117 results for tag: Events

Feb 6: COEJL’s declaration signing ceremony

The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) invites you to the official signing ceremony of the “Jewish Environmental and Energy Imperative” declaration, part of its Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign. Two days before the Jewish celebration of Tu B’shvat, the New Year for trees, leaders of the Jewish community will set the community-wide goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 14% by 2014. Who: On behalf of a broad spectrum of national Jewish leaders, Rabbi Steve Gutow, president and CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and co-chair, COEJL; Rabbi David Saperstein, director and counsel, Religi...

Pre-Tu b’Shvat Brunch Lecture: Lessons from the olive tree for families, Jewish unity, and the Social Security system

On Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, I will be presenting a brunch lecture at the YM-YWHA of Union County, NJ, from Noon to 1 PM on "Lessons from the olive tree for families, Jewish unity, and the Social Security system." Highlights include: The Chanukah story they DIDN’T tell you as a child Why a nineteenth-century rabbi used botany to make sense of Kabbalat Shabbat The hidden tree and advice to adult children and parents in Psalms 92 and 128 The fee for the program is $3 for YM-YWHA and JOY members and $8 for all others. For more information or to reserve a place, contact Susan Silberner at ssilberner@yahoo....

Third Annual MLK Weekend Food Justice Symposium “From Plant to Plate – Grow Local As Social Action”

After a year in which the KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation Social Justice Committee grew, harvested and donated over a ton of organic produce and garnered three awards, they will honor the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. with a weekend long education and advocacy program focused on food justice and sustainability January 13th - 15th, 2012. Among the highlights are a Friday night service, a Saturday panel discussion and Sunday workshops on local food production and urban ecology. All events are held at KAMII at 1100 East Hyde Park Boulevard and are free and open to the public. Leading off the weekend, during services ...

Tree B’Earthday SAVE THESE DATES!

Come have a very special Tree b'Earthday with a pluralistic ecologically engaged Jewish community the week before Tu b'Shevat. Return home with (tree)sources to enhance your community's celebration of Tu b'Shevat, which falls on February 8, the following week. Our weekend includes spirited pluralistic Shabbat services, guided hikes, workshops, farm-to-table kosher dining, and a beautiful Tu b'Shevat seder on Saturday night. Families are welcome and children under 13 come for free if they stay in the same room as their parents/guardians. All-inclusive rates for 2 nights start at only $200 per person. If you'd like to ...

Exciting Tu b’Shevat Raffle – Win a Great Prize!

Exciting Tu b’Shevat Raffle - Win a Great Prize! Jewcology and Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center are pleased to announce an exciting new raffle opportunity. You can win an all-inclusive free pass to the Isabella Freedman Tree b’Earthday Tu b’Shevat Retreat (a $200 value!). It’s easy to enter! Just post your favorite reason for celebrating trees in the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center community on Jewcology (www.jewcology.org). Raffle Rules: Entries must be posted in the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center community on Jewcology between January 5 - 17. You must have a profile ...

Meet GZA Co-Founder Dr. Alon Tal in New York and California

The acute deterioration in Israel's environmental condition is only part of the social agenda that brought one million Israelis to demonstrations this past summer. Are we seeing a change in the Israeli political map and the public's ecological awareness? What policies are needed to address the steady damage to Israel's open spaces, biodiversity loss and the disappearing Dead Sea? Green Zionist Alliance Co-Founder and Green Movement Co-Chair Dr. Alon Tal, recognized by Haaretz as Israel's leading environmentalist, will present a new green agenda for Zionism and consider scenarios for progress in Israel. ...

Sending Out An SMS: Online System To Warn About Floods

By Ran Bushuhrian, for Maariv From the first moment I heard about the WaterHackathon (an exclusive event at the Tel Aviv University that brought together dozens of engineers, program developers and other professional, who worked for three full days on solutions to problems in the water field) it was clear to me that I will take part in it. The reason was obvious, this special event brings out the three biggest advantages of Israel: The trial and understanding of material, infrastructure, and water resources management – derived from years of water shortage; the successful hi-tech industry; and the creativity and achievement hidden ...

Networks and the Jewish Environmental Movement

On November 8-10, I traveled to Boulder, CO for a unique post-GA event: the NetWORKS Gathering, organized by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation. According to the organizers, the event brought together "a group of exceptional innovators, activists and network curators pushing the boundaries of the most vibrant organizations, projects and communities comprising Jewish life today." It was an honor to participate and to represent a network that I'm quite fond of - the global Jewish environmental community as gathered together on Jewcology. In addition to being -- as you might guess -- an excellent opportunity to network ...

Shabbat Brit Olam – Annual “Sustainability Shabbat” in Israel

Dear Friends, Shalom! We are proud to report that for the third consecutive year, Teva Ivri joined the international Jewish world in the observance of Shabbat Noach as a “Sustainability Shabbat” – a time to raise awareness about environmental challenges and to inspire effective change in Jewish communities. A few weeks ago, hundreds of communities from all denominations of Judaism observed Shabbat Noah from a Jewish-Environmental perspective, with study groups, lectures, articles in the media, and grassroots action projects throughout the country. View Shabbat Noach highlights. Blessings for a year of ...

Hazon CSA potluck a success!

