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From Purim to Pesach
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Dear
All,
I think of the period from seder night until
Shavuot as a sustained reflection on the nature of freedom,
and in particular about traveling from freedom from
(want, oppression, slavery) to freedom to (make a
difference in the world, exercise choice, restrain oneself in
certain ways.)
The period from Purim to seder night is thus preparation for
this. It’s the work we need to do to be able to start to
leave our own enslavement and to think freshly and confidently
about our freedom.
And the tradition’s great insight – hidden in
plain view – is that a significant part of that process
is about getting rid of stuff.
Certainly this involves removing chametz, traditionally
understood – bread and beer and whisky and other
fermented products. But the deeper gift of this period –
certainly in our time, certainly in the west – is the
deeper notion that we have too much stuff of all
sorts, and that if we truly want to be free – if we want
even to begin to imagine our true freedom – the road to
doing so involves getting rid not only of literal chametz but
of existential chametz – the superfluities that hinder
our freedom.
So in our household we do kasher our home in the traditional
sense; we keep a fairly strictly kosher kitchen and that is
important to us. But as well as the traditional
koshering, we take the opportunity to try to get rid of stuff.
We take stuff to goodwill, or to the office. Give things to
friends. Throw things out.
I have learned over the last few years – as our
practice in this regard has deepened – that the effect is
cumulative, year by year. It is the nature of contemporary life
that we are encouraged to over-consume the world. What is bad
for us individually turns out to be bad for us collectively and
societally also. The desire not to over-consume –
steadily to start to consume less, in all sorts of different
ways – is counter-cultural, in that it cuts against the
thousand advertisements we see each week that encourage us that
there is so much that we need, that we must have.
So kasher your home a little earlier this year. Start just
after Purim. Getting rid of (some of) your stuff will be a gift
to others – and it may give you rich food for thought for
seder night and the long journey towards freedom…
Purim Sameach, Shabbat shalom,
Nigel
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New York Ride Launch Night, March 12 |
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Pinot, Pickling, &
Planting |
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Thursday, March 12th, 7:00 - 10:00pm
JCC Manhattan, New York, NY
Join the JCC Manhattan 20s + 30s and Hazon young
professionals for a fun evening of pickling and planting as we
celebrate the launch of the
2015 Hazon New York Ride & Retreat. Sip fancy cocktails
and enjoy farm-to-table hor d'oeuvres as you create your own
potted plants and fermented delights. Learn about
sustainability, enter a raffle to win great prizes, take home
delicious Adamah Foods products straight from the farm, and
join the JCC Manhattan team for the 2015 New York Ride &
Retreat.
Register today.
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Become a Teva Educator |
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Topsy Turvy Bus and Fall Teva
Applications Open! |
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Explore Jewish environmental education in its natural setting.
Teva’s educators are musicians, artists, performers,
scientists, athletes, scholars and explorers who impart Jewish
environmental wisdom as outdoor educators on the road and at the
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. Live in community and
learn from your peers as you teach students and campers across
the northeast about the natural world.
Learn more and apply today.
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Boulder, CO |
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Food Chains: Boulder Film
Screening |
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Thursday, March 12th, 7:00 pm
Boulder JCC, 3800 Kalmia Avenue, Boulder, CO
80301
Tuv Ha'aretz, Boulder's interfaith CSA program is making a
commitment to Shmita this year by getting involved with farm
workers' rights. This film, showing in time to seed
conversation topics for your Passover seder, documents the many
farmworker injustices that happen daily in our agricultural
system in this country. Discussion afterward with Amy Tisdale
of Red Wagon Organic Farm and Rabbi Marc Soloway of
Congregation Bonai Shalom. Free for Tuv Ha'aretz CSA members,
$5 for non-members.
Learn more about the documentary.
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Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, April 3 - 12 |
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Passover: This Year at Isabella
Freedman |
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Celebrate your freedom by bringing your whole family to an
enriching, relaxing, and fun-filled Kosher-for-Passover program
in a beautiful country setting. Delicious holiday feasts
featuring the highest quality Kosher for Passover foods from our
AdamahFoods kitchen and delicious OU glatt kosher pastured meats
raised on small-family farms from
Grow & Behold. Engaging Seders and Divrei Torah led by
“New
York’s Funniest Rabbi,” Rabbi Neil Fleischmann,
back for his 16th year! Wildly popular environmental program
for kids,
Camp Teva, featuring engaging activities for the young ones
every day of the retreat. Daily schedule packed with morning
yoga, compelling lectures, interactive workshops, a folk
concert with Laura Wetzler, and a campfire and kumzits
(singing) night – something for everyone.
