Special Recent Posts
Earth Day as a secular chag
April 9th, 2021
Thursday, April 8, 2021 | netzach she’b’gevurah Dear All, It’s Earth Day two weeks from today. This prompts me to think about Earth Day as the secular equivalent of one of the festivals of Jewish life. Doing so helps us to better understand[...]
Shemini: Respecting the Sanctity of Life, by Rabbi Miriam Midlarsky Lichtenfeld
April 7th, 2021
Back in my teen years, at our pre-Prom gathering at my friend’s house, I didn’t eat any of the shrimp cocktail that she had put out for us to eat. She praised my self-discipline. To me, though, this seemed natural[...]
Tzav: Hiddur Mitzvah - Are My Hands Clean? by Shoshana Gugenheim Kedem
March 23rd, 2021
We named our daughter Hadar. She was born on Shabbat of parashat Tzav which contains a small and precious passage detailing the garments with which Moshe adorns Aharon for his service at the Temple. The name Hadar shares a root[...]
The Economy, Krugman, Healthcare, Pesach – and Power, Ethics & Ecology in Late Jewish Antiquity
March 18th, 2021
March 18, 2021 | 5 Nissan 5781 Dear All, The whole world we live in, right now, is “both/and” rather than “either/or.” Everything happens simultaneously. Everything and its opposite is true. Things overlap and repeat, fold in upon themselves. I feel this strongly in relation to[...]
Hazon Detroit: Food Rescue Update
March 17th, 2021
One year in, we’ve rescued over 250 tons – or 500,000 pounds – of food! Hazon Detroit's Food Rescue and Redistribution work continues to be a major focus for us, as we try to help reduce the amount of food insecurity[...]
Blessing for a Wounded Earth
March 16th, 2021
by Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses O Holy Earth! We live on your sacred ground. We were placed here to guard you and tend you to bless, respect and protect your overflowing goodness sustaining maintaining life. But we-- we misunderstood. Our growth, our strife went unchecked. We pollute you instead of salute[...]
Vayikra: Call Them In, by Rabbi Gila Caine
March 15th, 2021
וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר׃ “And He called to Moshe and Adonai spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying….” (Lev. 1:1) Why first call and then speak? Why not go right to speaking? Talmud suggests that in this, the[...]
Food and Farm Advocacy: Recommended Reading
March 11th, 2021
The Jewish practice of determining what is “fit to eat” (a literal translation of “kosher”) is complex in this age of global food systems. It is not simply upon us to find the purest ingredients for our tables at any[...]
Vayakel-Pekudei: Work on Your Connection by Eli Weinbach
March 9th, 2021
Rest requires work. Without putting in the prep time, we may find that a day off is spent thinking about what has yet to be done. Without planning, vacation may not be much more exciting than staying home. Extended conversation[...]
Ki Tisa: Believe in Equality and Leave the REST to G-d by Dvir Cahana
March 4th, 2021
The story beats of Parshat Ki Tisa teach us two Shmita-esque concepts. The Parsha begins with the democratized call to cooperatively erect the Mishkan, where each individual was commanded to evenly contribute a half-shekel to the project. The purpose of[...]
Purim: Truths Revealed Over The Past Year by Melissa Hoffman
February 22nd, 2021
Many of us anticipated this Purim as the approximate year-marker since our lives changed unimaginably. There’s something apt about the holiday that highlights the topsy-turvy nature of life bookending the beginning — and hopefully the beginning of the end —[...]
Terumah: Good Neighbors by Judry Subar
February 16th, 2021
Breathlessly, the first third of the Torah runs through stories of creation, accounts of love and rupture in the pre-Israelite and Israelite family, reports of slavery experienced and slavery escaped, and rules governing all sorts of circumstances. Over the course[...]
Rosh Chodesh Adar, and a preview of the Shmita Prizes
February 11th, 2021
February 11, 2021 | Erev Rosh Chodesh Adar Dear All, The Hebrew month of Adar, by tradition, “increases joy.” Those who are used to Jewish tradition may take this idea for granted. But underlying it are presumptions that are worth thinking about,[...]
