117 results for tag: Events


Leading US Animal Rights Activist Visiting Israel to Tell How His Holocaust Experiences Shaped His Activism

Alex Hershaft, Ph.D., is coming to Israel from May 2 to May 13 to explain how his experiences in the Warsaw ghetto was a major factor in his becoming a leading animal rights activist. With the theme, "From surviving the Warsaw Ghetto to co-founding the U.S. Animal Rights movement,"Dr. Hershaft will be giving several talks and will meet with Jewish and Arab animal rights activists. In his lectures, Hershaft will discuss how dealing with the trauma and grief over the loss of his family during the Holocaust shaped his values and outlook on life, and increased his sense of compassion. When his life was no longer in danger, he felt guilty that he ...

My activities in Israel to increase awareness about climate threats and veg diets

Below is the April 24 Jerusalem Post ‘In Jerusalem’ article about my vegetarian/vegan activities in Israel followed by my Times of Israel blog with links to YouTube videos of my talks, interviews, and other veg activities there.   Kol tuv,   Richard   ====   Apocalypse Cow Jerusalem Post article [In Jerusalem section] April 24, 2015 By Gavriel Fiske [Corrections in brackets [ ]] Reducing meat consumption could help avert a global disaster, according to Jewish vegetarian activist Richard Schwartz  Octogenarian vegetarianism activist Richard Schwartz, an Orthodox Jew from Staten Island, New York, has for decades explored the connection ...

Hazon Philadelphia’s Ride the Pines

We are excited to announce Hazon Philadelphia’s Ride the Pines - Sunday, May 31st, at the JCC Camps in Medford, NJ. Ride the Pines is a fully-supported bike ride and community experience for people of all cycling levels and ages, bringing together organizations like ours from across the Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey Jewish communities.   Join friends for routes through pine forests, farmland, and local villages, culminating in a barbecue lunch of kosher, pasture-raised meat from Grow and Behold, followed by an interactive marketplace of local, sustainable vendors, swimming and boating, children’s programming from Teva, ...

From Uncertainty to Action: What You Can Do About Climate Change

The Jewish Climate Action Network (JCAN) is sponsoring its first conference, a time for community members from across New England concerned about climate change to come together. The conference will focus on a Jewish response to climate change, ideas for action, and how climate change is fundamentally a social justice issue. It will provide organized opportunities to connect with others interested in working together. Summery of the conference: Panel exploring what Judaism adds to our understanding and ability to respond to climate change Two rounds of workshops, each of which will provide concrete information about a specific way to respond ...

Eden Village is hiring farm educator apprentices for 2015 growing season!

Eden Village Camp is Hiring!  Submit Your Application About Eden Village Camp: Eden Village Camp aims to be a living model of a thriving, sustainable Jewish community, grounded in social responsibility and inspired Jewish spiritual life. By bringing the wisdom of our tradition to the environmental, social, and personal issues important to today’s young people, we practice a Judaism that is substantive and relevant. Through our Jewish environmental and service-learning curricula, joyful Shabbat observance, pluralistic Jewish expression, and inspiring, diverse staff role models, we foster our campers’ positive Jewish identity and genuine ...

Free Eco Israel Birthright Trip with URJ Kesher

This June 1-11 join Taglit-Birthright Israel and  URJ Kesher on a unique program. The Eco Israel bus will explore and discover, up-close, the remarkable variety of environmental initiatives in Israel, through the lens of ecology and environment WITHOUT missing out on all of the highlights of a classic URJ Kesher Birthright tour. During the tour, the group will visit four main regions in Israel: North, Centre, Jerusalem, and South. In each region, you will encounter local community members, and will gain hands-on experience volunteering with local Israeli activists who are working on unique projects that focus on four elements: agriculture, nature, ...

R&R Shabbat at the JCC

R & R: Shabbat at The JCC is an antidote to our 24/7 lifestyle. Make your Shabbat afternoon special and share in our community with workshops in art, yoga, meditation, food, music, study sessions, film, performances, creative art projects, spa experiences, and indoor and outdoor play. Enjoy programs for both children and adults. R&R is an amazing weekly opportunity to be together as a family and as a community; it’s an incredible alternative to the typical New York Saturday and it is our gift to you. Join us for programs that respect all levels of observance. Come in from the ordinary and experience Shabbat. It’s an ancient solution to a ...

Lights for Lima NYC Vigil on December 7, 2014

CALL FOR STRONG ACTION BY WORLD GOVERNMENTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE VOICES OF FAITH CANDLELIGHT VIGIL  SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 at 4:00 PM UNION SQUARE Vigils will be taking place in Washington, London, Sydney, and around the world.Learn More. World leaders will be meeting in Lima, Peru, on December 1-12, for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20/CMP10). They’ll be working to establish the fundamentals of a strong, global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – an agreement that we hope will then be finalized in Paris in 2015. These leaders need to know that we're holding their work in our thoughts, meditations and prayers. As they start ...

Sukkot and Shmita Resources and Events

SUKKOT AND SHMITA RESOURCES AND EVENTS for 2014-15 contributed by all the organizations and initiatives on “the Map” http://jewcology.org/map-of-initiatives/ Here’s a quick bit of Sukkot Torah to start us off: “The four species of the lulav represent the four types of ecosystems in the land of Israel: desert (date palm), hills (myrtle), river corridors (willow), and sh’feilah, the lowlands (etrog). Each species has to be fresh, with the very tips intact – they can’t be dried out, because they hold the water of last year’s rain. Together, they make a kind of map of last year’s rainfall, and together, we use them to pray for next ...

