Environment

Together we can make a difference: JRF's Sustainable Synagogue Initiative

Lisa Tuttle — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:43:57 -0500

With the enthusiasm around JRF's Omer Learning Initiative, as well as the solid response of JRF congregations in the Climate Change Initiative, JRF is continues to deepen its greening work with member communities next year.

Our hope is to motivate and educate our congregations in sustainable practices, with the goal of reaching 100 percent participation in the years ahead, recognizing those JRF communities who excel at sustainable practices at the JRF Convention in Boston, 2008.

Learn about the Sustainable Synagogue Initiative on the JRF website's environment pages at jrfSustainable_Synagogue_Resources.

For more information contact Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam, SZevit@jrf.org

Global Jewish Climate Change Campaign and Sustainable Synagogue Resources

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:53:16 -0500

Click here for Reconstructionist movement and other general resources for living a sustainable, Jewish life!

http://jrf.org/Sustainable_Synagogue_Resources

http://jrf.org/Jewish-Climate-Change-Initiative

Global Jewish Climate Change Initiative

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:36:34 -0500

JRF is proud to be a supporter of the Jewish Climate Change initiative- reflecting a an inspiring level of collaboration,between all Jewish movements and Jewish national agencies and environmental organizations that came together May 2009 at the first national gathering of national leadership on Judaism and Sustainability. Prior to this gathering COEJL, JCPA and the Shalom Center had begun bringing key stakeholders together, Jewish religious movements had begun sharing resources and Hazon, COEJL, Teva and other Jewish environmental organizations had begun dialogue about climate change initiatives. The aim of the Jewish Climate Change Campaign is to engage the entire Jewish community towards taking action on climate change. In doing so we will be joining a global movement of 12 world faiths, each launching plans of their own. We invite you to click on the COEJL page to sign the pledge and join the campaign, and to offer any further suggestions as to the content of the plan and its recommendations.

The core of the campaign is as follows:

Making it clear that Jewish people care strongly about these issues.
Making changes in our own lives – and inviting our friends to do likewise.
Creating a long-term process for serious change in Jewish institutions..
Introducing the Jewish world to a wide range of resources on the interface between Judaism, Climate Change and Sustainability.

Please consider signing and circulating to your community the JRF signed and supported Jewish Global Climate Change initiative. (JRF is a member religious organization of COEJL and JCPA).

Read the environmental commitment made in 1990 by our movement at the JRF Bi-ennial. Sign the pledge and see more resources.

Former Vice President Al Gore endorsing our effort said "I am so happy to see that this initiative will draw upon the new leadership of younger men and women who see in the legacy of Judaism's teachings on stewardship a source of renewal of their Jewish faith..." Click here to read more.

Cooperative Model Between Synagogue and Farm Reflects Reconstructionist Philosophy

Gari Weilbacher — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:02:39 -0400

Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore, partners with Hazon’s Tuv Ha’Aretz Community Supported Agricultural program (CSA), and provides the Jewish community with an opportunity to support local, sustainable agriculture. Read the article in the Jewish Week

SHABBAT NOACH AND INTERNATIONAL 350 DAY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:00:56 -0400

A CALL TO OBSERVE SHABBAT NOACH, OCTOBER 23-24,2009, AS "GLOBAL CLIMATE HEALING SHABBAT"

The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, as well as leaders and organizations of many other streams of Jewish life, have endorsed a call to focus Shabbat Noach on October 23-24 as Climate Healing Shabbat. The Torah passage for that Shabbat lends itself to focusing on the danger of destruction of life on our planet, and also on the actions we need to take to prevent destruction and preserve the web of life in which the human race has emerged and created civilization.

We urge congregations to bring sermons, prayer, song, poetry, midrash, resolutions, invitations to public officials, etc., to focus on this issue.

Please register your intent to create a local event (even if you are just beginning to plan) at the 350.org website. www.350.org/oct24

The international observance of "Global Climate Healing Shabbat Noach" is a prelude to the crucial United Nations conference on the climate crisis scheduled for Copenhagen in December, 2009.

