Hazon Educational Library: Food Systems & Food Justice
Updated Shmita Sourcebook
The Hazon Shmita Sourcebook presents a guided exploration of the history, concepts, and practices of Shmita, from debt forgiveness to agricultural rest, economic adjustment to charitable giving. The updated sourcebook explores texts and commentaries that build the framework of Shmita within the biblical and rabbinic tradition, as well as contemporary voices that speak to Shmita as it relates to our modern world.
Blessing Our Food Waste
Through the practice of a food waste ritual, we can find deep lessons in how we gather, cook, and scrap food. We visually express those lessons into a “visual blessing” using actual food scraps and stones or other found natural objects. Then, we craft and recite a spoken blessing. Together, this helps us rethink food waste in our homes and communities.
Industrial Animal Agriculture and Climate Change – A Story Source Sheet
The connection between industrial animal agriculture and climate change is significant. But why and how is that so? This two-page source sheet presents a string of data that tells a concise and compelling story of the connection between industrial animal agriculture and climate change. Based on the writings of Jonathan Safran Foer in his book We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast.
Breaking Bread Together
Breaking Bread Together was a community event of cross-cultural engagement over local, regeneratively grown, heritage grains.
Age(s): Adults
Pasture Politics: Exploring the Tragedy of the Common
This program is an introduction to collective responsibility as humans to each other and the Earth in the context of games.
Age(s): Adults, Middle School
CSA Program Write Up
This program seeks to engage the Detroit and metro Detroit Jewish community in an intentional, educational, local, and sustainable food buying practice with clear roots in community and Jewish tradition.
Category: Environmental Justice, Food Systems & Food Justice, Jewish Agricultural Traditions, Sustainability
Age(s): Adults
Where Does Your Food Come From?
This program will introduce participants to the Jewish brachot over food and educate them about the food supply chain.
Age(s): Young Adult
Eco-Kosher: Innovation in Jewish Tradition through an Environmental Lens
How can we use concepts of environmentalism to augment and evolve our understanding of what constitutes kosher food? What if we draw on the concept of kashrut and go beyond it to try out a new word: eco-kashrut?
Category: Environmental Justice, Food Systems & Food Justice, Jewish Food traditions, Sustainability
Age(s): Adults
CIT Teen Leadership Institute Spring Retreat
This Urban Adamah CIT leadership retreat is meant to connect CITs for summer camp to the farm, build and foster community, strengthen their connection to earth-based Judaism, and provide deeper leadership training.
Category: Food Systems & Food Justice, Group-building, Jewish Agricultural Traditions, Social Justice
Age(s): High School
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.
Shmita Sourcebook
The Shmita Sourcebook is designed to encourage participants to think critically about the Shmita Cycle – its values, challenges, and opportunities – and how this tradition might be applied in a modern context to support building healthier and more sustainable Jewish communities today.The Shmita Sourcebook is a 120-page sourcebook that draws on a range of texts from within Jewish tradition and time, tracing the development and evolution of Shmita from biblical, historical, rabbinic, and contemporary perspectives.
Eating Animals
Based on the bestselling book by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film Eating Animals is an urgent, eye-opening look at the environmental, economic, and public health consequences of factory farming. Hazon created this discussion guide to be used by Jewish communities after screenings to explore the intersection of Judaism, food, and animal welfare, and start a conversation about, well, eating animals.
Fit to Eat
This guide provides a framework for Jewish institutions to learn more about our food system and Jewish traditions surrounding food justice; to identify challenges specific to your local community; and to create a plan for action that builds on the existing programs, skills, and assets of your Jewish institution.
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.
Early Childhood Learns about composting!
Through a small discussion and watching a Curious George video, the children will learn about how everyone produces trash and ways to keep said trash out of the landfill. The children will learn about composting and how it will benefit their garden. Each child will then get a piece of trash to separate into a trash bin, recycling bin or composting bin. While they are separating trash into the compost bin they will be making their own composter out of a soda bottle to keep for their classroom and watch the compost turn to fertilizer. We will then gather together for a wrap up where they will see some broken down compost and hear what they will keep from their class to put in the composter outside.
Age(s): Early Childhood
