306 results for tag: Seniors
Elul is Coming and So Are the Etudes
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen
We are rolling around to Elul now on the Jewish calendar. It feels too soon, and yet, it also feels right on time.
Too soon, because Elul always comes too soon. I'm never really ready. And right on time, because it's impossible to be ready.
The clock ticks, the calendar days fly by, and IT arrives, whatever IT may be. A wedding, a birth, death, the start of a new school year, Shabbat, a difficult conversation – whatever it is we are awaiting, it always comes too soon – or sometimes not soon enough – and it always comes on time.
Too soon, because Elul always ...
Our Temple is Being Destroyed
~by Lynn Nadeau
* Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by Francesco Hayez
On Tisha B'Av, we sit on the floor, a candle barely lighting the page, and we read the words which sear the heart. We lament the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians. And we lament the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. And today, we mourn the destruction caused by ourselves. Our private profligacy. Our passivity and our lack of participation in public policy letting selfish interests predominate. For these things I weep; my eye, yea my eye, sheds tears, for the comforter to restore my soul is removed from me; my children are ...
3rd Jewish Climate Action Conference:
"Everything is Connected"
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen
The JCAN-MA for the 3rd Jewish Climate Action Conference: Everything is Connected occurred April 25, 2021. Over 550 people attended. The 40 sessions focused on carbon reduction, advocacy, spiritual resilience, soil and agriculture, raised up the voices of youth, and addressed environmental justice. The day-long event was geared toward action solutions and strengthening the national Jewish climate action network. Opportunities are still available for connecting with other climate activists in your geographic region or with similar interests.
AT THE CONFERENCE ATTENDEES:
Lea...
Watch Richard Schwartz’s interview on how plant-based diets can help save our world…
Richard Schwartz will be interviewed on Monday, October 19 at 8:30 PM Israeli time, 1:30 PM US eastern time, by the Israeli organization "Root and Branch." He will be discussing his unprecedented, potentially transformative campaign, in conjunction with his recently published book, VEGAN REVOLUTION: SAVING the WORLD, REVITALIZING JUDAISM, to promote veganism and to try to shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path...
The link to register is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ld--trzkvE9U3pQB8jT8zFne3W7iQDSK8
Some of what will be discussed:
1. Animal-based diets and agriculture seriously violate fundamental Jewish ...
Yom Kippur and Veganism/Vegetarianism
by Richard Schwartz
There are many connections that can be made between the sacred Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and plant-based diets which may be interpreted as “vegan,” or at least “vegetarian.” Vegetarians eat no animal flesh, while vegans also avoid dairy products and eggs, and many do not wear leather, fur, or silk. Many vegans and vegetarians avoid involvement in any activity that involves the mistreatment of an animal. Some people may prefer to start as vegetarians before progressing to veganism.
The connection to the vegan and vegetarian ways of eating to the meaning of Yom Kippur are as follows:
1. On Yom ...
Earth Etude for Elul 2: Reflections on The Challenges of Living with Fear and Hope
by Maxine Lyons
I find new signs of hope and gratitude for the changes that I feel are beginning to surface despite the anxieties and sadness I feel for the families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, and for the heightened consciousness of racism. We are living through a time when many forces are coming together with the potential to change our daily lives, setting in motion systemic reforms to our institutions that could dismantle systemic racism. I feel fearful that social upheaval or outright rebellion could de-stabilize us as a country or alternatively, could re-set the direction for substantive, positive changes. Here are a few themes ...
Earth Etude for Elul 1: Elul is here
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen
I turned inward with the lockdown. I didn't want to go anywhere.
My garden saved me. I worked outside almost every day.
In early summer, I started again to lead outdoor services with small groups. But no walks on my own, in nature.
After the depths of despair of Tisha B'Av, as the weeks of consolation began, knowing Elul was approaching, I started to turn outward.
I spent a week of early mornings in a little-traveled conservation area, before the heat settled in.
Reveling in the blooming flowers
Wandering
Staying in the moment
Picking blackberries
S...
New Year for Animals Zoom Discussion in Israel
You are cordially invited to attend a Zoom discussion of the historic, potentially transformative initiative to restore the ancient New Year for Animals and to transform it into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Jewish teachings about compassion to animals and how far current realities are from these teachings. It will also consider how animal-based diets and agriculture seriously violate basic Jewish teachings about preserving human health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, helping hungry people, and pursuing peace.
The event will take place on August 20, Rosh Chodesh Elul, when the ...
New Year for Animals Zoom Discussion in USA
You are cordially invited to attend a Zoom discussion of the historic, potentially transformative initiative to restore the ancient New Year for Animals and to transform it into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Jewish teachings about compassion to animals and how far current realities are from these teachings. It will also consider how animal-based diets and agriculture seriously violate basic Jewish teachings about preserving human health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, helping hungry people, and pursuing peace.
The event will take place on August 20, Rosh Chodesh Elul, when the ...
Proper Nutrition Can Reduce the Severity of Coronavirus Infections
There are currently daily reports of record-breaking incidents of coronavirus worldwide. As the Coronavirus epidemic escalates, it is important to recognize a generally overlooked possibility of taking steps now to reduce the severity of symptoms, should one have the misfortune of getting the disease.
According to T. Colin Campbell, PhD, director of the China-Cornell-Oxford study, deemed the Grand Prix of epidemiology by the NY Times, shifting to a nutritious, well-balanced, plant-based diet can greatly reduce the effects of COVID-19.
Based on his extensive research, he stated, “antibody prevalence was highly correlated with ...
Get Used to Wearing Masks.
by Rabbi Dr. Eric Lankin
Get Used to Wearing Masks. (courtesy of the United Nations).
