Uncategorized


All we need is love

The kids are here. 183 screaming, excited and overly energetic 2nd-8th graders, and they are ready to change the world. Rather, we want them to be ready, but, is it reasonable for adults to expect these campers to make significant social change from our camp bubble in upstate New York? Is it fair of us to ask them to attempt this mission that my generation and the generations before have failed at? I am not sure, but I do know that we can and must expect a higher level of compassion and caring this summer. Yesterday, while staking the pepper plants growing in our ...

Read More


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 transportation across the Andes and Amazon basin. In these parts of the world, citizens have begun to recognize their ...

Read More


New Superheroes In Kids Animated Series Are All About Saving The Environment

By Alona Volinsky Photos by Amir and Liat Shahar Could children be taught to think that being environmentalists is super cool? Israeli couple, Amir and Liat Shahar, a kindergarten teacher and a Yoga instructor, believe they have found the formula. The couple is working on a animated children’s series, Leafers, which tells the story of 4 super-powered siblings and their friend, who protect and save the world from environmental disasters. In each episode the kids go to a different location in the world that requires an urgent interference in order to ...

Read More


What is Jewish Sustainability – Jewish Agency for Israel Assembly Session

Introduction & celebration Hello, My name is Einat Kramer. I am the founding director of Teva Ivri - an organization promoting Jewish sustainability in Israel. I am here with my friends & colleagues from the environmental movement in Israel that will facilitate the round tables sessions. Together, we are part of a far-reaching movement - the Jewish environmental movement. This movement is spread all over the world and getting bigger every day. This movement is made up of thousands of individuals from all streams of Judaism, ...

Read More


Goal-setting for campers

When setting goals, the more specific and achievable we make them, the more likely we can reach them! Below is a fun list of goals our campers can look through in considering their own goals for their summer at Eden Village Camp. This is just a brainstorm to get them started! ~ Farm • Make challah from scratch • Learn to use a solar cooker • Make a cob oven • Experience a farm not just as a place of food but of food, fiber, fun, fuel, farmacy, beauty and community • Leave camp with the confidence that if I want, I can create and maintain my own garden on some ...

Read More


What we learn from our teens

JEI has a teen environmental group that has been making waves (figuratively). Although only in existence for two years, this group of young people has educated others in the Jewish community on important issues such as how to green your synagogue, the dangers of polystyrene and the benefits of using rain barrels and native plants. When the next generation speaks passionately about these issues, people listen and learn. Many thanks, JEI teens!

Read More


What’s the Story?

How do you motivate people? In the Jewish-environmental movement, it seems that we share fact after fact about the environmental challenges we face, and list after list of things that people can do to make a difference. We’ve also gotten good at telling people what Jewish values should motivate them, and bringing them outdoors to grow food or see the beauty of nature. While we’ve made some headway as a movement, we certainly have not mastered environmental motivation in the Jewish community. The key to understanding motivation is that it ...

Read More


Jewcology Celebrates our 200th Day!

Mazel tov! We're excited to be celebrating Jewcology's 200th day! Jewcology now features: 484 resources for synagogues, schools, communities and Jewish institutions (shared in the Idea Box) 342 registered users 253 blog postings 34 communities 24 video "questions of the week" featuring our partner organizations In honor of this happy anniversary, we have awarded the Jewcology Leaf to our most active participants. You can see the leaf in the corner of the profile pictures of our top participants. Look on the site to see who got the leaf, and particip...

Read More


Leadership Training at Hazon Food Conference, August 21

Are you educating the Jewish community about protecting the environment? Have you faced challenges with: motivating people into action? inspiring Jews who don’t have the same values as you? or moving a community into activism and shared commitment? Jewcology is partnering with educators from Harvard University on a new leadership training intended to address these specific issues, in order to empower Jews who are seeking to educate Jewish communities about the importance of protecting the environment. Date: Sunday August 21 Time: 10:30am-6:30pm...

