Invitation to a Tu B’shvat Seder
Shalom,I will be facilitating two Tu B’Shvat Seders using zoom:One, for Israelis and UK residents, will be on Sunday, January 16, from 9 PM to 10:30 PM, Israeli time.The other, for Americans, will be on Monday, January 17, from 1:30 PM to 3 PM, US eastern time.I have conducted many Tu Bishvat seders in the past, […]
Eight Articles: Everything you need to know about Tu Bishvat
by Richard Schwartz Tu Bishvat is the New Year for Trees. It honors trees, fruits and other aspects of nature. It is a Jewish holiday that is typically vegetarian or vegan as nuts and fruits are eaten as part of the ritual. To learn more take a look at the eight articles that follow: 1. […]
Shabbat (Haaretz) Shalom
Renewed themes in the commandment of the shmita, in light of the climate crisis This year 5782 is a shmita year – a special period in the Hebrew calendar that recurs once every seven years. This year we face a harsh reality – the IPPC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report published in early August […]
Earth Etude for Elul 29: At the Hoh~A Rainforest in the Pacific Northwest
by Thea Iberall The Amazon Rainforest is the most biodiverse region on Earth and provides shelter to three million species of plants and animals. Billions of trees absorb tons of carbon dioxide every year and produce 20% of earth’s oxygen. It’s been called the Lungs of the Earth. But I read something most disturbing. The Amazon rainforest is […]
Earth Etude for Elul 22: Healing in Nature and Helping Nature Heal
by Joan Rachlin It has been just over 17 months since my husband suffered a stroke. It wasn’t just our lives that changed that day, though, as March 11, 2020 was also the day that Boston went into lockdown in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19. We therefore found ourselves living in a […]
Earth Etude for Elul 21: Tikkun Olam and Climate Change
by Michael Garry Tikkun olam, which in Hebrew means “repair of the world,” has always been a guiding principle of the Jewish people, one that we teach our children and try to practice in our everyday lives. In the modern era, tikkun olam means that Jews bear responsibility not only for their own moral, spiritual, and […]
Earth Etude for Elul 16: Lessons Learned from my Garden
by Maxine Lyons Reflecting on my connection to t’shuvah means returning more mindfully to positive words and actions and performing mitzvot – commandments. T’shuvah also includes recognizing our connection to the earth, and for me, learning what my garden has to teach me. In a short book, Don’t Throw in the Trowel, the author quips, “a garden is […]
Earth Etude for Elul 14: Turkey Tails and Teshuvah
by Rabbi Marisa Elana James In the park near my house is a large tree that fell last winter, the trunk slowly falling into decay thanks to four seasons of sun and rain and snow and wind slowly transitioning it back to the soil. When I pass it on walks, I always stop to see […]
Earth Etude for Elul 8: Not What I Want
by Rabbi Benjamin Weiner On the road to the farmstore in my electric car, the baby starting to doze in her safety seat, and the man in his cold British tones, explaining to the listeners an inexorable future of unmanageable heat, and the hostess says: I’m sorry, but that’s all the time we have, and […]
Earth Etude for Elul 7: Trees from my travels spell hope for civilization
by Susie Davidson Desert trees in Los Cerillos, New Mexico Trees by the Mississippi River in Burlington Iowa Trees with a red bush accent in Yorba Linda, California Trees on a red rock in the American Southwest When people admire my frequent traveling, I always say yes, but it’s budget travel. “But that’s the best […]
Honors thesis on the beginnings of Jewish environmental and vegetarian activism in the 1970s and 1980s
Renewing and Recycling: The Formation of American Jewish Environmentalism in the 1970s and 1980s Gabrielle Plotkin Advisor: Keith Woodhouse B.A. Thesis for Honors in History Northwestern University May 3, 2021 ii Abstract Few environmental historians have considered how American Jews interacted with the postwar environmental movement. Those that have, often characterize American Jews as “urban” […]
Tu Bishvat Tu Tu Tu Tu with Ms. Eve baby shark tune !
Join Ms. Eve 🌟 and let’s get ready to celebrate Tu BiShvat 🍃🌳🌺 singing and moving to the tune of baby shark in English, Hebrew, and Spanish!Únete a Ms. Eve y recibe Tu BiShvat 🌱🌲🌻 cantando en español, hebreo e inglés!
Jerusalem Post writeup of my Tu Bishvat activities
■ REGULAR READERS of The Jerusalem Post may have last Friday read the review of the latest book by Richard Schwartz, PhD, Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism. Just in time for Tu Bishvat which is a celebration of nature and its bounty, Schwartz has initiated an international campaign to “Celebrate Tu Bishvat as […]
Article in the next issue of the Jerusalem Report about my Tu Bishvat activities
Celebrating Tu Bishvat as if global survival matters By Abigail Klein Leichman TU BISHVAT, the Jewish new year for trees– beginning this year at sundown on January 27 – has become a sort of Jewish Earth Daycomplete with its own Seder celebrating the produce and wines of the Land of Israel. For environmental and vegan […]
You are cordially invited to a Tu Bishvat Seder by zoom
Shalom, At a time when the world is approaching a climate catastrophe and other environmental threats, it is time to celebrate Tu Bishvat, the most environmental Jewish holiday, as if global survival matters, and to start treating Tu Bishvat as a Jewish Earth Day. Therefore, I will be facilitating four Tu Bishvat seders this year […]
My Eight Articles Related to Tu Bishvat
Below are my 8 articles related to Tu Bishvat. Their titles are: 1. Why Is This Night Different: Thoughts on Tu B’Shvat 2. Tu B’Shvat and Vegetarianism and Veganism 3. Preserving the Sacred Environment: A Religious Imperative – A Tu Bishvat Message 4. Lessons From Trees: a Tu Bishvat Message 5. Celebrating Tu Bishvat as if Environmental Sustainability […]
Get Used to Wearing Masks.
by Rabbi Dr. Eric Lankin 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, […]
It’s time to go hug a tree!
The month of Nisan has arrived – it’s time to go hug a tree! The month of Nisan began the evening of April 1, in the midst of the welcoming blossoms of springtime in Israel. This month also comes in the midst of the “Coronavirus crisis,” as we are asked to shut ourselves in our […]
Ten Reasons Jews Should Consider Becoming a Vegetarian or a Vegan
As president of Jewish Veg, formerly Jewish Vegetarians of North America, and author of three editions of Judaism and Vegetarianism and over 250 related articles online, I very respectfully present the following reasons Jews should very seriously consider eliminating, or at least sharply reducing, your consumption of meat and other animal-based foods: 1. Many peer-reviewed studies in […]
Earth Etude for Elul 8 –A Year of Travel, A Year of Wonder
by Susie Davidson Photos (from top left clockwise): Louisiana Bayou from Amtrak; Maine foliage; Hills of Mexico, Del Rio Texas; Susie Davidson at El Paso Crossing; Banyan tree, Miami, FL. ~ Over the past year, I’ve had many unforgettable experiences in different countries and regions, within amazing, varied landscapes. There is nothing like discovering and […]
