1988 results for tag: Uncategorized

Wanted: Superheroes

In the middle of the night, I heard the sound of running water outside. It was 4:42 am and I was staying in a beach house on the South Jersey shore. At first, I thought it must be the sound of an air conditioner, or a toilet running, or a drainpipe filtering some rain. But the sound went on. Running water - wasting water - drives me crazy (so much waste and so many without water all around the world), so I dressed quickly and crept outside into the pre-dawn light. There, behind the house, was the outdoor shower, absolutely gushing water, from both the upper and lower faucets. Half-asleep, struck by the surreal vision of water pouring out ...

Mikveh recycling!

Check out this post: An article about mikveh recycling on Ynet. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4026366,00.html Thanks to Aaron Day Nitkin for sharing this.

How counting to 50 can heal the planet

Last week we completed the Sefirat Ha-Omer, the counting of the 49 day period between Pesach and Shavuot, culminating with the celebration of Shavuot, which falls on the 50th day. In agricultural terms, this is a period of waiting in between the barley harvest and the wheat harvest in Israel. In religious terms, this period is a time for preparation and transformation that preceeds Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Sefirat Ha-Omer is very similar to the mitzva of Sefirat Ha-yovel, whereby we are enjoined to count 49 years and consecrate the 50th year as the yovel (Jubilee). This similarity is expressed both in the verses ...

Jewcology Question of the Week #23

Tiferet Sassona, Volunteer Coordinator at Kayam Farm, asks Jewcology's question of the week: "Who is your Jewish Environmental role model?"

Playing Politics With The Environment

Following politics can be frustrating, to say the least. Whoever said that ignorance is bliss may have hit the nail on the head when it comes to ordinary citizens and their choice whether to take an interest in elections and the decisions that our elected leaders make in regards to policy. This is especially true when there is a leader who gains your respect because he/she bucks their party (either Democrat or Republican) and makes a decision based on both the information presented and on that elected officials set of values. It seems to be me, that more often than not, the environment is an area where politicians who have taken a stand ...

The Renewal of Jewish Life in Germany

This past week I had the pleasure of being an invited presenter at Limmud Germany, which took place about 1 hour East of Berlin at a former East Germany workers retreat. Being one of 500 German Jews in attendance, (the rest actually live in Germany; I just carry the passport) was an amazing and eye opening experience, and since the end of the conference, I have not been able to get the song ‘Am Israel Chai’(The Jewish people live) out of my head, and I have always hated this song. For most Jews in Israel or North America, Germany represents death and the end of possibility. But after being here for just over a week, what I see is ...

The Story of Us: Growing Community and Inspiring Action

As Jewish environmental leaders, what drives us to do the work we do? Is it a single transformative experience? Or a longer build-up over months or years? Some of us grew up with an attachment to nature. For others of us, meeting someone whose father died from pesticide exposure, or participating in the first Earth Day back in 1970, or, more recently, watching Al Gore in the film “An Inconvenient Truth,” was a call to action. Or for some of us, maybe it was just finally becoming part of a group that also preferred stargazing over “Dancing with the Stars.” At last week’s Jewcology personal-narrative leadership ...

Tikkun Olam: A Jewish View on Recycling

A common misconception is that Judaism has no opinions on staying green, or even opposes the concept. I find this ironic, as Judaism vehemently supports saving the environment, especially recycling. Tikkun olam, which literally means fixing the world, is the Jewish theory that supports recycling. It is first mentioned in the Mishna, part of the Talmud (Oral Torah), in the context of fixing the world from a social perspective. It is also mentioned three times every day in prayer, reminding the observant Jew of his or her obligation to repair the world on a daily basis. Part of the reparation every human being can do for the world is ...

Planet Jewish

According to Jewish teachings, human beings were placed upon the Earth with the responsibility “to till it and to tend it” (Genesis 2:15). One way way “to till and tend the Earth” is by composting. Composting, the practice of mixing decaying organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, to create a nutrient rich fertilizer, has many benefits. Who wouldn’t want to save the planet one piece of trash at a time while producing a plant food that would make master gardeners proud. Read more at http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/blog.aspx?id=345.

Try, Try Again

This Thursday, I had the absolute privilege of co-facilitating the second Jewcology leadership training, which took place at the Teva Seminar on June 2. Following the first leadership training at the Kayam Beit Midrash on March 14, we took participant feedback (both positive and negative) and went to work. Taking the basic framework (learning how to tell your story of self, story of us, and story of action now), we added Jewish environmental context, discussion of how we can apply this work in our communities, and opportunities for participants to make requests of each other. The result was that in addition to building skills for how to ...

