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Ruth-Messinger

Why We Ride With Hazon: Ruth Messinger [VIDEO]

By on July 29, 2011 in New York Ride, Rides, Video

We want to know, why do you ride with Hazon? We grabbed a video camera and started asking. This week we hear from Ruth Messinger, president and executive director of American Jewish World Service. She has ridden in every New York Ride since its inception. Prior to joining AJWS in 1998, Ruth was in public service in New York City for 20 years, including having served as Manhattan borough president. American Jewish World Service’s Hunger Campaign, Fighting Hunger from the Ground Up, also happens to be a beneficiary of fundraising from the New York Ride. Read more about Fighting Hunger from the Ground Up. Why do you ride with Hazon? Leave your thoughts in the comments! Stay tuned for more videos! Learn More about the New York Ride & Retreat

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Sunset over the Lake

Camp Kinder Ring: 100 Years of History

By on July 28, 2011 in New York Ride, Rides

The New York Ride‘s weekend retreat will take place on the grounds of Camp Kinder Ring, a Jewish summer camp located in Hopewell Junction, New York. Aside from being a beautiful and fun setting for the Shabbaton and start of the Ride, Camp Kinder Ring has a very interesting and unusual history. Camp Kinder Ring was started in 1927 by The Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, an organization founded in 1900 by Jewish immigrants in New York and still active today, with members across North America. As the number of Eastern European Jews immigrating to the United States grew drastically near the end of the 1800s, it became clear that there was a real need for an organization that would work to preserve the Jewish culture and identity, and to unify the community against the challenges facing new American immigrants. Der Arbeter Ring, or The Workmen’s Circle in English, was founded to meet these challenges, and has evolved with time to adjust to the changing situation of American Jews, while remaining true to its founding principles of Jewish community, the promotion of an enlightened Jewish culture, and social justice. (more…)

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ADAMAH

Grantee Spotlight: Adamah, The Jewish Environmental Fellowship

By on July 26, 2011 in Grantee Spotlight, New York Ride, Rides

Proceeds of this year’s New York Ride will provide grants to several organizations and projects that are in line with Hazon’s mission.  Among the major grant recipients is Adamah, which is a program of the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, located in Northern Connecticut. Adamah connects people to their roots, to the land, to community, to Judaism, and to themselves by providing educational programs and products in order to build a more sustainable world. (more…)

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Rider Spotlight: Donna and Makayla Kahan

By on July 22, 2011 in New York Ride, Rider Spotlight, Rides

When Donna Kahan first read about Hazon’s New York Ride, she thought it sounded like something she would love to do, but didn’t see how it would work because leaving her kids and husband for Labor Day weekend just seemed too complicated. A resident of Demarest, NJ, Donna had been on the lookout for a new group to bike with since her cycling group had recently broken up. She decided to check out the Hazon training rides.  On her first training ride, she met Ezra Weinberg, one of the chairs of this year’s New York Ride.  When Donna mentioned to Ezra that she would love to do the ride with her daughter Makayla, she wasn’t sure that, Makayla was quite old enough. Ezra was very motivating, and was able to convince Donna that she and Makayla could definitely do the ride together.  The pair got some tips on training a friend who had ridden in the New York Ride before. Since then, mother and daughter have been riding together every weekend in Hazon’s training rides.  Makayla is going to be a freshman at Northern Valley Regional High School in the fall. (more…)

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jerusalem

Israel Ride Touring Options Announced

By on July 21, 2011 in Israel, Israel Ride, Rides

The Israel Ride is more than just a bike ride – it’s a week-long fully supported tour of Israel, complete with hotel accommodations, great food, expert tour guides, and a wonderful community of cyclists. For many riders, one highlight of the Ride is the sight-seeing and educational opportunities along the route. The Israeli landscape is full of historic sites, natural features, modern villages, and other points of interest. Unlike a bus tour, when you travel by bike you spend more time absorbing your surroundings.  We build in time for all participants to learn about the past, present, and future of the land. [blue_message]For more information about the Israel Ride, please explore the Israel Ride section of our website. [/blue_message] (more…)

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Vote for Hazon in Citgo’s Fueling Good Summer Charity Contest

