306 results for tag: Education

Congratulations to Rachael Copp Cohen!

Thanks so much to all of you for your wonderful postings on why you celebrate trees - as part of our raffle for the Isabella Freedman Tu b'Earthday event on February 3-5, 2012. We have chosen the raffle winner, and the free pass goes to Rachael Copp Cohen! Jewcology is proud to be a sponsor of the Tree b'Earthday retreat, and we really encourage as many of you to register as possible. You can get more information and register at http://isabellafreedman.org/tubshevat. Planning to attend the retreat anyway? Wish you could go and wanting to connect to the Isabella Freedman community! Join the Isabella Freedman community on ...

Tu B’Shvat Fruits — Meaningful Foods!

It is a widespread custom on Tu B’Shvat to eat of the seven species – five fruits and two grains – associated with the Land of Israel. The Land of Israel is described in Deut 8:7-10 in terms of the resources that it offers, “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you may eat food without stint, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper. When you have eaten your fill, ...

Educating Teens About Environmental Issues (CJN November 2011)

This "Sustainable Jew" article appeared inthe Canadian Jewish News November 3, 2011 During the time surrounding the High Holiday period, I had the opportunity to speak to Grade 8 Science classes at a number of the Toronto Jewish Day Schools. My talks are generally drawn from materials I have access to as a result of being trained by Al Gore as a Climate Reality Project volunteer presenter. Recently, Mr. Gore hosted a 24 hour effort, 1 for each time zone in the world, where local speakers would explain climate change and global warming in the global and local context. What was new this time were some of the videos and ...

Schools Measure Footprints (CJN April 2011)

This "Sustainable Jew" column originally appeared in the Canadian Jewish News, April 14, 2011 Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental education program for kindergarten to Grade 12. Developed and run by school boards,the program allows students to acquire ecological literacy and learn about practices that will make them environmentally responsible citizens. In addition, Ontario EcoSchools helps to improve operations within school buildings in order to reduce environmental impacts. (http://bit.ly/tsj1104-01) Several Toronto Jewish day schools participate in the program including the Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School, the ...

What does it mean to be a “Sustainable Jew” (CJN Sept 2010)

This column was originally published in the Canadian Jewish News - September 22, 2010 Have you ever thought of Sukkot as a holiday which celebrates the Sustainable Jew In ancient Israel, Sukkot had a major agricultural focus. The celebration was a thanksgiving for the fruit harvest and the blessings of nature in the year that had passed. Today, Sukkot is a Jewish Festival where we step out of the comfort of our own homes, and enter temporary dwellings where we are exposed to the vagaries of the weather while performing the mitzvah of “Leshev Bsukah”. As you sit in the Sukkah, think about the roof. The "Sechach" ...

Pre-Tu b’Shvat Brunch Lecture: Lessons from the olive tree for families, Jewish unity, and the Social Security system

On Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, I will be presenting a brunch lecture at the YM-YWHA of Union County, NJ, from Noon to 1 PM on "Lessons from the olive tree for families, Jewish unity, and the Social Security system." Highlights include: The Chanukah story they DIDN’T tell you as a child Why a nineteenth-century rabbi used botany to make sense of Kabbalat Shabbat The hidden tree and advice to adult children and parents in Psalms 92 and 128 The fee for the program is $3 for YM-YWHA and JOY members and $8 for all others. For more information or to reserve a place, contact Susan Silberner at ssilberner@yahoo....

Great Video – Get Ready for Tree B’Earthday!

The trees are God's great alphabet: With them He writes in shining green Across the world His thoughts serene. ~Leonora Speyer

Seeds

(reposted from Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin's blog: http://blog.bjen.org/ dated January 6, 2012) In Genesis 1, on the sixth day, God creates man and woman after having created all the rest of Planet Earth. In a gracious effort to provide some guidance, some instruction to these bewildered, befuddled neophytes on how this novelty of life could possibly work, God says, "Look around. All this grandeur is there for you." 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.&r...

My Hope That More Jews Will Engage on Energy Related Issues

I recently wrote an article for the Pace Environmental Law Review Blog that I have posted below. For this post on Jewcology, I wanted to expand on my Law Review post by expressing how I view these events from a Jewish standpoint. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," is a very hot topic these days in many different circles. This is an issue being debated by politicians, lawyers, community zoning boards, landowners, corporations, neighbors, and religious communities. In each of these situations the individuals involved are bringing different priorities to the table. Some view fracking as a great economic opportunity, others view ...

Exciting Tu b’Shevat Raffle – Win a Great Prize!

Exciting Tu b’Shevat Raffle - Win a Great Prize! Jewcology and Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center are pleased to announce an exciting new raffle opportunity. You can win an all-inclusive free pass to the Isabella Freedman Tree b’Earthday Tu b’Shevat Retreat (a $200 value!). It’s easy to enter! Just post your favorite reason for celebrating trees in the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center community on Jewcology (www.jewcology.org). Raffle Rules: Entries must be posted in the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center community on Jewcology between January 5 - 17. You must have a profile ...

Jewish Environmentalism or Jewish Ecology?

