Hazon Educational Library: Jewish Ritual
Passover on the Farm
This program was designed for families with young children to connect with each other, their community, and the earth through multi-sensory activities centered around Passover and the coming of spring.
Age(s): Early Childhood with Parents
Garden Shabbat
This program is an introduction to the intersection of Judaism and agriculture, woven through the experience of a Shabbat dinner with blessings, food, conversation Jews as a people of the land.
Age(s): Adults
The First Cheese
Participants will learn to make ricotta cheese from fresh goat milk, while digging into various Jewish and secular texts, guided by the question: ?Why do we eat dairy on this holiday??
Category: Food & Climate, Jewish Agricultural Traditions, Jewish Food traditions, Shabbat and Holidays
Age(s): Adults
Post-Pesach Wild Edibles Hike
This program brings the Biblical story of Pesach into a modern urban nature setting. Participants are encouraged to take on the roles of wandering Israelites recently escaped from Egypt, while also learning about the plants that are safe and good to eat from the natural setting currently surrounding them.
Age(s): Middle 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.
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.
Age(s): Adults
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.
Setting the Table
Starting a family commences a period of change. Expectant parents very quickly transition from thinking for themselves to providing for a new life, and the preparation and anticipation can be overwhelming. Especially when thinking about how we want to feed our new families. Setting the Table is designed to help couples think through these challenges with a Jewish lens.
Age(s): Parents
Green Kiddush Guide
Included in this guide for synagogues are specific suggestions on how to schedule and promote a vegetarian Green Kiddush, a list of concrete ways to make it “green,” tips associated with each suggestion, and templates of educational signage.
Age(s): Adults, B'nai Mitzvah
Sukkot, the Jewish Earth Day
This program is designed to engage families with young children with the holiday of Sukkot and the festival?s connection to nature and the environment. Through stories, activities and arts & crafts, families will begin to develop a relationship to the rituals and traditions of Sukkot and think about their own connection to the natural world.
Sacred Time and Space: A Stone’s Text Application
This program is an activity meant for a Shabbaton retreat to get people ready spiritually for shabbos and invoke deep questioning.
Age(s): Adults, Young Adults
Young Adult Tu B’Shvat Seder
A Tu B'Svhat Seder is a fun experiential way to connect to a little known Jewish holiday, bringing to life ecological teachings, enjoying fruit from around the world, drinking good wine and of course fostering social connections. This year, with the help of the JCC Rabbi, the Mayerson JCC hosted their first Tu B'Svhat Seder for Young Adults.
Age(s): Young Adults
Alef Elul: Jewish New Year for Animals
During this program participants will celebrate this holiday through hands-on crafts, a ritual and by learning about heritage breed chickens. The final portion of the program is written here as a panel discussion but can be any type of learning relevant to your organization and audience
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.
Day of Awe-some: A Rosh Hashanah Family Program
This program is an opportunity for families with young children to engage in the Jewish rituals and traditions surrounding the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. They will be able to meet families like themselves while spending the morning creating a meaningful and educational connection with a Jewish holiday.
Age(s): Early Childhood