I am afraid that we will be wearing masks for a long time to come.
And it won’t be solely because of a viral pandemic. Soon it may be because of the air quality of our planet.
There is a clear scientific consensus on a human-driven warming of the earth, with carbon-based pollution released in the environment as the major contributor. As shown by data from NASA and NOAA, the last few decades have seen a sharp spike in global average temperature, and the increase of carbon-based pollutants caused by human activity is destroying our environment. According ...
Especially this Mother’s Day, remember Mother Earth.
~Mother’s Day will be different this year for many of us because of the impact of the coronavirus, being in quarantine and social distancing; however, we can still be mindful of how our actions can help prevent climate change even if we are having virtual Mother’s Day dinners and celebrations.
Reduce: Reduce your energy needs. Winter is finally over and it’s warmer inside and out. Open your windows and let the fresh air in. If it is really hot, set your thermostat no higher than 78°F (26°C) when you are home and higher when you are away (information from the U.S. Department of Energy). A programmable thermostat can make this ...
Growing Torah for Adults and Children in the Orthodox Community: Two Orthodox Environmental Organizations Merge to Maximize Impact
GrowTorah and Canfei Nesharim, two Torah-based environmental non-profit organizations, have merged into one entity, effective Dec. 10, to strengthen their combined efforts and maximize their impact within the Orthodox Jewish community.
My Strategy For Getting Climate Change, Veganism, and Related Issues Onto the Jewish Agenda
=== I urge the strongest, most widespread effort that can possibly be made to get climate threats and the need for shifts toward veganism onto the Jewish agenda. Why? Please consider the following facts (they are backed up by supporting material at the end of this article). There is a very strong scientific consensus, based on overwhelming evidence, that the world is rapidly heading toward an irreversible climate tipping point when climate change will spin out of control, with catastrophic results.
Several scientific studies have shown that animal-based agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, largely due to methane, a ...
L’Shanah Tova and a thank you to our Earth Etudes for Elul Contributors
Elul is the month before Rosh Hashanah, a time when we review our lives and think about how we will live the coming year. Many of these earth etudes actually connect our earth with the spirit of Judaism–Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.
We would like to thank Rabbi Katy Z. Allen for bringing together these awe-inspiring contributors, whose essays, poems and thoughts help us understand the meaning of our lives and how we can repair our world.
And our Earth Etudes can be helpful throughout the year. So you can read them here:
Earth Etude for Elul 1: Rabbi Katy Allen-- Of Happenstance and Wondering ...READ MORE
Earth Etude for Elul ...
Earth Etude for Elul 29 –Waking up to the Climate Crisis
by Rabbi David Jaffe
~ My guess is that many readers of the Elul Etudes are fully awakened to the climate crisis and read these blogs with the hope of gaining perspective and spiritual resilience to keep facing the crisis without panicking and burning out. This blog post is for a difference audience – those, like me, who intellectually understand the crisis but don’t feel the urgency. Despite reading articles and watching videos about the famines, flooding and other impacts of rising temperatures on people in the Global South and here in parts of the United States, including the predictions about war and migration, something doesn’t break ...
Earth Etude for Elul 28 — Swimming in Circles in Life
by Rabbi Judy Kummer
~ Every August I participate in a 1-mile breast cancer fundraising swim at a pond on Cape Cod. I have done this swim every year since 2007, training each summer day to swim further and faster.
I especially delight in swimming outdoors. Sometimes my practice
swims are in daytime, sometimes at “golden hour” as the sun is setting,
and sometimes at dusk, when I can watch the moon rising, cycling
inexorably through its phases towards the High Holidays.
What a feast for the senses: I find myself savoring the sunlight spangling the pond where I swim or the glorious sunset colors spreading out ...
Earth Etude for Elul 27 — A Vegetarian Journey
by Susan Levine
~ When I think about Elul, I think about things I have done over my lifetime and the most important thing I’ve tried to do is to become a vegetarian.
But let me start at the beginning: Both my parents grew up in kosher homes and when they got married, they had a kosher home. But it wasn’t kosher enough for my father’s mother who would visit my parents but wouldn’t touch the food. My mom didn’t see the point of being kosher if her mother-in-law still wouldn’t eat in her home. Instead she went full treif. As a child I pretty much ate what I wanted and really didn’t know what it meant to be kosher. I remember ...
Earth Etude for Elul 26: What do animals feel and think? Who are they?
by Rabbi David Seidenberg
~ That’s too broad a question by many degrees, but the difference between asking “who are they?” and “what are they?” is the gulf between civilizations, between epochs, between a world in which humans dominate and destroy, and a world in which humans collaborate with other species in the great project of the universe--Life.
Since Descartes, the idea that the other animals (besides human beings) are not subjects has reigned in science. It became forbidden to say that animals have feelings, consciousness, thinking, despite the fact that this contradicts our everyday experience of animals. In its worst version, ...
Earth Etude for Elul 25*– To the Silent Stones
by Sarah Chandler
~ Do you count your days in footsteps? In strollers? In sunlight?
Cement and concrete
Below my feet
I take a peek at the patterns
And the places
Where tiny rocks gather
Solid, safe, secure
What was it was like
To move your entire being
From a quarry of friends
To this square of sidewalk?
City stones
Bricks, brownstone, marble
Are your family now
You
The eyes of
Our neighborhood
My commute
My shabbat walk
Sometimes the trees
Insist that their roots
Decorate your patterns
And Your cracks keep my steps whole Each journey down the block With Following butterfly trails Tracing bark into branches Welcoming ...