Author Archive | Hazon

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Recipe: Kale Falafel Hummus Wraps

Want a bigger taste?  Join us this summer at the Hazon Food Conference! Kale Falafel Hummus Wraps This recipe & photo come from The Minimalist Baker Made with kale and chickpeas, these gluten-free and vegan falafel are a healthier take on one of our favorite Mediterranean dishes. Delicious, satisfying, and only 30 minutes to prepare. Serve on greens or wrapped in chard or pita. Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Total time: 30 minutes Servings: 4 Wraps Ingredients 4 cups loosely packed kale, stems removed and torn 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (~1 ½ cups as recipe is written) 4 large cloves garlic, minced (4 large cloves yield ~2 Tbsp or 12 g) 1 ½ Tbsp tahini 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/4-1/2 cup oat flour (ground from rolled oats // or all purpose if not gluten free) 2-4 Tbsp avocado or olive oil (for cooking) For Serving: Hummus (or store-bought // for topping) 4 medium pitas (white or wheat // sub rainbow chard for gluten-free option)* Greens of choice (such as fresh parsley or lettuce) Instructions Add kale to a food processor and pulse to chop. Add […]

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Recipe: Eggplant Salad

Want a bigger taste?  Join us this summer at the Hazon Food Conference! Eggplant Salad By Susan Barocas This recipe comes from The Jewish Food Experience This dish is also known as eggplant caviar, Ensalada de Berenjena a la Grega (the Ladino name for the Greek version) and Patlican Salatasi (in Turkish). Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Yield:  2–2½ cups Ingredients 2 medium to large eggplants (will yield about 2½–3 cups cooked) Salt 2–3 tablespoons good olive or nut oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice or wine vinegar or to taste 1–2 small cloves garlic, crushed Freshly ground pepper 15–20 cherry tomatoes (optional) Chopped parsley (optional) Directions Poke a couple very small holes in the neck and large end of the eggplant. Coat the eggplants lightly with about a teaspoon of the oil, then set each on top of a burner over a gas flame. Turn them carefully and often with a tongs until completely blackened and soft. Alternatively, the eggplants can be placed on a pan under a broiler or grilled outside, until the skin is shriveled and brown. With all of these methods, remember to keep turning the eggplants to get them evenly cooked. When cool enough to handle, […]

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Rabbi Nate

The Bread of Healing

Rabbi Nate DeGroot gave the following sermon at St. John’s Evangelist Temple of Truth in Detroit, MI on Sunday, June 16, 2019, right next to Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, one of Hazon Detroit’s main partners. Jerry Hebron, Executive Director and Founder of Oakland Avenue Farm grew up at this church, as her mom has been the Reverend there for decades. Rabbi DeGroot’s sermon served as an invitation to Hazon Detroit’s Breaking Bread Together program happening Sunday, June 23, and was teaching about the role of bread and breaking bread together within the Jewish tradition. Good morning! And thank you all so much for having me here. My name is Rabbi Nate DeGroot and it is truly an honor to be here with you. Reverend Carter, I want to thank you for welcoming me so warmly into this beautiful community To join with you in praise this morning And to offer some words of Torah, some words of Jewish teaching from my tradition. Jerry, I’d also like to thank you for connecting me with your mom, and for being such a meaningful support and advocate for me this year. I stand here today with you as a representative of Hazon Detroit, […]

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June Feature – Teva Students to Teva Educators: Where Are They Now?

As we begin approaching Teva’s 25th Anniversary, we will be spending the month of June featuring former Teva Educators who were once Teva students. They are from different Teva seasons and have different stories, experiences and memories. Enjoy the walk down memory lane with us! Chera Garlick came to Teva as a student with JCDS Boston first in the 5th grade in 2004 and then again on a Teva camping trip in 7th grade in 2007. She returned as a Teva educator for the Fall 2017 season. Chera currently works as an educator with Boston Ballet’s Education and Community Initiatives department and as special education teacher at Gateways: Access to Jewish Education. Chera in 7th grade when she returned to Teva for a camping trip What do you remember about Teva as a student participant? Which moments/memories/stories stand out? A moment that is most present in my heart was a moment of light and community. Having just begun my time at my Jewish day school, Teva was the first time I was somewhere where so many people around me were also Jewish. It was the 6th night of Hanukkah and we all gathered together to light the candles and sing songs. […]

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Hakhel Blog: Aharon Ariel Lavi

by Aharon Ariel Lavi This week we start reading Sefer Bamidbar, also known as “The Book of Numbers.” A strange name for a book, is it not? It derives from the fact that the first portion of the book, as well as other parts later on, deal primarily with counting, classifying and organizing the People of Israel back in the Sinai desert. The text gives a pretty detailed account of the numbers of men in each tribe, and using some simple calculations we can estimate that anywhere between 4-6 million Hebrews lived in the world at the time. The funny thing is that after this general census it was actually forbidden to count the People of Israel again, so the exact number of Hebrews, and later Jews, will remain a mystery. However, Jews don’t always do as they’re told, right? About 500 years later, King David made another census and was severely punished for violating this law (Chronicles I, 21). If we use the same kind of calculation we will find that the nation has pretty much multiplied itself, to 8-9 million people. Do the math, and you will discover that under normal conditions the Jewish people should have been […]

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Hazon Detroit: Will We Change?