Mishpatim: We All Live Downstream by Adriane Leveen
February 9th, 2021
"We all live downstream." Those words, spoken by a member of a first nation community in the haunting film, The Condor and the Eagle, capture a simple truth we are too ready to forget. None of us will escape the[...]
A Call to Action for Rabbis and Spiritual Leaders From Hazon's Detroit Rabbi, Nate DeGroot
February 3rd, 2021
Dear Rabbis and Spiritual Leaders, With each passing day, and each new scientific report, it is becoming increasingly clear that the climate crisis is and will continue to be the most pressing moral issue of our time. I know you, like[...]
Yitro: The Operating Manual by Deirdre Gabbay
February 2nd, 2021
Parshat Yitro, in the book of Exodus, contains the beginning of the story of the Revelation at Sinai. The story of Revelation begins here, but the telling unfolds in a complex, layered piece of narrative origami. The halakhic midrash of[...]
Beshalach: Redemption Song by Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein
January 29th, 2021
It is Friday evening and the sun is just about the set. The synagogue is filled with a psalm and song-filled greeting for Her Majesty, the Shabbat Queen. After six long days of toiling, working, and serving, we have finally[...]
Thoughts on this Tu B'Shvat
January 28th, 2021
Thursday, January 28, 2021 | Tu B'Shvat 5781 Dear All, One of the questions underpinning the entire Jewish environmental movement is the question: to what end? If we want to make a difference in the world, can’t we – shouldn’t we –[...]
Food Rescue Hero: Darraugh Collins
January 21st, 2021
After the completion of ten weeks of exposure, enlightenment, and heavy back breaking work, Tania and I find ourselves longing for our internship to continue on into 2021. By working with Hazon and other partner organizations and leaders in the[...]
Bo: Hyssop - The Paintbrush of Liberation, by Rabbi David Seidenberg
January 20th, 2021
In parshat Bo, the destroying angel passes over the houses of the Israelites — in Hebrew “pasach al hapetach” — sparing their firstborn, and giving the Passover holiday its name in Hebrew and English. But the angel only “knows” who[...]
Light In The Darkness
January 12th, 2021
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 | 28th Tevet 5781 Dear All, Tomorrow night it’s Rosh Chodesh Shvat. The beginning of the beginnings. Next week a new president, a new government. The week after it’s Tu B’Shvat and the Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest. The almond[...]
Vaera: Our Plagues and Our Plans by Ann Hait and Rabbi Gabe Greenberg
January 12th, 2021
In Parshat Vaera, the action revolves around God’s command, through Moses, that Pharoah free the enslaved Israelites. Pharaoh's hard-headedness and selfishness preclude him from doing so immediately, and in response, God sends a series of plagues to Egypt. Dam, tzfarde'a,[...]
Shemot: Talking with God by SooJi Min-Maranda
January 6th, 2021
This week’s parsha, Shemot, is the same Torah portion that I read from the bima at Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor, MI, thirteen-and-a-half years after officially claiming Judaism as an adult b’nai mitzvah. What a wonderful opportunity to be[...]
Take action for a just and climate-smart food system
January 6th, 2021
Take action for a just and climate-smart food system… even if you aren’t following all the complexities taking place on Capitol Hill! We are tracking opportunities for the Jewish community to tip the scales toward effective policy. Join our advocacy alert[...]
Vayechi: Brotherly Love by Eli Weinbach
December 30th, 2020
This week, Jacob, like his father before him, sets out to bless his progeny. The first to receive his blessings are Joseph’s sons, the brothers Ephraim and Menashe. Those who have been following since Bereshit will know that being a[...]
Vayigash: We Need Emotional Shmita Now by Rabbi Shoshana Friedman
December 23rd, 2020
Deep into the Joseph story, we come to a moment that catches my breath and makes me tear up every year. Joseph, sold to slavery long ago, stands now as the viceroy of Egypt. He has designed a system of[...]