We call on Jews not only to green our own households and communal buildings but also to work for major public policy changes away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy use in transportation, food production, housing, and other dimensions of our society.

Jewish tradition about caring for the poor also guides us to make sure that industries and regions especially affected must get help from the whole society, and that poor countries also get special help to develop on a non-fossil path and to ward off the destructive effects of climate change.

350 represents more than just a scientific benchmark for a safe climate www.350.org/people/faith – there are also deeply moral and spiritual reasons for getting the world back below 350 ppm CO2. Social justice, creation care, stewardship, earth community, beloved community – there are many ways we can name and express our moral and spiritual perspectives on this issue.

See extensive JRF resources on Sustainability at http://jrf.org/climate

The full JRF Resolution on the Environment can be seen at http://jrf.org/showres&rid=262

For a list of sponsoring organizations and clergy see http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1517

You can also find additional information through the Shalom Center website (http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/602/t/4180/event/index.jsp?event_KEY=50242)

JRF co-sponsors Judaism and Sustainability Leadership Conference

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:42:35 -0400

Rabbis Epstein, Zevit, Eisenstat and DobbOn May 11 and 12, 2009, JRF’s Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Rabbi Nancy Epstein, Rabbi Jeff Eisenstat, JRF affiliate Adat Shalom’s Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb represented the JRF at a meeting of more than 40 leaders from across the broad spectrum of the organized American Jewish community for the first national Jewish Sustainability Conference. We gathered at the incredible Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center outside Baltimore for two days of learning, workshops, and discussion on Judaism and sustainability.

One of the initial questions we grappled with was defining “sustainability”. Rachel Cohen, the intern for environmental issues for the Religious Action Center, with whom we partner on many social justice initiatives, stated in her post-conference blog entry that “sustainability means creating communities that meet the basic human needs of all of their members, (and the world we are part of), by rethinking and often limiting both what we take from the natural world and the by-products that we put into the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the public spaces we enjoy together. We came to understand how the American Jewish community can unite around the goal of building safer, healthier communities for ourselves and our children based on these fundamental principles.” We also shared an understanding from Jewish tradition and contemporary thought, that sustainability means living in a social, economic, political, environmental, culutral and spiritual balance and integrative manner. In this way the impact of our actions to meet our own needs and the needs of the planet today, are also measured against the impact on future generations (l'dor v'dor).

The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), a program of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, along with 17 Jewish religious movements and national organizations, organized and sponsored this historic gathering. JRF was involved from the beginning of this effort as part of our movement wide commitment to the issue, dating back to our 1990 Resolution on the Environment, and the recent "Omer Learning and Sustainable Synagogue Initiatives.

We began the conversation by talking about buildings, a shared foundation for all of our organizations and the source of 30% of our operating costs and an equal percentage of our carbon emissions. The buildings owned and operated or rented by the JRF, the RRC and RRA, Camp JRF, with our 107 synagogues and havurot across the United States, Canada, Curacao and Prague, have a massive impact on the environment. We are already taking steps forward as a Movement – through our Sustainable Synagogue Initiative and extensive programs at many of our synagogues- to reducing our environmental impact and even leaving a positive footprint on our natural world.

We were proud to represent our movement and member communities in working with Rabbi Nina Cardin and Terry Gipps (presenter of the model of sustainability we focused on,“The Natural Step”), in the planning and facilitation of the event. Rabbi Shawn Zevit was invited to present on behalf of the religious movements the Reconstructionist movement’s approach to sustainability from local community to national and institutional approaches, congregational examples such as JRC, Adat Shalom, Camp JRF and RRC’s Green committee, as a model of how to respond, in a collaborative fashion, to the needs of our people, and the world of which we are a part.

Rabbi Shawn Zevit leads opening prayerRabbi Zevit stated, “If we are to have a viable future as a Jewish People, we need to build on Kaplan’s formulation of Judaism as an evolving religious civilization to include a globally sustainable approach to living in faith community. A globally sustainable, evolving religious culture will also include interdependent and healthy economic, social, political, environmental and spiritual systems. There may be no more important issue to engage in and face than the issue of global sustainability in the 21st century. Our collective work is to raise awareness and encourage concrete action, with every JRF community being part of the tikkun of the planet across the sustainability spectrum.”

