Special Recent Posts
Light In The Dark | D'varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
November 30th, 2018
Ilana Unger - Pearlstone Center Parshat Vayeishev In parshat Vayeishev (Genesis 37:1-40:23), lands on the third Shabbat of Kislev, we connect deeply to this Jewish month of actualization and revelation. For example: Vayeishev is the Hebrew word for “and he lived” (actualization) and[...]
Big Questions
November 29th, 2018
By Nigel Savage Thursday, November 29, 2018 | 21 Kislev 5779 Dear All, In 2000, a small group of people believed (a) that we had to try to address environmental sustainability in the world, including some big big – BIG – challenges; (b)[...]
Hazon. Important.
November 15th, 2018
by Nigel Savage November 15, 2018 | 8 Kislev 5779 Dear all, In the last two weeks we’ve had the shivahs for the people who were murdered in Pittsburgh, the post-Pittsburgh Shabbat, and then the midterms. As I write, California is on fire[...]
Hakhel Israel trip – Day 1
November 9th, 2018
Monday, November 5, 2018 By Gil Landau, Kfar B'ir, Washington DC Monday morning, we stood on a mountaintop overlooking the Kineret and the place where the earliest Kibbutzim were established. After hearing our guide James tell his moving personal story of coming[...]
Detroit Newsletter: Drops of water
November 8th, 2018
Dear Friends, Last night at sundown, we concluded the Jewish lunar month of Cheshvan, the first month following High Holidays and the only month on our calendar without a Jewish holiday. For this reason, there’s a tradition dating back to the Mishnah(~200 CE)[...]
Hakhel Israel trip – Day 2
November 6th, 2018
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 By Elie Benhiyoun Divorced with three kids and nowhere to go, Sara made the trek north to Afula. When she arrived, the first thing she did was get on a bike, find whatever odds and ends she could[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: The Kehilla in South Korea
November 6th, 2018
Hakehillah is a Jewish cultural community focused on welcoming and including all who wish to celebrate Jewish tradition, religion, and culture. There aren’t many Jews in South Korea, and we want to make everyone feel like they have a family[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: Urban Moshav Boston
November 6th, 2018
On our Hakhel tour of intentional communities last month, our small group bonded quickly. With representatives from Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia – as well as Mexico, Ukraine, and Russia – we easily bridged our linguistic and cultural differences (everyone[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: November Newsletter Message
November 6th, 2018
Dear friends, "There were shots in a synagogue in Pittsburgh," my hosts in New York informed me last Saturday night when I returned from a wonderful Shabbat with UWS Jews, a community of young Jews in New York, who are part[...]
Hazon Detroit at Interfaith Justice Speak-Out
November 6th, 2018
Hazon Detroit is proud to have stood alongside so many powerful faith leaders on November 1, 2018 at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn to denounce white nationalism, show support for the Jewish community, and affirm solidarity for all[...]
All about Teva
October 29th, 2018
In the last twenty years, more than 100,000 Jewish children, teachers and young adults have participated in the transformative experience of Teva: immersing themselves in the rhythms of the natural world, learning about the Jewish values of stewardship, and developing[...]
Pittsburgh/Israel
October 28th, 2018
I’m in Israel with our largest ever Israel Ride – 219 participants, plus more than 60 crew and staff members. Six of our riders live in Pittsburgh, two are members of the shul that was attacked, and many more grew[...]
Hazon Seal of Sustainability: Hazon Seal @ Chicago
October 23rd, 2018
Application is now closed. However! - please let us know if you have interest in joining so we can keep you posted when space opens up! Click HERE for the inquiry form! ----------------- We are very excited to open up our Chicagoland adventure[...]
From then to now. And where next?
October 18th, 2018
by Nigel Savage Thursday, October 18, 2018 | 9 Cheshvan 5779 Dear All, This is a blunter email than usual. For 18 years Hazon’s impact in the world has been partly predicated on not ‘banging people over the head,’ as I sometimes put it.[...]
NYC Jewish institutions: Take the lead on eliminating food waste!
October 18th, 2018
Food waste is a major problem. Minimizing waste diverted to landfills is crucial for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as the world battles the effects of global warming. See this resource by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for more info about its magnitude and urgency. The[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: Bible Raps
October 10th, 2018
Bible Raps joined Hakhel in the summer of 2018, and looks to fuse the two rarely overlapping worlds of Hip Hop and Torah. Here is how they do it… Rappers and Rabbis: An Unreasonable Obsession With The Word By Matt Bar I know[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: MoEd
October 10th, 2018
MoEd is… The place you should have been going after school when you were a kid. It just wasn’t around, so you couldn’t… A fun-loving kids’ community, where kids come to meet and play and talk – and learn (without[...]
The Silence After Love: The Gift of Space in the Month of Cheshvan
October 9th, 2018
By Mira Neshama Niculescu On Elul our anticipation grows, as we hear the shofar blow every morning in the synagogues, as we hurry to examine our deeds, as we call each other to say “I’m sorry”, and “I love you.” Then[...]
From Teshuva to Joy to Strategic Planning
October 4th, 2018
Thursday, October 4, 2018 | 25 Tishrei 5779 Dear All, The holidays are over and it’s the start of the rest of our lives. I’ve been thinking about the end of the Jewish holidays, how the pieces fit together, what they mean and imply. I[...]
Farm Bill Update
October 4th, 2018
A few weeks ago we wrote about the hugely important Farm Bill. Well, the 2014 Farm Bill has now expired and our legislators have postponed taking any action until after the mid-term elections. This means several valuable programs are immediately[...]
