Topic: Opportunities

Hakhel Newsletter January 2022

By Hazon on January 11, 2022 in Hakhel Blog, Hakhel Blog, Israel, Jewish Intentional Communities, Opportunities, Reflections, Tu B’Shvat

Dear Hakhel Communities, This week’s Torah portion, Beshalach, is the scene of many incredible miracles that have captured the imagination of countless generations: the splitting of the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape Egypt; the manna that rained down from Heaven to provide them with sustenance in the desert, with a double portion on Friday in preparation for Shabbat; the water that emanated from the stone. Through all of these miracles, we feel the immense, special love and protection of G-d. In your lifetime, have you experienced any acts that seemed divine? What about your community, in what ways has it received love and protection that allowed it to grow and flourish? This Sunday, we celebrate Tu B’Shvat, the birthday of the trees. This is a wonderful holiday to celebrate with your community, as it comes with a unique Seder that is an interactive, sensory experience through the eating of specific fruits and nuts and the drinking of wine. It also carries with it powerful messages from Kabbalah and about our connection to and stewardship of the Earth. Regardless of how you choose to mark the day personally, we hope you will join Hazon in a special virtual […]

Take action for a just and climate-smart food system

By Janna Siller on January 6, 2021 in Activism, Climate Change, Farm Bill, Farming, Food Justice, In the News, Opportunities, Resources

Take action for a just and climate-smart food system… even if you aren’t following all the complexities taking place on Capitol Hill! We are tracking opportunities for the Jewish community to tip the scales toward effective policy. Join our advocacy alert list and we’ll call you to action (well, we’ll email you to action) whenever a groundswell of grassroots voices would make a difference. Sign up here to receive Hazon’s Advocacy Alerts! Does calling your legislator and asking them to support, or oppose, an upcoming bill sound intimidating? We’ll make it easy by providing a clear script. You don’t need any prior understanding of what a filibuster is or what political infighting is happening in which relevant subcommittees! Does commenting on a Department of Agriculture rulemaking process sound kind of boring? We’re not going to lie, it is. But with our help, it will take only five minutes or less out of your day! Jewish heroism has never been limited to the story of young David with a loaded slingshot or Judah Maccabee with his shield. Our work on behalf of a just and abundant future has mostly manifested as stories of individuals joining together to collectively do the small, […]

Join Hazon in Getting Out The Vote!

By Hazon on September 22, 2020 in Activism, Climate Change, Education, Opportunities, Tzedek/Justice

By Becky O’Brien and Janna Siller “The opposite of good is not evil; the opposite of good is indifference. In a free society where terrible wrongs exist, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” These words are from the same sage, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Z”L, who taught us to wake up in the morning and feel the radical amazement of being alive, to seek happiness through wonder. It is hard to know which is more elusive: wonder or a means for taking action against terrible wrongs this high holiday season. If we peek around the thick weeds that obscure, both are available to us, even now. Perhaps we can even combine the two, as Heschel described when he spoke of his march from Selma to Montgomery with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “It felt like my legs were praying.” So, what can you do? VOTE! Go to the National Association of Secretaries of State’s “Can I Vote?” page, or do an internet search for “[your county] voter registration,” to ensure that your voter status is what you think it is and what you want it to be. Update if needed. Ballot and election options and details vary across […]

Fear and Donkeys | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog

By Hazon on June 28, 2018 in Animals, Climate Change, Education, Farming, Food, Holidays, Jewish Texts, JOFEE, JOFEE Fellowship, Opportunities, Reflections, Resources, Shmita, Spirituality, Teens, Weekly Parsha

by Henry Schmidt, Shalom Institute Parshat Balak I thought Balak was a story about a donkey. That is to say, when I sat down to write this blog post, I expected to write about the talking donkey we’ll soon meet. Understandably, a talking donkey tends to get a lot of attention. However, this time I found the ending of the parsha (Torah portion), an ending I had always overlooked, to be what especially spoke to me. Let’s start with an overview. Balak, King of Moab, sees the growing people of Israel and how they have conquered all of Moab’s neighbors, leaving Moab directly next to the potential threat of this dynamite group of nomads who seem to be on a roll. Worried about the Israelite’s winning streak, he summons Balaam, a pagan sorcerer, to come and curse the Israelites. “‘There is a people come out of Egypt; it hides the Earth from view, and it is settled next to me. Come then, put a curse upon this people for me, since they are too numerous for me; perhaps I can thus defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed […]