While the topic of 'greening' has become all the rage in recent years, rarely does the conversation extend beyond how we can reduce our carbon footprint and cut our energy bills by changing a few light bulbs or turning down the thermostat. However, at the Conference we learned about how to frame all of the choices we make as individuals and communities- from transportation choices to the type of food we eat (local, organic, vegetarian, etc) to the materials and labor practices that go into the products we purchase - with an eye toward investing in systems that are healthier for everyone. This means much more than just "greening" our facilities, though that is certainly a wonderful and important place to start. When we see environmental issues within the larger framework of building sustainable futures, we come to understand that we can all take steps toward a healthier world without decreasing our standard of living or further tightening our already short budgets.

Building communities and institutions that can coexist with our surroundings is not only essential for our long-term ecological survival, but also part of a Jewish imperative to protect vulnerable communities, refrain from activities that destroy our natural resources, and ensure opportunities for present and future generations to thrive in a healthy environment. This is true sustainability, and it is an idea that all the Jewish religious streams and organizations present we re in agreement on.

It was inspiring to join with leaders from so many Jewish organizations that are already taking steps toward sustainability in their own communities. The participants hope that by joining their efforts, the American Jewish community can become a leader in promoting sustainable communities. However, my colleagues and I understand that our meeting this week was only the first step on a long journey toward creating a more educated, aware, and active community of practice on this issue. We are committed to learning from each other and the efforts of our institutions, and working together as a unified Jewish community toward this common goal. We have much to be proud of, much to be concerned about, and while we cannot complete this task on our own, neither will we sit by even in the most challenging of economic times, and shine the light of inquiry and action only within. The future of the Jewish people and the world we are part of depends on us!

For more information on the Jewish Sustainability Conference, see the JCPA/JRF Press Release attached to this page.

JRF’s Sustainable Synagogue Initiative

Recon Press: Sustainable Synagogue Manual

The Omer Learning Project: http://jrf.org/omer/2007 and http://jrf.org/omer2008-enviro

PEARL/Tikkun Olam Teleconference

JTA Article on Conference

Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education day School Survey.

With appreciation to Rachel Cohen of the RAC, and her blog on the conference for article content, as well as Rabbis Jeff Eisenstat, Nancy Epstein and Fred Dobb, who were engaged and committed members of the JRF conference leadership team present. Thanks to Dr. Carl Sheingold (JRF Executive Vice-President) for his support of our participation.

Teva Seminar on Jewish Environmental Education

Lisa Tuttle — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:23:17 -0400

Are you a Jewish educator invested in the future of our earth?
Registration is now open!
www.tevacenter.org/seminar
June 1-4, 2009
Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, NY

Come meet, learn, pray and share with others also passionate about Jewish environmentalism. Join Torah scholars, farmers, educators, students and scientists to engage in contemporary topics of Jewish environmentalism. Participants will leave with curriculum, connections and skills to run Jewish environmental programming at their summer camp.

We offer four curricular tracks:
• Camp and Wilderness: Teach Jewish values through camping, hiking, backpacking, drama and storytelling.
• Ethics and Texts: Debate different approaches to reading texts with a diverse array of Torah scholars. This track includes educators from Hebrew College.
• Congregational Education: Bring Lively and effective Jewish environmental programming to your classroom, congregation or community.
• Organic Agriculture and Educational Gardening: Learn to design and maintain a thriving educational garden. This track facilitated by the Jewish Farm School

New for 2009:
• Teva/JNF educator certification- choose to join a cohort of certified Jewish environmental educators
• Lessons for connecting to Israel though the natural world
• Opportunities for interfaith dialogue

Participants in 2008 had this to say:
• “A program that puts you in the mind-set of thinking proactively and positively about changing environmental consciousness and places the values of sustainability and healthy ecology at the forefront.”
• “An outstanding Jewish environmental education seminar that I wish all religious school instructors could attend.”
• “An interesting source of learning for how the environment connects with Judaism and how Judaism connects with me.”