A great time was had by all at our third annual Hazon CSA Shared Shabbat dinner on October 25. Those attending feasted on dishes including spinach lasagna, Indian squash soup, roasted tatsoi, roasted vegetables and smashed potatoes. All dishes were prepared with organic produce grown by our local farmer. What a treat to celebrate the fall with food that is good for the land, good for the environment and good for your health! This year's CSA is over, but we look forward to another great year in 2012.

thoughts about sustainability – from Noach to Abraham

Einat Kramer “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” Genesis 9:16 Parshat Noach details a terrible ecological disaster, the Flood that immerses the world in water and brings an end to all life – all because of man’s despicable behavior. In this parsha we meet Noach, the first “environmental activist” who acted upon a divine commandment to keep every species of animal safe on his ark. The Biblical story ends with an eternal covenant between G-d and ...

Kayamut Chickens

Evonne speaks and we get a close-up of the Kayamut chickens, brought to our Sustainability Circle by Sharon Turpie.

This Year We Meditate

We've been building towards this event for a long time. On October 18th, in the year of 5772, we will have a different kind of Sukkot. We will be building a Sukkah on our organic fertile land, on the land that we cultivated in West Rogers Park, the land that has given us our strong backs. And we will be collaborating with the Center for Jewish Mindfulness and participating in a community meditation led by Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell. I know, I know, a Sukkah is meant to be dwelled in according to the mitzvot. But, I wasn't raised in a community that did that. Nor do I particularly want to spend the night outside in the ...

Results of Jewcology Leadership Trainings

“I enjoyed it very much and found the narrative format very powerful and the process even therapeutic.” - Jewcology Leadership Training Participant “…I felt empowered to tell my story… and I felt the intense writing sessions forced me to focus in on the most important aspects of my story. I fully intend to use what I've learned in ‘the real world’!” - Jewcology Leadership Training Participant “It taught me to articulate my motivations, and the importance of doing so to engage others in change.” - Jewcology Leadership Training Participant With the support of the ...

Workshop: Urban Composting – From Scraps to Soil

This year during Chol HaMoed Sukkot we will connect to the earth with our hands in the soil. I am teaching friends and neighbors how to compost right here in the city. I've partnered with a nifty new start-up for this inaugural venture. In the future, this workshop will be taught in the context of Jewish education, just like we did/do at the Teva Learning Center. Read more and sign up at the link. Most of all, tell your friends in Chicago. Shana tova! http://www.dabblehq.com/events/urban-composting-scraps-to-soil/ Urban Composting: Scraps to Soil Sunday Oct 16th 2:00pm - 4:00pm Waste. We all make it. But is your ...

Hazon Shared Shabbat Dinner

St. Louis JEI and our local Jewish Community Center sponsor a wonderful community supported agriculture (CSA) program through Hazon. Each week from May through October, those who have signed up receive a share of produce from a local, organic family farm. In addition to helping the environment by buying local and organic, being a member of the Hazon CSA introduces you to new foods you never knew you liked. This past August, members of the Hazon CSA had a shared Shabbat Dinner. Along with stimulating dinner conversation, we shared dishes made with fresh CSA ingredients such as gazpacho with fam fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and a southwest casserole ...

What is Public Narrative?

Although I have participated in all three of the Jewcology Public Narrative trainings, I still struggle to succinctly describe the experience (don’t tell). So I did what all good folks do in this day and age, I googled it. Marshall Ganz, Professor at the Kennedy School, long time organizer, has this to say in his course outline where he teaches the tenants of it: The questions of what am I called to do, what my community is called to do, and what we are called to do now are at least as old as Moses’ conversation with God at the burning bush. Why me? asks Moses, when called to free his people. And, who – or what - is ...

Reflections on the Jewcology Leadership Training

One of the major things that struck me during my time at the Jewcology Leadership Training in Public Narrative, that felt powerful and resonant, was the fact that several trainers and participants cried (heck, maybe we all did!) at different points in either listening to others’ stories or telling their own story, and that it felt completely natural and unsurprising. I felt like everyone who attended the training was feeling the catharsis of telling about our frustration and our emotional discomfort with mainstream acceptance of environmental degradation. Many of us shared the feelings that were being relayed in these stories- the moments in ...

Leadership Training #3

Thanks to everyone who participated in the third Jewcology Leadership Training, which took place on August 21 at UC-Davis, a bonus day to the Hazon Food Conference. Fourteen participants learned to tell their own stories, the story of their communities, and stories to motivate action now. We learned how to inspire and motivate others with stories, and to overcome our own fears and burnout by finding continual inspiration from our passion and purpose. More details about the training results will be coming soon, but in the meanwhile we wanted to share some photos from the training. Congratulations to all who participated! To see the ...

The Mitzvah of Planting Trees

“Let no one ever cease from planting. Fields filled with trees greeted us at birth, and we should add to their number even in old age.” Midrash: Genesis 2:8 “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” Anonymous One of the best things individuals can do to help the environment is to plant a tree. Trees alter the environment in which people live by moderating climate, improving air quality, conserving water and harboring wildlife. Planting trees is also a Jewish imperative. It is one way that we as Jews can help repair and restore the Earth, tilling it and tending it as commanded in the ...