learn about Jewish environmentalism. If your community has a shared event, invite them to join along with you in your letter.

To help you turn your Tu Bishvat into a policy engagement opportunity, we’ve created:

•Activity instructions (PDF),

•A template letter for your elected representatives (editable .doc file),

•An example letter to show you what it will look like (PDF), and

•some talking points to help you engage your community (PDF).

Each of these materials can be previewed below if you are logged into google. Or simply click the links to download the files.

We hope you’ll take this opportunity to begin to share your views with your elected representatives and your community. Let us know after you take this action!

Basics of Advocacy for Jewish Environmentalists: A Citizen Training Webinar

To build a more sustainable society, we need more than just individual action: we also need sustainable policies at the local, state and national level. Many Jewish environmentalists want to get involved with advocacy, but aren’t sure exactly where to start. The advocacy world can feel like a confusing maze. When should I call my representative? What kind of letter will make the most difference? How do you schedule a meeting?

Join COEJL, Canfei Nesharim and Jewcology for “Basics of Advocacy for Jewish Environmentalists,” an opportunity to learn about the basic tools of advocacy and how you can make a difference. We explored the challenges and opportunities of advocacy, tools to help you, and practice some specific skills to help you get started.

Recent webinars:

• Monday, March 31 at 8:00-9:30 pm. 
• Tuesday, January 28 from 12:30-2:00 pm. View the webinar here!

Want to hear about future opportunities? Let us know.

This training requires your active participation, so please plan to have computer, internet and telephone available and to be present for the full 90 minutes. Space is limited. This webinar is free, thanks to the generous support of our Year of Engagement sponsors.

Jewcology is partnering with the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life in 2014 for a Year of Jewish Policy Engagement on the Environment. This coming year, you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Get to know your elected representatives
• Engage your community to advocate for meaningful environmental change
• Learn about key opportunities to make a difference
• Act at the critical moment

Watch the video to learn more about our partnership!

Why are COEJL and Canfei Nesharim partnering in the Year of Engagement?

COEJL brings advocacy experience, skills and connections empowering Jewish individuals and organizations to take meaningful political action on energy and the environment. Canfei Nesharim brings experience with community organizing and a broad base of Jewish environmental activists across the Jewish and political spectrum.

Together, we will organize Jewish campaigns throughout the year to help you learn about opportunities to make a difference on key environmental issues at the national and state level, to get to know your elected representatives, and to engage your community.

At the end of this Year of Engagement, participating individuals, communities and organizations will have:

• A stronger understanding of the legislative and regulatory processes
• Relationships with their elected officials and community leaders
• Engaged in environmental action campaigns with a meaningful impact
• Learned to use tools and learning materials to help their communities understand the Jewish values that teach us to protect the environment.

How can Jewish environmental advocacy make a difference?

Jews have a long history of championing support for Israel and social justice causes, including successful mobilizations on civil rights, Russian Jewry, Darfur, and other issues. For the last twenty years, the Jewish community has been learning and changing our behaviors to protect our environment. To address one of today’s most important global challenges, it is now time for the Jewish community to unite in support of sustainable policies that reflect our Jewish interests and values, to make a meaningful impact at the state and national levels and beyond.

I’m not blogging much lately due to certain matters going on in my life. Sorry, I know this is supposed to be a weekly post but life happens….

Anyway, here’s this week’s tip. This applies if you live in a place where there’s a central dumpster where people dump their garbage: When you take out the garbage, keep your eyes open for things that might not really be garbage but perhaps someone was just trying to get rid of the item without it occurring to them that maybe someone else could use it. If you find something useful, go ahead and take it home! For example, yesterday I “rescued” a chair that turned out to be still in decent condition, and comfortable, too. I recommend cleaning such finds before using them, as you don’t know where they’ve been….If you find something that could be useful for someone but not you, you can “rescue” it anyway and donate it to Goodwill or another organization of your preference that takes such things. (Another idea is to try putting it up for sale, say on Craigslist or eBay, but keep in mind that you can’t always be confident that you can accurately describe the condition of the item and again, you have no idea where it’s been….) That way you can help the environment while simultaneously helping an organization and also someone who could use the item in question!

If you see that there’s an ongoing problem of people leaving perfectly good items, you might want to call the problem to the attention of your building/apartment complex manager (or whoever else is in charge). I called mine today and left a message with the following ideas: 1. They could write a notice so people are aware that there’s a Goodwill nearby. (That applies to my situation; you could customize this for your own situation.) Have them point out that other people might be able to make use of the item, even if the current owner is done with it. 2. They could designate a place, apart from the dumpster(s), where people could leave stuff they don’t want that’s still good, and people could come and take what they want. I didn’t get a response yet but at least I tried.

Please share widely.

Cadette Girl Scout Troop 4056 is pleased to present, as its silver award project, this cookbook of recipes that not only use leftover or excess food as ingredients but also conform to Jewish dietary laws, or kashrut. In preparation for this project, the troop earned the New Cuisines badge and experimented with cooking foods from different times, places and cultures. The troop also volunteered in the kitchen at Martha’s Table, a Washington, D.C. organization that prepares over 1,000 meals per day for needy residents of the city. The Troop learned about the Biblical commandment not to waste food, and brainstormed ways of using food that might otherwise go to waste. Members of the troop collected recipes from their families. They tested recipes, typed and edited copy and provided photographs of completed recipes.

This cookbook contains recipes that use three different categories of “leftovers.” The first category includes traditional leftovers–dishes prepared for one meal that are then repurposed into a second meal. For example, if roasted chicken and rice are served on Monday, any leftover chicken can become a chicken pot pie or chicken jambalaya later in the week and the leftover rice can be reused in kugel or as fried rice. Other common leftovers in this category are leftover cooked vegetables and leftover cooked pasta. The second category includes leftovers that are not previously cooked but that might be tossed out as garbage, such as potato and carrot peels, chicken wings and necks (which come with the whole cut up chicken but which my family doesn’t eat), or a pumpkin that has been used for a Fall display. The third category includes foods that were purchased in bulk and are in the refrigerator or pantry but will spoil or go stale if not used. These foods include milk, eggs, bread, cereal, bananas and apples, and for any family with a backyard vegetable garden, tomatoes and zucchini, in season.

Troop 4056 developed this project as a part of the 2013 Year of Jewish Action on the Environment, developed by the Jewish-environmental organization Canfei Nesharim and its Jewcology program. The year-long program focuses on actions to save energy and reduce food waste, practical actions called for by the Jewish mitzvah of bal tashchit. Jewcology.com is a social media portal where Jews who care about the environment can connect and share resources. As part of the Year of Action, Jewcology members can take action and check a box to see their personal impact, and can also see the shared impact of the entire Jewcology community. You can see the full program at www.jewcology.com/action.