Register today.
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Shmita |
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Join an Online Class About
Shmita |
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Hazon is excited to partner with
Project Zug powered by
Mechon Hadar to offer an online learning course called
"Let's Talk about Shmita", taught by Hazon's Yedidya Sinclair.
Project Zug's online learning platform provides dynamic Jewish
content, and a havruta (one-to-one) learning partner in Israel
or around the world. Course begins week of March
8th!
Learn more and register today.
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4th Annual Boston Jewish Food Conference, Sunday, March 8 |
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Food Justice: What is it and What
can I do? |
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Sunday, March 8th, 1:00 - 7:00pm
Congregation Kehillath Israel, 384 Harvard St, Brookline,
MA
The 4th Annual Boston Jewish Food Conference includes
workshops looking at the many factors that impact what we eat:
individual choices, congregational and community affiliations,
and the development of public policies. The Shuk (marketplace)
will feature dinner prepared by conference participants,
do-it-yourself sessions, advocacy opportunities, tabling by
community organizations as well as our silent auction. Hazon is
a proud sponsor and will present a session on sustainable and
inclusive Passover seders.
Register today.
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Adamah: Jewish Farming Fellowship |
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Currently Accepting Applications
for 2015 |
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The Adamah Fellowship is a two- or three-month leadership
training program for Jewish young adults that integrates organic
farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, community building,
and contemplative spiritual practice. Adamah is located in the
Connecticut Berkshires, where fellows live surrounded by the
beauty of the natural world and a unique all-stream Jewish
retreat center.
Visit Adamah online for more information, dates, and how to
apply.
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Hazon in the News |
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Chocolate Hamantaschen Filled With Serious Fun
by Tami Ganeles-Weiser, The Forward, February 27, 2015
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Local Events & Special Announcements |
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From Our Friends |
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Reboot:
National Day of Unplugging |
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March 6 - 7, sundown to
sundown
The National Day of Unplugging is a 24 hour
period – running from sundown to sundown –
and starts on the first Friday in March. The project is
an outgrowth of The Sabbath Manifesto, an adaption of our
ancestors’ ritual of carving out one day per week
to unwind, unplug, relax, reflect, get outdoors, and
connect with loved ones.
Learn more.
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Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies Fellowships |
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- Scholarships and Fellowships are available,
including:
- NEW! The Pardes Arts & Culture
Fellowship
- NEW! The Pardes Conflict Resolution
Fellowship
- The Pardes Social Justice Fellowship
- The Pardes Communications Fellowship
Preferred application deadline: March 15,
2015, contact Jenna
Englander at
jenna@pardes.org for more info.
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Amir is Hiring a New Executive Director |
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Amir's mission is to inspire and motivate
youth to serve. Amir partners with summer camps to build
social-action community gardens, engaging youth in
programming around issues of food justice and environmental
stewardship. Prospective CEO candidates should be strong
communicators and passionate advocates for the cause of
social justice.
Learn more and apply today.
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Become a Repair the World Fellow |
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Applications are now open for Repair the World
service learning fellowships in New York, Philadelphia,
Detroit, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. If you or someone you
know is a young adult looking for a year-long service
opportunity in pursuit of social justice, consider applying
or nominating someone for the fellowship. Applicants who
apply by March 31 will be notified by May 1.
Apply today.
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Compassion
and Justice: Jewish Tools for Spiritual Social
Action |
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March 16 - April 13, 6:30 - 8:00 PM, Denver,
CO
In Judaism, preparing the world and renewing ourselves
are connected. What are key ideas that underlie the
Jewish commitment to social action? How can Jewish
spirituality nourish our soul and sustain our work
towards preparing the world? We invite people of all
political and spiritual persuasions to participate in
this conversation. Each class will involve text study,
discussion, poetry, and snacks! Presented by JYW and Bend
the Arc. Co-sponsored by Hazon, Ekar, Hebrew Educational
Alliance, B’nai Havurah, Temple Micah, Rodef
Shalom, DU Center for Judaic Studies, JCC Life &
Learning, and JEWISHcolorado.
Register today.
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