Noam Dolgin
Featured Causes: Teva Learning Alliance, Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Green Zionist Alliance
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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 the Jewish environmental movement. Two sessions where held on environmental issues, with more than 60 people attending at least one of the sessions and ...
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, I was struck by something in particular. Every major character in this story, goes out of his or her way to fight for what he or she believes in, even when it is inconve...
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 society? Indeed, environmental concerns seem to be fairly low on the international priorities list these days. Look at the recent failure ...
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 project, making Vancouver a cool place to be young and Jewish. It has been a great challenge, but has taken me away from Jewcology and my core passion and pursuits. Unfortunately, my job at ...
Why I Stay Up Past 4am to Write About Saving the World
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 hours later. Why do I do it? Why stay up late writing a simple blog post? I wish I could say I am writing this blog in solidarity with the protesters at Occupy, in Tahrir Square, Tel Aviv, ...
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 galvanizing the continent. What does it mean to celebrate this weekly holy day in solidarity with ...
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 Kippur, fasting is first on their mind. Fasting has become a central tenet of Yom Kippur practice, but what is a fast and why do we do it? Three of the ...
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 farming or gleaning? Why a grape vine and fig tree? Why not under the string beans or cherry tomatoes? As I sit in my back yard, positioning myself between my grape ...
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 exist due my relationship with the Earth, I know it to be true. The fact is, each of us breaths eats and ...
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 plants grow wild, a ...
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 they jealous It gave a white flower, then a small pea Which reached out from its blanket for something to see. The pea grew quite quickly, we’ve had lots of ...
Where Is Our Revolution? A Call for a North American Sustainable Spring!
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 to clashes in France and Greece. Indigenous peoples of Bolivia, Peru and other South American countries have been working to block mining, drilling and ...
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) was an amazing and eye opening experience, and since the end of the conference, I have not been able to get the song ‘Am Israel Chai’(The Jewish people live) out of ...
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 of Israel, Jews around the world found themselves with torn allegiances. As Diaspora Jews we have always found ourselves with emotional, spiritual and historic ties ...
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 for rain or other forms of precipitation, daily in the amidah and on special occasions like the 1stday ofpesach andhoshanah rabbah. We often recite al netilat yadiyah, ...
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 water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt. – Shemot (Exodus) 7:21 The Nile was a miraculous source of life for the ...
The Future of Nuclear Energy and the Threats of Coal & Natural Gas
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 has been haunting me for weeks. “Unfortunately, while nuclear energy may have long term environmental consequences, the imminent threat of climate change and the ...
Wilderness Canoe Trip For Jewish Educators, Camp and Youth Group Leaders
* 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 Adventures* • Noam Dolgin, a leader in Jewish environmental education (www.noamdolgin.com) For more ...
Top 5 ‘Religious’ Excuses for Not Believing in Climate Change Rebuked
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 destroy his home. His response, “Nothing to worry about, G-d will save me.” A man comes door to door telling everyone to evacuate, &ldquo...
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 of interest, it was clear that food, nature based and service based initiatives had an attraction to at ...