This cookbook is the featured online tool for the Year of Action’s “Food Waste Action #8: Make Leftovers” and, as such, will be distributed to Jewish communities worldwide. Troop 4056 wishes to thank Evonne Marzouk and Canfei Nesharim for helping develop the project and for distributing the cookbook.

Laura Warshawsky

Advisor, Troop 4056

Silver Spring, MD

September 2013

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:

If you find value in the prayer very humbly invite you to make use of it and to share it with others.

Richard Shavei Tzion

Jerusalem

* My grateful thanks to: Rabbi Professor Benjamin Ish-Shalom, Gabi Lindenberg, Levia Piurko, Rabbi Shmuel Slotki, Ruti Spero, Gilad Stern, Ido Tauber and Naora Yahav.

Continuing with the Year of Action, we're now pleased to share the fourth action to reduce food waste! You can also see this action in the full list here.

Food Waste Action #4: Put on My Plate ONLY What I will Eat.

Eyes bigger than your stomach? Once that food is on your plate, it’s either going in your mouth or in the trash. Prevent food waste with these tips:

1. Find out what is available first.

2. Start with small samples, especially if there are choices you've never tried before.

3. Take less than you think you're going to eat. You can always go back to get more.

4. Teach your children to try a small portion first. Encourage them to finish what they have before taking more food.

(Credit: Sarah Rebecca Bedder)

Online Tool: Here’s an interesting campus activity to try.

Report your action as part of the Year of Action! Your savings will be added to the combined total savings for our community this year. Note: You must be logged into Jewcology to report your actions.

The Year of Action is a project of Jewcology, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim and in coordination with the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), along with many other Jewish environmental organizations and initiatives, and with the support of the ROI Community.

Most people recognize that they waste some of their food, but haven’t put effort into reducing it. The goal of the Year of Action’s Food Waste Actions is to raise awareness about this topic, and empower you with practical ways to reduce food waste in your home and community.

Below is the full list of Reduce Food Waste Actions released so far in Jewcology’s Year of Action. Looking for Saving Energy Actions? Visit the Actions to Save Energy page.

Reduce Food Waste Actions

1. Track My Food Waste for a Week

Learn more about the food you are throwing away in your home; the types of foods you are throwing away, when you’re throwing it away, and why.

Online tool! You can use this great food waste diary as a tool, and make notes to record what you’ve learned! Download the Food Waste Diary.

By taking this action you will save “1 shtickel of food waste wisdom,” by which we mean, you are well on your Jewish way to reducing food waste! Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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2. Save the Perishables!

You can save money and reduce food waste by simply opening the door of your refrigerator and checking the expiration dates! How often do you find that the ‘use by’ date on a package has passed, and you end up throwing it away? Get in the habit of checking the perishable items in your fridge to eat them on time. Move them into the freezer if you don’t think you’ll have time to eat them.

Learn more about “Use By” dates. This handy website provides good information and tips.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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3. Plan Ahead!

Save money and reduce food waste by planning meals ahead of time! Before you go to the store, use a meal planner and create a customized shopping list to figure out what you need. With a little forward planning, you can use what you have and buy what you need, reducing the amount of food you throw away.

Tools to help you: Check out this great meal planner and blank shopping list from our friends at Love Food, Hate Waste.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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4. Eyes Bigger than Your Stomach?

Eyes bigger than your stomach? Once that food is on your plate, it’s either going in your mouth or in the trash. Prevent food waste with these tips:

1. Find out what is available first.

2. Start with small samples, especially if there are choices you’ve never tried before.

3. Take less than you think you’re going to eat. You can always go back to get more.

4. Teach your children to try a small portion first. Encourage them to finish what they have before taking more food.

(Credit: Sarah Rebecca Bedder)

Tools to help you: Here’s an interesting campus activity to try.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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5. Plan a Picnic!

Appreciate food and nature at the same time — go for a picnic. Take the nice weather as an opportunity to clean out your fridge and enjoy an outdoor lunch with friends or family. But don’t bother with a special shopping trip to buy food for the outing, instead, use food that you already have. A picnic is a good opportunity to use up food odds and ends, and it’s OK if everyone eats something different.

When you go out, remember that there’s no need to give in to the custom of bringing disposable plastic utensils and plates to a picnic. Treat yourself to real metal utensils and reusable flatware — this is a waste-free picnic after all!

Tools to help you:

• For a picnic or any other away from home meal-making, try out some ideas from EPA’s Waste-Free Lunch Poster.
• And here are some picnic recipe ideas from LoveFoodHateWaste’s Money-Saving Blog.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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6. So Much Bread

How do you use bread? Toast at breakfast, sandwiches for lunches? Now consider how your bread-buying habits align with this consumption. Are you using all the bread that you buy?

By moving that loaf of bread—the one that’s been sitting on the counter or in the back of the fridge—to the freezer, you ensure that there will be slices available for quick meals during the week.

Or pack the bread in a vacuum sealed bag, store-bought or homemade, removing air and allowing bread to keep for longer.

One specific example of bread food waste can occur as a side effect of how we use challahs for our Shabbat meals. We’re used to big, braided challahs for most of the year, and big, round challahs for the high holidays. Do the members of your family devour it the moment it’s cut, or does a large quantity end up in the fridge or freezer, forgotten?

If so, consider alternatives to the big loaf of challah, such as rolls, to keep bread supply in line with consumption.

Tools to help you:

• Despite our best efforts to the contrary, we all end up with stale bread taking up space in our kitchen from time to time. Before chucking the loaf, check out this list of further recipes using “aged” bread.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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7. Stock Up on Ingredients

Keep your cupboard full of nonperishables so you can be ready when it comes time to reuse those leftovers.

Having essentials such as flour and baking products, canned beans and tomatoes, and everyday spices on hand allows you to incorporate perishables into meals, without having to make an extra grocery store trip. Those baked potatoes from two days ago (which are getting sort of dry) could easily become hash-browns, home-fries, or potato salad with the right ingredients on hand.

Have fun with this! There are unlimited ways to reincorporate leftovers into tonight’s meal, and they all start with having a few ingredients on hand.

Tools to help you:

• “The kitchen cupboard is the nerve centre of your kitchen – keep it well stocked and you will save time dashing to the shops for that single ingredient and will always have a delicious meal at hand even when the fridge is looking bare.” LoveFoodHateWaste’s webpage lists a collection of potential cabinet-fillers for inspiration and to help get you started.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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8. When Life Gives You Leftovers, Make a New Meal!

The leftovers from last week’s meal may look a lot less appetizing than the food you bought yesterday. But if they stay in the back of the fridge, they’re going to end up in the trash!

Going the extra mile to reuse leftovers can really make a difference in your home waste stream—you’ll start to notice that the garbage needs to go out less and less often. And you can redeem your leftovers by making delicious new dishes. Take advantage of this chance to hone your cooking skills and reduce food waste!

