Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

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.  read more »

2009 JRF OMER STUDY AND ACTION INITIATIVE (APRIL - JUNE 2009/5769)

"Justice, justice you shall pursue" (Deut. 16:20).

“A theology which is not a plan of social action is merely a way of preaching and praying. It is a menu without the dinner.” (Mordecai Kaplan, Not So Random Thoughts)

Dear Hevre,

Thanks to all of you who have been helping to promote the various JRF and other national/international initiatives happening this Pesach and beyond. Our Omer Initiative this year is focused on partnership activities, additional PEARL tikkun olam calls and program/ritual resources. Please keep drawing people's attention to these initiatives, and where you can let us know what they are up to so we can highlight local/regional activities on our webpages.

2008 Omer teachings on community building and sustained action
2007 Omer teachings on environmental sustainability
2006 Omer teachings on hunger and poverty
2005 Omer teachings on Pirke Avot

L'Shalom,

Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam
Congregational Consultant
215.885.5601 x 24 / fax: 215.885.5603
Cleveland Office: 216-591-1886

For Tikkun Olam see http://www.jrf.org/to
JRF ~ Transformative Judaism for the 21st Century www.jrf.org

ANTI-HUNGER AND POVERTY INITIATIVES  read more »

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:  read more »

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!  read more »

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  read more »

Shawn Zevit and Derek Rosenbaum on Greening Conference Call: Derek takes the idea of a "green" call very seriously. In 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.  read more »

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.

JRF is proud to announce that the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) in Evanston, Ill. has been awarded First Place (tie) in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Greenie Beanie Awards, a special competition in honor of Tu B’Shevat. And on February 6-7, at JRC's Tu B'Shevat Seder & Scholar-in-Residence Shabbat, the congregation will be presented with the Shalom Center's Green Menorah Award.  read more »

As part of JRF's Sustainable Synagogue Initiative, JRC was acknowledged at the JRF 2008 biennial convention in Boston in November for being the "greenest shul in North America" and for its ongoing green policy development.

There are many JRF initiatives or letters of support in which we are continually asked to participate. In all of these cases, JRF is invited to join other interfaith or Jewish denominational coalitions in national and international social justice areas or letters/programs about forthcoming legislation or policy in keeping with our already existing resolutions.

Sign-ons through 2009:  read more »

In 1990, JRF passed a movement-wide resolution 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 more »

• http://jrf.org/Sustainable_Synagogue_Resources
• http://jrf.org/sz-2007-omer-intro
• http://jrf.org/omer/2007

As part of the Sustainable Synagogue Initiative and the 2008 JRF Biennial convention, we honored 15 of the individuals and communities leading the way in our movement in integrating Jewish values and religious life, and sustainable communal policies and practices. Read more to see the full list!