Report from Tribefest 2012

Report from Tribefest 2012

This past week, 1516 Jewish Young Adults from across North America descend on Las Vegas for a Jewish conference like no other. Most were focused on gambling, night clubs and meeting other Jews, but a small but dedicated group were there to find other eco-conscious Jews and get connected with

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It’s Purim, Stand Up For What You Believe In!

Today is Purim, a strange holiday in Jewish tradition as we are told to get drunk, dress up and act crazy. Plus, throughout the entire book of Esther, G-d who usually features heavily in our texts, never appears. So what is Purim all about? This year upon reading the Megillah,

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Why Tu B’shvat Matters in 2012

The economy is in crisis across much of the USA and Europe, governments are killing their citizens in Syria and Bahrain, and organized crime is dominating Mexico and Central America… This Tu B’shvat how can we worry about environmental issues, when there are so many pressing social issues face our

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Hineni, I’m back!

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been as consistent in my blogging on Jewcology recently, and any of you on my mailing list will not have seen promotional e-mails from me in months. This is because for the past year I have been focused on another

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Why We Occupy Shabbat!

This past Shabbat I participated in Vancouver’s first “Occupy Shabbat.” The thirty of us crammed into Occupy Vancouver’s meditation tent weren’t the only ones celebrating this way. In cities across North America, Jews of all types are joining together to Occupy Shabbat in conjunction with the Occupy Together movement now

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Isaiah’s Fast: This Yom Kippur, Volunteer, Donate & Mobilize

Yom Kippur, the ‘holiest’ day of the Jewish year. Millions of Jews worldwide get dressed up in white or their best attire and sit together in synagogue, hungry, lamenting all the bad things we have done as a community of flawed individuals. When the average person is asked about Yom

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Sit Under a Vine and Fig Tree, and You Shall Not be Afraid!

‘Every one shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for Hashem has spoken.’ Micah 4.4 What is it about growing your own fruits and vegetables that alleviates fear? Why does Micah believe Hashem has spoken through the act of

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I am not an Environmentalist

My name is Noam Dolgin. I am environmental educator, activist, organizer, advocate, campaigner, crusader, agitator, professional, and I aspire to someday play the role of envrio-guru. But I am not an environmentalist! I do not ascribe to a ‘distinct doctrine’ known as environmentalism. It is not my ‘belief’ that I

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PotatOde

The 2nd in a series of poems about vegetable growing in my garden. Enjoy! PotatOde I’m growing potatoes it’s ever so sweet They grow underground and taste good to eat They take up much space as the plant it abounds You pile up dirt over the tubers in mounds The

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Reflections on a Snow Pea

Reflections on a Snow Pea Green, flat, with a little elf hat Crispy, sweet, great to eat I wanted a snow pea, I planted a seed It grew past the radishes, carrots and weeds It reached to the sky, up my stakes and trellis My neighbors looked on, boy were

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The Renewal of Jewish Life in Germany

This past week I had the pleasure of being an invited presenter at Limmud Germany, which took place about 1 hour East of Berlin at a former East Germany workers retreat. Being one of 500 German Jews in attendance, (the rest actually live in Germany; I just carry the passport)

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A People of Two Lands

The Jewish people were, for much of the last century described as “a people without a land,” but that is not totally accurate. Many would say that in fact that many Jews were and continue to be “a people of two lands.” Even before the founding of the modern State

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Holy! Healthy! Omnipresent! (H20)

Yesterday marked the transition in our annual cycle where we switched from praying for rain to praying for dew during the amidah. This ritual act, in combination with the two washings of our hands during the seder got me thinking about water, H2O. We have lots of prayers In Judaism

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Fracking Up Passover – The First Plague

Courtesy: Jim Lando, Dor Hadash Social Action Committee seder supplement 2011/5771 We offer this reading and letter writing opportunity for you and your guests this Pesach. Hag Sameach! The First Plague And the fish that were in the Nile died and the Nile stunk, and the Egyptians could not drink

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IdeaSlammin’ in Vancouver!

Hiking / Outdoors Club, a Jewish food initiative and a local organization to connect people to volunteer opportunities are just three of nine majors idea developed and hundreds more presented by young adults from across Vancouver’s Jewish community at IdeaSlam. While social, spiritual and networking opportunities also spotlighted as areas

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