As a member of the self described ‘Jewish environmental movement’, I find it necessary from time to time to ask myself what it means to be a Jewish environmentalist. Having covered that in my last blog post, I want to ask a follow up question. As Jewish environmentalists, are we operating ecologically? Do our organizations, institutions, and members observe, interact with, and learn from the multivalent relational systems present in the world? If we examine the biblical narrative of Abraham, it is clear that a careful, considered questioning of relationships is fundamental to a healthy Jewish experience. This analytical process is ...

Cisterns or Trees…?

(reposted from a blog by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, http://blog.bjen.org/) There is a wonderful teaching in the Jerusalem Talmud which reads: "Rabbi Yohanan, speaking on behalf of Rabbi Yossi, says: 'Just as they (the other rabbis) believe that civilization depends on cisterns, so I believe that civilization depends on trees.'" The work of blending civilization and nature has always been a challenge. In this "man vs nature" tug of war, we must ask, who wins? What has precedence over what; what should yield to what? Gray infrastructures - the built environment of houses, streets, marketplaces, and water systems ...

Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment

Core teachings on 18 topics linking Torah and the environment were released between Tu b'Shevat 5772 and Tu b'Shevat 5773 as part of Jewcology's Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim and a host of other organizations who shared materials across the Jewish community. The materials were shared at least 145 times on the web, in at least 99 social media postings, and reached over 51,000 people during the course of the year, as part of a Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment. The materials comprise the most comprehensive set of learning materials on Torah and the environment ever created, and are intended ...

Teva Ivri Is Spreading the Light in Jerusalem – Meet JiVE!

Teva Ivri Is Spreading the Light in Jerusalem – Meet JiVE! At Hannukah, we learn that even one little bit of oil can spread a lot of light - all it takes is a group of dedicated Jews to uncover it. Teva Ivri is excited to introduce you to a new project which is helping young Jews light the spark of their Jewish identity and helping the holy city of Jerusalem to shine. Meet JiVE: Jerusalem Volunteers for the Environment , Teva Ivri’s newest innovative environmental education program! JiVE connects young Jews from around the world to Israel through community service and Jewish learning in Jerusalem. Participants ...

No Free Lunch- Not Even a Data Snack

Exactly thirty years ago, a small quiz appeared in Co-Evolution Quarterly, with the hip sounding, slang trumps grammar name of “Where You At”. Check out these quiz questions: “How many days until the full moon? Can you name five resident and five migratory bird species in your area? Can you name the soil series you are standing upon? Can you trace your water from source to tap? Where does your garbage go?” This quiz captured a sea change in modern environmentalism; the sea change that declares that single issues and single actions are never enough, the sea change that inspires many of us to live our lives with fuller ...

Olives — the fruit of light and metaphor

As today is the first day of Chanukah, I think it a fitting time to reflect on the virtues of olives and olive oil; their benefits, and some of their hidden meanings. The story of Chanukah is the age-old struggle of the Jewish people to remain Jewish in a non-Jewish world. According to the Talmudic legend, when the Hasmoneans recaptured and cleansed the Temple following their victory over the Syrians, they were able to find only a single vessel of oil sufficient for one day's lighting of the Menorah. But, as the story goes, a miracle occurred, and it burned for eight days. The nightly kindling of the Menorah with its increasingly ...

There’s Light.

We love this time of year. The opportunity to share special moments with family, lighting candles, eating latkes, and sharing special community celebrations. As we come together to celebrate happy moments, Chanukah is a great time to share Torah learning and to remember to be mindful of our energy actions. Chanukah reminds us that even when things may seem dark, there's light. To share the light this year, Canfei Nesharim's website features the following resources: • The Miracle of the Vessels, a Torah teaching to learn with your family and community, with source sheet and discussion questions. &b...

The Everyday Greening of Teshuvah

Dear Friends, I’d like to open a kettle of worms. To reveal the concealed. Though quite honestly, I’m feeling a little guilty about sharing it. I’d like to dig into the anguish and sometimes near crushing feelings that writing about tremendous mountains of electronic waste stir up (see my past blog here). Living in America in the new millennium, I’m aware that even the most “virtuous” of green paths cannot escape deep impacts and repercussions. After all, the problems are so large, and my everyday life is intimately wrapped inside the causes. Rabbi Heschel has a famous declaration, spoken to express ...

“Simple Actions for Jews to Help Green the Planet”

WHAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF JEWS TO SAVE OUR PLANET? Thousands of years ago our ancestors lived with a keen awareness of their dependence on the natural systems that support life. Through their daily interactions with soil, water, and air, they developed a great respect for the Earth and sensed the presence of the Divine within all of Creation. Although many Jews today have lost this connection, our ancient relationship with nature is nevertheless reflected in Jewish law, in our prayers, in the celebration of our holidays, and in the core values of our tradition. [Our generation needs] to renew the ecological wisdom inherent in Judaism. ...

Wealth & Worth – Sustainable Celebrations

(reposted from Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin's blog: http://blog.bjen.org/, dated December 1, 2011) The Maryland Chapter of the American Jewish Congress is developing a Green and Just Celebrations Guide for the Jewish community of Baltimore. Inspired by a guide of the same name published by Jews United for Justice in Washington, DC, it will be available (fall 2012) through synagogues and on the web, designed to make events and celebrations environmentally friendly, socially responsible, affordable and fun. This is not the first time in Jewish history that the Jewish community has tried to wrestle with excessive and indulgent celebrati...