Read More


The world is sprouting at Camp Sprout Lake

It has been three days of hard work, blisters, and buckets of sweat, but it is almost time to sprout, literally. Next week, the campers of Young Judea Sprout Lake in upstate New York will arrive. For this eight-week summer, I have one goal in mind, to make clear the intimate connection our tradition has with the earth. As staff has slowly trickled in from across Israel, Canada and the United States, I am impressed by the continual excitement when they meet “the Garden Guy”. The desire to dig, plant and labor is ever present. I believe this spirit is ...

Read More


Jewcology Question of the Week #24

Carole Caplan, Past President of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston, Illinois, asks Jewcology's question of the week: "What environmental book have you finished most recently?"

Read More


Wanted: Superheroes

In the middle of the night, I heard the sound of running water outside. It was 4:42 am and I was staying in a beach house on the South Jersey shore. At first, I thought it must be the sound of an air conditioner, or a toilet running, or a drainpipe filtering some rain. But the sound went on. Running water - wasting water - drives me crazy (so much waste and so many without water all around the world), so I dressed quickly and crept outside into the pre-dawn light. There, behind the house, was the outdoor shower, absolutely gushing water, from both the upper ...

Read More


Mikveh recycling!

Check out this post: An article about mikveh recycling on Ynet. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4026366,00.html Thanks to Aaron Day Nitkin for sharing this.

Read More


How counting to 50 can heal the planet

Last week we completed the Sefirat Ha-Omer, the counting of the 49 day period between Pesach and Shavuot, culminating with the celebration of Shavuot, which falls on the 50th day. In agricultural terms, this is a period of waiting in between the barley harvest and the wheat harvest in Israel. In religious terms, this period is a time for preparation and transformation that preceeds Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Sefirat Ha-Omer is very similar to the mitzva of Sefirat Ha-yovel, whereby we are enjoined to count 49 years and consecrate the 50th ...

Read More


Jewcology Question of the Week #23

Tiferet Sassona, Volunteer Coordinator at Kayam Farm, asks Jewcology's question of the week: "Who is your Jewish Environmental role model?"

Read More


Playing Politics With The Environment

Following politics can be frustrating, to say the least. Whoever said that ignorance is bliss may have hit the nail on the head when it comes to ordinary citizens and their choice whether to take an interest in elections and the decisions that our elected leaders make in regards to policy. This is especially true when there is a leader who gains your respect because he/she bucks their party (either Democrat or Republican) and makes a decision based on both the information presented and on that elected officials set of values. It seems to be me, that more often ...

Read More


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 my head, and I have always hated this song. For most Jews in Israel or North America, Germany represents death and ...

Read More


The Story of Us: Growing Community and Inspiring Action

As Jewish environmental leaders, what drives us to do the work we do? Is it a single transformative experience? Or a longer build-up over months or years? Some of us grew up with an attachment to nature. For others of us, meeting someone whose father died from pesticide exposure, or participating in the first Earth Day back in 1970, or, more recently, watching Al Gore in the film “An Inconvenient Truth,” was a call to action. Or for some of us, maybe it was just finally becoming part of a group that also preferred stargazing over “Dancing with the ...

Read More


Tikkun Olam: A Jewish View on Recycling

A common misconception is that Judaism has no opinions on staying green, or even opposes the concept. I find this ironic, as Judaism vehemently supports saving the environment, especially recycling. Tikkun olam, which literally means fixing the world, is the Jewish theory that supports recycling. It is first mentioned in the Mishna, part of the Talmud (Oral Torah), in the context of fixing the world from a social perspective. It is also mentioned three times every day in prayer, reminding the observant Jew of his or her obligation to repair the world on a ...

Read More


Planet Jewish

According to Jewish teachings, human beings were placed upon the Earth with the responsibility “to till it and to tend it” (Genesis 2:15). One way way “to till and tend the Earth” is by composting. Composting, the practice of mixing decaying organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, to create a nutrient rich fertilizer, has many benefits. Who wouldn’t want to save the planet one piece of trash at a time while producing a plant food that would make master gardeners proud. Read more at http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/blog.aspx?id=345.

Read More