Education Subscribe
A selection of initiatives, blogs, resources and communities on Jewcology which focus on education.
Blogs
Support the Year of Engagement
- August 27, 2013
Exciting news! Canfei Nesharim is teaming up with the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) through our Jewcology project, on a new joint fundraising campaign. Together, we aim to raise a total of $10,000 by the end of Tishrei, October 3. MAKE AN ELUL DONATION TO SUPPORT JEWCOLOGY NOW! With your support, in 2014 Jewcology and COEJL will partner on a "Year of Jewish Policy Engagement on the Environment," which will provide tools to help Jewish environmental activists and local leaders become more involved in environmental action at ...
Making Dance Green
- August 13, 2013
By Stacey Menchel Kussell, director of Renewal: A Film About Art and Ecology Contemporary ballet and environmentalism are not topics that often go hand-in-hand. That is until you meet Israel’s Vertigo Dance Company. The dance group’s unique approach to ecological activism is the inspiration for my new film Renewal. Dance is one of Israel’s most impressive art forms, and it engages people worldwide regardless of language. Renewal is an opportunity for new audiences to learn about a unique and powerful aspect of Israeli culture, and gain new ...
Do Animals Go to Heaven? Reflecting on Our Relationship to Non-Human Life
- July 15, 2013
Do All Dogs Go to Heaven? When we ask such a question or “Do animals have souls?” what are we are really saying? We are revealing a deeper existential and theological question about how human beings relate to other living creatures. No one can know the actual reality of the afterlife, but what we believe about it says something about what we believe about life. Our ideas about animal “souls” is, therefore, really about whether humans are unique among living creatures and determining the spiritual distance or ontological gap between humans and ...
Jewish Energy Guide – The Rainbow Connection: Rainbow Day and Creation
- May 2, 2013
By Rabbi David Seidenberg “I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the Earth.” (Genesis 9:13) Millennia before Kermit the Frog sang about the Rainbow Connection, the very first Rainbow Day marked the connection between God and all animals. The biblical flood began on the 17th of the second month, exactly one lunar year and 10 days — or one complete solar year — before Noah, his family, and all the animals that were with them left the ark, on the 27th day of the second month. But just before they left, God ...
Why Jewish Environmental Education is Important
- March 15, 2013
See this article on Tikkun Olam and Jewish Environmental Education, published recently in the journal Jewish Educational Leadership, a publication of the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education. Click here or go to http://www.lookstein.org/online_journal.php?id=441
The Natural Bible
- January 27, 2013
For anyone interested in Bible study, nature, the environment or religion, this unique and valuable resource elucidates the connections between Judaism and the natural world. The Natural Bible explores how religious environmental values can help us have a healthier relationship with the earth, and at the same time, how an appreciation of the natural environment enriches our understanding of the biblical text’s use of metaphors from the natural world. Topics include sustainability and stewardship, our relationship with living creatures and God’s creation, and ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- January 23, 2013
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The eighteenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, The Glory in Creation: Valuing Biodiversity! We live in an amazingly diverse world, with approximately 8.3 million unique species described by scientists, and likely twice that number that have not yet been discovered. Jewish sources teach that G-d has joy in the diversity and continuity of creation, and that G-d sees a purpose in each of these species. This biodiversity is an expression of G-d’s glory, a testament to the extraordinary creativity of our Creator. ...
From Light Green To Dark Green: Committing to An Effective Jewish Environmentalism
- January 7, 2013
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Tu Bishvat which takes place later this month has become over the last 40 years the Jewish Earth Day. Whatever its origins, Tu Bishvat is the most likely time that synagogues “do” Jewish environmentalism. And while this is a good thing, it tends to isolate the environment as an issue like any special Shabbat program that happens once a year. And while the present Jewish environment movement has been doing a very good job on educating and activating the Jewish community on the issues of food sustainability and energy conservation, there is still a great ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- December 5, 2012
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The fifteenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Toward a Wiser Use of Energy released! One of the most significant sustainability challenges of our time is how we produce, use, and relate to energy. Today’s energy technologies have greatly increased material standards of living among human societies. But they also have driven significant environmental changes which are beginning to have noticeable impacts worldwide, including climate change, the BP oil spill, and Japan’s nuclear crisis. ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- November 16, 2012
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The fourteenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Let the Land Rest: Lessons from Shemita, the Sabbatical Year released! Shemita, the Sabbatical Year, comprises a number of the 613 commandments (mitzvot) of the Torah . With today’s environmental challenges, these mitzvot may be more relevant and needed today than at any time in Jewish and world history. We will explore each of these commandments in an attempt to understand their timeless wisdom and application for today’s world—a world which so desperately needs a ...