By on July 20, 2011 in Activism, Cross-USA Ride, Rides

Citgo wants to know “How far can a gallon of gas go?” We’re hoping to take it across the United States in support of our cyclists. Every Hazon ride provides extensive support to its cyclists. This means transporting people and gear in cars and trucks. The cost of fuel is rising and that raises the costs of running a Hazon ride. With your help we can provide grant recipients with the funds they deserve. (more…)

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Staten Island Ride

Staten Island Training Ride July 24th [NY Area Cycling]

By on July 19, 2011 in Events, New York Ride, Rides

UPDATE 7/21/11 6:14 PM: Due to the expected Heat, we are changing the start time on Sunday. NEW Start Locations and Departure Times You can meet us in Manhattan at the JCC Manhattan (76th and Amsterdam) at 7:00 am or in Brooklyn at Grand Army Plaza at 7:30 am if you want to bike to the ferry.  Both groups will meet at the Staten Island Ferry to catch the 8:30 am ferry, or you can take the subway and meet us at the ferry terminal. Note about the heat: We have moved this ride extra early because of the current heat wave – the high on Sunday is 90 degrees. Please be sure to bring TWO water bottles, ideally one filled with an energy drink. We strongly recommend having snacks to eat on the ride, especially something salty.  For more about about the heat, check out the tips sent this week from our friends at Bike New York. This Sunday, Ride to Staten Island with Hazon! Start at the JCC Manhattan (40 miles total) or starting at Grand Army Plaza (35 miles total) and ride to Staten Island for a 25 mile loop around the northern half of the island. Hazon […]

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Riding by the JCC Manhattan

July 17th Training Ride [NYC Cycling]

By on July 14, 2011 in New York Ride, Rides, Training

THIS WEEK: Ride with Hazon this Sunday, July 17th. Starting at the JCC Manhattan – 50 miles to Nyack or 40 Miles to Piermont Hazon rides are open to everyone but you should be able to maintain a minimum speed to stay with the group. We suggest leaving your lock, backpack and any other unnecessary weight at home. Please make sure your bike is in working condition before you leave. If you cannot keep up with the group or if your bike does not work, the Ride Leader may “release” you from our ride. Start Location and Departure Time 8:45 am at JCC Manhattan on Amsterdam Ave. by 76th St. [blue_message]Be sure to RSVP for the ride online (We will contact people who RSVP if we cancel due to rain. The current forecast is lovely, but you never know.)[/blue_message] (more…)

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Ekar Tour de Farm 2011

Ekar Farm’s Second Annual Tour De Farm

By on June 30, 2011 in Colorado, Cycling, Events

Sunday, July 31 2011, 9am-1pm 16 mile ride from Ekar Farm to Delaney Farm and back along the Highline Canal bike path. We’ll stop at Delaney Farm for a tour and fresh Palisade peaches, then on to Sprout City Farm at Denver Green School to see their new farm, and back to Ekar for grilled Colorado Olathe corn, and live Bluegrass music! Bicycle tuning before and repairs during Tour will be provided by Mobile Bicycle Repair $18 per rider, $50 per family All proceeds directly benefit Ekar’s programming and donation of produce to Jewish Family Service’s Weinberg Food Pantry. Ekar Farm and Community Gardens is a communal urban farm, inspired by Jewish values. We work to build community, provide experiential and environmental education, and grow sustainably produced fruits and vegetables, expanding access to those in need.

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Ride with Hazon in Celebrate Israel Parade

By on May 20, 2011 in Cycling, Events, Israel, Rides

Last year over 40 riders joined Hazon in the Celebrate Israel Parade up 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Join us this year! Sunday, June 5th, 11 AM, New York, NY RSVP for a spot in the parade up Fifth Avenue – on a bike! Learn more about the parade. Parade meeting point: 53rd St between Madison and Park Avenue Parade starts: 11:00 Assembly Time: 11:45 Estimated Step off time: 12:30 This is a FREE event!