When life gives you leftovers, make a new meal.

Tools to help you:

• New! With this action, we are also proud to present the launch of a new resource: When Life Gives You Leftovers, Make a New Meal – a cookbook of leftover recipes developed for the Year of Action by the Jewish Cadette Girl Scout Troop 4056 in Maryland. Check it out and make your own delicious leftovers!

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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9. Keep Food Fresh Longer

The way you store your fruits, vegetables and other perishables can increase or decrease their shelf life. To keep perishables fresh as long as possible, consider these storage suggestions:

1. Separate fruits and veggies. Ethylene gas produced by ripening fruits and vegetables accelerates ripening in nearby fruits and vegetables. In particular for leafy vegetables, this can quickly cause spoilage.

2. Keep bananas and pineapples at room temperature or below, but do not refrigerate. Onions and potatoes are also best stored in a cool, dark place.

3. Wrapping celery tightly in aluminum foil and refrigerating will keep stalks crisper for longer. The foil can then be reused for the next batch of celery.

4. Bread should be stored in a dry place to prevent mold. It does better in the freezer than the refrigerator, where it goes stale more quickly, and fresh bread keeps best in a cool, dark place. Another effective way to keep bread fresh longer is to use vacuum-sealed plastic storage bags.

Tools to help you:

• Check out this online guide listing proper storage techniques for more than 30 kinds of fruits and vegetables.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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10. Plan Ahead to Use Your Bread

Every year, there seems to be a mad dash after Purim to get rid of our leavened bread (chametz) products before Passover. Why? Many of us keep stockpiles of pasta, crackers, and other staples in our pantries and loaves of bread in our refrigerators throughout the year without a second thought. Then the Jewish month of Nissan comes. We are commanded to get rid of our leavened bread, and yet we must also attend to the commandment bal tashchit, don’t destroy, which specifically applies to wasting edible food. Donating nonperishable chametz to food drives is a good way to go. But what do you do with all that extra bread? I know you can’t eat ten sandwiches daily until the Holiday of Matzah commences.

Here are some ways to get new life out of old bread:

1. Don’t buy it in the first place — as long as new bread purchases do not exceed your household demand for bread, there is no reason that it should accumulate into a pre-Pesach problem.

2. Make crumbs — stale bread and especially bread that’s been toasted, makes good fodder for bread crumbs or croutons — and they ought to keep much longer than a loaf.

3. Or try this more unconventional use — a slice of bread placed in the pot after cooking can remove the burnt taste of overcooked rice; in addition, it will remove excess water.

4. Be creative! Take advantage of the months before Passover to try out new chametz recipes, for example, one of these Pre-Pesach bread recipes, or whatever you can whip together with the flour, pasta, cereal, etc. you’ve got to use up.

Tools to help you:

• If eating ten sandwiches daily doesn’t sound so bad, here are some diverse vegetarian sandwich recipes to keep things interesting.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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11. Rescue Aging Fruits

Don’t let fear of fruit going bad stop you from picking up produce on your next visit to the grocery store. Though untreated fruit will go from unripe to ripe to overripe within a week (or less), there are methods to preserve fruits beyond their typical counter-life. When your fruit is just overripe enough so that no one in the house wants to eat it, try one of these tasty techniques to extend the life of your fruit:

1.Smoothies – Although smoothie recipes abound, the only ingredient you really need is a blender. Whatever fruit you have on hand can just be tossed in. Feeling worried it won’t come out tasting right? Try this template recipe for a fruit-vegetable smoothie. Try different combinations and discover what you like best!

2.Fruit leather and dried fruit – These can be made in the oven, but are best made in a dehydrator, which is more energy efficient, or even outside in the sun in a warm, dry climate. Place either pureed or thinly sliced fruit into a pan, and bake it on low heat for many hours until it is dry and chewy. Fruit leathers are a good use of overripe or bruised fruit, and can keep up to a month at room temperature (longer in the fridge or freezer). Here is a guide to dehydrating fruit from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

3.Jams, jellies, and preserves – Often incorporating a special ingredient called pectin, jams, jellies, and preserves can last more than a year. Mastering homemade jam-making can seem daunting, but you can get started with something simple such as the raspberry jam recipe listed at the end of this Guardian food-section article. More information on making jams and jellies and numerous recipes can be found here.

Tools to help you:

• Check out the University of Georgia Co-op Extension Service’s “Preserving Food: Drying Fruits and Vegetables” guide to DIY dehydration.

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

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12. Cook in Bulk

Making a casserole or a kugel? Use the extra ingredients to make two instead of one, and put the second in the freezer for later. Baking more than one will help you avoid wasting that large supply you bought at Sam’s Club or Costco, and will help with meal planning next time.

The potential benefits of cooking in large batches include the time you save yourself from having to spend cooking later in the week, the energy cost of heating up the stove or oven, the cost of ingredients, which are often cheaper sold in bulk, and knowing that there’s always something in the house to eat. And while, you’re at it, with all that food tucked away in the refrigerator, what better time to invite guests over for a meal?

Tools to help you:

• “Double Your Dinner for a Food Waste Winner!” Great tips from the Love Food, Hate Waste Campaign

By taking this action you will save approximately 11,614 Food Calories during the course of the year. Learn more about our assumptions in the Year of Action.

Assumptions for Energy Actions

General disclaimer:

The purpose of this program is to demonstrate our shared impact as a group, and so we’ve taken advantage of U.S. national averages.  Depending on where you live and your specific energy circumstances, your individual results may vary.

To learn more about your personal energy use and savings, we suggest using the ENERGY STAR Home Energy Yardstick: https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=HOME_ENERGY_YARDSTICK.showGetStarted&s=m.

Energy savings accounted in this program relate only to direct energy consumed.  Estimated savings do not include embodied energy or lifecycle analysis.

Energy Action #1: 
We assume that you’ll gain a bit of wisdom by assessing your energy use.  Remember, the real impact starts when you ACT on what you’ve learned!

Energy Action #2: 
This assumes that 60 watt incandescent light bulbs are replaced with 13 watt compact fluorescents, and that lights are on for 3 hours per day. This saves 51 kWh per year per bulb switched, which is 153 kWh per year for three bulbs. The national average for kWh to CO2e is = 1.55536126/ pounds CO2/kWh, which gives a total savings for this action of 237.97027278 lbs of CO2e.

Sources:ENERGY STAR Data Book Worksheet for 2011. More of these details and assumptions are available in a downloadable spreadsheet at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/ghgemissions/GHGCalculator.xls. kWh to CO2e conversion from http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/refs.html.

Facts about CFLs mentioned in the action are available at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls_about#how_work and http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProductGroup&pgw_code=LB .

