1989 results for tag: Uncategorized

What is Jewish Environmentalism?

When I try and answer the above question, I find myself dizzy with axioms and assumptions. This intellectual limbo is at time frustrating, however it is also liberating. Whereas I am without a definitive answer, I am free to entertain the endless possibilities of the question. There are a myriad of ways to practice Judaism – orthodox, conservative, reform, reconstructionist, renewal to name just a few. Environmentalism is similarly diverse. Within the environmental movement there are branches focused on conservation, preservation, restoration, sustainable development, and more. The multiplicity of ideas and approaches in both Judaism and ...

“Simple Actions for Jews to Help Green the Planet”

WHAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF JEWS TO SAVE OUR PLANET? Thousands of years ago our ancestors lived with a keen awareness of their dependence on the natural systems that support life. Through their daily interactions with soil, water, and air, they developed a great respect for the Earth and sensed the presence of the Divine within all of Creation. Although many Jews today have lost this connection, our ancient relationship with nature is nevertheless reflected in Jewish law, in our prayers, in the celebration of our holidays, and in the core values of our tradition. [Our generation needs] to renew the ecological wisdom inherent in Judaism. ...

Wealth & Worth – Sustainable Celebrations

(reposted from Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin's blog: http://blog.bjen.org/, dated December 1, 2011) The Maryland Chapter of the American Jewish Congress is developing a Green and Just Celebrations Guide for the Jewish community of Baltimore. Inspired by a guide of the same name published by Jews United for Justice in Washington, DC, it will be available (fall 2012) through synagogues and on the web, designed to make events and celebrations environmentally friendly, socially responsible, affordable and fun. This is not the first time in Jewish history that the Jewish community has tried to wrestle with excessive and indulgent celebrati...

Jewcology Community, We’re Almost There!

Last week, we told you all about Jewcology's Meet Our Match Campaign. To support our work in 2012, Jewcology has received a matching challenge grant of $20,000, and is currently raising funds to complete the match by December 31. Funds raised will be used to improve social media tools, expand leadership trainings and professionalize the our efforts. After a week of hard work by our leaders and sponsors, we're excited to announce a new total. Jewcology has raised over $17,000 toward our match goal, and we have less than $3,000 to go by the end of the year. Now we're turning to the Jewcology community for help. We have an extraordinary ...

TEMPLE SINAI OF GLENDALE MARKS FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS BY GOING SOLAR

As Jews around the world look forward to Chanukah later in December, this year’s celebration will have special meaning for members of Temple Sinai of Glendale. The congregation will celebrate the Festival of Lights by installing solar panels on its roof that will significantly decrease both its environmental footprint and its energy costs. The project places Temple Sinai of Glendale in the vanguard of Los Angeles-area religious institutions making tangible efforts to support a global sustainable energy movement. Temple Sinai will kick off the new project at 10:00 AM on Sunday, December 11, 2011, with a brief ceremony led ...

It’s my birthday!

Today is my 35th birthday! It feels to me like a momentous milestone. Of course, getting older is a joy and a matter of gratitude. Thank G-d we are getting older! And birthdays are a time to reflect, take stock and take the next step. Most of the last ten years of my life has been devoted to a specific project, educating the Jewish community about the importance of protecting our environment. My efforts over the last years have ranged from engaging the Orthodox community in our environmental challenge, to introducing Torah content to the unaffiliated; from creating modern tech-savvy social media tools, to introducing innovative ...

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 ...

Why I Stay Up Past 4am to Write About Saving the World

Disclaimer: This post is true, it’s is written live, without notes and without editing. Like a moth by a flame I am driven to write! Tonight will make 3 nights in a row that I have stayed up past 4am working, and had to get up again less than 4 hours later. Why do I do it? Why stay up late writing a simple blog post? I wish I could say I am writing this blog in solidarity with the protesters at Occupy, in Tahrir Square, Tel Aviv, Greece… But I’ve done that in the past and it didn’t go viral or spark a government overthrow so what’s the point. I wish I could say I am getting paid a large sum ...

Israeli Engineers Come Up With Way to Recycle Industrial Sludge

By Aviva Grunpeter for NTD News Photo by Anat Markram, CDEGlobalTags: Environmental legislation and its enforcement require industrial plants to take care of the sludge created during the purification of their waste, which at times can be poisonous and dangerous. So far, disposal of the harmful materials in Israel included transfer to the southern, less inhabited part of the country, where they were burned and buried. “Ecology Serviced,” an Israeli plant, has readjusted an existing technology to work towards reducing the harmful substances and recycling another part of them. And the cost of treatment was ...

