Dear Jewcology community,

So, tomorrow is my birthday. I'm turning 36! I've been having a lot of trepidation about this. A lot of my identity has been tied up in being a "young Jewish leader." Several years ago I was chosen as one of the New York Jewish Week's "36 under 36." So, it's a little scary for me to be "not under 36" anymore. I'm coming to the end of my generational box.

In honor of this significant birthday — my transition to 36 — I'm asking my friends and family to help me raise funds for Jewcology.

It's been a big year for Jewcology. Specifically, it’s been a Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, with new learning materials released on a wide range of Jewish environmental topics. These materials have been shared widely in the Jewish community, including by such diverse Jewish publications as TorahCafe.com, the Jerusalem Post, Hirhurim (Torah Musings), and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. The final materials will be released over the next two months. In total, it’s the most comprehensive set of resources ever created on the topic of Torah and the environment.

I encourage you to learn these lessons and continue to share them with your communities in order to bring this wisdom into our daily lives! Compilations will be available later in 2013.

A lot of other exciting things have been going on behind the scenes with Jewcology. We've got some exciting new features in the works, which we'll be sharing with you very soon! And as you can see from the blog space, we've got a fresh new team of bloggers sharing their ideas and resources every day.

Starting this Tu b’Shevat, Jewcology will be taking our learning to the next level with a Year of Action, focusing on the mitzvah of Bal Tashchit. It’s going to be exciting! We will address food waste and opportunities to save energy, topics that we’ve learned a lot about this year. We’re also planning some great calculator tools on our Jewcology.com social media portal, so that everyone can see the difference we’re making together as a community. We expect to have major partners in the Jewish environmental world, and to engage the entire Jewish community in shared action to protect the environment.

In honor of my birthday, would you consider a donation to support Jewcology's Year of Action on December 5th?

You can donate here: http://www.razoo.com/story/Support-Jewcology

Thank you so much for your support!!