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Think Globally, Act Locally, and Increase Happiness

Shalom Friends, The days approaching Purim are an auspicious time for increasing happiness. Happiness can be experienced in any number of ways. There are those who draw joy from observing our beautiful world alive with spring blossoms. Others find sparks of pleasure in the small details of daily life. And, of course, there are those who glimpse joy in the increasing social-environmental action in Israel and throughout the Jewish world. Recently, I have found great joy in a unique Teva Ivri activity – a joint seminar for the principals of Kiryat ...

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Question of the Week #15

Farmer Emily Jane Freed asks Jewcology's Question of the Week from a field of rosemary in Santa Cruz, CA.

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Environmental Tip of the Week: Know your local recycling policies!

Cross posted in Environmental Tip of the Week Just Google recycling policies [your city] and you should get relevant sites. I found a site with Seattle's recycling ordinance, for example, that apartment building landlords can put up as a sign. If you live in an apartment building, it's worth checking its policies against the local laws to make sure they comply.

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Finding Tiferet

תפארת or Tiferet is the sixth sefira in the Tree of Life in Kabbalah, ancient rabbinic mysticism. There are ten sefirot and together the system roots spirituality with the physical self and attributes of Hashem. This particular sefira is commonly associated with balance and integrating many aspects into one whole being. תפארת is understood as the balance between the sefirot chesed, compassion, and gevurah, control. I am on a constant search for balance. A twenty year old from suburban Massachusetts, I am challenged with balancing a full academic ...

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1br Storybook Stone Cottage on Farm for Rent

For Long Term Rent by Owner: Storybook Stone Cottage on Farm 
Great location: Metro (8 min.); I-695 (8 min.); Owings Mills Mall (12 min.) Quiet Oasis: Storybook stone cottage surrounded by Woods and Pastures (7+ acres) One-bedroom/loft with cathedral ceiling, picture windows, four skylights,
Hardwood floors, spiral staircase. Sunny kitchen with lots of windows overlooking natural scenery. Dining area, living room, office nook, enclosed stone porch. 
 Full Bath with whirlpool tub/shower and marble floor. Utilities: Central air/oil heat ...

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Jewish Urban Farming Fellowship, Berkeley, CA

Urban Adamah, based in Berkeley, CA, is a three-month intensive residential leadership training program for young adults ages 20-29, that integrates urban organic farming, social justice work and progressive Jewish living and learning. Twelve Urban Adamah Fellows are selected each season to operate an organic farm and educational center, intern with community organizations addressing issues at the intersection of poverty, food security and environmental stewardship, and learn an approach to Jewish tradition that opens the heart and builds joyful community. Applicants do ...

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The Joys of Event Planning

I admit it. Most of my Jewish environmental career has been rather intellectual. I like to think about what the Torah says and I like to learn about our philosophical and scientific challenges. I like to apply new concepts to old problems - or old concepts to new problems - and see what the answers yield. I don't have all that much experience as an event planner. But there is a leadership methodology that I think could help us win "hearts and minds" that have so far not been a part of our Jewish environmental movement. In our Jewcology grant, we ...

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1200 Jewish Young Adults Walk Into a Casino…

From March 5-8, I had the pleasure of participating in the first ever Tribefest, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. This fantastic event put on by the Jewish Federations of North America, brought together 1200 young adults from across North America to ‘Connect, Explore and Celebrate’ their Jewish identity, culture and community. While not particularly an environmental friendly event (judged by the location, quantity of disposable dishes, etc.) the organizers went out of their way to include two environmentally themes sessions, one on ...

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Raise Your Mask Purim – The Fountainheads

An a capella Purim music video parody by The Fountainheads. Graduates and students of Midreshet Ein Prat, Israelhttp://einprat.org/thefountainheads.php Based on Pink's "Raise Your Glass." All sounds made with voice and mouth. Vocals: Yoav Hoze, Shani Lachmish, Ayelet Beazley, Tamar Gur, and Noa Yammer. Choreography: Edeete Suher and Orna Pfefferman Produced by Shiran Yalovich, Smadar Tsook, Keren Apfelbaum, and Stav Taub. Film by Ben R. Lyrics by Ben R. and Ari L.: ...

