In This Email
- Deep Kashrut Resolutions for New Year’s
- Hazon Ride Info Night
- Tu B’Shvat Begins Sundown February 7, 2012
- Cycling Advice from Hazon Riders
- Volunteer in a Hazon Office
- Siach: An Environment and Social Justice Conversation
- Local Events and Features from our Partners and Friends
Deep Kashrut Resolutions for New Year’s
By Noah Farkas
Originally posted on The Jew and the Carrot
With the New Year comes the New Year’s Resolution. Polls say 45% of all Americans make at least one resolution, the most popular of which is to lose weight. But according to Opinion Research Corporation, one out of every four people never follow through on their resolution because they set a goal they can’t achieve. I believe the whole process of goal-oriented resolutions is a bit dangerous. Goal-type resolutions set behavioral patterns that are often out of character for who we fundamentally are, and they risk our self-esteem when we miss our mark or give up. Think of it this way: If you resolve to lose 100 pounds but only lose 50, did you achieve your resolution? If you are too goal oriented, then your achievement (50 pounds!) is for naught. Resolutions based on goals are too flat. We need something deeper.
Elsewhere I wrote that the core problem of our food system is that our food has become flattened into mere objects or commodities to be consumed. The solution to this flattening is the reclamation of the depth our food represents. More than a mixture of ingredients, our food is freighted with values, memories, and political processes. When we place a morsel in our mouth we immerse ourselves into these depths. I called this process “Deep Kashrut.” When it comes to making resolutions for the New Year, instead of thinking of resolutions as flat goals, let’s think of them as life-adjustments to deepen ourselves.
In that spirit, here are five Deep Kashrut Food Resolutions for the New Year that are achievable today…
Rabbi Noah Zvi Farkas of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, CA. is the founder of Netiya, an L.A.-based network of Jewish organizations focused on food education for environmental and social justice.
Write for the Jew and the Carrot
Join the team that brings the best reporting and personal stories on Jews, food, and contemporary life to your computer screen every day. The Jew and the Carrot is looking for volunteer writers who will be committed to bringing our readers exciting stories from the New Jewish Food Movement and beyond. If you would like to join our writing team, please email editor@jcarrot.org.
New Routes, New Rides!
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If you’ve been thinking about doing a Hazon ride, 2012 is the year! Come learn about our rides in California, New York, Israel, and all across America. Ride alumni welcome!
Monday, January 23rd,
7 PM – 10 PM
Stone Creek Bar & Lounge
140 East 27th St, New York, NY
Kosher snacks provided, cash bar available.
Tu B’Shvat begins Sundown on February 7, 2012
![[Image: Bicycle Menorah]](http://hazon.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/201101Xt0524-200x300.jpg)
Tu B’Shvat (Hebrew: ט״ו בשבט) is a minor Jewish holiday in the Hebrew month of Shvat, usually sometime in late January or early February, that marks the “New Year of the Trees” (Hebrew:ר×ש ×”×©× ×” ל××™×œ× ×•×ª, Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot‎). Tu B’Shvat is one of four “New Years” mentioned in the Mishnah. Customs include planting trees and eating dried fruits and nuts, especially figs, dates, raisins, carob, and almonds. In Israel, the flowering of the almond tree, which grows wild around the country, coincides with Tu B’shvat.
Download Hazon’s Tu B’Shvat Haggadah, Seder Leader’s Guide, Family Seder, and more!
Cycling Advice from Suzie and Ilana
Tips from Hazon Riders
![[Image: Photo Alt]](http://hazon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/caridecochairsvideo.jpg)
Suzie Rose and Ilana Horwitz, returning co-chairs of the 2012 Hazon California Ride and Retreat, are filming a series of short videos with cycling training tips. They’ve got the new cyclist especially in mind.
Their first two videos are “How to Keep Your Tuchus [butt] Happy While Cycling” and “Keeping Your Legs and Arms Warm While Cycling.” They have great advice for year-round and winter cycling!
New York City and San Francisco
Do you have a few hours, days, or weeks when you want to come into a Hazon office to volunteer? We would love your help in creating a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community and world. Let us know your interests and skills.
Priority volunteer work for winter 2012 includes:
- Help to collect, write, and edit materials for publications
- Distribute flyers and posters to local area locations or attend fairs and festivals to run a table alongside a Hazon staff person
- Outreach to local communities to coordinate logistics for multi-day events (booking campsites for the Cross-USA Ride, contacting synagogues as rest stops, etc.)
- Support the development of the CSA Hub and JFEN Portal, including organizing and uploading existing Hazon documents, and collecting original materials for Hazon CSA newsletters
- Research and secure product donations for events
- Help market and recruit participants for Hazon programs
- General help with office operations
Siach: An Environment and Social Justice Conversation
Applications for 2nd Annual Conference Now Open
![[Image: Siach Logo]](http://hazon.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/siach-logo.png){kind=logo}
WHAT: A unique opportunity to meet, share and collaborate with fellow social justice and environment activists from across the Jewish world. Siach, an Environment and Social Justice Conversation, brings together committed activists from across Israel, North America, and Europe. Supported by the UJA-Federation of New York, with anchors in the US, Israel, and Great Britain, and scores of member organizations, Siach is deepening the nuanced understanding of Jewish Peoplehood and Israel engagement with those for whom the pursuit of social and environmental justice is one of the defining characteristics of their identity.
WHERE: The second annual Siach conference will take place at Ohalo Manor Hotel, on the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) in Israel
WHEN: June 15-18, 2012
WHO: We are looking for individuals who are doers, networkers, out-of-the-box thinkers, and visionaries with the desire to share our vision of creating a global network of collaboration in the areas of environment and social justice.
HOW: More information and application. Applications are due January 10, 2012.
Isabella Freedman’s NYC 2012 Program Preview Party
Celebrate the road ahead with the Isabella Freedman community!
![[Image: IFJRC Goats]](http://hazon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/goatsnyc.jpg)
A program of Hazon’s friends
In partnership with Romemu
Saturday, January 7th, 7 PM
165 W 105th St, New York, NY
Corner of 105th and Amsterdam Ave.
FREE
- Win Credits for Free Retreats
- Delicious Snacks from Adamah
- Havdalah with Romemu’s Shir Yaakov Feinstein-Feit
- Live Music Performances by: Rabbi Greg Wall, Chana Rothman, Etta Abramson, Zach Mayer & Bronwen Mullin, Yosef Goldman, Shir Yaakov, Tony Perry & Zalmen Mlotek
- Late-night Jam Session! (bring your instruments)
Israel’s Environmental and Social Crisis
The Prospects and Promise of Green Politics
A program of Hazon’s friends
![[Image: Flyer]](http://hazon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/AlonTal-flyer-Jan2012-bw-NYC2.jpg)
Spend Next Year with AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps
A program of Hazon’s friends
Do you want to make a difference in the world? AVODAH gives passionate young people, like you, hands-on work experience at local organizations fighting poverty around the country. Spend next year creating an active Jewish community while learning about yourself and partnering with service providers and residents in low income communities. Interested? Start your application today!
Visit Avodah’s website to read more about AVODAH and apply. You can also hear about the application process and the experiences of alumni on their next conference call. RSVP to Mollie Spevack at apply@avodah.net or sign-up here to attend.
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