Energy Action #3:

Assumptions for Food Waste Actions

#1: We assume that you’ll gain wisdom by tracking your food waste.  Remember, the real impact starts when you ACT on what you’ve learned!  Stay tuned.
#2-12: In this Year of Action we present a total of 11 food waste actions with practical impact.  Since it’s nearly impossible to know how much savings can accrue from any one action, we’ve settled on a different strategy.  We know that in the United States, the average person wastes 1400 kilocalories (food calories) per day, which is a total of 511,000 food calories per year.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov identifies the desire for food and drink as the central desire of the human being, and the one from which other desires emanate. In Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen’s “A Treatise on Eating,” he cites the mystical book of theZohar, which calls the moment of eating “the time of combat.” This is because in eating a Jew must engage in the spiritual fight to ensure the act is aholy one.

See all We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability Materials!

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Rebbe Nachman of Breslov identifies the desire for food and drink as the central desire of the human being, and the one from which other desires emanate. In Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen’s “A Treatise on Eating,” he cites the mystical book of theZohar, which calls the moment of eating “the time of combat.” This is because in eating a Jew must engage in the spiritual fight to ensure the act is a holy one.

Eating food is a significant part of the Jewish spiritual path, and Jewish teachings and practices provide guidance for how to eat in a holy manner. These include being selective and mindful of which foods we eat (based on the kosher laws), and how we eat them. Jewish teachings can help us appreciate the food we eat and eat it in a spirit of holiness. As we will see, eating in a Jewish way can also help the environment.

We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability

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These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim. Jewcology thanks the Shedlin Outreach Foundation and the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

Learn more about the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!

Rabbi Yonatan Neril on We are How We Eat!

These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim. Jewcology thanks the Shedlin Outreach Foundation and the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

See all Core Teaching #13 We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability!

Learn more about the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!

Click here to hear Jewcology's podcast on a Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability.

These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim. Jewcology thanks the Shedlin Outreach Foundation and the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

See all Core Teaching #13 We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability Materials!

Learn more about the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!

Enjoy this Hebrew/English source sheet and study guide on the topic of We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability. Discussion questions provided!

These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim. Jewcology thanks the Shedlin Outreach Foundation and the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

See all Core Teaching #13 We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability!

Learn more about the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!

We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to

Food and Sustainability

By Rabbi Yonatan Neril

The beginning of the Torah makes clear the centrality of eating to human existence: “And the Lord God commanded man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat. But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it, for on the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).

Adam and Eve transgressed this command with the first sin – eating from the Tree. Rabbi Tsadok HaKohen teaches that the Tree of Life represents holy eating, while the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represents eating suffused with physical pleasure.[1] Based on this, Sarah Yehudit Schneider, a contemporary teacher of Torah in Jerusalem, writes that

humanity's first sin was not Adam and Eve's eating of forbidden fruit, but rather the way they ate it. The Tree of Knowledge… was not a tree or a food or a thing at all. Rather it was a way of eating. Whenever a person grabs self-conscious pleasure from the world, he falls, at that moment, from God consciousness….Whenever we eat without proper kavanna (intention) we repeat this original sin. The primary fixing of human civilization is to learn to eat in holiness.

A Jewish Approach to Eating

In a pivotal moment in the book of Genesis, Esau returns tired from the field and encounters Jacob, who has prepared a red lentil stew. Esau says to him, “Pour me (haliteni) some of that red red stuff,”[2] and agrees to sell his birthright in exchange for the stew. Esau’s consumption represents a paradigmatic case in the Torah of a human being eating in an unrefined, base way. The Midrash[3] links Esau to a camel through the word 'haliteni'—a word used to describe pouring food into a camel's belly so it will walk on a long journey without needing to stop to eat.[4] Based on this, Rabbi Samphson Rafael Hirsch (19^th century Germany) explains 'haliteini' as to "greedily to gulp down." Esau’s animalistic eating without thought therefore serves as an example of an inappropriate and unholy way to eat.[5]

Eating food is a significant part of the Jewish spiritual path, and Jewish teachings and practices provide guidance for how to eat in a holy manner. These include being selective and mindful of which foods we eat (based on the kosher laws), and how we eat them. In Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen’s “A Treatise on Eating,” he cites the mystical book of the Zohar, which calls the moment of eating “the time of combat.”[6] This is because in eating a Jew must engage in the spiritual fight to ensure the act is a holy one.[7]

If Esau teaches how not to eat, what wisdom does our tradition offer for how we can consume in holiness? We will briefly explore four ideas suggested by Jewish teachings.

Why am I eating? Rebbe Nachman of Breslov identifies the desire for food and drink as the central desire of the human being, and the one from which other desires emanate.[8] Rabbi Shlomo Volbe teaches that a person needs to distinguish between eating because of a healthy desire of the body (i.e., eating in order to be healthy), versus eating out of base physical desire.[9] Of course we also know that many people today also eat out of emotional desire. It is therefore important to clarify, before eating, that what I am eating is for the right reason.[10] To eat in a Jewish way, we should eat when we are hungry, to fulfill our body’s needs, rather than out of physical or emotional cravings.

How fast do I eat my food? While it is possible to eat a meal in a few minutes, Jewish teaching cautions against doing so.[11] Rabbi Natan of Breslov states: “Be careful not to swallow your food in a hurry. Eat at a moderate pace, calmly and with the same table manners that you would show if an important guest were present. You should always eat in this manner, even when you are alone.”[12] Along with the physicality of his cravings, Esau’s fast eating is also considered unholy. A Jewish way of eating includes eating food slowly and consciously.

Where do I eat? In the Talmud, Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish teach that a person's table has taken the place of the Temple of ancient times in atoning for that person. One understanding of their statement is that when a person eats in holiness at their own table, they have made proper use of their table in a way parallel to the altar of the Temple.[13] This underscores the significance in Jewish thought of eating at a table, and not while standing or walking. Today some of our eating takes place at a desk or even in a car! We will eat more healthfully if we take wholesome meals at a table.

With whom do I eat? In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) we learn that Rabbi Shimon would say: “Three who eat at one table and do not speak words of Torah, it is as if they have eaten of sacrifices of the dead…But three who eat at one table and speak words of Torah, it is as if they have eaten at G-d's table…”[14] The act of eating with others and sharing not only food, but also Jewish wisdom, bestows upon the meal an aura of sanctity, and elevates eating to a holy act.[15] A shared opportunity for blessing before and after one eats also serves to connect the act of eating to a higher purpose.[16] These practices elevate our bodily needs and can help transform our eating to become an act of holiness and devotion.

Where Our Food Comes From– A Biblical View

Even with the above practices, eating as a spiritual practice becomes difficult when a person is disconnected from the food he or she eats. Reflecting upon the sin of eating from the Tree, the Ohr Hachaim (Rabbi Chaim ben Moses ibn Attar, 1696-1743 C.E., Morocco)comments that Adam did not know he was eating from the forbidden fruit, and that his sin was in not making an effort to find out where the fruit Eve gave him came from.[17] So, perhaps the most fundamental sin of the first human being was in neglecting to ask about the origin of the food he was given.

