Category: Uncategorized

Earth Etude for Elul 27 by Akiko Yonekawa As a child growing up in Los Angeles, I had simple plans for adult life: to be an artist, teacher, actor, and/or […]

Earth Etude for Elul 26 by Rabbi Marisa Elana James We do live in overwhelming times, as have so many of our ancestors, but I suspect that my great-grandparents’ lack […]

Earth Etude for Elul 25 by Rabbi Steven J. Rubenstein, BCC Rabbi Steven J. Rubenstein, BCC ~ Director of Spiritual Care at the Jewish Home, Rochester, New York; author of […]

Past, Present, and Future by Thea Iberall, PhD ~I’m at a shoreline retreat rocking on the dining hall porch. I’m thinking about how vulnerable everything is: people, the land, nature. […]

Because climate threats are increasingly apparent, Jewish Vegan Life (JVL) has started  a unique, potentially game-changing initiative to reduce them, called “Shofar for Change.” It involves a Zoom event featuring  the blowing […]

Because climate threats are increasingly apparent, Jewish Vegan Life (JVL) has started  a unique, potentially game-changing initiative to reduce them, called “Shofar for Change.” It involves a Zoom event featuring  the blowing […]

On Gardening and Our Spiritual Gardens by Ivy Helman, Ph.D. “And the divine sent the human out of the Garden of Eden, to till the soil, from where humanity had […]

As the shofar blasts pierce the air this Rosh Hashanah, they carry with them the ancient call for reflection, repentance, and renewal. But this year, a new sound will echo […]

The Thread of Elul by Carly Sachs ~What does thunder say and what stormor visitor has come to quench the secret thirst of the soul and how different the soft […]

GoldenRod’s Teaching for Elul by Kohenet Sephirah Oshkello ~As we journey through the Wheel of the Year, it is a gift to cultivate the soil and learn from the cycles […]

Humans and Beavers by Judith Black A short reflection The beaver’s small black nose was gliding towards its lodge.The people sat idling in their SUVs waiting impatiently for the 4 […]

Greenwashing Initiatives Pollute the Mikvah by Andy Oram ~Insincere gestures toward saving the climate fill the news these days. Governments classify biomass as a low-carbon energy source when many types […]

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall… by Rabbi Margaret Frisch-Klein “Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall…”Trees are like friends. Torah is a Tree of Life, so says Proverbs. We sing this as […]

Photo by Sheryl Shapiro

Appreciating Nature’s Gifts by Rabbi Susan Elkodsi ~The tiny island country of Iceland sits atop two tectonic plates, the North American plate, and the Eurasian plate, which accounts for most […]

Zazu Dreams – Between the Scarab and the Dung Beetle –Cautionary. Fable for the Anthropocene Era by Cara Judea Alhadeff, PhD ~Our collaboration combines four generations: Zazu (the dreamer), Cara/Mommia […]

Love is the Breath of the Soul by Rabbi Dr. Nachshon Siritsky Earth: Adamah In Hebrew, earth (adamah) is also (adam) which is humanity. Both have the same three-letter root […]

Uncovering the Moon: The Compass of Compassion by Rabbi Margie Jacobs ~Growing up, I was taught that our prayers on the High Holidays were an effort to move God, who […]

Learn to Acknowledge Defeat by Rabbi Paul Plotkin ~I have been a vegetable and herb gardener for the last 30 years. That means that I have had the pleasure of […]

God’s eyes on the Land: Why our ancestors chose a land “of hills and valleys” by Rabbi David Seidenberg ~In Parashat Eikev, Deut 11:10-12, the Torah compares the land of […]