Miketz: Run Wild by Judry Subar
December 16th, 2020
In the beginning, the world was a wild and chaotic place. While the arc of the Genesis narrative bends relentlessly toward the taming of the chaos, progress is slow. As the human species settles in for the long haul, its[...]
Vayeshev: Entitlement and Creation by Hannah Elovitz
December 10th, 2020
Our story returns to tell us, “Now Jacob was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan” (Gen. 37:1, JPS translation). Jacob’s father and grandfather had only ever been outsiders in the land in which[...]
Darkness, and light – from the United Nations
December 9th, 2020
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 | Erev Chanukah Dear All, First: a huge thank you to every single person who has supported us in 2020. A record number of people supported us on Giving Tuesday. I and we appreciate it. This year we survived,[...]
Food Rescue Hero: April Roe Agosta
December 8th, 2020
For our second edition of Food Rescue Hero of the Week, Tania and I instantly knew the exact woman we needed to highlight. For years, April Roe Agosta has fed those in need -- from her backyard to the back[...]
Vayishlach: Rename and Renew by Rabbi Joshua Ratner
December 3rd, 2020
2020 has been a year of unbelievable struggle. Between the devastating impact of Covid-19, the profound struggle for racial equality that erupted in nation-wide protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and the hyper-partisan election campaign that tore apart[...]
Hazon Detroit: Tragic Hope & Meaningful Action
December 3rd, 2020
by Rebecca Levy Dear Friends, Since the summer, we have had the incredible fortune of having six wonderful interns supporting and enriching our work. Much gratitude to Repair the World Serve the Moment, the Applebaum Internship Program, JOIN, and the Hornstein Program[...]
Vayetze: The Meaning of Seven by Aharon Ariel Lavi
November 24th, 2020
Shmita is the seventh year, following six regular years — and numbers in the Torah are not incidental, but rather a channel for meaningful ideas. The first, and most renowned, appearance of the number seven is obviously the seven days[...]
Light, and the amplitude of life
November 20th, 2020
Thursday, November 19, 2020 | 3 Kislev 5781 And announcing a new initiative for college students: Campus-at-Camp – at Isabella Freedman – spring '21. Applications opened today and close December 4th. Dear All, I’m feeling intensely the amplitude of life right now. One of the things that[...]
Food Rescue Hero: Minister Antonio
November 19th, 2020
Over the next few months, Tania and myself, Lily, will be highlighting our local food rescue heroes. In doing this work only briefly, we have been struck with the profound recognition of our own privilege, of our ability to go[...]
Toldot: What Will We Eat in the Seventh Year? Shmita, Lack, and Abundance by Justin Goldstein
November 17th, 2020
While the language may be a product of recent decades, the dichotomy between an “abundance mentality” and a “lack mentality” is a core human experience. The basic principles of these two concepts reflect a question of perspective; one who embodies[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: D I S T A N C E – A 9th Street Project
November 17th, 2020
WHO? 9th Street is a community of Jewish multidisciplinary artists and creatives based in Johannesburg. Recently and together with seed money from Hakhel and a grant from the South African Cities Network, we embarked on a project to bridge the distances[...]
Chayei Sarah: What does it mean to “own” land – and why is it important? by Nigel Savage
November 10th, 2020
In my twenties I bought my first apartment in London. My parents lent me £5,000 for the deposit, and I got a mortgage for the rest. It was a 2-bedroomed apartment in Golders Green. I do no disservice to my[...]
Vayeirah: The Shaping of the Land by Eliezer Weinbach
November 4th, 2020
Inherent in the concept of Shmita is an understanding that as much as we toil to shape the land, the land shapes us as well. How does it shape a person to raise children where their great-grandparents were raised? How[...]
Lech-Lecha: Environmental Refugees by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
October 29th, 2020
This week’s parashah, Lekh Lekha (Genesis 12:1-17:27) heralds the emergence of the Jewish people. The story is inaugurated by a call from God directing Abra[ha]m to uproot himself and his family, leave his homeland, his memories, his childhood, all he[...]