How we eat is fundamentally linked to our understanding of where our food comes from. The Torah describes a reality in which every Jewish family owned and farmed its own land in the land of Israel.[18] Following the Israelite conquest of the land of Israel over 3,000 years ago, the land was divided into homesteads which Jews worked as subsistence farmers. These family homesteads were passed down from generation to generation. Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Edels (17^th century Poland) wrote, “when the Jewish people were on their land, every man had land.”[19] This reality had great benefit, as the Psalmist wrote, “When you eat the toil of your hands you are fortunate and it is good for you.”[20]

At the end of the book of Genesis, Jacob’s blessings highlight characteristics that are unique to each son and to the tribes of their descendants. According to the preeminent commentator Rashi, four of these blessings focus on the agricultural specificity of each tribe’s territory in the Land of Israel.

For example, in Judah’s blessing, “Binding his foal to the vine…he washes his garments in wine.”[21] Rashi comments that this related to the abundance of wine in Judah’s domain.[22] Similarly, interpreting the blessing to Issachar, “He saw a resting place, that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant,”[23] Rashi writes that his land would produce good fruit.[24] Issachar, whose tribe’s destiny was immersion in Torah learning, received land where ready-to-eat food grew in abundance and devotion to study would be practical.[25] According to Rashi, the tribe of Naftali, which included the Sea of Galilee, was also known for its fruits.[26] In the Galilee region, the tribe of Asher was renowned for its olive trees and abundant olive oil.[27]

These teachings elucidate the regional nature of Biblical food production. Many parts of the Land of Israel were known for the particular kinds of crops and produce native to them, and the tribes from these areas became known for their produce. The others of the nation knew that the members of the tribe of Yehuda grew their grapes, those in Asher made olive oil, those in Issachar harvested the fruit. A biblical Jew could, if he or she chose, trace the relatively short journey of each item from the region of Israel, via the specific tribe, to their plates.

Where Our Food Comes From — Today

Rabbi Edels, who wrote that when Jews lived in the land of Israel every family had land, also wrote, “But from when they were exiled, they did not have land to plant.”[28] The denial of land ownership to Jews was one factor contributing to the historical shift among Jews away from agriculture. Today, for a variety of reasons, the vast majority of Jews do not work in agriculture. In Israel, in 2009 2.1% of all employed Israeli residents worked in agriculture (including supporting services), a decrease from 4.2% of Israeli citizens working in agriculture in 1990.[29] Of the small number of Israeli citizens working in agriculture, Jews are perhaps only five to ten percent.[30] Among those Israeli Jews who do work in agriculture, many manage industrial agricultural operations employing non-Jewish workers. The shifts away from agriculture are evident among people globally and especially in the Western world. In the United States, less than 1% claim farming as an occupation.[31]

This shift contains profound religious, social, and ecological significance.[32] After thousands of years of specialization within human society, it seems unlikely that large numbers of people will choose to return to a subsistence lifestyle.[33] Contemporary Jews, along with most Westerners, have lost most connection to the origins of their food, including the people who plant, pick, and transport it or the place where it is grown. We buy our industrially produced and packaged food in supermarkets that are identical from Brooklyn to Brookline and from Skokie to Silver Spring. The typical item of food on an American dinner plate has traveled 1500 miles.[34]

Does this matter? In his influential book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan argues that it matters very much. Pollan claims that the industrial food chain relies on a thick veil of ignorance being cast between us and the process of production. From meat raised in CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), to corn-fed cattle emitting methane, to the raising of monoculture fruits, vegetables and grains, to the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on our produce, we simply do not know, and perhaps do not want to know, too much about how what we eat arrives on the supermarket shelves.

If we were fully aware of the cruelty frequently involved in raising our food, the environmental degradation caused by growing it, the health risks to consumers in processing and preserving it, and the immense expenditure of fossil fuels in transporting it, we would be troubled– if not repulsed. Modern food production and consumption contributes to a host of environmental problems, including rainforest deforestation (to clear land for cattle and crops) and impact on water . Runoff of agricultural byproducts, including nitrogen fertilizers and animal wastes, enter bodies of water with major effects. In the Midwestern United States this has caused one of the world’s largest ‘Dead Zones’ in the Gulf of Mexico. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Gulf of Mexico have resulted in blooms of algae, which depletes oxygen in the Gulf and results in the decline of many other forms of sea life.[35]

The production, transportation, refrigeration, and disposal of food also contribute to climate change. In 2006, agriculture contributed about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions globally.[36] The production of red meat is one of the single largest contributors to global climate change. This is because the digestive system of cattle produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which is exhaled.[37] According to a study by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, reducing or eliminating red meat intake would have a far greater impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions than buying all of one's food locally.[38]

The globalization of food production and consumption also means that a drought in one part of the world impacts the price of food in another part. This is especially important when high costs limit the ability of the poor to buy food. For example, the World Bank reported that from June to July, 2012, the price of corn and wheat rose by 25 percent each to record highs, and the price of soybeans by 17 percent. These price increases are due to weather events in a number of countries, including drought occurring in the lands of major food exporters such as the U.S., Russia, the Ukraine, and Brazil.[39] James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, expressed "a high degree of confidence" that the extreme heatwaves in Europe in 2003 and Russia in 2010, as well as the Texas and Oklahoma droughts of 2011, were "a consequence of climate change."[40] With the increasing reality of climate change, the reliance on a few countries for food staples increases food vulnerability for all.

Finally, the link between how much we eat and the environmental ‘footprint’ has been made clear by several studies. Adults in the United States on average eat 500 calories more per day (about one large hamburger) than they did in the 1970s.[41] Between 1983 and 2000, US food availability (food consumption including waste) increased by 18%, requiring an additional 3.1% of total US energy consumption as well as more land and water to produce the food.[42] By 2006, agriculture contributed about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, making it a major factor in addressing global climate change.[43] Modern food production and consumption also contributes to rainforest deforestation (to clear land for cattle and crops) and water pollution (from pesticide and fertilizer use). Expanding agriculture to meet growing demand based on overeating only exacerbates these impacts.

Toward a Return to Repaired Consumption of Food

Knowledge is power, but it also creates responsibility. How can we develop the knowledge, and exercise the ethical responsibility that comes with knowledge about the sources of our food? If we make an effort to know the people who grow our food, we can take a measure of responsibility for how it is grown and how it reaches us. Pollan quotes Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farm, a pesticide and fertilizer free farm where the animals are all free-range: “The only meaningful guarantee of integrity is when buyers and sellers can look one another in the eye.”

