Hazon Educational Library
Curricula, sourcebooks, and other educational resources from and for the field of Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education
This open source collection includes resources produced by individuals and organizations throughout the JOFEE field. Our Educational Library, like our community, celebrates the diversity of religious observance and thought and we make every effort to accommodate the breadth and diversity of the Jewish community in our programs and curricula. We hope you will take and use what is appropriate for you and invite others to do the same.
While this resource will continue to grow and evolve, it currently includes:
• Hazon’s Publications (available online and in print)
• Curricula produced by JOFEE Fellows during their Fellowship year
• Curricula and resources shared from partner JOFEE organizations
All materials are available for free download. Most are available for use and adaptation under creative commons license. Please cite authors and organizations on any materials used or adapted from these resources.
Use the filters in the bar below to narrow your search.
Tu B’Shvat Seder for JCC Staff
Celebrate Tu B'Svhat, the Jewish New Year of the Trees, at our PJCC staff Lunch & Learn. In honor of this year's Tu B'Svhat, we will be learning more about our relationship with nature through a Tu B'Svhat seder. The seder is divided into four sections, each representing one of the four worlds of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. Join us as we explore each of these worlds through traditional Jewish fruits and nuts, ?wine' (aka grape juice), activities and more! Bring your lunch and learn more about the Jewish New Year of Trees in this engaging seder.
Age(s): Adults
Jewish Rainmakers
In this session we will connect ecology with the ritual of tashlich. We will look at evidence of this year's drought on the farm and the impact that water deprivation has on the land. Connections will be made between our observations to Jewish text about the cycle of rain as a reflection of our relationship with God. Together, we will create a ritual for internal healing at the bank of Lake Miriam.
Age(s): Adults
Sukkot Harvest Festival DC
Experience Sukkot as a celebration of the seasonal harvest while in an urban setting! Join us on an urban farm in downtown D.C. to celebrate the season's bounty with hands-on workshops and a farm-to-Sukkah feast grounded in the themes of the agricultural harvest festival. We invite you to end your week by taking a pause from the busyness of the city to connect with nature and eat from the harvest at Common Good City Farm. From a pickling lesson to tasting local seasonal ciders, we will come together and celebrate abundance both on the farm and in our lives.
Tags: 20s & 30s, cider, collaboration, community, farm and garden, local sourcing, ritual, seasonality, Shabbat, Stations, Sukkot, urban agriculture, young adults
Age(s): Young 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
License to Grill – Nosh:pitality
This program is an interactive grilling lesson connected to the celebration of Lag B'Omer. Participants will have the opportunity to make several seasonal salads, learn about grilling methods and outdoor cooking, and learn what Lag B'Omer is in relation to the counting of the Omer and the Jewish Calendar.
Age(s): Families, Young Adults
Pickle Clowns
A pickling workshop taught with the magic of clowning pedagogy!
TEVA Bingo
Discussing the four elements - earth, air, water and sun - participants gained a greater understanding of the world they live in. This is a tool to help introduce the days ahead allowing the participants to get excited for what's to come, to be more engaged during the field trip, to connect to nature in their own way.
Age(s): B'nai Mitzvah, 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
Holy Compost! Sacred cycles of rest and work
This program combines a group walk to compost piles, and a look at vermicomposting bins, with a conversation about the Jewish value of distinguishing between rest and work. Participants will engage in text study and discuss the relationship between adding intention to our time with Shabbat, and adding intention to our space with the placement of compost.
Bitter Waiting and Sweet Reflection: A Rewarding Exercise in Mindfulness – ‘Crafting a new you: served with homemade apple and honey bitters and a twist of intention.’
This program will help participants become more mindful and centered through modern ritual, meditation, and the creation of delicious cocktail bitters. Participants will learn how to craft their own apple and honey bitters in time for Rosh Hashanah while simultaneously reflecting on their year and starting anew with meditation and mindfulness.
Age(s): Adult, Young Adult
Rosh Hashanah Honeybees
Using Rosh Hashanah as a springboard, the children will learn about bees and how they make honey. They will participate in a hide and seek type game before a wrap up discussion and honey taste test.
Age(s): Early Childhood
Mindfulness Nature Walk
This program will help participants develop their ability to be more mindful and aware drawing on Jewish teachings while in nature. Participants will learn how to approach the natural world from a place of curiosity, and awareness helping to improve themselves and the planet.
Age(s): Young Adults
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
Ancient Garden Medicinal Herbs
This program is an introduction to the history and uses of medicinal herbs growing in the Camp Tawonga Garden. Participants will learn about how medicinal herbs connect to self-care and earth-care. Participants will learn about the healing properties of twelve medicinal herbs as well as their cultural and historic uses: Israeli, Mediterranean, Jewish and Native American. Participants will be given the opportunity to and think about what it means to connect both to their herbal heritage as well as the medicinal herbs that grow natively on this land.
Age(s): B'nai Mitzvah, Teens
Jewish Food Justice Around the Farm
This program is an introduction to Jewish agricultural law. Pairing them with sustainable agriculture projects offers a taste of what it might have been like for our ancestors to follow these laws. Participants will have the opportunity to farm in small groups and to learn how many of our earth based laws also help us help our communities today.
Category: Food Systems & Food Justice, Jewish Agricultural Traditions, Jewish Food traditions, Nature Exploration
Age(s): Elementary
