Hazon Educational Library: Environmental Justice
Shmita Resource Library
This is a collection of shmita resources from all across the internet that Hazon has brought together in one place. Curricula, educational materials, essays, articles, audio, and video.
Shabbat Ha’aretz
Rav Kook's Introduction to Shabbat Ha'Aretz is the first-ever English translation of the introduction to a book on shmita (Biblical sabbatical year) by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the land of Israel in the 20th century. His essay, written in 1909, is lyrical and mystical, a meditation on the big themes that underlie religious environmentalism.
Category: Environmental Justice, Hazon Educational Materials, Jewish Ritual, Social Justice, Sustainability
Age(s): Adults
Throwing Stones or Throwing Flowers: Exploring Our Relationship with the Public Domain
This program presents students with the opportunity to delve deeply into the hidden messages of verse 50b of the Bava Kama (the stones text). Through text study, discussion and a hands-on activity, students will explore their relationship with the public domain. After investigating the myriad ways in which we might violate the public domain, students will actively nurture the public domain through shared intentions for community prosperity hidden inside a seed ball or planted beneath a tree.
Bringing The Stones’ into the 21st Century
?The Stones' text, from Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Bava Kama 50b, brings its readers back to ancient times. However, the lessons that can be learned from this text transcend time. In this program, participants will delve deep into ?The Stones' text, making connections relevant to today's world. Through this discussion, participants will discover what defines a community, and how in order to make an impact in a community, we must find a balance between protecting the Earth and meeting our own personal needs.
Age(s): Adults
Privilege and Oppression in Food System; Food Systems and Food Justice in the American Food System
This program is an introduction to the workers within the American food system, ranging from migrant farm workers, to CEOs of large GMO's, to the average consumer in Berkeley, CA. This program reflects on the Jewish morals of Oschek (how to treat laborers) and explores this morals' relevance to our American food system. Lastly, this program encourages participants to reflect on their role as a consumer, and how to use their privilege and power in a positive way.
Category: Environmental Justice, Food & Climate, Food Systems & Food Justice, Jewish Agricultural Traditions
Tags: consumerism, farm worker
Age(s): Teens
Topsy Turvy Bus
The Topsy Turvy Bus facilitates rethinking the current, nonrenewable, and often damaging systems of the world we live in. This summer's theme was focused on water usage and conservation. Through hands on activities, the programs aims for participants to understand how we can keep our resources in the cycle. Specifically, this curriculum touches upon the carbon cycle, the soil cycle, and the water cycle. This station was one stop on a 4 station rotation.
Age(s): Elementary
Stone Wall
This program is a physically active introduction to The Stones text from the Talmud Bavli, Masekbet Bava Kama, which raises many questions about land, responsibility, and ownership using text and soccer cones.
Age(s): Adults