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On Overpopulation

There are a good many issues upon which Environmental and Jewish values seem to be in lock-step, and then there are those challenging issues where our environmental values and our Jewish values seem to come into conflict. Perhaps no issue presents such divergent viewpoints between the Environmental and Jewish perspective as that of “overpopulation”. As our planet is set to cross the 7 Billion human threshold this year, and environmental problems continue to grow exponentially worse, there is no better time to address this issue than the present. ...

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Jewcology Celebrates our 100th Day!

Mazel tov! We're excited to be celebrating the 100th day since Jewcology's launch on November 29. In honor of this happy anniversary, we are awarding the new 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 participate actively to earn your own! Jewcology has come a long way in the last 100 days. In just 100 days, the site has generated over 10,000 visits from nearly 6,000 unique visitors representing ...

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Question of the Week #14

Laura Bellows, director of the Teva Learning Center's Congregational and Community programs, asks the Jewcology Question of the Week.

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Environmental Tip of the Week: Support efforts to conserve marine environments!

Cross posted on The Daily Yay! and Environmental Tip of the Week You can provide financial support toward this goal and have a fun, educational experience at the same time by visiting an aquarium and paying the admission fee. My husband, baby Rena, father-in-law, and step-mother-in-law had a wonderful time on Sunday at the Seattle Aquarium. Rena got to hold a starfish and play with felt sea creatures. There were so many pretty fish, and the exhibits were arranged quite artistically! It's my favorite aquarium so far. If you're not in Seattle, check out a ...

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Welcome to Miami

This is our first post to Jewcology.com, but not the first of our tour. To read our previous posts, go to topsyturvybus.org. But then come back here! Welcome to Miami The Sunshine State is no lie. Since we arrived in this tropical paradise both the weather and the people have been warm, bright, and sunny. In fact, this Topsy Turvy Educator, while clamboring over seven-foot-high-snow banks this winter back in New England, had forgotten how hot "hot" could be. So our pre-Shabbat plans last week required time for a stop at ...

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Honey From the Rock: Resilient Shabbat – Sustaining the Ability to Be

Thinking back to my experience at the ICLEI[1] World Congress in Capetown, South Africa in 2006, one thing in particular stands out in my mind’s eye. I was sitting in an explanatory session of the different topical themes that the congress was offering. A presenter rose to the podium and asked us to close our eyes, take in a deep breath, exhale, and do so again. In closing she informed us that we just had practiced resilience[2]. I learned an important lesson from that 15 second meditation…which is that resilience, the ability to restore, to ...

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The Privilege of CBI

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of teaching my first class at Congregation Beth Israel’s (CBI) Hebrew High School in Charlottesville, VA. I say a privilege because the students at CBI are curious, enthusiastic, and intelligent, but that isn’t all. It is also a privilege to be sharing some of what I learned living and growing in Israel from 2006 – 2010 as the founder and executive director of Earth’s Promise. The class is part of a two sequence workshop entitled “Israel: Beyond the Conflict”, that Rabbi Tom Gutherz and I develo...

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Jewcology Leadership Trainings

Connecting to the Heart: A Leadership Tool for Engaging the Unengaged Are you seeking to make environmental change in local or national Jewish communities?  Looking for ways to move people that do not always share the same views as you?   Would you like to learn how to use a leadership skill to connect to people’s hearts? How can we use the stories of our lives to inspire, teach, and motivate others?  In this training we will learn to share the experiences and values that have led us to devote our lives to Jewish-environmental education and action, and to connect ...

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350 eARTh: Climate Change Art Visible From Space

This resource's content is attached.

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DC Admin Position with National Religious Partnership on the Environment

Office Manager / Executive Admin Assistant The National Religious Partnership for the Environment seeks an experienced, versatile, Office Manager / Executive Administrative Assistant (EAA) for its new office in Washington, DC. The Partnership, founded in 1993, is a highly respected, national alliance of four major independent faith groups (the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Council of Churches of Christ, the Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life, and the Evangelical Environmental Network), which undertake programs for environm...

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Question of the Week #13

Dr. Alon Tal, co-founder of the Green Zionist Alliance: The Grassroots Campaign for a Sustainable Israel, asks the Jewcology question of the week. What will you do? Share below.

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