117 results for tag: Events

Limmud in Stockholm – A Weekend of Jewish Learning

Limmud is an organization that provides Jewish learning in many parts of the world. On November 17 - 18 (Saturday and Sunday), Limmud will be presenting a program in Stockholm. One of the speakers will be David Krantz, the president of Aytzim: Ecological Judaism, parent nonprofit of Jewcology, the Green Zionist Alliance, EcoJews of the Bay, and Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth. He serves on the board of directors of the American Zionist Movement, Arizona Interfaith Power & Light, and Interfaith Moral Action on Climate. He is also a National Science Foundation fellow researching energy policy and religious environmentalism at ...

Earth Etude for Elul 10 – People’s Climate March 2017

by Thea Iberall~ I bought my bus ticket a month early because I knew I had to go to the second People’s Climate March. I remember the day the first one occurred. I was giving a workshop in California on ‘what’s your carbon footprint?’ I was telling my audience how we all have to stop living as if we had two or three planets at our disposal. Deep down, I wanted to be at the march. This time I am, in Washington, DC. The motto of the march seems to be, ‘For everything to change, we need everyone.’ But not everyone I know is onboard: some people are more worried about exams at school or deadlines at their jobs; others are distracted ...

The Youth Climate Weekend – Thursday, July 19 – Saturday, July 21

WE LOBBY - JULY 19 Zero Hour is not mobilizing just for the sake of mobilizing. We, the youth, are demanding an end to business as usual on climate change, so we have created science-backed demands for both our leaders, and the general public to take action on. On July 19th youth are taking over Capitol Hill to deliver our demands to our politicians. We are giving them the exact asks that we are marching for—so they have no excuse not to take action. ART BUILDS & COMMUNITY BUILDING - JULY 20 We will prepare for our mobilization by having art builds around the DC area to celebrate our movement and earth through art. In any movement, it is ...

Aytzim (Ecological Judaism) is Back—Let’s reconnect!

It’s a mystery — we lost our Aytzim facebook page and all our facebook friends. So we will be sending out new invites to like our page. In case you have forgotten, we are all about the environment — saving our world. And these days, it has become more important than ever. Aytzim is the umbrella organization of: Green Zionist Alliance, Jewcology.org, EcoJews, and Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth. Aytzim means “trees” and here’s a little about the other organizations in our product grove: Green Zionist Alliance—Since its founding in 2001, the Green Zionist Alliance has successfully worked for the declaration of new ...

People Climate’s Movement

Aytzim supports the People’s Climate Movement this April 29th in Washington, D.C. (and across the country) to stand up for our communities and climate. The People's Climate Movement is organizing a country-wide arc of action, culminating on April 29th in Washington DC in a powerful mobilization to unite all of our movements. To change everything, we need everyone. On April 29th, we will march for our families. We will march for our air, our water, and our land. We will march for clean energy jobs and climate justice. We will march for our communities and the people we love.

Environmental Issues in Israel

The Third Annual Barbara Siegel Memorial Israel Program will be on Sunday, April 2 at 11:00 am at Congregation Or Hadash in Fort Washington, PA. Our speaker, David Krantz, is a National Science Foundation IGERT Fellow and a Wrigley Fellow researching solar-energy policy and faith-based environmentalism. He also runs the environmental nonprofit, Aytzim: Ecological Judaism, parent organization of Jewcology.org, the Green Zionist Alliance, EcoJews, and Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth. He serves on the board of directors of Interfaith Moral Action on Climate; on the board of directors of Arizona Interfaith Power & Light; ...

Shmita Revival: The Reconsideration and Expansion of Sacred Land

  David Krantz will be speaking at the Mountain and Sacred Landscape Conference at The New School in New York City on Friday, April 21 from 8:30 to 10:00 am. David is a National Science Foundation IGERT Fellow and a Wrigley Fellow researching solar-energy policy and faith-based environmentalism. He also runs the environmental nonprofit, Aytzim: Ecological Judaism, parent organization of Jewcology.org, the Green Zionist Alliance, EcoJews, and Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth. He serves on the board of directors of Interfaith Moral Action on Climate; on the board of directors of Arizona Interfaith Power & Light; on ...

Powering the Promised Land: Fracking and Energy Use in Israel

Limmud AZ presents speaker David Krantz at 11:30 am  - 12:30 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2016. What's the source of the electricity that powers the lights when you flick the switch in Israel? Hint: It may not be what you think. Israel is on the verge of becoming an energy superpower, but at what cost? Learn what most Israelis don't know about Israel's energy situation. David Krantz runs Aytzim: Ecological Judaism, parent organization of Jewcology.org, the Green Zionist Alliance, and Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth. He also serves on the board of directors of Interfaith Moral Action on Climate and Arizona Interfaith Power ...

Restoring The Overlooked Mitzvah Of Tsa’ar Ba’alei Chaim  

While tsa’ar ba’alei chaim (the mandate not to cause “sorrow to living creatures”) is a Torah prohibition, many religious Jews seem to be unaware of it or to not consider it of any great importance. Some examples reinforce this assertion: Upon reading an article about my efforts to get Jewish teachings on animals onto the Jewish agenda, a member of my modern Orthodox congregation was incredulous. “What? Jews should be concerned about animals?” she exclaimed. Some years ago, I was at a Sukkot gathering at which there were some ducks in an adjacent backyard. Upon seeing them, two youngsters of about 8 years of age ran toward them, ...

