by Ren Feldman, Eden Village Camp – Putnam Valley, NY Last week many of us made a trek to our family’s, friend’s or parent’s home. Exiled from our ‘normal’ lives, we may have felt like slaves to the lurking particles of chametz, doing their best to afflict our Pesadic kashrut, to the pyramids of dirty dishes that plagued the sink, to our seders, where we sat for hours, the outside world shrouded in darkness. As much as we may love our families and friends, we may have felt exceptionally free as we left the houses we grew up in, the livelihood in which we find comfort, and wandered to our potentially uncertain, independent lives. Over here on Dennytown Rd, our very own Eden Village Farm-Educator Apprentices are definitely wandering into uncertainty. Four farmers who have never been to Eden Village, potentially never ‘slaved away’ under the sweltering sun before- acres of shadeless beds surrounding- have just arrived to spend 40 squirrel years (6 months) doing just that! After some faith and sweat, their manna will grow up from the earth, as it did many years ago when I was a farm apprentice. And that, dear reader, brings us to the […]
Tag Archives | Eden Village Camp
Parashat Mishpatim | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
by Danielle Smith, Eden Village Camp – Putnam Valley NY In last week’s parsha, we received the ten commandments. Before we receive the golden calf, we have nearly a whole parsha of laws showing us how to apply the commandments in our daily lives. This week we receive 53 laws that talk about gender, social justice, courts, serving G-d, criminal law, ethics, and more. After Moses tells the Israelites all of these laws, they respond by saying, “we will do and listen.” These laws acknowledge the values that the ten commandments address and they give us action items for how to apply the principles of the commandments. I hope that we do not blindly follow laws just because they are written, but that we follow laws that are morally right and align with the mission of our collective society. I want to focus on two values in particular that are addressed through the laws in Mishpatim- income inequality and acts of kindness. Mishpatim talks about female servitude and the laws around a poor father selling his daughter to a wealthier family for service and then for marriage. This portion discusses themes of Shmita, saying that after six years, a slave […]
Festival of Eden at Eden Village Camp
September 25, 2011, 12-7 pm www.festivalofeden.org Eden Village Camp will be hosting the inaugural Festival of Eden, a day full of farming and greening workshops, local organic food from our own and neighboring farms, live music, art, and nature adventures on our gorgeous 248-acre site in the Hudson Valley. All of the proceeds from the day will go to the Eden Village Camp Scholarship Fund which received over $80,000 in requests this past year. Ticketing and other festival details at www.festivalofeden.org (more…)
Retreat Highlight: Eden Village Camp
After a weekend retreat spent on the historical grounds of Camp Kinder Ring, New York Ride and Retreat participants will spend Sunday biking from Kinder Ring to Eden Village Camp. Much, much younger than our other host camp, Eden Village Camp was founded in 2008, and ran its first summer program just last year. The camp was founded by Vivian and Yoni Stadlin, who imagined a Jewish overnight environmental camp. In their mission statement they explain, “Rooted in the Jewish vision of creating a more environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually connected world, Eden Village Camp is dedicated to providing campers with an incredible summer experience while empowering them to promote a vibrant future for themselves, their communities, and our planet.” (more…)