For more information please contact Leora Mallach at seminar@tevacenter.org

For more information about the Seminar, or to register, please go to: www.tevacenter.org/seminar

The Teva Learning Center is proud to offset the costs of the Teva Seminar though Good Energy Initiative and JNF GoNeutral.
Participants will have the opportunity to offset their travel carbon.

Birkat HaHammah 2009- "The Blessing of the Sun", a Global Jewish Event

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:33:45 -0400

North American Solar and Renewable Energy Campaign in the Jewish Community

The year 5769 (2008-2009) will be the little known Jewish year of “Birkhat HaHammah” the “blessing of the sun.” Every 28 years, the ancient rabbis demarked a time in the Jewish calendar that celebrates the ceremonial return of the sun to its original place in the cosmos during creation.

JRF, as part of a national coalition participated in this rare event to focus on solar power and energy stewardship. Our commitment to a dynamic Judiasm on a Sustainable Planet will continue!

See www.blessthesun.org and the Birkhat HaHammah blog

Traditional sources and the complete ritual service

Enjoy a song for the Sun performed by Rabbi Shawn Zevit

Words available courtesy of Kolot

Calculate the timing for your local gathering for the ritual and education about solar energy

Jewish Exponent Article, March, 2009

Cleveland Jewish News Article, April, 2009

JRC, Evanston, IL, Chicago Tribune Article

Birkat Hahama from the perspective of a scientist

How the Sun "Sings" from the Stanford Solar Center

Yoga "Sun Salutation" Practice

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Ritualwell.org managed through Kolot: The Center for Gender Studies at RRC has also uploaded resources for Birkhat Hachamah

Additional JRF Resources on Judaism and the sustainability:

http://jrf.org/omer2008-enviro

http://jrf.org/node/1264#enviro

http://jrf.org/omer/2007

JCPA 2009 Plenum Resolutions- JRF National Religious Organzation, Voting Member

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:52:53 -0400

For your information, here are the resolutions that came out of the recent JCPA plenum. In the two years since JRF became a member religious organization and fourth Jewish movement in the JCPA, we have participated in many coalitions and sign-on initiatives. This Plenum marked the first time we were a national religious organization co-sponsoring three of the resolutions below. Thanks to Carl Sheingold (JRF Executive Vice-President), Bob Barkin (JRF President) and Val Kaplan (JRF Chair of External Affiliations) for representing us and voting on our behalf at the Plenum,

Full list of 2009 JCPA Resolutions

Full listing of partner organizations and sign-ons,

L'Shalom,

Shawn

Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam
Congregational Consultant
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

JCPA
JCPA speaks to you each week, alerting you to what the community relations field is doing to safeguard the rights of Jews here, in Israel, and around the world and to protect, preserve and promote a just, democratic and pluralistic American society. For three generations, we have brought together diverse voices in the Jewish community to unite a strong Jewish public policy force.

Date: March 11, 2009
From: Max Mulcahy, Program Director, JCPA

Below are the final versions of the JCPA resolutions as adopted by the 2009 Plenum. Click on the links to access the resolution text in pdf format. Please share these resolutions with your board and leadership. If you have any questions please feel free to contact JCPA offices.

Strengthening the Assets of Low Income Households

Challenges in Coalition Building

Comprehensive Energy Policy

Criminal Justice Reform

Darfur

Freedom of Expression/Defamation of Religion

Supporting Comprehensive Early Childhood Care and Education Programs for All

Muslim Jewish Relations

Alleviating Hunger and Food Insufficiency among Children, the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities, and other At-Risk Individuals in the U.S. and Internationally

Reform of the Federal Poverty Measure

JRF's Sustainable Synagogue Initiative 2010

Rabbi Shawn Zevit — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:47:22 -0400

Sustainable WorldIn 1990 JRF passed a movement-wide resolution (see attachments below) on the environment and congregational life. Since 2006 we offered conference calls and resources on Sustainable Synagogues and Living a Jewish Life Rooted in Ecological Values.

Read the notes from the 2007 call.

