On the long journey towards freedom...
hazon

March 5th, 2015 | 14th Adar 5775

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In this issue
NY Ride Launch Party
Become a Teva Educator
CO Documentary
Screening
Passover Retreat
Online Shmita Class
Boston Food Conference
Adamah Farming
Fellowship
In the News
From our Friends
 
Upcoming retreats
and events
April 3 - 12
Passover
May 7 - 10
CA Ride & Retreat
May 22 - 26
Shavuot

July 20 - 24

Talmud Circle Institute
September 4 - 7
NY Ride & Retreat
 

From Purim to Pesach

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-savageNigel

New York Ride Launch Night, March 12
Pinot, Pickling, & Planting

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.

Become a Teva Educator
Topsy Turvy Bus and Fall Teva Applications Open!

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.

Boulder, CO
Food Chains: Boulder Film Screening

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.

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, April 3 - 12
Passover: This Year at Isabella Freedman

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.

Shmita
Join an Online Class About Shmita

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.

4th Annual Boston Jewish Food Conference, Sunday, March 8
Food Justice: What is it and What can I do?

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.

Adamah: Jewish Farming Fellowship
Currently Accepting Applications for 2015

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.

Hazon in the News

Chocolate Hamantaschen Filled With Serious Fun
by Tami Ganeles-Weiser, The Forward, February 27, 2015

Local Events & Special Announcements
From Our Friends
Reboot: National Day of Unplugging

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.

Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies Fellowships
The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem is currently accepting applications for The Pardes Year Program – 2015-16:
  • 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.



Amir is Hiring a New Executive Director

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.

Become a Repair the World Fellow

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.

Compassion and Justice: Jewish Tools for Spiritual Social Action

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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