An Audacious Proposal to Restore and Transform the Ancient New Year for Animals

The conditions under which animals are raised for food today are completely contrary to Jewish teachings about compassion to animals: * While Judaism teaches that “God’s compassion is over all His works” (Psalms 145:9), egg laying hens are kept in cages so small that they can’t raise even one wing and they are debeaked without anesthetic to prevent them from harming other birds due to pecking from frustration in their very unnatural conditions. Male chicks fare even worse as they are killed almost immediately after birth, since they can’t lay eggs and have not been genetically programmed to produce much flesh; * While Judaism asserts that ...

The Jewish Imperative of an Animal-Free Diet

Jeffrey Cohan, the Executive Director of Jewish Veg, is coming to Teaneck, NJ. He will be leading an hour-long, interactive presentation at Congregation Beth Sholom on the significance of Tza'ar Baalei Chayim (the Jewish mandate to prevent animal suffering) in our contemporary world. This event begins at 7 pm and is free and open to the public.

SACRED EARTH, SACRED TRUST

A Day of Prayer & Action for People and Planet. Sunday, June 12 FAITHS RISING FOR PEOPLE & PLANET Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust is a worldwide, multi-faith day of prayer & action for the planet and a call for world leaders to commit to a 1.5 degree limit on global temperature rise. Six months after world leaders reached the Paris Agreement, communities around the world will come together in a day of beautiful commitment and blessing for the earth. 1°C OF WARMING MEANS EVERYTHING The adopted Paris Agreement is an incredible first step, but much of what we have achieved hangs in balance. The current commitments to reduce ...

Jews March for a Clean Energy Revolution

On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, as TV cameras turn towards Philadelphia, thousands will march for action to prevent climate catastrophe and present these demands directly to current and future policy makers: • Ban Fracking Now • Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground • Stop Dirty Energy • Quickly and Justly Transition to 100% Renewable Energy We'll be organizing a group marching together as Jews (of all backgrounds) who want a clean energy revolution! At the 2014 People's Climate March, 400,000 people marched through the streets of New York City to demand that world leaders take climate change seriously. We're ...

Get Ready for Earth Day

By JEI intern, Maggie McCarthy Though the earth sustains us, its health depends upon our care and responsible use of its resources. Protecting the planet is both a religious and spiritual imperative. The Hebrew phrase l’dor v’dor captures this central command. We must pass on a thriving earth “from generation to generation”. Earth Day provides the perfect occasion to remember our duty to the planet. In attempts to raise environmental awareness, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin proposed a day of celebration, instituting the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Now over 1 billion people in 192 countries participate, making it one of the ...

We’re doing it again… Israel Underwater Birthright

We're doing it again. Registration is now open for this summer's Israel Underwater Birthright Trip 2016. If you are (or know someone who is) Jewish, a certified scuba diver, between the ages of 18-26, and have not been to Israel since you began college, you're eligible for this once in a lifetime opportunity. In addition to touring Israel (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tzfat, Masada, and the Dead Sea), we will dive in the pristine waters of the Red Sea in Eilat, the underwater archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean Sea at Ceasaria and more. We will be joined by 10 Israeli Divers for the full trip, and meet with Israel's leading marine ...

The Jewish Veg Event of the Decade

Light the Way: Support Pope Francis’ Call for Climate Action

Pope Francis is speaking to world leaders at the UN on September 25 with a simple message for politicians: There is no more time for talk.  Now is the time to act on climate change. In his recent encyclical on climate change, Pope Francis wrote that “…faced as we are with global environmental deterioration. I wish to address every living person on this planet.”   His impassioned message to humanity was drawn from Torah.  He wrote that Genesis 2 teaches us that we are required to respect and protect the dignity of every human being.  And Psalm 148 is a powerful lesson in the interconnection of all life.  He wrote about the implicat...

Yom Kippur at the Lincoln Memorial

YOM KIPPUR Day of Atonement/ At-Onement Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC September 22-23, 2015 Sundown to Sundown For more information, and to RSVP, please visit the Facebook event page: Yom Kippur 2015 at the Lincoln Memorial   Kol Nidre  6:30pm to 8:30pm Morning Service with Yizkor   10am to 1:30pm Minchah/Neilah  5:00pm to 7:45 pm, concluding with shofar blasts followed by a multi-faith vigil   Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, a fast day for seeking both Atonement and At-Onement.  At this moment in history, we humans are in need of atonement for the ways in which we have desecrated the Earth; this ...

My foreword for Rabbi Yonassan Gershom’s Book, “Kapporus Then and Now: Toward a More Compassionate Tradition”

Kol hakavod (kudos) to Rabbi Yonassan Gershom for writing this splendid, much needed book, arguing that Jews should practice the ritual of Kapporos using money rather than chickens. He is the ideal person to write such a book for many reasons: 1. He is very knowledgeable on Jewish teachings, especially with regard to those about the proper treatment of animals. These include: Jews are to be rachmanim b’nei rachmanim (compassionate children of compassionate ancestors), emulating God, Whose compassion is over all His works (Psalms 145:9). Compassion to animals is a test for righteousness because, as Proverbs 12:10 indicates, “The righteous ...

Tisha B’Av and Vegetarianism

There are many connections between vegetarianism and the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av: 1. Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem. Today the entire world is threatened by climate change, and modern intensive livestock agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. 2. In Megilat Eichah (Lamentations), which is read on Tisha B'Av, the prophet Jeremiah warned the Jewish people of the need to change their unjust ways in order to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem. Today, climate scientists are warning that the world may be very close to a climate tipping ...