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.
Shofar Stalk: Wandering to Freedom
Participants will challenge themselves in this night time activity as they walk blindfolded through the woods towards the blast of the shofar. This will be an experience that allows them to gain more trust within themselves and the world around them without using their strongest sense, sight. While connecting to traditions of other cultures, participants will gain a greater understanding of trust and a sense of what it means to be a wandering Jew by walking towards freedom/light.
Age(s): B'nai Mitzvah, Teens
Saving Creation One Hoshanah at a Time: An alternative Hoshanah Rabbah Ritual
This program is an interactive and connective approach to the ritual of Hoshanah Rabbah. Each day of Sukkot we say Hoshanah! meaning 'Please Save Us!?' and so, after learning the basics of Hoshanah Rabbah and exploring the boundaries what we mean when we say 'us', participants will have the opportunity to write their own 'Hoshanot' for the sake of different aspects of creation.
Understanding Pollinators
Understanding pollinators is an hour-long educational program that teaches about the importance of pollinators in our habitat. This program uses honeybees as a 'gateway pollinator' to teach not only the wonder of honeybees but also that their story is part of a much larger ecological phenomenon.
Farm to Friday Nosh:pitality Shabbat
Shabbat is a time to sit and enjoy good food and good company, sourcing your food intentionally can bring a new level of mindful gratitude to your dinner table. It can also be delicious and filling! Shabbat rituals can be adapted to be relevant to your life, and the season. Local urban farms are doing amazing work in the D.C. area and our Jewish values teach us to support their work in any way we can. You can replicate this celebration at your Shabbats by thinking sustainably and seasonally, and reaching out to local farms.
Age(s): Young Adults
Tu B’Shvat Youth Seders
In the tradition of the Kabbalists (16th century mystics of Tsfat, Israel), we gather in the forest to create an experiential Tu B'Shvat seder (ceremony) that connects us to the trees and the elements, and we are taken on a journey from the physical world to the spiritual world. This oral tradition within Judaism encourages us to open ourselves to the mystery, wonder and creativity that this time of renewal and rebirth brings. During the seder, we delight in experiencing and tasting of p'ri ha-etz (the fruit of the trees) and celebrate the season together through the five senses, movement, mindfulness, ritual, and Tu B'Shvat teachings.
Age(s): Early Childhood
Becoming Shomrei Adamah
This is a program that is intended to serve a large audience with a wide age range and little or no experience in the natural world or with nature-based Judaism. It is a stations-based program in which small groups (in this case, groups of 4-8) travel from activity to activity on a rotation, spending about twenty minutes at each station. In order to serve such a wide age range and interest/experience level, the stations are diverse in topic and activity, with the intention that all participants will find themselves challenged and engaged in at least a few of the activities, if not all.
Naamah and the Plants
Before the flood while Noah was readying the animals, a midrash says his wife Naamah was collecting seeds and plants. Through this lens, we'll explore plant life cycles, seed saving, and Jewish ideas of sustainability.
Age(s): B'nai Mitzvah, Teens
What is Jewish About Cheese? Cheese and butter making workshop
This workshop explores the history of dairy in the context of Judaism and Jewish tradition. It teaches participants how to easily make their own cheese and butter (they will leave the session being able to try both), while touching upon the modern-day dairy industry and its relation to Kashrut.
Category: Food & Climate, Food Systems & Food Justice, Jewish Agricultural Traditions, Shabbat and Holidays
Age(s): Elementary
Righteous Rotting
This program is an in-depth exploration of composting- from basic biology to implementing systems on a home-scale. Participants will be guided through the Jewish spiritual significance of composting and principles of sustainability while having the opportunity to apply their learning by problem-solving in a ?compost clinic? and constructing a functional compost bin.
Philly Farm Crew Text Study
This program is to engage with both Jewish and non-Jewish environmentally themed texts after having had the experience of working on a farm. This is a discussion based program where conversations happened both in pairs and as an entire group to think about the texts presented.
Age(s): Adults
Natural Sofer: Torah Art Explorah
This program is an exploration into the Jewish tradition of Torah making. Through learning the traditional process of a sofer, the participants will get a hands-on painting/calligraphy activity.
Celebrating Jewish Foodways: Cultural Preservation through Agriculture and Cuisines of the Diaspora
This program is a facilitated conversation and recipe sampling focusing on culinary traditions across the Jewish diaspora. Emphasizing the significance of diversity in the diasporic food cannon, participants will
have the opportunity to share life stories, explore cookbooks from around the world, and learn about local crop seasonality. Optional components include on-site farm tour and a cooking class. This curricula can be adapted depending on local crop availability/harvest.
Age(s): Adults
Bring the Light In: Make your own Chanukah Candles
This program is a hands-on workshop focused on cultivating joyful connections between participants while upholding sentiments of empowerment and spiritual reflection. Emphasizing sustainability, self-care, and political resistance, participants will have the opportunity to share holiday memories, learn about chanukah and other earth-based Jewish winter rituals, and create their very own set of hanukkah candles.
What They Breathe Out, We Breathe In: Photosynthesis, Respiration, and Jewish Theology
This activity aims to give educators a thorough understanding of photosynthesis, respiration, and the carbon cycle so that they will feel more comfortable teaching it to their students. Educators will also consider how Jewish theology can relate to and inform the ways that we think and teach about this topic in Jewish settings. This session was developed specifically as part of a series of science intensives for Teva educator training 2018.
Age(s): Young Adults
Clearing Out the Old to Make Room for the New: A Passover Tradition
This program has been implemented as part of a 9-week series called Fantastic Farmers that meets for one hour per week at Newton Community Farm. The farm is a non-profit community farm located next door to the JCC that strives to benefit the community by providing locally grown produce through a CSA, educating the public about sustainable agriculture, and preserving Newton?s last working farm as a historic site and valuable open space.
Age(s): Elementary
