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[Newsletter] April 12 – Next Year In Israel

By on April 12, 2012 in Newsletters

Snapshot on Israel:
The Solar Field and the Mezuzah

Located on Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava desert of southern Israel, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) is the premier environmental teaching and research program in the Middle East, focusing on transboundary environmental issues. AIES is a primary beneficiary of theArava Institute Hazon Israel Ride.

By Rabbi Michael M. Cohen, Friends of Arava Institute for Environmental Studies

[image: solar power]QuotationsOn a lonely gate facing a desolate sun drenched open plain of the Arava Valley one can see a Mezuzah, the small rectangular box with writing from the Bible contained within it. It was put there following the Biblical injunction to place it on “your gates.” (Deut. 6:9) The Arava valley where this gate and mezuzah are found is the same valley used over 100,000 years ago by our earliest human ancestors as an entrance route into Asia as humanity began to spread out of Africa. The migratory nature of the valley continues in our own lifetime when twice a year half a billion birds fly from Africa to Asia and Europe and six months later return in the opposite direction. And few miles south of the fence and the mezuzah is the oasis of Yotvata mentioned twice in the Bible as a location where Moses and the Children of Israel encamped on their own journey from Africa to Asia.

Continue reading “The Solar Field and the Mezuzah…”

Two Weeks Away…
The Rocky Mountain Jewish Food Summit

April 29, 2012, University Memorial Center at CU Boulder

[Image: Food Summit]Home-brewing, bee-keeping, kugel-baking contest. Experienced speakers, interactive learning sessions, challenging conversations and a vast network of people interested in all things food and Judaism. The Rocky Mountain Jewish Food Summit is an opportunity to connect the puzzle pieces of food in your life. Eat, learn, do at CU-Boulder with Hazon Colorado on April 29th.

More Information | Register Today

 

The Bitter Sweetness of Chocolate

Fair Trade Chocolate Unavailable During Passover

By Ilana Schatz, Founding Director of Fair Trade Judaica

photo via Fair Trade Judaica

photo via Fair Trade Judaica

“In every generation a person is obligated to see him or herself as though he/she had personally been redeemed from Eqypt.”

QuotationsWe read in the Haggadah during our Passover seders. In recalling our people’s experience in Egypt, we are urged to remember that we were once slaves. We tell the details of the story, act it out, and eat charoset, symbolizing the mortar with which our ancestors made bricks for the Egyptians — we attempt to “experience” what slavery felt like.

Though we may not be actual slaves ourselves today, our history moves us to ask “Where does slavery exist today?,” “Who is enslaved?,” “What is that slavery like?” Unfortunately, this is the issue with most chocolate in the world. The majority of all cocoa is grown in West Africa, where hundreds of thousands of children have been documented working in their cocoa fields.

Continue Reading “The Bitter Sweetness of Chocolate..”

Want to write for The Jew and the Carrot?

Kosher power bars? Jewish farmers? Perfect Vegan Challah? Read about it on the Jew and the Carrot — or write about it! Now accepting proposals for original blog posts.

Not an Israel Organization, But…

[Image: Photo Alt]How do Jewish organizations with missions that are not Israel-focused relate to Israel? How should they? As professionals with our own strong feelings, how do we relate to those questions?

Thursday, May 3rd, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Makom Hadash, 125 Maiden Lane, Suite 8B, New York, NY

Topics include: “What Do We Mean by Neutral: How organizations negotiate complex politics and policies around Israel” and “A Jewish Heart Yearns: How we negotiate the borderline between our organizations’ Israel positions and our own.”

Kosher vegetarian lunch included.

$15, free to Makom Hadash members
A program of Siach and Makom Hadash

Registration

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Hazon Participates in USDA Food Justice Seder at the White House

On Wednesday, April 4th, Hazon was fortunate enough to be a guest at the Second Annual Food and Justice Passover Seder hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

Local Events and Features
from our Partners and Friends

JOIN for Justice National Summit

April 29 & 30 – New York City

Presented by JOIN (Jewish Organizing Institute & Network) for Justice.

Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion
One West 4th Street, New York, NY 10012

The field of Jewish community organizing is growing rapidly. However, as practitioners in this field, we have not yet formally come together –  across denominations, across roles, across the country –  to share wisdom, build connections, find partners, and plan for the future. JOIN for Justice’s National Summit is a unique opportunity for Jewish organizers to come together to articulate and celebrate their shared vision for the Jewish community and its role in advancing justice in the world. Through networking, training, and other learning opportunities, we will build relationships and gain resources that will strengthen our ability to achieve our individual and collective goals.

More Information

To Till and to Tend: One Week Intensive in Sustainable Agriculture, Food Justice and Jewish Tradition

Take Sustainable Agriculture, Food Justice and Torah to the Next Level!

[Image: working on the farm]Do you want to earn college credit and spend time this summer on organic farms in the Boston area? The Jewish Farm Schooland Hebrew College are partnering to offer you a weeklong, intensive course exploring the intersection of Judaism, agriculture and contemporary food justice.

June 3-10, 2012
Sustainable farms in the Greater Boston Area and Hebrew College
Newton, MA

More Information

Shabbat Step by Step

Hosting Shabbat While Living a Full Week

[image: fresh challah]Sunday, April 29 at 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM
Sur la Table Portland’s Culinary Kitchen Classroom
1102 Northwest Couch Street, Portland, Oregon

Public transit and parking are available.

Wouldn’t you love to know how to put together a delicious Shabbat dinner, what to make, when and how, using fresh, local, seasonal ingredients? Worried that it’s complicated and time consuming? Learn how to make it happen from Shabbat hostess and home cook, Bobbie Kramer. This is the first in a series of classes designed to give you an easy to execute strategy for hosting Friday night Shabbat dinners in your home. April’s session will be a Spring Dairy menu featuring Honey Whole Wheat Challah, Mushroom Barley Soup, Crustless Spring Vegetable Quiche, Herb-Roasted Asparagus and New Potatoes, with Strawberry Rhubarb Fool for dessert.

More Information

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