It is unquestionably a challenge for the urban and suburban Jew to achieve this. One small way to close the gap between food producer and food consumer is through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects. City-dwellers or suburbanites subscribe at the beginning of the growing season, pay several hundred dollars for the season, and receive a box of produce each week. Thousands of Jews subscribe to CSAs, in part based on the conviction that we need to consider the full range of ethical issues involved in our food’s production. A second way to purchase local food is through farmer’s markets, which can also offer the chance to meet local farmers.

Another way is by appreciating the food we eat and eating it in holiness. The Jewish teachings mentioned above regarding mindful eating provide us helpful guidance. These include eating only when we are hungry, to fulfill our body’s needs, slowly and consciously, at a table, and preferably with others while sharing Jewish wisdom. When we eat with greater intention and awareness, we will likely consume less because we will be more attuned to what our bodies actually need. This will also reduce the impact our food consumption has on the environment.

Bringing awareness and holiness to our consumption of food can generate profound healing to ourselves, our communities, and our planet. At the individual level, one who eats in a proper way will feel healthier and more connected to the Infinite. At the communal level, conscious eating can bring members of the community together and inspire others to join the community. At the global level, the changes we make in our food consumption will affect people, animals and plants in faraway places.

Embedded within urban, modern society, we can still reclaim a level of sanctity, balance, and sustainability in our food consumption. Jewish teachings can help us make our way back from the tortured complexity of the industrial food chain towards a healthier relationship with what we eat.

In light of the centrality of food to the human experience, repairing the way we relate to food can make a difference for ourselves, our community, and the earth. By repairing the way we eat and the way we relate to food, we can help address many crises facing modern society: health, environmental, and social. May we eat with intention, and in so doing, help bring the world closer to its perfected state.[44]

About the Authors:

Rabbi Yonatan Neril founded and directs Jewish Eco Seminars, which engages and educates the Jewish community with Jewish environmental wisdom. Since 2006, he has worked with Canfei Nesharim in developing educational resources relating to Judaism and the environment. He received a BA and MA from Stanford University, during which time he conducted research in Mexico on food issues. He completed his rabbinic studies at Yeshivat Hamivtar, and lives with his family in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Yedidya (Julian) Sinclair is a writer and teacher. He is Senior Rabbinical Scholar at Hazon. Previously he was campus rabbi at Cambridge University where he also taught in the Divinity School. Rabbi Sinclair earns a living working in clean tech in Israel. He is currently Vice President and Head of Research at Gigawatt Global, an international solar developer. Before that he worked for two years on the founding team of Alma Ecocities Ltd where he was Director of Communications. He holds degrees from Oxford and Harvard Universities as well as Orthodox semichah and lives in Jerusalem.

This material was produced as part of the Jewcology project. Jewcology.comis a new web portal for the global Jewish environmental community. Thanks to the ROI communityfor their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

[1]Pri Tzadik, Rabbi Zadok HaKohen Rabinowitz of Lublin(Kreisburg, 1823 – Lublin, Poland, 1900),

Torah portion of Genesis, section 8

[2]Genesis 25:29.

[3]Part of the Oral tradition explaining the Written Torah

[4]Midrash Genesis Raba (Vilna edition), 63:12, citing Mishna, Tractate Shabbat 24:3. Rashi cites this Midrash in his commentary to Genesis 25:29. This teaching also appears in Genesis Raba chapter 21, Midrash Tanchuma, Pinechas 13, and elsewhere

[5]It also was done at significant cost, since it involved the sale of the birthright.

[6]Cited in Rav Tzadok Hacohen, Kitzur Kuntras Eit HaOchel, section 9

[7]In a similar vein, Rabbi Natan Sternhartz of Breslov teaches that the main spiritual exertion with relevance to the outside world concerns eating, which is the hardest act of spiritual separation (berur) to engage in. He cites the Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Shekalim 5a. His teaching is found in Likutei Halakhot, Betziat HaPat 5.7

[8]Likutei Moharan I, 62:5

[9]Alei Shor, page n/a.

[10]Rabbi Moshe Rafael Seror (contemporary, Israel) suggests a practice for when we feel a desire to eat. We can ask ourselves whether the desire to eat that we feel is for a specific food that we like, for example chocolate, and whether the feeling of hunger extends to foods we don't like. If we can feel in our body that the desire is for the latter, then it is genuine hunger coming out of the body's need for nourishment, and not a smokescreen of the inclination that seeks instant gratification by means of sugary, fatty, or salty foods.

[11]One creative approach to thinking about food comes from the word for food in Hebrew, ochel, which is spelled aleph, caf, and lamed. These letters correspond to the first letters of three words: eich (how), cama (how much), and lama (why). That is, a Jew should examine the way they are eating by asking: how am I eating, how much, and why?

[12]Chayey Moharan #515, by Rabbi Natan Sternhartz, translation by R’ Avraham Greenbaum. In a similar vein, Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen in section five to his Treatise on the Time of Eating teaches about the importance of moderation to temper the desire to eat, swallow, and finish quickly. He cites the Talmud, Tractate Berachot 2a-b on how a person should prepare themself before eating.

[13]Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Hagigah p. 27a

[14]Chapter 3, Mishna 4

[15] Similarly, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin writes about "Eating—A Religious Experience," in A Happening Haggadah " He writes, “The Seder can serve as a model to teach us the Jewish philosophy of eating. We permit ourselves to have only a tiny portion of karpas. By immediately withdrawing from the food, we learn discipline and restraint. As human beings we must learn the self-control to put the food aside and make the meal a religious experience. By learning to do not what we have the urge to do, but what He commands, we serve God… On [Pesach] we became a people of God whose primary purpose is to serve Him. We do so by subsuming the physical to the spiritual—by turning our meal into a learning experience and a prayer experience. Indeed the learning and prayer come first. It is through karpas that this lesson is brought home to the children around the Seder table."

[16] Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen, Pri Tzadik, Treatise on the Time of Eating, section six

[17]Commentary to Genesis 3:17

[18]This description occurs many times in the Torah, including in Numbers 34:13.

[19]The Maharsha, 1555-1631, Poland, commentary to Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Menachot, p. 103b

[20]Psalms 128:2. The Talmudic sage Rabbi Ahai ben Yoshiya expresses the value of eating food one has grown him or herself: “During the time that a person eats from what he has grown himself—his mind is tranquil. Even one who eats from that which his father has grown or from that of his mother's or son's, his mind is not tranquil—and you do not [even] need to say [food grown] from that of others [non-relatives].” (Avot d'Rabbi Natan, version 1, chapter 30, translation by Hazon.) The rabbis understand this to be a teaching about food security—of being assured about where one's next meal will come from. Ultimately, Rabbi Ahai understands that this can only occur when a person grows his or her own food.

