by Jessica Berlin, Hazon: Transformative Experiences, Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center – Falls Village, CT Sukkot and Parashat Ha’azinu Editor’s Note: Welcome to D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog! Most weeks throughout the year, you’ll be hearing from the JOFEE Fellows: reflections on their experiences, successful programs they’ve planned and implemented, gleanings from the field, and connections to the weekly Torah portion and what they’ve learned from their experiences with place in their host communities for the year. Views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily represent Hazon. Be sure to check back weekly! P.S. Interested in being or hosting a JOFEE Fellow? Applications for cohort two are now open for both prospective fellows and prospective host institutions! On a hot summer day in late August, I led a group of young adults on a tour of the Adamah farm on BeeBee Hill at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. The inscription above the gateway, “And God saw that it was good,” reminds us of a classic JOFEE interpretation of the Genesis creation story: that the interdependent relationships found in nature are fundamentally good; and that by emulating these relationships, humans can learn to create more sustainable relationships with one another and the land. […]
Topic: Food
The Beauty of Yom Kippur | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
Zach Goldberg, Ramah in the Rockies & Congregation Bonai Shalom, Boulder, CO Yom Kippur and Parashat Vayelech Editor’s Note: Welcome to D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog! Most weeks throughout the year, you’ll be hearing from the JOFEE Fellows: reflections on their experiences, successful programs they’ve planned and implemented, gleanings from the field, and connections to the weekly Torah portion and what they’ve learned from their experiences with place in their host communities for the year. Views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily represent Hazon. Be sure to check back weekly! P.S. Interested in being or hosting a JOFEE Fellow? Applications for cohort two are now open for both prospective fellows and prospective host institutions! — The high holiday season is full of JOFEE experiences! Elul is mamash the harvest season, and Sukkot is the third and final harvest festival after all! I witnessed this a few weeks ago on the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov, the 18th of Elul. The celebration was kicked off with a call of the shofar. Morah Yahudis Fishman explained during a noon time shiur at Congregation Bonai Shalom that this call, blowing air through a horn of an animal, awakens the deepest parts of […]
Choosing Life | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
by Yoshi Silverstein Parashat Nitzavim & Rosh Hashanah Editor’s Note: Welcome to D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog! Most weeks throughout the year, you’ll be hearing from the JOFEE Fellows (and staff): reflections on their experiences, successful programs they’ve planned and implemented, gleanings from the field, and connections to the weekly Torah portion or Holidays and what they’ve learned from their experiences with place in their host communities for the year. This one is from me, Yoshi, Director of the JOFEE Fellowship. Views expressed are the mine and do not necessarily represent Hazon. Be sure to check back next week for Zach Goldberg’s post on JOFEE and Yom Kippur! P.S. Interested in being or hosting a JOFEE Fellow? Applications for cohort two are now open for both prospective fellows and prospective host institutions! You all know the big one coming up this week: Rosh Hashanah. The Head of the Year, when we begin the High Holiday season full of heart-beatings and introspection, good food, wine, and cheer followed by the Yom Kippur fast. This week is also Parshat Nitzavim – the Torah portion from my Bar Mitzvah. Much of that weekend is a blur at this point, twenty years later (wow, that just sunk in […]
A Heart to Know, Eyes to See, and Ears to Hear | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
by Danielle Smith, Eden Village Camp, Putnam Valley, NY Parashat Ki Tavo Editor’s Note: Welcome to D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog! Most weeks throughout the year, you’ll be hearing from the JOFEE Fellows: reflections on their experiences, successful programs they’ve planned and implemented, gleanings from the field, and connections to the weekly Torah portion and what they’ve learned from their experiences with place in their host communities for the year. Be sure to check back weekly! P.S. Interested in being or hosting a JOFEE Fellow? Applications for cohort two are now open for both prospective fellows and prospective host institutions! In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, Moses speaks reflectively and instructively to the Israelites as they approach the Promised Land, finally nearing the end of their forty year journey through the wilderness. Here at Eden Village Camp, we may not have spent forty years wandering the wilderness of Putnam Valley (though sometimes the packed days and weeks at camp can feel almost as long #jewishcamptime), but the transition into the fall season is the perfect time for deep reflection and exhalations. It was a fast leap from summer into the slower pace of the fall, and after two months of […]
From Outside the Walls In – JOFEE at the J | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
by Eli Goldstein, Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC, Bridgewater, NJ Parashat Ki Teitzei Editor’s Note: Welcome to D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog! Most weeks throughout the year, you’ll be hearing from the JOFEE Fellows: reflections on their experiences, successful programs they’ve planned and implemented, gleanings from the field, and connections to the weekly Torah portion and what they’ve learned from their experiences with place in their host communities for the year. Be sure to check back weekly! P.S. Interested in being or hosting a JOFEE Fellow? Applications for cohort two are now open for both prospective fellows and prospective host institutions! This week’s torah portion, Ki Teitzei, is quite the pot of gold for mitzvah aficionados, containing seventy-four of the Torah’s 613 commandments. In this parshah, we find laws that create structure and protection around our relationships with other people, with natural creatures and plants, and with objects and property. These include laws involving the “beautiful captive,” burial and dignity of the dead, returning of lost objects, and – two JOFEE favorites – the law of sending away a mother bird before taking an egg from her nest (shiloach ha’ken) and the law of kilayim, the separating of certain plant and […]