Pictured above: Rabbi Nate and other food justice leaders from across the country. Dear Friends, Last week, Hazon Detroit’s Rabbi Nate DeGroot presented at the Center for Earth Ethics’ annual clergy conference, focused this year on the intersection of food and climate change. Rabbi Nate taught on our unified connection to nature and the earth as Jews, and on Jewish practices related to gratitude and food justice. Other speakers at the conference included Former Vice President Al Gore, Center for Earth Ethics Director Karenna Gore, world-renowned soil scientist Dr. Rattan Lal, and many more. Mr. Gore’s presentation – similar in style and inspiration to An Inconvenient Truth and An Inconvenient Sequel – focused on three main questions in the face of our changing climate: 1) Must we change? 2) Can we change? and 3) Will we change? 1) Must we change? We must. Mr. Gore said he likes to keep his presentations relevant, and so he included images and videos of historically abnormal flooding all around the world that has happened in just the last week alone. We know this is severely impacting the midwest region, including right here at home, where excessive rainfall has led to significant crop losses and delayed planting amongst close partners of Hazon […]

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Spring Teva 2019 – that’s a wrap!

With Spring Teva 2019 coming to an end, we are so grateful for our students and Teva Educators. We were able to watch, grow, learn and explore with over 200 students that came from The Shefa School, Luria Academy, JCDS Boston’s Jewish Community Day School, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, and Bi-Cultural Day School. Thanks to our amazing Teva Educators, students left at the end of each week with increased awareness about nature and ecology, excitement about Judaism and spirituality, connection to each other and the forest, and an eagerness to explore and learn more. Activities like fire and shelter-building, whittling, candle-making, singing, aquatic ecology explorations, animal agriculture lessons (including playing with baby goats and chickens), farming, sharing gratitude, Jewish learning and hiking are just some of the things Teva students have the opportunity to participate in and learn about while they are here. We can’t wait for the fall season! Stay tuned for more photo highlights.

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Ms. Isabella Freedman’s Yahrzeit

By Arthur Kurzweil 92 years ago, on the 23rd day of Iyyar, 5687, corresponding to May 25, 1927, Ms. Isabella Freedman was relieved of her earthly duties. Let us take the anniversary of her death as an opportunity to remember her life – which she devoted to performing acts of loving kindness. Ms. Isabella Freedman was a generous philanthropist. She was particularly devoted to the cause of young Jewish women, as reflected in her leadership roles in the Jewish Working Girls Vacation Society, the Widows’ Mothers Fund Association, as well as The Inwood House, a residence and counseling center for unwed teenage mothers. Our Jewish Retreat Center, named in her honor, was incorporated in 1893 as the Jewish Working Girls Vacation Society, of which Ms. Isabella Freedman was a founder. The Society provided free or highly subsidized country vacations for young Jewish women who worked all year in the city. It was established “to assist worthy Jewish working girls of small means to spend their summer vacation in the country, in the process aiding their physical development.” Ms. Freedman was also a devoted member of the Temple Emanu-El in New York City. She was a member of its religious school […]

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Recipe: Wild Alaskan Salmon

Want a bigger taste?  Join us this summer at the Hazon Food Conference! 4 6-ounce wild salmon filets (from Alaska), skin off 1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives Olive oil Salt and pepper Pat dry the salmon filets. Combine the fresh herbs in a bowl. Press the herbs on to the “presentation “side of the salmon (non-skin side). Salt and pepper the fish on both sides. Place a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Lightly coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Place the salmon filets, presentation side down, in the pan. Here is the hard part-Don’t touch the fish for at least 3-5 minutes until the fish has browned and is not sticking to the pan. If it sticks, it has not browned enough. The browned fish will be crispy and firm and will loosen itself from the pan. Turn the fish over and turn off the heat. Cover the pan and the fish will continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Your fish will be a perfect medium rare. If you want it well done (I don’t recommend it) keep the […]

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Recipe: Vegan Jackfruit Pulled “Pork” Sandwiches

Want a bigger taste?  Join us this summer at the Hazon Food Conference! This recipe and photo come to us from Dave Albert on Rootiful. Jackfruit pulled pork Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Total Time: About an hour Yield: 4–6 sandwiches — Adapted from MORE, moreveganblog.com Ingredients 3 20-oz. cans of jackfruit in brine 1 tsp. olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 3 cloves of minced garlic or garlic powder equivalent 1 tsp. ground cumin .25 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. paprika 1.5 tsp. liquid smoke 1 cup vegetable broth .5 cup BBQ sauce (I recommend smoky, tangy…) 4 buns or rolls Directions Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Cut the core from the edges (it’s okay to leave a little). Using your fingers, press the jackfruit upward to remove the seeds. Don’t worry about getting out every last seed, but try to remove most. In a large pan, sauté the onion in olive oil, add the garlic, and saute a bit longer, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the jackfruit, liquid smoke, and seasonings. Mix everything well. Add vegetable broth, cover, and simmer for 10–15 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. (If you don’t have a cover, simply simmer […]