Green Your Conference
- November 14, 2012
Conferences offer the opportunity to meet new people, exchange ideas and learn about new developments in your fields. They also tend to be very wasteful of natural resources — but they don’t have to be. The following tips would help to green conferences of all sizes — even ones as large as the World Zionist Congress and the Jewish Federations’ General Assembly. Click here to continue reading this article.
Israel Environment Tour
- October 24, 2012
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Baruch Sienna, a Jewish environmental educator, will be leading an amazing nature/environmental tour to Israel this Feb. 26-Mar. 7, 2013. We will be hiking, birdwatching, and visiting (and eating at) organic farms, learning from environmental organizations about water pollution/restoration, waste/recycling, and alternative energy initiatives in Israel. The places we are visiting are awesome. For a full itinerary, visit www.arzaworld.com, or call toll free: 1-888-811-2812 to register or for more information. Email: ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- October 23, 2012
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The thirteenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, We are How We Eat: A Jewish Approach to Food and Sustainability released! Rebbe Nachman of Breslov identifies the desire for food and drink as the central desire of the human being, and the one from which other desires emanate. In Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen’s “A Treatise on Eating,” he cites the mystical book of theZohar, which calls the moment of eating “the time of combat.” This is because in eating a Jew must engage in the spiritual fight to ensure the act ...
Shabbat Noach is Coming!
- October 16, 2012
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In celebration of Parshat Noach this coming Shabbat, Jewcology is proud to share a wealth of resources on the topic of Noach. Please enjoy and share these resources from many of our partners and participants so we can all benefit from the lessons of Parshat Noach. Explore all of our Parshat Noach resources Here's a sampling: Countering Destruction - Lessons from Noah Although the flood and the life of Noah occurred thousands of years ago, the story of Noah offers important lessons about how our actions affect the world. The Torah teaches that ten generat...
Teach your kids about being “green” at every opportunity!
- October 10, 2012
Cross posted from Environmental Tip of the Week, http://environmentaltip.blogspot.ca/2012/10/teach-your-kids-about-being-green-at.html Teach your kids about being "green" at every opportunity! For example, recently I made a bus out of Legos for my daughter. She loaded it up with little toy people, animals, and food. While she was pushing it around on the floor, I asked her if it was a solar-powered bus. She responded yes. I've explained to her in the past, but said again, why it's better for the environment to power things with energy from the sun. I ...
New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!
- October 9, 2012
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The Twelfth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth, has just been released! In the first chapter of Genesis, twice in three verses, G-d speaks of humans ruling over other living beings. In the second instance, after creating Adam and Eve, G-d blesses them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." What does it mean for humans to subdue the ...
Eco-Friendly Clothing
- July 9, 2012
Consider your closet as a possible way to help the planet. It can be difficult to find eco-friendly fabrics. Many clothes are made from petroleum based fabrics, such as polyester. Even natural fabrics are grown or treated with major amounts of pesticides and chemicals that aren’t good for the environment. When possible, look for organic cotton. While they aren’t yet widely available, you can also try to find clothes with labels certifying the clothing as fair trade or environmentally friendly, such as Fair Trade Certified, GOTS – The ...
Shabbat and Environmental Awareness Materials Released – Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment
- May 2, 2012
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The fifth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Shabbat and Environmental Awareness, has just been released! Today we live in a society which is constantly doing without sufficient regard to being, and at the same time, transforming the natural world without taking time to reflect on the long-term consequences. Shabbat as a spiritual practice offers great potential to reduce consumption and thereby benefit the natural world. In addition to our summary article, longer article, source sheet and podcast, we are proud to ...
Soul Journeys Through Living Soil – at JMC Brooklyn
- May 1, 2012
Hi folks - I hope you'll check out this unique event happening in downtown Brooklyn. Click here for full event info. Join the Jewish Meditation Center of Brooklyn and Adamah for a teaching by Sarah Chandler (followed by our weekly sitting meditation at 8pm!) Soul Journeys Through Living Soil As we move through spring time and notice the trees bloom with flowers and green, we may miss out on the life force of activity within the soil below us. The interconnectedness of organisms, ions, roots, water and air ...
New Materials Released for Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!
- April 18, 2012
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The fourth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Sustainability in the Land of Israel, has just been released! Rabbinic teachings on Yishuv Eretz Yisrael (settling the land of Israel) highlight the common Jewish duty to live sustainably. Our Sages made short-term sacrifices in order to preserve their resources, actions we should emulate to help us find ways for today's reality on the Land. See all Sustainability in the Land of Israel Materials! Share Year of Jewish Learning Materials with your community. ...