[21]Genesis 49:11

[22]Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 98:9; Rashi to Genesis 49:11, s.v. osri lagefen iryo The Talmud describes the grapes and wine grown in the lands of Judah: “Any palate that tastes it says, ‘Give me! Give me!’”Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Ketubot 111b

[23]Genesis 49:15

[24]Rashi to Genesis 49:15

[25]Rashi to Genesis 49:15 based on Targum Onkelos and Bereshith Rabbathi

[26]Rashi to Genesis 49:21

[27]Rashi to Genesis 49:20

[28]The Maharsha, 1555-1631, Poland, commentary to Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Menachot, p. 103b

[29]From the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, online at http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/?MIval=cw_usr_view_SHTML&ID=418 See also “Agriculture in Israel 2004,” Statistifile No. 55, online at http://www1.cbs.gov.il/www/statistical/agri04_e.pdf They also note that “the percentage of persons employed in agriculture in Israel is one of the lowest in the world, resembling that in the US and Canada. By comparison, in Greece the share is 15% and in Jordan 10%.” In economics, this phenomenon is called ‘structural transformation’ of an economy.

[30]Maariv online news (Hebrew), “Poll: Only 14 percent of those employed in agriculture are Jews,” by Dahlia Mazori, 5.17.2010, online at http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/108/007.html The article notes that “According to Ami Bergman, director of the Sting Systems polling company, the survey data include only legal workers who were paid, but many of the foreign workers – about 40 percent is estimated – are illegal and therefore not listed in the survey.” Based on this, I estimate that 5 to 10 percent of agricultural workers are Jews.

[31]http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/demographics.html According to a different sourse, in 2009 just 0.7% claimed farming, forestry, and fishing (all of whom are defined as agriculture) as their occupation. See https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2048.html

[32]For example, at a religious level, following the destruction of the second Temple, Jews no longer bring first-fruit offerings from their crops to Jerusalem.

[33]In The Rational Optimist, Matt Ridley compares life in modern society to that of subsistence farmers and explains the many ways in which our standard of living has improved as reasons for why a voluntary return to subsistence living is unlikely.

[34]Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma, New York, Penguin, 2006. p. 239

[35]For more information, see the Carleton College Science Information Resource Center at http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/deadzone/

[36] “Climate Change and Agriculture,” 2006, Martin Parry and Cynthia Rosenzweig, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (U.K. Meteorological Office and Goddard Institute for Space Studies), online at http://cgiar.bio-mirror.cn/pdf/agm06/agm06_ParryRosenzweig_climatechange%26agr.pdf

[37]See US Environmental Protection Agency, “US Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2012,” Chapter 6: Agriculture, section 6.1 of http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/ghgemissions/US-GHG-Inventory-2012-Chapter-6-Agriculture.pdf In addition, a second source of methane from cattle is from the anaerobic decomposition of their manure (see section 6.2).

[38]“Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States,” Dr. Christopher Weber and Dr. H. Scott Matthews, Environmental Science & Technology. 2008, 42 (10), pp 3508–3513, online at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es702969f The article notes that “shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more greenhouse-gas reduction than buying all locally sourced food.”

[39]The full report is available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTPOVERTY/Resources/336991-1311966520397/Food-Price-Watch-August-2012.pdf, and the press release, “Severe Droughts Drive Food Prices Higher, Threatening the Poor,” The World Bank, August 30, 2012, is online at

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/08/30/severe-droughts-drive-food-prices-higher-threatening-poor

[40]As reported by Reuters, “Climate change poses risks to food, beyond U.S. drought,” by Alistar Doyles, 8.12.12, online at http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/16/us-climate-drought-idUSBRE87F0RY20120816

[41] "Increased food intake alone explains the increase in body weight in the United States," Boyd Swinburn et al. oral presentation, 17th European Congress on Obesity,5.9.2009, news abstract online at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149553.php The researchers consider this increased food consumption to be the leading cause of the obesity epidemic.

[42]“Luxus Consumption: Wasting Food Resources Through Overeating,”By Dr. Dorothy Blair and Dr. Jeffery Sobal, Agriculture and Human Values, Volume 23, Number 1 (2006), p. 63-74

[43] “Climate Change and Agriculture,” 2006, Martin Parry and Cynthia Rosenzweig, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (U.K. Meteorological Office and Goddard Institute for Space Studies), online at http://cgiar.bio-mirror.cn/pdf/agm06/agm06_ParryRosenzweig_climatechange%26agr.pdf

[44]Indeed, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches thatthe eating of Israel brings G-d, Blessed be He, and the Shechina (G-d’s Immanent Presence) face to face (Likutei Moharan I 62:1).

We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to

Food and Sustainability

By Rabbi Yonatan Neril

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov identifies the desire for food and drink as the central desire of the human being, and the one from which other desires emanate.[1] Jewish teachings can help us appreciate the food we eat and eat it in a spirit of holiness. Doing so can also help the environment, as we will explore.

What does it mean to eat in a Jewish way? First of all, we should eat when we are hungry. Rabbi Shlomo Volbe teaches that a person needs to distinguish between eating because of a healthy desire of the body (i.e., eating in order to be healthy), versus eating out of base physical desire.[2] (Of course many people today also eat out of emotional desire.) It is therefore important to clarify, before eating, that what I am eating is for the right reason,[3] rather than out of physical or emotional cravings.

Not only what we eat, and but also how we eat is important. A Jewish way of eating includes eating food slowly and consciously. While it is possible to eat a meal in a few minutes, Jewish teaching cautions against doing so. Rabbi Natan of Breslov states: “Be careful not to swallow your food in a hurry. Eat at a moderate pace, calmly and with the same table manners that you would show if an important guest were present. You should always eat in this manner, even when you are alone.”[4]

Where we eat also matters. In the Talmud, Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish teach that a person's table has taken the place of the Temple of ancient times in atoning for that person. One understanding of their statement is that when a person eats in holiness at their own table, they have made proper use of their table in a way parallel to the altar of the Temple (Chagigah p. 27a). This underscores the significance in Jewish thought of eating at a table, and not while standing or walking. Today some of our eating takes place at a desk or even in a car! We will eat more healthfully and with more holiness if we take wholesome meals at a table.

Finally, the act of eating with others – and sharing not only food, but also Jewish wisdom – bestows upon the meal an aura of sanctity, and elevates eating to a holy act.[5] In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers 3:4) we learn that Rabbi Shimon would say: “Three who eat at one table and speak words of Torah, it is as if they have eaten at G-d's table…” A shared opportunity for blessing before and after one eats also serves to connect the act of eating to a higher purpose.[6] These practices elevate our bodily needs and can help transform our eating to become an act of holiness and devotion.

