New from the SOVA blog by Rabbi Natan Margalit of Organic Torah Original post can be found at http://sovaproject.org/2013/08/05/shmita-the-rhythms-of-life/ What can we, in our present moment of great environmental, social and economic peril and also enormous and exciting potential, learn from the ancient biblical idea of shmita? With its requirement to let all land lie fallow and all debts be forgiven every seventh year, shmita offers us not just an example of progressive social and ecological legislation, but also an insight into an alternative world-view. Shmita tells us to put limits on our activities because we are not the center of the universe, because we are in relationship to something larger than ourselves. One way to look at this is to say that shmita reminds us that whereas the ethos of our times is to move forward unceasingly, in a more sane and inter-connected world there are rhythms. No musician, storyteller or athlete could work without rhythm. Notes and rests, words and silence, sprinting and pacing yourself — these create the beauty, drama and endurance of their craft. The natural world confirms that- all life is filled with rhythm: from our heartbeats to the tides to the seasons, the world pulses […]
Author Archive | Hazon
Dayenu
There is a particular majesty in cresting a hill and taking in the landscape: the great expanse of the Negev Desert or the sparkle of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), the Jordan River or the heights of the Golan. There is a sense of awe when your legs work in concert with all the other parts to keep you balanced physically and mentally with the proper levels of salt and water to propel you up and brace you on the way down. There is a mind-clearing meditation that riding 60 miles a day brings to your brain. And there is a sense of great gratitude that comes with setting a lofty goal and working four months to achieve it.
Interfaith Food Justice Convening
Please join Hazon, Roots of Change and St. Anthony’s for the first Open Space Conference to discuss: How can faith communities engage with the people and policies working to make the food system healthy, equitable, and sustainable? Friday October 4, 2013 10:00am to 5:00pm SEIU Local 87 Union Hall, 240 Golden Gate Ave., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA Participation is free and at this time by invitation only. See below for information on how to register. Nurturing Interfaith Allyship in the Food Justice Movement Seeking to address the inequities in the food system from production to distribution to consumption, the community-driven food justice movement brings together environmentalists, the labor movement, animal rights activists, health advocates, and foodies. Faith-based allies, compelled by our values, have joined this movement to pursue justice in food, environment, economy, and race. We share a common calling to nourish souls as well as bodies, and we must work together. Please join Hazon, Roots of Change, and St. Anthony Foundation as we convene interfaith leaders and food justice advocates to build alliances, forge partnerships, and support and develop projects that contribute to a more just food system in the Bay Area. By exploring shared challenges and building trust, […]
Jewish Intentional Communities Conference
We’re delighted to announce that the Pearlstone Center, Hazon, and the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center are launching a Jewish Intentional Communities Initiative. Together we share a vision that over the next 3-10 years, new Jewish intentional communities will bloom across the country—from urban kibbutzim to rural moshavim, suburban co-ops, and more—and that these dynamic and vibrant new Jewish communities will become inspiring catalysts in an ongoing renaissance in American Jewish life. (more…)
Rosh Chodesh Elul: Jewish New Year for Animals
This post was written by Aharon Varady, of OpenSiddur.org, in honor of the ancient tradition of a Jewish New Year for Animals, which was counted on the new moon of Elul. As we are nearing Rosh Hashana 2013 (5774)- one year away from the next Shmita- this is an opportunity to begin thinking of an aspect of Shmita that is somewhat overlooked: the way Shmita informs and directs our human relationships with animals, both domesticated and wild. Read on for more about the Rosh Hashana La’Beheimot (New Year for Animals): Judaism has a New Years festival for animals. I’ll repeat: Judaism has a NEW YEARS FESTIVAL FOR ANIMALS! When I first learned this, in 5th grade, studying the Mishna, I was floored. Really? I had just learned that Judaism had a New Years festival for Trees. A universal day of healing for the Tree of Life, Tu Bishvat, a former tithing day for dedicating first fruit offerings to the Temple, had been recovered by Jewish mystics 1500 years after the destruction of our Temple. Jews, especially the historic rabbis I admired, were creative thinkers, lovers and poets, like Rabbi Moshe Cordovero who in 1588 wrote in his work the Palm […]
An Israel Ride Journal
In this journal, please share the journey of Rabbi Amy Katz and her son, Gabriel, on the 2012 Israel Ride.
Now, About Those Hills. (Hills, and more tips from an experienced Israel Rider.)
We will be doing a lot of hill climbing (sorry, it is just the nature of the geography here). Sometimes it seems like you climb all the way to Eilat, but that is not the case. There are some absolutely spectacular downhill runs that make up for all the intermediate climbs. Riding into the Maktesh on Sunday is a real treat (an 1100 foot decent) and another 1100 decent at the end of the day into Ketura…. Definitely highlights that you will remember for a very long time.