When It Rains It Pours | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog

By Hazon on July 6, 2017 in Education, Farming, Food, Food Justice, Hazon Seal of Sustainability, Israel, Jewish Texts, JOFEE, JOFEE Fellowship, Opportunities, Reflections, Resources, Spirituality, Teens, Weekly Parsha

by Ryan Kaplan, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta Parshat Chukat “Moses made a copper serpent and mounted it on a standard; and when anyone was bitten by a serpent, they would look at the copper serpent and recover.” Numbers 21:9 As I write this post, I sit in my office in Atlanta with the threat of rain clouds to my left and blueberry waffles, coffee, and a coworker’s copy of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) to my right. Georgia’s summer has been very wet thus far, and the promise of the coming downpour outside my window sets a looming melancholic tone for this week’s cinematic Torah portion: Chukat (Numbers 19:1-22:1). Much happens in the chapters of Chukat. In the interest of brevity: The wandering Israelites are taught in “the ways of the red heifer” (that is to say, they’re told how to purify themselves after coming into contact with a human corpse); Miriam dies and water becomes scarce; Moses and Aaron fall out of G-d’s good graces after striking a rock in search of water instead of speaking to it; Aaron follows Miriam in death and a 30 day period of mourning begins (up from the normal 7 days of Shiva); […]

Old Stones, New Ripples – Reflections on the Close of JOFEE Fellowship Cohort 1 | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog

By Yoshi Silverstein on May 18, 2017 in Climate Change, Education, Events, Farming, Food, Food Conference, Food Festival, Food Justice, Hazon Seal of Sustainability, Holidays, Institutional Food Values, Jewish Greening Fellowship, Jewish Texts, JOFEE, JOFEE Fellowship, Newsletters, Opportunities, Reflections, Resources, Spirituality, Sukkot, Teens, Topsy Turvy Bus Tour

by Yoshi Silverstein – JOFEE Fellowship Director May 18th, 2017 | 22nd Iyar 5777 | 37th day of the omer | gevurah she’b’yesod 16 Organizations. 17 Fellows. Over 500 programs. An estimated 37,000 participants in Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education (JOFEE) programs across the country. These are some of the incredible numbers emerging as we look back at our first JOFEE Fellowship cohort, who completed their closing seminar and siyum last week at our sister JOFEE organization, the Pearlstone Center outside Baltimore, MD. Behind those numbers are thousands of people encountering – many for the first time – the incredible power of a Jewish tradition steeped in deep cultural and spiritual connection with the earth, with place, with human communities and our surrounding ecosystems, with our food, and with each other. A Jewish tradition that recognizes both the limits and abundance of the resources our home planet provides for us. A tradition that says this world is amazing – there is so much magnificence – and yet we have work to do – not to complete by ourselves, but neither to desist from doing our part. And wow did our JOFEE Fellows do their part! Here are a […]

Sustain Hazon this Giving Tuesday

By Hazon on November 17, 2016 in Events, Opportunities

We want to know why you love Hazon! On Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (November 29, 2016), we will be sharing stories of transformative Hazon experiences on our social media platforms. Hazon is spreading the word about a healthier, more sustainable world for all on Giving Tuesday, which acts as a counterpoint of tzedakah to the consumerist Black Friday and Cyber Monday. On this day, nonprofits raise more money online than any other day in the year. We’re asking you – whether you are a community member, supporter, and/or a program alum – to show your support on Giving Tuesday. Love us? Want to help spread the word about what we do? Here’s how you can get involved: Send us your Hazon story On Giving Tuesday (11/29), we will be sharing stories of transformative Hazon experiences on our social media platforms. For an opportunity to be featured, please email 75-100 words about a specific transformative experience you have had through Hazon, along with a photo, to lisa.kaplan@hazon.org. Submissions are due by Tuesday, November 22nd. Share your Hazon story on Facebook You can also share your story on your personal Facebook page on Giving Tuesday (11/29) to spread the word […]