Open your heart, Open your hand | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog
by Becky Adelberg, JCC Chicago Parashat Re’eh Editor’s Note: Welcome to D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog! This is our inaugural post. Most weeks throughout the year, you’ll be hearing from the JOFEE Fellows: reflections on their experiences, successful programs they’ve planned and implemented, gleanings from the field, and connections to the weekly Torah portion and what they’ve learned from their experiences with place in their host communities for the year. Be sure to check back weekly! PS Interested in being or hosting a JOFEE Fellow? Applications for cohort two are now open for both prospective fellows and prospective host institutions! And now, on to Becky’s post … I’m thrilled for this opportunity to write about one of my favorite events of the year: Shabbat on the Lake. To me, Shabbat on the Lake is more than an event. It is a mindset, a movement, a gathering of all corners of the Jewish community; it’s a tapestry of various affiliations, ways of engaging with Judaism and the possibility of a Jewish community who focuses on things that unite us as opposed to what divides us. Shabbat on the Lake’s inception at JCC Chicago arose six years ago to show young Jewish adults various […]
Feeling The Gratitude Of Our Bounty And The Pride In Our Colleagues
by Mordechai Schram, Director of Food Services It seems like just yesterday that we celebrated Shavuot/Yom Habikurim with a celebration of First Fruits – reveling in the tingling fresh taste of our delicious Shavuot Schav Shooters – Schav, is a delicious Sorrell and Potato Soup served hot or cold and made with Sorrell from Adamah Farms. Now that we are in early August, our fruits and veggies are in full abundance, and they have begun making their way to our kitchen in their full glory. So many colors, flavors and textures from the Collards, Kale, Cucumbers, Salad Turnips, Salad Greens, Romaine, Oregano and Basil. Today we held our second annual Farm & Table Team Farm Tour (say that 5 times fast). We toured the farm together and learned how the farmers grow such bounty without the use of chemicals- through the use of crop rotation, the creation of habitat for beneficial insects that help control pests, the mile high compost piles of food waste decomposing into rich fertilizer, drip irrigation technology (developed is Israel) and more. A fine and fun day was had by all. Now is a glorious time to be here at the farm, so we look forward to […]
Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti – (Sour)Do!
by Mordechai Schram, Director of Adamah Food Services After weeks of nourishing and nurturing our sourdough starter, and after a few test runs, I am so happy and proud to announce that we are now making amazing sourdough breads at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. We served our first bread during The New Paradigm Spiritual Communities Retreat in February. It was a Sourdough Rye paired with Grow & Behold Pasture Raised Pulled BBQ Brisket. We served it again this past week at our Hazon staff gathering paired with Moroccan G&B Lamb Neck & Shoulder Tagine (embracing Dan Barber’s third plate concept for conscious meat eating). Kudos to our baker Rachel Crane whose skill and passion for sourdough are simply inspirational. “I’m officially obsessed,” said Chef Crane when asked about how she has been enjoying the experience of baking these delicious breads. So much so that even in her free time at home she has become a voracious sourdough baker. Many a morning she comes in the kitchen beaming with pictures of new and wonderful breads that she baked such as Amaranth Sourdough, Olive & Herbs de Provence, Rye, Country White, Black & White Sesame Flax Sourdough and Green Sourdough w/Za’atar. One of the really fun things about having a starter […]
Eggs
This is the week of the golden calf. This is the week where the children of Israel are described as the “stiff-necked people.” This is the parsha that describes Israel as “the land of milk and honey.” We take it for granted, but it is so remarkable that we have carried these ancient stories with us. We carried them to Greece and Rome; carried them to Babylon and Isfahan; carried them to the Rhine and the Danube, to Manchester and Brooklyn and Brookline and Pico-Robertson; carried them, indeed, back to Jerusalem and Tiberias, to Tel Aviv and Hadera. Carried them, read them, learned from them, expanded and contracted our understanding of them. This week’s parsha includes the famous line, for instance, lo tvashel g’di b’chalev imo – don’t seethe a kid in its mother’s milk. If in any way you separate “milk” and “meat,” it traces back to the rabbinical expansion of this line, and it’s threefold replication in the Torah. From not eating steak with a glass of milk, to the world of separate dishwashers and blue- and red-coded kitchenware, the Jewish people have learned from this line and brought it to life, generation after generation. As those who […]
Adamah Farm and Table: Journey to Red Barn Produce
by Mordechai Schram, Director of Adamah Food Services Yesterday, the Adamah Farm and Table team took to the road to visit Kevin Terr, owner of our produce supplier Red Barn Produce in Highland, NY. It was an amazing trip where we learned about all the ways that Red Barn supports local farms and sustainable farming practices. Red Barn, a family owned business in operation for over 20 years, had identified the need for a local and specialty fruit and vegetable distributor here in the Hudson Valley. They work with more than 30 local farms to bring the best of what the bountiful Hudson Valley has to offer in seasonal and sustainable fruits and vegetables. In addition to fresh produce, they also distribute local farm-fresh dairy items, grains, and artisanal foods. They support equal exchange practices for produce grown outside of the US, utilize controlled atmosphere technology for apple preservation, and contract with local farms to do freezing and canning thereby extending our access to local fruits and veggies throughout the winter. They are true and valued partners with us here at Hazon/Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center helping us to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community and a healthier […]
A Star(ter) is Born!