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Finding a Spiritual Home

By on March 30, 2011 in New York Ride, Rides, Spirituality

By Rabbi Ezra Weinberg, New York Ride Co-Chair To all you seekers of spiritual community out there, I have one piece of advice. Do not limit your search to only traditional religious institutions. Do support your local synagogue, but also be aware that spiritual community comes in many forms. The Hazon community has become one of my spiritual homes. For me, the term “spirituality” refers to when the different pieces of one’s life start to tell a coherent story that inspires action. The backbone of spiritual experience occurs when seemingly disconnected parts of my life begin to feel interconnected—what I like to call the “connecting of the dots;” when coincidence becomes impossible to ignore. This is only one limited explanation for a widely used elusive concept, but this “connecting of the dots” experience happens to define my relationship with the Hazon community, including how I first got involved. (more…)

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Why Jewish Environmentalism

By on March 9, 2011 in New York Ride, Rides

What is Jewish environmentalism? 1. The beginnings of a Jewish environmental ethic emerge out of Bereishit, – Genesis – through the two creation stories, which set up models of our relationship as human beings with the rest of creation, and which obligate us to tend and to protect the world. 2. Our agricultural roots, celebrated on holidays and in sacred texts, are intended to connect us to the land. 3. The cycles of the Jewish year are grounded in the natural world and our connection to it 4. Shabbat – stopping and resting on the Sabbath – teaches that there are higher values than production and consumption. Resting on Shabbat – one day in seven – lies at the heart of a healthy relationship with oneself, one’s friends and one’s family, and the wider world. 5. The biblical concept of shmitta – having the land rest on its seventh year – provides an equivalent model of rest for the land itself. 6. The biblical concept of peah – leaving the corner of the field unharvested for the poor to pick themselves – connects ecological issues with human values: our obligation to see that people live free of hunger and that […]

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zinkows

Riding for Peace and the Environment

By on February 17, 2011 in Cycling, Israel, Israel Ride, Rides

by Misha Zinkow, Israel Rider, November 2010 On October 25, after bicycling from Jerusalem some 300 miles into the Negev and Sinai Deserts, 120 Hazon riders were rewarded with a stunning descent into Eilat, Israel’s southernmost point. Although the ride, the preparatory day and debriefing day spanned only 8 days, my journey in Israel included three Torah portions, Lech-lecha, Vayera and Chaye Sarah, and each parsha offered me a gift and an insight for the ride. Lech-lecha is the story of God’s challenge to Abraham to leave his hometown in Mesopotamia, embrace the radical theological notion that God is one, and to take that message west, all the way to the shores of the Mediterranean. The Torah portion begins with the words “Lech-lecha,” an unusual alliterative phraseology. (more…)

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marcsoloway

Eat, Ride, Love – How It All Connects

By on November 7, 2010 in Food, Israel Ride, Rides

Rabbi Marc Soloway recently completed the 300 mile bike ride from Jerusalem to Eilat as a participant in the 2010 Arava Institute & Hazon Israel Ride this past October. This year, he also serves as co-chair of the 2010 Hazon Food Conference West in December. He explains how they are both part of a greater movement and how that movement ties to our community. The exhilaration of riding 300 miles on a bike through the dramatically changing landscape of Israel, a region so full of depth, beauty, history, complexity and instability, has been one of the richest and most challenging experiences of my life. I have recently completed my second Hazon-Arava Israel Ride and the impact of this great adventure continues to stir me in so many ways. Beyond the physical demand and sense of achievement that comes with pedaling an average of 60 miles a day for five days, there is such a sense of awe and elation to being a participant in this tremendous partnership between two such inspirational institutions – Hazon and The Arava Institute. The magnificently managed ride is run by a combination of Hazon’s staff, and students, alumni and faculty from the Arava Institute. The […]

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Compare and Contrast

By on September 2, 2010 in Holidays, New York Ride, Nigel

Dear All, This year, Hazon’s New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride ends late Monday afternoon, and just two days later, Rosh Hashanah begins. The Hazon 10th Anniversary NY Ride will end at Riverside Park at 79th Street on Monday, September 6th at 3 PM with a group ride up Riverside Drive to the The JCC in Manhattan at 76th and Amsterdam. In addition to dancing and singing at the JCC, the Adamah Fellows will have a farm stand inside of the JCC with fresh produce, pickles and dairy products. The closing ceremony will start at 4 PM on the roof of the JCC. The NY Ride is one of Hazon’s largest fundraisers for the year, allowing us to continue our important work. Please consider sponsoring a Rider this year in celebration of Hazon’s 10th anniversary. The close conjunction in time prompted me to think about them in relation to each other… This year they’re about the same length in time. They’re both marathons, of sorts. They both involve pushing ourselves: even if you ride a bike – or go to shul on Shabbat – you don’t normally ride 120+ miles in two days, or spend 10+ hours in shul. (And […]

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