The Book of Yonah and the People’s Climate March

A month from now, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews all over the world will read the book of Yonah in synagogue.  The book is an appropriate selection for the day when the Torah instructs us to “afflict your souls and don’t do any labor…because on that day he will atone for you, cleansing you; of all your offenses before the Lord you will be cleansed.” (Vayikra 16:29-30)  In contrast to Vayikra (the Book of Leviticus), which describes an elaborate ritual to cleanse the sanctuary of metaphysical impurity, the book of Yonah explores the sometimes tortuous processes through which individuals and societies repent of past misdeeds and ...

Yonah and the People’s Climate March

A month from now, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews all over the world will read the book of Yonah in synagogue. The book is an appropriate selection for the day when the Torah instructs us to “afflict your souls and don’t do any labor…because on that day he will atone for you, cleansing you; of all your offenses before the Lord you will be cleansed.” (Vayikra 16:29-30) In contrast to Vayikra (the Book of Leviticus), which describes an elaborate ritual to cleanse the sanctuary of metaphysical impurity, the book of Yonah explores the sometimes tortuous processes through which individuals and societies repent of ...

Print books, even ebooks, are dead; but movies can still work their magic

by Danny Bloom, CLI FI CENTRAL blogger http://pcillu101.blogspot.com danbloom@gmail.com bubbie.zadie@gmail.comLOS ANGELES -- With films like "Noah" and "Into the Storm" and "Snowpiercer" -- and"Interstellar" coming in the late fall -- Hollywood has seen thehandwriting on the wall and embraced climate themes in fulltechnicolor. Call the movies ''cli fi'' or disaster thrillers,whatever. There's more to come in the film world.But while Hollywood and studio marketing people (and online socialmedia reporters covering new film releases) have welcomed ''cli fi'' intothe fold, the entrenched powers in the literary world controlled bybook editors in ...

Hazon Food Conference

Join the thinkers and doers of the Jewish Food Movement to explore and experience a new angle on food. 4 days of kosher farm-to-table food in a pluralistic Jewish community and a rockin’ New Year’s Eve “Butterfly Masquerade” party Rabbis and leaders in Jewish thought bringing to life history, ethics, Jewish text, meaningful prayer, and more Expert cooking demonstrations and hands-on learning with renowned chefs Homesteading workshops with farmers and city folk for backyard chickens and beekeeping Conversations and take-home resources about food justice that will engage you in questions such as: How do poultry and pollinators affect ...

History of the Kayamut Sustainability Circle

The Kayamut Sustainability Circle in Silver, Spring, MD was formed in 2010, and led by a team of local Torah-based Jewish environmentalists who met regularly to learn about community opportunities for environmental action. Over three years, members met local chickens, explored invasive plants, experimented with composting, learned what's recyclable in Montgomery County, and much, much more. We're most proud of the work done on the Maryland Offshore Wind Power campaign, where our shared activism and concern influenced Delegate Ben Kramer to support wind power in Maryland, leading to the passage of the bill in 2013. Our activism was even ...

Moving Forward with “Move Our Money/ Protect Our Planet”

More than 100 Rabbis, Cantors, and other Jewish spiritual leaders have signed the Rabbinic Call to Move Our Money/Protect Our Planet. (Providentially, not planned by us, the initials spell “MOM/POP.”).! There are now four initiatives we want to take toward giving additional reality to this Call: 1) Sabbatical/ Shmita Year In Leviticus 25, the Torah calls for the human community to let the Earth rest from organized agriculture every seventh year -- a Sabbatical Year called Shabbat shabbaton or Shmita ("Release" or "Non-attachment"). For millennia, the count for the seventh year -- the Shmita -- has ...

GZA-Hechalutz FREE Birthright Trip to Israel in June

Interested in a FREE trip to Israel with a focus on the environment, this is the trip for you! The application deadline is today — Monday, March 31. Visit our website to for info on the application: http://www.greenzionism.org/greenisrael Select IsraelExperts as the Trip Organizer, June - Green Israel as the Trip Selection & enter Referral Code GZA30.

Environmental Tip of the Week: Replace one or more store-bought, chemical-filled body-care products with something homemade and natural!

Cross posted in Environmental Tip of the Week This is a great resource to get you started: http://www.jewcology.org/content/view/Do-It-Yourself-Body-Care-for-the-New-Year

Transformative Judaism and our Planetary Crisis

Since human action has endangered the web of life on earth, human action can heal it. And the religious and spiritual communities of our planet have the wisdoms and the tools to do the healing. Judaism is especially relevant because, unlike most world religions, we preserve the teachings of an indigenous people in the biblical tradition –- the spiritual wisdom of shepherds and farmers. And yet as a world people, we can now apply the earthiness of our origins to the Whole Earth. That does not mean simply repeating the ancient practices. For instance, the ancient code of kosher food does not take into account that we now “e...

Family Fun on the Farm

In the Jewish calendar, the springtime month of Nissan signals the beginning of the agricultural New Year. As the weather warms and the days get longer, we shake off the frostiness of winter and awaken to the growth all around us. For the next 8 months, the familiar natural rhythms will renew: our favorite crops will appear at local farmer’s markets, chickens will increase their egg production, and baby animals will be born and mature. Yet, it’s so easy to forget these realities when we spend more of our time out of touch with nature’s rhythms. At the Pearlstone Center, we strive to create opportunities to connect to the ...

Announcing the Jewish Homestead 2013!

Hi Everyone, I wanted to use my blog post this week to introduce our three-week residential homesteading opportunity for young adults. There is more information in the link below. Please share with your friends! The Farm Team