PRAY – for our children to be branches on the tree of life- TORAH

While every day is a good day to prayer for our children and grandchildren. Tonight is special. it is customary that tonight, Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the month in which the Torah was given, we pray for our children to become "branches" of this 'tree of life' Scroll down for the English Tefilla of the Shelah Hakadosh This special prayer was composed by the Shelah Hakadosh to express the prayers of parents on behalf of their children. The Shelah said the optimal time for parents to recite this prayer is Erev Rosh ...

Jewcology Question of the Week #22

Ora Sheinson, President of Canfei Nesharim - Sustainable Living Through Torah, asks Jewcology's question of the week: "What can we do to green Jewish communities?"

Seeking your suggestions for naming our new bunks!

Dear Friends, As Eden Village Camp expands - 231 campers this year as of now, up from 134 in our first summer last year! -- we have renovated new cabins, which of course need inspiring names. The theme is Jewish environmental heroes who memory we want to bless. For example, we have bunks named Heschel, Besht, Noach and Miriam. Your suggestions invited!

Chag HaKatzir – The Harvest Holiday

We are preparing ourselves for Chag Shavuot, for the day when we received (and actually every year receive again) our precious Torah. One of the names of this holyday is Chag Hakatzir, the Harvest Holiday. Thus, I want to share with you a harvest experience that I lived last year. With my seminar, I don't remember where exactly in the Negev(south of Israel), meaning, in the midst of the desert, we went on a trip to a farming area, implemented by the evacuated from Gush Katif. While stil in Gush Katif, its habitants developed innovative farming techniques, and there, far away from their hometown, we had the opportunity to witness one of them. ...

Environmental Tip of the Week: An important reminder

Cross posted in Environmental Tip of the Week You probably know that you should turn the water off when you're brushing your teeth, but do you remember to do it? If you're not so careful with that, consider this: You could save a thousand gallons per year from just this one good habit!

Eden Village Camp hosts Anafim: The Sustainable Food & Farming Internship for 5 High School Seniors

A month ago five high school seniors from different schools, arrived at the Eden Village Camp in order to participate in the Anafim: Sustainable Food & Farming Internship program, run through the Jewish Farm School. We instantly clicked as a group, the farm staff, and our supervisors. We were all prepared to open ourselves to the knowledge, skills, and positive energy these unique individuals had to offer us, and this openness is the reason we grew so tremendously as individuals and as a group over such a short amount of time. The Anafim program was unforgettable and we are eternally grateful for the opportunity to work with the staff of Eden ...

If a tree could grow in Brooklyn

Monday, May 9, 2011 If a tree can grow in Brooklyn If a tree could grow in Brooklyn, certainly a garden could grow in a New York school yard.Returning to the kindergarden, the Green Bubbie was thrilled to see the progress of the seeds she had planted with the children. They were eager and curious how a garden could grow in their playground. We built a "raised bed" a 3x3 foot wooden ' box' used lanscape fabric on the bottom and filled it with gardening soil. We planted the peas and zuchinni which we had grown from seeds and some additional lettuce and flower seedings. The children loved learning how ...

Saving Samar: Together We Can Protect the Last of Israel’s Sahara

Israel's Samar sand dunes — and the unique animal species that live there — may be destroyed. (Photos courtesy of Taal Goldman of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies) NEW YORK (May 26, 2011) — Picture a desert and you'll probably envision rolling hills of sand like those traversed by the nomadic caravans of the Sahara. Yet, even though the majority of Israel is desert, almost none of it is like the Sahara except for a small section near the southern tip of Israel in the Arava Valley: the Samar sand dunes. Originally about five square miles in size, today less than one square mile ...

Question of the Week #21

Michael Levin, intern at Hazon, asks Jewcology's question of the week: Who did you teach in the last week to protect the environment? Hazon creates healthy and sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond.

Announcing the Winners!

Thanks to the more than 11,000 people who voted for the winners of the Environment Art Contest, sponsored by BabagaNewz.com and Jewcology.com. Check out the finalists at http://babaganewz.com/envirocontest. And the winners are... For BEST PRINT ENTRY (with 4,345 votes): Adi Gloger Myrtle Beach, SC 6th grade Chabad Academy For BEST MULTIMEDIA ENTRY (with 664 votes): Allison Schachtel Essex Fells, NJ 4th grade Congregation Agudath Israel Religious School All finalists will receive a water-powered alarm clock. Grand-prize winners Adi and Allison will receive, in addition, a backpack with a solar ...