On Tu b’Shvat, we celebrate the New Year for the Trees, but we also extend our focus to our relationship and responsibility to protecting the environment as a whole. Why? In Jewish thought, texts about trees offer wisdom to help us understand our broader relationship and responsibility to the created world.
Accomplishments are more satisfying when we’ve invested our own time and energy into achieving them. Unfortunately, the effort itself may seem unsatisfying – filled with frustration, disappointment, and hard work. How can we resolve this challenge? The sages teach a lesson about this, using the metaphor of fruit trees, which
[Proud and excited to share this new development for Orthodox Jews who care about the environment! – Evonne] GrowTorah and Canfei Nesharim, two Torah-based environmental non-profit organizations, have merged into one entity, effective Dec. 10, to strengthen their combined efforts and maximize their impact within the Orthodox Jewish community. Canfei
Recently, I’ve been more focused on teaching my baby to crawl than the state of the environment in Israel. But even for us moms living inside the family bubble, there’s a world out there that sometimes needs our attention. That’s why I am proud to be part of the Green Israel
When you are a Jewish environmentalist taking a break from the Jewish environmental world, you sometimes feel like you’re in your own personal exile. It’s self-imposed, of course. I suspect that I’d be welcomed if I tried to engage myself. But I also know that I need this time. (And when I
Register. There it was on my list of pre-baby things to do. I had the feeling that people would want to buy things for us, and I knew they’d be asking if we had a registry. Setting one up seemed like the proper thing to do. It would help everyone
In March 2014, Canfei Nesharim announced that I would conclude my current relationship with the organization. This posting attempts to explain how I came to this momentous decision, and what I’m hoping for in the future. It began in trickles, in private thoughts that I thought I could never share.
On Thursday night, April 24, I had the privilege of participating in the Green Sheep Webinar for the Interfaith Power & Light chapter in my region (DC, MD, NoVA). The theme of the webinar was “Speaking Out, Faithfully,” and — consistent with our Year of Jewish Policy Engagement on the
This year, my attention is on the power of advocacy and the opportunity for us to make a difference, as a Jewish community, in environmental policy. After spending a year with Jewcology and Canfei Nesharim focusing my attention on Jewish learning on the environment, and a second year focusing on
I am proud to be a presenter and to serve on the Advisory Committee for this conference! I hope to see you there. 6th Annual Beit Midrash Retreat Mar 7-9, 2014 – Pearlstone Center Breishit: A Journey through Creation Join us for an inspirational Shabbaton weekend filled with Jewish learning,
When I was a kid, my parents gave me Chanukah presents each night. I know that many people don't do it that way. They consider it the height of consumerism to give out eight gifts, one every night. But it's how I grew up and it's precious to me. I'm
My local Orthodox Jewish day school, the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, has been on a green roll. It’s especially inspiring because it doesn’t seem like just one person has been pushing it. It’s more like a group of people slowly came to the same conclusion, that there should be
Observing my own year of mourning has made me more attuned to others’ sadness. More attuned to the requests for prayers, to the losses of my friends and neighbors. I’ve been sending more condolence notes and attending more shivas. Noticing the other mourners saying Kaddish. I don’t think it’s really
In the month after my mother died, I suddenly looked around at my house and saw certain things that were just unacceptable to me. Things that I felt my mother was being polite about. She rarely judged things in my house; she had come to the conclusion that I had
Back in the spring, I wrote a blog post saying that I wasn’t trying to save the world right now. As I’ve been pondering how to get back into the work of saving the world, I’ve bumped up against a big problem. If I’m going to try to save the
From June 9 to June 13, I had the great privilege of participating for the third time in the annual ROI Summit, a gathering of 150 young Jewish innovators from around the world. The ROI Summit is the entry point into the ROI community, an ongoing resource for young Jewish
Did you know? According to ENERGY STAR (www.energystar.gov/congregations), most congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30% by investing strategically in efficient equipment, facility upgrades and maintenance. It's the perfect program for your congregation to join as part of the Year of Action. With free information and technical support
On Sunday, I planted my first garden. We planted it in a little corner of our back yard, where we hope the sun will be strong enough and the fence will keep out the deer. It's a garden built on hope. I’m not a gardener. When I was a kid,
During the 49 days between Pesach and Shavuot we count the Omer. With its connection to the land, this is also a great time to increase our connection with and commitment to the planet. Here's how it works. Several years ago, Canfei Nesharim created materials to help us make the
Last year, I got involved in a state level legislative campaign promoting wind power in Maryland. Working with our local Interfaith Power and Light, I had the opportunity to speak in support of this bill at a town hall meeting on November 3, 2011. (See the text of what I