Turning Yom Kippur into Action
September 26th, 2018
Dear friends -- If you're like me, you probably spent some of your Yom Kippur last week thinking about how to better live up to your ideals -- how to be kinder, more just, more in touch with the sacred. Well,[...]
Hazon Book Club, Sukkot, the Farm Bill and the midterms
September 21st, 2018
Thursday, September 20, 2018 | 11 Tishrei 5779 Dear All, I hope you had a good and strong Yom Kippur. Someone yesterday asked me: how do we take all this intensity and good intentions and vulnerability and desire to change and actually integrate[...]
Listen Ya'll! | D'varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
September 21st, 2018
Alex Voynow - Jewish Farm School Parshat Haazinu [NOTE: Applications for the next JOFEE Fellowship cohort are open now through October 5! Apply today!] In Ha’azinu, Moses sees the Israelites for who they are: humans, scarred by 40 years of impatient wandering and in[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: FED, Harlem
September 12th, 2018
FED - an intentional community based in Harlem, NYC - feeds you with delicious food, inspirational art and ideas, and the creative energy of others you find here. For the first time, this year FED will be offering services and[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: Sadeh, UK
September 12th, 2018
This past July at Sadeh, we organised our first summer camp. Rooted in Jewish values Sadeh cultivates community, grows food, and sows the seeds of change. Sadeh, which means field, is the first UK Jewish farm and environmental community of[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: Shana Tova from Hakhel!
September 12th, 2018
Dear friends, Shana tova, Happy New Year! Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot are upon us again. It is the month of the year the Jews all over the world most look to their communities for meaning, connection and personal acceptance.[...]
Five Ways to Prepare for Rosh Hashanah
August 23rd, 2018
by Nigel Savage Thursday, August 23, 2018 | 12 Elul 5778 Dear All, Be brave and make plans to see people. Host people or reach out and ask someone if you can come over to them. We talk about the black fire and[...]
Indigenous Rights and Reconciliation | D'varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
August 17th, 2018
Jared Kaminsky - Shoresh Parshat Shoftim The parsha of the week is Shoftim, which means Judges. As Moses nears the end of his life, he wants to ensure there is a system of governance in society. Shoftim gives detailed ordinances on many topics[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: Frum Farm, Colorado
August 16th, 2018
Experience a real Old West wilderness adventure for Sukkot, in the beautiful Rocky Mountains! Rustic but comfortable accommodations, delicious Glatt kosher food, stunning views and fun activities, on a Colorado family homestead! Come relax and re"jew"vinate in a more simple[...]
Hakhel Spotlight: Living Tree Alliance, Vermont
August 16th, 2018
It’s August in Vermont's Mad River Valley. Youth scatter themselves across the covered bridge of Waitsfield and fly into the river below. A family floats by in their tube and a band plays by the river's edge. Our fields are[...]
The Binary of One | D'varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
August 9th, 2018
Sofia Marbach - Wilderness Torah Parshat Re'eh I set before you today a blessing and a curse; The blessing, that you will heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the[...]
Issues with Emails from hazon.org
August 9th, 2018
For reasons outside of our control, some of our emails are now being blocked by spam filters. This includes not just emails from Hazon overall, but also from individual staffers. We cannot, on our side, remove our emails from your[...]
Urban Kibbutz - San Francisco
August 9th, 2018
By Sara Linden, Hakhel Fellow of Urban Kibbutz-San Francisco and Associate Director of Admissions at Jewish Community High School of the Bay June 26, 2018 DIY Kibbutz - Diaspora edition Is this what if felt like to emigrate to Israel in[...]
The Overstory: A First-Ever Hazon Book Club!
August 9th, 2018
by Nigel Savage Thursday, August 9, 2018 | 28 Av 5778 Dear All, On Shabbat it’s the last day of Av and the first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul. (And my grandma’s yahrtzeit.) Sunday morning – the second day of Rosh Chodesh, and the first[...]
Reflections on Kindness | D'varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
August 3rd, 2018
Brenden Jackson - Amir with Shalom Community Farm Houston Parshat Eikev In Parshat Eikev, Moses calls upon his people to reflect on their past in order to remember and obtain the future that was promised to them. As they prepare to enter[...]
FUNdraising Tip #5: Say Thank You
July 30th, 2018
After 5 weeks of FUNdraising tips, we hope you've been raking in the donations! Immediately after someone has donated to your Ride, send them a quick email or call them to thank them. Then, after the Ride, we recommend sending[...]
Join us in Living the Change
July 27th, 2018
Hazon is the leading Jewish partner in Living the Change – a worldwide, faith-driven, evidence-based initiative designed to address the growing environmental challenges for our shared home. Demonstrate on a global scale how your individual transportation, home energy use, and diet[...]
FUNdraising Tip #4: Show the Impact
July 24th, 2018
Feel free to copy and paste some of the language below on social media and in your fundraising emails. WHERE THE MONEY GOES: Hazon Seal of Sustainability: Option 1: Through the Hazon Seal of Sustainability, Hazon works with Jewish communities and institutions across the US[...]
FUNdraising Tip #3: Spread the word
July 20th, 2018
Watch this short video from 2017 NY Ride honoree Ruth Messinger for some fundraising encouragement! Although fundraising may seem intimidating at first, you probably know more people than you realize. To start your fundraising, you need to first make a list[...]
FUNdraising Tip #2: Personalize it
July 20th, 2018
This is an easy one and only takes 5 minutes: personalize your fundraising page with a photo and text about why you're riding. Putting in a little bit of effort shows your donors that you're serious about what you're fundraising[...]