The Little That Holds A Lot

How do I share about the hidden dangers of electronic waste? I find it hard to stare directly at this information. I’d like to start with a meditation from Reb Nachman of Breslov- his images from a hunchback beggar that depict a little that holds a lot. First, silence- the little that holds a lot. Next, let’s remember the life giving land- filled with fruit trees that become dwarfed by the bounty of fruit- the little that holds a lot. And only now do I turn to Reb Nachman’s nightmarish image of the mountain of excrement and waste- produced by one small man and his refuse- the little that holds a lot. The mountain of ...

The Shared Nature of Nature

(Reposted from Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin's blog dated November 17, 2011: http://blog.bjen.org/) In the mid-19th century, Calvert Vaux created the iconic images of the American urban landscape, including the grounds at the White House, the Smithsonian Institute and (with his newly hired young recruit, Frederick Law Olmsted) Central Park. Though Vaux started in landscape design, he later moved into designing buildings and homes that would occupy these landscapes. A populist of sorts, he believed that access to natural beauty was a right shared by all. And that natural beauty should not be marred by ugly architecture or blocked by ...

Help Us Meet Our Match!

Today’s environmental challenge is one of the most significant issues facing the world, and many Jews are working to address this concern. Jewcology is strengthening this Jewish environmental movement and bringing Jews and Jewish communities together from around the world, to create true environmental change. Jewcology’s goal is empowering the Jewish community to lead environmental change and address the global sustainability challenge. It enables this through social media engagement tools for the global Jewish environmental network, leadership training to empower leaders, and a shared library of Jewish environmental content for educators, ...

“Camper Girl” takes on the White House!

Watch as our sometimes clueless, infinitely entertaining and always lovable friend (who may or may not bear a likeness to Joanna Katz) takes action in D.C., together with other Eden Village friends. Note: This is full of jokes that will make most sense if you were here during Summer 2011, but it works either way.

Animal-lovers’ tour of Israel this June 2012

A 100% wheelchair-bound Israeli veteran looks forward each week to his therapeutic riding lesson and is then able to take a few steps forward; After several months of veterinary care for a swallowed fish-hook, a sea turtle is released back to the sea on an Israeli beach, with a group of schoolchildren cheering him on; At the edge of a large Arab town in the West Bank, a thin horse is brought to a free veterinary clinic, where an Israeli veterinarian uses a file to solve a horse’s severe dental problem. An aggressive grade-school bully becomes more socialized and improves his grades by interacting with a shy, abused ...

Israeli Technology Develops a Better, Cheaper, Greener Battery

By TechIsrael Staff Batteries make the world go round. Not just in cellphones and laptop computers, but in all sorts of other devices, many of which need to run 24/7. There are two problems with batteries, though – they cost money, and they need to constantly be replaced or recharged. While this isn't such a problem for consumer devices and gadgets, it is a major issue for always-on monitoring systems, used in hundreds of venues – security systems, utility monitoring, farms and factories. In those venues, managers are forced to keep strict track of when batteries were installed and when they need to be changed, and a foul-up ...

2011 Project Noah Tree Planting

On October 16, JEI and St. Louis Chapter Hadassah hosted the annual Project Noah Tree Planting. Thirty-three people of all ages attended and 21 trees were planted on the grounds of the Staenberg Jewish Community Center. For some of those who attended this was their first experience planting a tree-a simple act that helps the environment in many ways. JEI has been planting trees throughout the St. Louis region since 1998. We look forward to visiting the trees we planted and watching them grow and thrive.

Erev Thanksgiving

(reposted from Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin's blog: http://blog.bjen.org/, dated Nov. 20, 2011) I love Thanksgiving, perhaps because it is so different from Judaism's standard, classical, biblical holidays. All our pilgrimage holidays, for example, happen away from home, toward home, longing for home. They teach us how to create a sense of place, of pride, of belonging in the midst of wandering and dislocation. They teach us how to be centered in mobility; how to weave stories into platforms of place; how to celebrate "here" when that is all we have. What they don't speak of is the celebration of home. Understandabl...

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 ...

Here I Am: Responding to the Call in Creation

Some years ago I was leading an interfaith environmental spirituality retreat near Seattle. My co-leader and meditation teacher, Kurt Hoelting, asked us to do a “walking meditation” where we would mindfully walk. This meant that while we were walking (and we were not to try to direct where we were walking) we tried to be mindful of each step, focusing on the place where we put our foot down and trying to be in the present moment of each step. In practice, this kind of walking is much slower than regular walking but is wonderful to focus the mind on a sense of the present in time and space. We were given around half an hour to do this ...

Jewish FreeCycle

http://www.jewishfreecycle.com/green-video.html Shalom! Welcome! We are a grassroots nonprofit movement of "generous donors" and "gracious recipients". All Free! You have give, you need receive..... Upcycling, Ecycling, Re-purposing, Regifting and Reusing supporting and strengthening our Jewish Community through "Tzedakah" and "Gemilut Chasadim". Membership is free. "He that gives should never remember, he that receives should never forget." The Talmud "Az Got git broyt, ...