Grappling with the Ark of Responsibility | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog

By Hazon on November 3, 2016 in Animals, Climate Change, Detroit, Education, Farming, Food, Holidays, Jewish Texts, JOFEE, Opportunities, Resources, Shmita, Spirituality, Teens, Tzedek/Justice, Weekly Parsha

by Bailey Lininger, Tamarack Camps, Bloomfield Hills, MI Parashat Noach 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 and will continue to be reviewed as positions are available. Some days, my job makes me feel like Noah, stocking his Ark full of animals before the flood, the weight of the world’s responsibility on my shoulders. Let me explain: At Tamarack Camps, where I’m placed as a JOFEE fellow, I have the good fortune of being the supervisor of Tamarack’s brand new nature center: The Teva Center. Just finished in June 2016, we’ve slowly but surely been filling with new animal residents ever since. Our goal is a nature center filled with […]

In the Sukkah We Trust | D’varim HaMakom: The JOFEE Fellows Blog

By Hazon on October 28, 2016 in Adamah, Animals, Climate Change, Events, Farming, Food, Food Justice, Holidays, Jewish Texts, JOFEE, Opportunities, Spirituality, Sukkot, Teens, Tzedek/Justice, Weekly Parsha

by Rachel Binstock, Urban Adamah, Berkeley, CA Parashat Breishit + Sukkot 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! Priority Deadline is October 31! Of all the Jewish holidays, I learn most about trust on Sukkot. Why? you might ask. After the New Year and the Day of Atonement, is not Sukkot the holiday of celebration and happiness? Sukkot is about trust for a few reasons. We build ourselves sukkahs – impermanent booths in which we are commanded to dwell – and in so doing we find ourselves up-rooted. We create a new home susceptible to the elements and porous to the sky. The holiday necessitates a release of control, a faith […]

Why I’m Marching for a Clean Energy Revolution

By Hazon on July 22, 2016 in Activism, Opportunities

by Josh Kimelman Tiptoeing into the world of environmentalism over the past ten years, I’ve certainly taken my time. In high school, around the time An Inconvenient Truth began making waves, my brother developed a deep-seated interest in the environment. Some of his enthusiasm rubbed off on me, but mostly I thought it was, well, cute. A nice thing to care about, but requiring too much thought and effort. My brother’s environmentally-motivated vegetarianism earned my respect but did little to change my reluctance to engage the issues behind it (or my diet). Sure, I was ten. But every time environmental issues came up over the next eight years, the same thing happened: momentary respect and care giving way to a shrug (and homework). Standing where I do today, having attended the People’s Climate March in 2014, and excited to go march for clean energy in Philadelphia this Sunday, it’s almost comical looking back. Now, in college, much of what I study and care about revolves around the environment, food systems, and climate change. I learn and think all the time about how environmental issues intersect with everything: poverty, hunger, race, class, trade, agriculture, law, politics, national […]

#goatselfie photo contest 2014/5774

By Hazon on April 17, 2014 in Holidays, Opportunities, Photos

How to enter: 1. Visit the barnyard at Isabella Freedman in April or May 2014. Take a photo with your favorite goat with your phone or camera. 2. Upload your #goatselfie to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. To be part of the contest, the photo must include the following: include the hashtag #goatselfie in the text of the post tag your location at Isabella Freedman or include @IFJRC or @adamahfarm make sure your post is ‘public’ so that your happy moment of goat love can be shared with all **For those who prefer not to post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you can also enter via email goatselfie@hazon.org. 3. Our esteemed panel of goat herders will choose ten finalists on June 1. Then the public will vote on the best photo via our website. The winner will be announced at the Teva Seminar on June 12. The winner will receive a one-of-a-kind water color drawing of your #goatselfie by Adamah Farm Barnyard Manager, Meredith Cohen, as well as a half pound of our delicious goat cheese. Note: Individuals may submit multiple unique entries – however, re-posting the same photo too many times will result in disqualification. Make sure to follow #goatselfie […]