By Mordechai Schram, Director of Adamah Food Services Last night in the Isabella Freedman kitchen we began the first of a series of master chef classes for our kitchen. This first one was about learning how to make sourdough bread and we were fortunate enough learn from our very own Arielle Aronoff. In addition to being a Teva educator and “winternik” she is also an accomplished baker with a passion for sourdough. Sourdough bread made with a starter of wild yeast and bacteria, and combined with grain flour is the oldest and most original form of leavened bread. It truly is an ancient art that is crafted in harmony with nature. The sourdough process breaks down the wheat to help your digestive system; enhances the vitamin content inherent in the food; produces probiotics and enzymes; and keeps your blood sugar levels more even. And it’s delicious!!! This is something that is so aligned with our food values and aesthetic at Hazon/Isabella Freedman, and is a natural extension of what we do in the CC with our vegetable ferments. We are developing 3 different types of starter which takes about 2 weeks to fully develop. One that is only stirred, one […]
What’s Jewish About Processing Acorns?
Guest blog post by Rabbi Josh Jacobs-Velde, founder of Zmanim, a local Jewish community in Northern California connecting Judaism and the natural world. He can be reached at rabbi.josh18@gmail.com“ Jews and acorn processing with Native Americans? It’s not at the top of the list when you think of things Jews do. Yet, there were about 25 of us, adults and children, sitting under the oak trees at Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol on Sunday, October 25, learning how to process acorns and coming to understand their place in native Pomo culture. Our teachers were Northern Pomo educator, healer, and wisdom holder Corine Pearce, and her mother Barbara. In our part of Northern California, acorn processing is not unusual, and people tend to think of it as a cool, fun opportunity. But why do this as a Jewish activity? After reflecting on it for some time, here’s what I offered the people who gathered: Yes, it is fun and cool, but let’s back up a minute: what are the connections between Jews/Judaism and oaks/acorns? First, like the vast majority of traditional cultures (since oaks grow almost everywhere) our tradition also can claim some connections with oak trees. In fact, this week’s […]
Making Hummus with Shmita Values
By Michael Bomze On a weekly basis, I make hummus – very much at the mercy of area farmers, as I use fresh produce in each batch – and I donate all of the profits to Philadelphia urban farms. Admittedly, I do not think I ever had learned of the concept of Shmita before this year’s Hazon Philadelphia Jewish Food Festival – and I wasn’t initially sure how, in any capacity, I could apply the tradition of the Shmita to my 21st Century-paced life in a very large city. I think I’ve made some sense of it since November’s festival, though, and I offer my thoughts below. Though Shmita, a biblical mandate instructing farmers to let land lay fallow every seventh year, is a seemingly straightforward commandment, its implications are several. For instance, it isn’t Shmita that is the reason I’ve been preserving local produce in hummus, but thoughts and discussions regarding Shmita have helped me affirm what I am doing (and, if nothing else, the notion of Shmita has seemed a valid excuse to calm down my everyday life and to pay particularly close attention to my relationships with family, neighbors, and with nature). Regarding my hummus practices and the Shmita, perhaps the most obvious relationship is how each batch serves as […]
Fig and Rosemary Cookies (with Gluten Free Option)
Want a bigger taste? Join us this summer at the Hazon Food Conference! Ayala Sherman, adapted from food52 Ingredients 4 cups flour (1to1 GF baking flour) 1 tsp salt 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or melted coconut oil) 2 egg yolks – room temperature 1 cup butter – room temperature 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons chopped rosemary 1 cup chopped black mission figs Directions Cover figs with warm water until plump, approximately 20 minutes. Drain water and roughly chop figs to bite sized pieces. In a separate bowl, massage chopped rosemary with sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together salt with flour. In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 2-3 minutes to increase in volume. Add sugar mixture and continue beating for another 3-5 minutes. Add the egg yolks to butter/sugar mixture. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue beating for another 1-2 minutes. Add flour/salt mixture to the wet ingredients. Fold in figs. Mix by hand with spatula Place dough on work space and knead together and separate into two flat discs. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Scoop using a mini ice cream scooper. Bake at 325 F convection (12 minutes) or 350 […]
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