Hazon in the News
Press The Kabbalah of Baseball by Arthur Kurzweil – Huffington Post An Interfaith Food Collaborative: Reflections on the Hazon Food Conference – The Jew & The Carrot Just harvest: Hazon Jewish Food Festival offers a full plate of workshops, tastings – on JWeekly.com Enlightening the world through a garden – on JWeekly.com Hardly Strictly Bagels | Jewish Food Festival mantra: Healthy or not, here I come – on JWeekly.com benefits & social events – on JWeekly.com Festive about food – on JWeekly.com Nosh and Learn at S.F.’s Jewish Food Festival – on SFWeekly.com At the Intersection of Food and Jewish Life: the Hazon Jewish Food Festival at the JCCSF – on 3200 Stories.org Hazon Jewish Food Festival Brings the Shuk to the JCCSF – on 3200 Stories.org Frozen Kuhsterd at the Hazon Jewish Food Festival on March 17th – on FrozenKuhsterd.com A Consumer’s Right To Know: Business Ethics, Halakhah and GMOs – on Forward.com Hazon Jewish Food Festival: Day of Learning and Celebration – on SFGate.com Review: Kinish was king at Jewish Food Festival in San Francisco – on Digital Journal.com
Why I Ride Crew
By Maddy Hoffman Yossi (pictured) and I got married last summer, so training for the Ride didn’t make it to our pre-wedding to-do list. But we each had family and friends participating as riders, so we didn’t want to miss out on the experience. At the last minute we signed up as crew, not really sure what it would be like. We knew and appreciated the crew members who staffed our rest stops when we rode together the year before. They made us sandwiches, pointed us to the bathroom, and told us which snacks were the good ones. They cheered for us and encouraged us and reminded us that we were riding for an important cause with their full support. But what no one really tells you is that the crew members are actually having a lot of fun doing all of those things and even more that riders don’t get to see. There are cowbells to ring and whistles to blow, big vans to drive and spray paint to mark the turns, and there are maps, walkie-talkies, reflective vests, and team colors for each crew team. The Hazon staff made sure we had all the information and support we […]
Hazon Cross-USA Ride BBQ Dinner in Columbus: August 6th
Come join the Hazon Cross-USA riders for a free BBQ dinner at Agudas Achim! The Hazon Cross-USA riders will cycle from Springfield, OH to Columbus on August 6th. After settling in and showering (a must!), the riders will enjoy a wonderful BBQ dinner at 6:30 pm, sponsored by our ethically-produced kosher meat sponsor, Grow and Behold. And we hope you’ll join them! Please RSVP so we know how much food to make! You can also join us on the road! Ride with Hazon into Columbus, from Columbus to Coshocton, or any other part of the Ride until it ends in D.C. on August 15th. We encourage anyone riding for one day to donate $50 to Hazon to help support the educational work Hazon does in order to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community. A very special thank you to Agudas Achim for hosting our riders and helping to sponsor dinner. Our riders very much appreciate warm hospitality as they live a nomadic lifestyle for the summer.
Week 6: St. Paul – Milwaukee, WI
The Hazon Cross-USA Ride travels from Twin Cities to Madison this week. See where it’s stopping!
Sacred Work, Sacred Rest: Free Time For A Free People
New from the SOVA blog by Rabbi Arthur Wasow of the Shalom Center Original post can be found at http://sovaproject.org/2013/07/22/sacred-work-sacred-rest-free-time-for-a-free-people/ “Six days shall you labor and do all your work; but on the seventh day you shall rest.” Why? Because this teaches you the deepest truth of the Cosmos, that a rhythm of Doing and Being is part of every molecule and every galaxy, every human and every tree and tiger. (Exod 20: 8-11) Why? To make real your own freedom – and the freedom of the workers who are bound to you. For only slaves must work all the time. (Deut. 5: 12-15) Six years shall you labor and make economic growth, but on the seventh you shall rest, yes rest: Restfulness to the exponential power of Restfulness. (Lev. 25: 1-24). Why? Because the Earth has a covenant with God that requires its right and its duty to rest. If you – that is, WE—refuse to let the Earth rest, it will rest anyway –on our heads. Through drought, famine, flood, plague, exile. (Lev. 26, esp. 31-38 and 43; II Chron. 36: 20-21) (more…)
Week 5: Aberdeen – St. Paul, MN
The Hazon Cross-USA Ride travels from Aberdeen to Twin Cities this week. See where it’s stopping!
The Israel Ride – Linking Our Biblical Roots with Ben Gurion’s Vision
The scar under my right knee helps me not forget Sde Boker. On my right arm, the scar that helps me not forget Jerusalem has become very faint. Remembering both is Redemption.
Shmita Today: Oppressive Mortgages & Student Debt
By Rabbi Arthur Waskow On July 1, with Congress having failed to pass any legislation about student loans, the interest rate on them doubled. As Senator Elizabeth Warren pointed out: “Right now, the government lends money every day to big banks at less than 1% interest. [The interest rate it demands from students was 3.4% till June 30, and is now 6.8%.] Right now the federal government is making a profit from our students. Just last month, the Congressional Budget Office calculated that the government will make $51 billion this year off student loans.” This in a society that has disemployed 14 million people who want and need to work full time. Many of these millions are college graduates who can no longer pay off these loans. What is the solution? Let’s consult a sacred teaching of the Torah — At the end of every seventh year, you shall cancel/ release/ forgive/ annul/ all debts. This is the procedure: Everyone who has lent money to a neighbor writes it off. You must not press your neighbor or your kinfolk for payment: This release comes from YyyyHhhhWwwwHhhh , the Interbreath of Life. (Deuteronomy 15 : 1-2) (more…)
