Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

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

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.

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

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)

 

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.  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:
• “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.

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 »

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.  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.