170 results for tag: Conservation

Reject Keystone XL

Dec. 2, 2014   Thirteen Jewish organizations, under the umbrella of the Green Hevra, have issued the following joint statement today publicly calling on the U.S. government to reject the Keystone XL pipeline:   It has become abundantly clear that we are consuming far too many fossil fuels. In this Sabbatical/Shmita year, when the Torah calls for deeper gentleness toward the Earth, we are especially conscious of the dangers to the Earth from the drilling, transporting and burning of tar-sands oil. The resources that would be devoted to the Keystone XL pipeline should be devoted instead to initiatives in clean energy, a fast-growing ...

#Yemima, Rachel Imeinu and the Merit of Righteous Women

"When Moshiach [the Messiah] comes, I will be the first to rise up and be in the Holy Temple."

Cranberry Shabbat with Mayan Tikvah

Cranberry Shabbat  Saturday, October 25,  Raindate, November 1 Wachusett Reservoir, Boylston Join us for our annual Cranberry Shabbat. We will intermix songs and prayers with wild cranberry picking, and share a picnic lunch at the end. Please bring something to share and your own drinks and utensils. (Warm soup sounds good for a picnic in October!) Also bring containers for the cranberries. Most of our pickings will be given to a homeless shelter for their Thanksgiving dinner. There may be muddy spots, so be prepared footwear-wise, and it could be windy and chilly along the water. Please RSVP to Ma'yan Tikvah for details.

Earth Etude for Elul 29- Shanah Tovah

photos by Gabi Mezger text by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen   May you find yourself in the new year constantly in motion...   surrounded by love like a seal in water...   reflecting light visible even in the light of those around you...     moving slowly when necessary, yet always steadily...   raging ferociously against the ills and injustices of the world...     with unending energy, unceasing in your efforts like the constantly moving waves...     zeroing in on what is most beautiful and most nourishing...     spreading your wings as wide as possible...     leaping as high as ...

Earth Etude for Elul 28- Sweet and Sour Grapes

by Rabbi Robin Damsky I am in my favorite place at my favorite time: in the garden, in the morning, before the cars have started up, before the noise of lawnmowers and leaf blowers. The crickets are singing, the birds responding. The rising sun’s light filters through the leaves. A beginning.   It has been a tough year in the garden. An endless winter caused a late start and temperatures have been cooler than usual. A call from critter to critter that I cannot hear lets them know there is bounty on my corner. Maybe it’s because the peach tree lost its flowers in a hard spring rain, but squirrels have eaten a fair amount of my produce ...

Earth Etude for Elul 26- We Will be the Change We Want to See

  We will be the change we want to see   I am squatting I am wringing laundry with my hands I am picking chunks of dirt from the soles of my feet   I am learning to smell the open sewer when I breathe in and out   I am walking I am jostling in a vikram, in a small car that must have the air conditioning switched to off in order to make it up the Himalayan Mountain where love calls   I am exhausted I am exhilarated I am joyful   I am fretting as we weave ourselves up the steep slope and you can see where the cars have already fallen off the cliff   I am terrified ...

Earth Etude for Elul 21- What Does Atoning and Returning to God Mean?

by Rabbi Judy Weiss   Ps. 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my rescue. Whom should I fear?" For an entire month before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we focus on atoning and returning to God. But what exactly, in real life terms, does atoning and returning to God mean? We plan our path to return by adding Psalm 27 to our daily prayers. This psalm repeatedly affirms hope in God. It ends with: Ps 27:14 "Let your heart be firm and bold, and hope for the Lord." As Robert Alter comments, the Psalm opens and closes with the same sentiment "It begins by affirming trust in God and reiterates that hopeful confidence, but the trust has to be asserted against ...

Earth Etude for Elul 19- Soul Accounting in the Year of Release

  by Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips   Ecology and economy, spirituality and social justice are directly connected in our Jewish values of heshbon (accountability).  Every time we open our wallets or check our bank balances, we face issues of heshbon — no less than when we search our souls (heshbon hanefesh) during this Season of Turning.   How are we “spending” each day of our lives?   The ancient sage Ben Zoma (Mishnah Avot 4:1) taught that the wise are those who learn from every person; the brave are those who control (literally, “occupy”) their own impulses; the rich are those who rejoice in their ...

Earth Etude for Elul 17- Meditation on Elul

by Richard H. Schwartz   Elul is here. It represents a chance for heightened introspection, an opportunity to do teshuva and improve our lives, before the “Days of Awe,” the days of judgment, the “High holidays” of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The shofar is blown every morning (except on Shabbat) in synagogues during the month of Elul to awaken us from slumber, to remind us to consider where we are in our lives and to urge us to make positive changes.   How should we respond to Elul today? How should we respond when we hear reports almost daily of severe, often record-breaking, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods, ...

Earth Etude for Elul 16- The Compost Bin in Our Hearts

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen   My compost bins are so much more than just a place where compost happens. The area beside the three wire and wood bins is place where I often feel my father’s spirit – he was raised on a farm, and though he became a professional, gardening was in his blood, and he spent much of his spare time in his garden and his orchard.   Yet, it is not just the reminders of my father or the sense of his hovering spirit that gives meaning to my compost bins. They are symbolic of so much – which may be more the truer reason that I think of my father whenever I take out the compost.   We gardeners deposit ...

Why Jewcology Matters

It feels good to be back blogging on Jewcology after a 6 month hiatus.  During this period, my wife gave birth to a baby boy and we moved from NYC to Maryland.  Although it has been a very hectic time, as those with children or nieces/nephews know, the birth of a child changes one's perspective on the world.   I have been involved with Jewcology since its inception and think it serves a very important purpose.  I am thrilled that a new group of individuals has become involved, breathing a new sense of energy into the movement, including the launching of the redesigned website.  When asked to continue on as a blogger for Jewcology, I did not ...