With the enthusiasm around JRF's Omer Learning Initiative, as well as the solid response of JRF congregations in the Climate Change and Blessing the Sun (Solar Energy) Initiatives, JRF continues to deepen our work with member communities, other religious movements and partner organizations (JCPA, COEJL) in the area of sustainability.

Our hope is to motivate and educate our congregations in sustainable practices, with the goal of reaching 100 percent participation in the years ahead. See a list of the 15 Communities and Individuals honored at the JRF 2008 Convention as part of our Sustainable Synagogue Intiative.

See information about the Jewish Climate Change Initiative and Shabbat Noach, JRF's participation in the International Climate Change Initiative.

Topics covered by guest teachers on our Sustainabile Synagogue calls included: Julie Dorfman, Rabbi Yitz Husbands Hankin, Hazzan Eric Schulmiller and Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb included: Greening Synagogue practices, everyday sustainability across the synagogue system, eco-kashrut and greening synagogue practices.

A second call on Sustainability and Jewish life was held on Wed. March 5, 2008 as part of JRF's PEARL leadership learning initiative. You can view the 30 page information packet prepared for that call and the audio of the call as well.TO VIEW AND LISTEN CLICK HERE

Read Brant Rosen's Yom Kippur devar Torah that inspired the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston to reach for the highest level of sustainability in their capital campaign. You will also find documents from JRC about their Green policies, educational material and promotional flyer for environmental awareness attached below.

Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb created a text study on climate change that incorporates elements of musar with other diverse material from our tradition.

Also see the JTA's February 2008 coverage of JRC's receiving the first Platinum LEEDS ratingfor a synagogue in the United States.

2008- 2009 NEW RESOURCES JUST ADDED!

For an equally inspiring High Holy Day sermon see Rabbi Sheryl Lewart's talk on living an environmentally sustainable life and Kehillat Israel's Five Mitzvot for Sustainable Living.

Also available is a wonderful meditation on environmental consciousness tied to the seven days of creation by Peter Goldberg of Shir Hadash, Milwaukee, WI, and inspiring materials from Dor Hadash, PA and Darchei Noam, Toronto, Canada and JRC, Evanston, IL (both moved into their new environmentally upgraded buildings in 2008).

For an example of a creative way of community organizing and educating about sustainability simultaneously see Philadelphia's Playback for Change at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ut6eLHEyF8

Environmental resources in Israel

Arava Institute & Kibbutz Ketura

Nurit, new eco-friendly town in Israel being built on the Gilboa

Green Zionist Alliance

The Heschel Centre for Envrionmental Learning and Leadership

Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo Eco Activist Beit Midrash

The Ecological Greenhouse Ein-Shemer

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APRIL 8, 2009- 5769 BIRKHAT HACHAMA (BLESSING OF THE SUN)

SOLAR AND RENEWABLE ENERGY CAMPAIGN IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

2008-9 (5769) will be the little known Jewish year of “Birkhat Hachamah” the “blessing of the sun”. JRF is part of a national coalition (BlesstheSun.org) that will use this rare event to focus on solar power and energy stewardship.

a href="http://www.ritualwell.org/holidays/sitefolder.2008-09-16.5411107743/
">Ritualwell.org- managed through Kolot: The Center for Gender Studies at RRC and in coordination with JRF has also uploaded resources for Birkhat Hachamah at
Additional Resources on Judaism and the sustainability are available at:

http://jrf.org/omer2008-enviro

http://jrf.org/node/1264#enviro

http://jrf.org/omer/2007

COEJL Greening Synagogue Guide by R. Fred Dobb

The Shalom Center's Green Menorah Covenant

Synagogue Council of Massachussetts- Green Initiative

Boston COEJL Synagogue Green Guide

Education material from CAJE

URJ (Reform)

Synagogue Architecture
Green buildings

USCJ/RA (Conservative):

Also see: http://www.fjmc.org/ShomreiHaaretz.html

OU (Orthodox)

Also see: http://ouradio.org/images/uploads/events/Repairing_The_Future.pdf

Ethical Kashrut

How does your community's practices align with the JRF resolution and the actions and commitments of other JRF communities? To add your resources to this initiative please e-mail SZevit@jrf.org