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Making the Omer COUNT! Food Waste, Composting and more

Dear Hazon Seal Sites, A new UN report came out this week that had some seriously grim content. One million species now face extinction, and all of this will harm human health. One of the biggest ways that we can make help fight Climate Change is by individually doing our parts and leading by example. Diverting food waste and working with our institutions to do the same is one way that we can help propel change. Below is a collection of recent resources to inspire you on your journey. All of these are also available and searchable on our Hazon Seal Resource Bank. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for resources to share with the network in the future. Wishing you a peaceful Shabbat, Merav and Ariel Announcing the next webinar: FOOD WASTE! Mark your calendars! The next webinar for participating Hazon Seal sites will take place on Wednesday, June 5th from 1-2:30pm EST and be all about food waste. The webinar will be led by Gary Oppenheimer, founder of AmpleHarvest.org and creator of Food Waste Weekend. Both resources are so valuable and helpful – we encourage you to check them out and see how you can make use of […]

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Hazon Seal Spotlight: Interfaith Tu B’Shevat Gathering

Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex (NJ) By Harriet Sepinwall and Mark Lipsy Please see below for an article about an Interfaith Tu B’shvat Program held at Congregation Agudath Israel. For any questions or comments for Congregation Agudath Israel, please reach out to us and we are happy to make the shidduch! Special Interfaith Tu B’Shevat Program for Tu B’Shevat at Congregation Agudath Israel Someone said that “you could hear a pin drop” at the interfaith gathering for Tu B’Shevat at Congregation Agudath Israel held on January 24th.  Jointly planned and co-sponsored by CAI’s Environmental Committee, Interfaith Committee, and Education Department with Saint Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, the program “Climate Change:   Science, Realities, and Concerns – What Can We DO?”, attracted almost 100 attendees.  Coming together as a faith community, the program began with a display of the Biblical “7 species in the land of Israel” and an explanation of the significance of the wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey.  CAI’s Rabbi Alan Silverstein described what the Torah, beginning with Bereisheit (Genesis), and Jewish sages have taught about the environment given to us and our need to care for it.   Saint Aloysius’ Msgr. Michael Desmond followed by citing […]

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Hazon Seal Spotlight: Welcoming our new Hazon Seal Sites

We are so proud of the newest additions to our Hazon Seal of Sustainability family. These incredible institutions are working towards their first Hazon Seal of Sustainability this year, and are already inspiring us with their work. Get to know them, learn about their current projects, and cheer them on!   Beit Yichud (Chicago, IL) Fiedler Hillel at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) SketchPad (Chicago, IL) Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue & Kol Sasson Congregation (Skokie, IL) Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership (Chicago, IL) The Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College (Waterville, MA) Farber Hebrew Day School – Yeshivat Akiva (Southfield, MI) Jewish Family Service of Metro Detroit (West Bloomfield, MI) Young Israel of Southfield (Southfield, MI) Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex (Caldwell, NJ) The Jewish Education Project (New York, NY) Woodstock Jewish Congregation (Woodstock, NY)

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Hakhel Blog: Craig Oshkello

by Craig Oshkello The local farm supply store, a seventh generation family business, left a message for me on Shabbat. Probably not aware that it was the fourteenth day of the counting of the Omer, they let me know the barley has arrived. I am one of a growing number of Jews that are leading a lifestyle based on environmental stewardship and social justice. As a Jew in the diaspora this path had yielded deeper meaning in my spiritual growth and a stronger connection to/ longing for the land of Israel. It is now Motzei Shabbos (Saturday night) and there is a buzz on the farm. Although the north faces of the 4000 foot mountains on the horizon are still under 65” of snow, the first flowers are blooming here at 800 feet above sea level at our home in the valley. Colts foot, Trout Lily, Marsh Marigold, Trillium, Lady’s Slipper and Blood Root are all of the first to bloom. They are “ephemeral” species whose bloom and foliage will disappear in a month. First to flower among the trees, the White Poplar, has a distinctly hairy looking flower locally referred to as “Popple Fuzz”, is now joined in a […]

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Hakhel Spotlight: FED

FED is a community where people from diverse backgrounds, professions, and walks of life come together for open and honest dialogue; delicious, vegetable-forward food; and the creative energy and ideas of others in attendance. Each event provides motivational, entertaining content that exposes you to ideas, art, and stories that you may not have previously considered, including through FED talks (akin to TED talks in length and style), musicians, comedians, dancers, or other artistic performers. FED is a vision for an ideal Jewish community that is powered by the Jewish values of hospitality, openness, and dialogue, and explores and incorporates Jewish themes, holidays, and experiences. For instance, we recently held two Passover seders (pictured here) with a specially written haggadah, focusing on taking guests on a journey toward creativity and empowerment through incorporating storytelling, improv techniques – and amazing food, of course! This creativity with the tradition and how it can inspire reflection, help us find and realize a sense of purpose, and be our best selves is what Judaism (and FED) is all about. FED is based in New York City and has also hosted gatherings in Be’er Sheva, Paris, San Francisco, and Boston. This week, FED is traveling to […]

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