How we eat, and consequently, how much we eat, has a bearing on our ‘environmental footprint,’ as several studies make clear. Adults in the United States on average eat 500 calories more per day (about one large hamburger) than they did in the 1970s.[7] Between 1983 and 2000, US food availability (food consumption including waste) increased by 18%, requiring an additional 3.1% of total US energy consumption as well as more land and water to produce the food.[8] By 2006, agriculture contributed about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, making it a major factor in addressing global climate change.[9] Modern food production and consumption also contributes to rainforest deforestation (to clear land for cattle and crops) and water pollution (from pesticide and fertilizer use).

Expanding agriculture to meet growing demand based on overeating only exacerbates these impacts. When we eat with greater intention and awareness, we will likely consume less because we will be more attuned to what our bodies actually need. This will also reduce the impact our food consumption has on the environment.

Bringing awareness and holiness to our consumption of food can generate profound healing to ourselves, our communities, and our planet. At the individual level, one who eats in a proper way will feel healthier and more connected to the Infinite. At the communal level, conscious eating can bring members of the community together and inspire others to join the community. At the global level, the changes we make in our food consumption will affect people, animals and plants in faraway places. May we eat with intention, and in so doing, help bring the world closer to its perfected state.[10]

Rabbi Yonatan Neril founded and directs Jewish Eco Seminars, which engages and educates the Jewish community with Jewish environmental wisdom. Since 2006, he has worked with Canfei Nesharim in developing educational resources relating to Judaism and the environment.

This material was produced as part of the Jewcology project. Jewcology.comis a new web portal for the global Jewish environmental community. Thanks to the ROI communityfor their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

[1]Likutei Moharan I, 62:5

[2]Alei Shor

[3]Rabbi Moshe Rafael Seror (contemporary, Israel) suggests a practice for when we feel a desire to eat. We can ask ourselves whether the desire to eat that we feel is for a specific food that we like, for example chocolate, and whether the feeling of hunger extends to foods we don't like. If we can feel in our body that the desire is for the latter, then it is genuine hunger coming out of the body's need for nourishment, and not a smokescreen of the inclination that seeks instant gratification by means of sugary, fatty, or salty foods.

[4]Chayey Moharan #515, by Rabbi Natan Sternhartz, translation by R’ Avraham Greenbaum. In a similar vein, Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen in section five to his Treatise on the Time of Eating teaches about the importance of moderation to temper the desire to eat, swallow, and finish quickly. He cites the Talmud, Tractate Berachot 2a-b on how a person should prepare themself before eating.

[5] Similarly, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin writes about "Eating—A Religious Experience," in A Happening Haggadah " He writes, “The Seder can serve as a model to teach us the Jewish philosophy of eating. We permit ourselves to have only a tiny portion of karpas. By immediately withdrawing from the food, we learn discipline and restraint. As human beings we must learn the self-control to put the food aside and make the meal a religious experience. By learning to do not what we have the urge to do, but what He commands, we serve God… On [Pesach] we became a people of God whose primary purpose is to serve Him. We do so by subsuming the physical to the spiritual—by turning our meal into a learning experience and a prayer experience. Indeed the learning and prayer come first. It is through karpas that this lesson is brought home to the children around the Seder table."

[6] Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen, Pri Tzadik, Treatise on the Time of Eating, section six

[7] "Increased food intake alone explains the increase in body weight in the United States," Boyd Swinburn et al. oral presentation, 17th European Congress on Obesity,5.9.2009, news abstract online at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149553.php The researchers consider this increased food consumption to be the leading cause of the obesity epidemic.

[8]“Luxus Consumption: Wasting Food Resources Through Overeating,”By Dr. Dorothy Blair and Dr. Jeffery Sobal, Agriculture and Human Values, Vol. 23, No. 1 (2006), p. 63-74

[9] “Climate Change and Agriculture,” 2006, Martin Parry and Cynthia Rosenzweig, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (U.K. Meteorological Office and Goddard Institute for Space Studies), online at http://cgiar.bio-mirror.cn/pdf/agm06/agm06_ParryRosenzweig_climatechange%26agr.pdf

[10]Indeed, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches thatthe eating of Israel brings G-d, Blessed be He, and the Shechina (G-d’s Immanent Presence) face to face (Likutei Moharan I 62:1).

In celebration of Parshat Noach this coming Shabbat, Jewcology is proud to share a wealth of resources on the topic of Noach.

Please enjoy and share these resources from many of our partners and participants so we can all benefit from the lessons of Parshat Noach.

Explore all of our Parshat Noach resources

Here’s a sampling:

Countering Destruction – Lessons from Noah

Although the flood and the life of Noah occurred thousands of years ago, the story of Noah offers important lessons about how our actions affect the world. The Torah teaches that ten generations after Creation, all life on the planet had “corrupted its way on the earth”(Genesis 6:12). G-d gave humans 120 years to improve their ways, using Noah and his ark as messengers. Yet the people ignored the message and missed the boat. Noah built the ark, brought the animals into it, and lived on it with his family for the duration of the flood. After Noah left the ark, G-d made a covenant with Noah, designating the rainbow as the sign of the Creator’s commitment not to destroy the world.

Rainbow Day!

You can find Torah, prayers and liturgies, midrashim about rainbows, lesson plans about seed-saving, learning from Hoshea and Ezekiel, Kabbalah and midrash, and project ideas-39 in all-that you can use to celebrate the Rainbow covenant on Rainbow Day (May 7-8 in 2013), Shabbat Noach (Oct 19-20 in 2012), Shabbat Behar (May 3-4 in 2013) and every week. The Rainbow covenant with all life is the first covenant of the Torah. In 2013, Rainbow Day, when the covenant was made, comes the week after Shabbat Behar-Behukotai.

Environmental Responsibility at School

Noah lived in a period in which he was required to assume responsibility, listen to the voice of God and save the various species. Each of us should assume Noah’s role. Each of us is responsible for the environment in which he lives. In this lesson, we will learn about man’s responsibility for the world’s existence and how each of us can reduce our negative impact on the environment at school.

Have a green week!

The Jewcology Team

In the first chapter of Genesis, twice in three verses, G-d speaks of humans ruling over other living beings. In the second instance, after creating Adam and Eve, G-d blesses them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." What does it mean for humans to subdue the earth and have dominion over other creatures?

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In the first chapter of Genesis, twice in three verses, G-d speaks of humans ruling over other living beings. In the second instance, after creating Adam and Eve, G-d blesses them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." What does it mean for humans to subdue the earth and have dominion over other creatures?

Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth

• Summary Article

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These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim. Jewcology thanks the Shedlin Outreach Foundation and the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

Learn more about the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!

We are proud to present Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, speaking on the topic of Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth!

These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim. Jewcology thanks the Shedlin Outreach Foundation and the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

See all Core Teaching #12 Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth Materials!

Learn more about the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!

Click here to hear Jewcology's podcast on Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth.

These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim. Jewcology thanks the Shedlin Outreach Foundation and the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.

See all Core Teaching #12 Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth Materials!

Learn more about the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!