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
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,
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
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
Disclaimer: This post is true, it’s is written live, without notes and without editing. Like a moth by a flame I am driven to write! Tonight will make 3 nights in a row that I have stayed up past 4am working, and had to get up again less than 4
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
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
‘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
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
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
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
Spring is in the air. The youth and working class of Egypt and Tunisia have overthrown their repressive regimes while Syria, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and other Arab nations are experiencing civil unrest. In Europe, a focus on economic austerity at the expense of the youth and working class has led
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)
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
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
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
Like most of the world, I have been giving a lot of thought recently to the question of nuclear energy. Just 4 weeks ago, before the Fukushimadisaster, I was asked a question about Nuclear energy while presenting at Tribefest in Las Vegas. I gave my standard answer, an answer that
* Backcountry Camping Skills * Jewish Eco-theology * Integrated of Jewish Wilderness Experience Sign up now, this is a trip not to be missed! When: June 23 – 27, 2011 Where: Adirondack National Park, NY How Much: $650.00 Co-leaders: • Rabbi Howard Cohen, founder and senior guide for Burning Bush
A response to growing frustration with the ‘religious’ right and the naïve. Excuse #1: God told Noah that God would not destroy the world again, so it can’t happen. Response: There is a classic story about a man who hears on the radio that a flood is coming and will
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