Earth Etude 15- Looking at the Whole Picture

By Susie Davidson   As a writaholic, I am also a readaholic. As we move forward in our chosen missions toward creating communities that feed, nurture and sustain (while protecting) all the inhabitants of the earth, I believe that it is also incumbent upon us to remain informed about the news of the day and the topics that affect underlying societal infrastructures.   Certainly, some of these infrastructures seem entrenched to the point of impermeability, none more so than the economic systems that govern world relations and, therefore, virtually every facet of our existence. For those of us concerned with environmental health and sustainab...

Earth Etude for Elul 14- Elul’s Comin”

by Judith Felsen   In days of Av anticpatin’ I have done my exploration searching, seeking digging deeper all to clear the space as greeter. From the bottom of my looking I can sense great times are coming soon our King will sure arrive and in fields we both will thrive. Therefore now and always ever will this earth be seen as heaven by all those who now know its glitter shimmering sparks both there and hither. May we join in joyful meeting in all lands we’ve tilled this season. Welcome King, we greet your visit together harvest is on our list. Earth Your place which is our home hosts ...

Earth Etude for Elul 10- Topsy Turvy Bus

by Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein   The world seems a little topsy turvy these days. A plane missing. 223 girls kidnapped in Nigeria. 3 teen agers kidnapped and murdered in Israel. A plane shot out of the sky. Israel in Gaza. Rockets in Israel. Too many children killed in the streets of Chicago. Too many deaths. When does it stop?   In the Fox River Valley, Illinois, after a punishing winter of epic proportions, it is nice to be outside. Six congregations, part of the nascent Prairie Jewish Coalition, sponsored the Topsy Turvy bus.   What is a topsy turvy bus? It is a school bus, bright yellow, with half of another school ...

Earth Etude for Elul 8 – Waves on the Beach

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen I stand on the beach. Waves--      I hear them, see them, rising, falling, splashing, foaming. Deep within me    waves form,   rise up, are released, unite with the ocean waves. Throughout my body   sadness.... grief.... despair.... engulf me. The Earth is suffering. I cannot simply stand, sit, lie, relax. Act, I must, driven by my grief,  by my love, by the waves, in order to live with myself, with the Holy One of Blessing-- who is able to quiet waves, in the sea, in my soul-- who continues to command me, always. .אני עומדת על חוף הים --גל...

Outdoor High Holiday Services with Ma’yan Tikvah

    Outdoor High Holiday Services with Ma’yan Tikvah – A Wellspring of Hope   Rosh HaShanah Day 1, Thursday, September 25, 9:30 AM, Cedar Hill Camp 265 Beaver Street, Waltham, (accessible by MBTA bus) Click here to carpool to this service.   Rosh HaShanah Potluck Dinner and Shmita Seder, Thursday, September 25, 6:30 PM, Location TBD, in Wayland   Rosh HaShanah Day 2, Friday, September 26, 10 AM, Greenways Conservation Area, 60 Green Way, Wayland   Kol Nidre Service, Friday, October 3, 6:45 PM, Church of the Holy Spirit, 169 Rice Road, Wayland Click here to carpool to this service.   Yom ...

Adventures in Being “So Kind”

Register. There it was on my list of pre-baby things to do. I had the feeling that people would want to buy things for us, and I knew they’d be asking if we had a registry. Setting one up seemed like the proper thing to do. It would help everyone know what we needed. But the truth was, we didn’t need all that much. We had saved bags of clothing, toys and other baby gear from our older son. And we live in a generous community where neighbors had already given or lent us key things like a carseat, a baby swing, a jogging stroller and our choice of baby carriers. And setting aside need, we didn’t really want ...

Video of Richard Schwartz’s 80th birthday celebration in Jerusalem on April 22, 2014

Below is a link to the video of my 80th birthday celebration in Jerusalem on April 22, 2014. It features talks by Rabbi David Rosen, Professor Yael Shemesh of Bar Ilan University, Rabbi MK Dov Lipman, Rabbi Yonatan Neril, director of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, Rabbi Adam Frank, my older daughter Susan Kleid, and me. It is just under 41 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwFKE359y5k&feature=youtu.be There wre also 2 prerecorded talks: Rabbi Adam Frank's prerecorded greetings:(2 minutes and 25 seconds) is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DsHFLswnTc&feature=youtu.be Rabbi Shmuly ...

Heavenly and Earthly Jerusalem: Can Pilgrims Leave a Positive Footprint?

By Naomi Tsur. NAGOYA, Japan — Jerusalem faces unique challenges and opportunities. Conservation of our natural and built heritage is a solemn commitment, but we must also assess and implement the potential for urban revitalization. We need to expand our mass-transit system (the first of its kind in Israel), encourage active transport (biking and walking) and focus on development of the city's strengths, such as cultural and religious tourism, while not neglecting to address its weaknesses, in order to provide comprehensive solutions for solid waste and sewage in a transboundary area of geopolitical conflict. Click here to ...

Join Jewcology at the Teva Seminar!

Jewcology is proud to be a partner in the 20th Annual Teva Seminar on Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education! Monday, June 9 – Friday, June 13, 2014 at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center Join us for a week dedicated to renewing our relationship with the earth, gaining garden education skills, and studying eco-Torah. The Teva Seminar is the premier annual professional development opportunity in the field of JOFEE: Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education. Featuring leaders in the JOFEE field: Nili Simhai, Mordechai Leibling, Jakir Manela, Cara Silverberg, Brent Spodek, Arthur Waskow, plus a team of talented ...