With the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) coming up this week, many of us are reflecting on the past year and making resolutions for the next. These resolutions may include ways to treat ourselves better, ways to be better to those around us, and ways to make a more positive impact on our surroundings. Making […]
A new NGO, known as Green Ramadan, plans to make Muslims and non-Muslims more aware of protecting the environment. Daniella touched on the new Ramadan project earlier. Meanwhile the organization is so new that its website, www.greenramadan.org is still in the development stages. Yet, the message being given will hopefully bring a new awareness among Muslims, […]
Suburban mosques in Illinois are preaching carpools, recycling and reduced meat consumption this month as part of a Green Ramadan campaign launched by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. According to the Daily Herald, the Council includes 50 mosques with 40,000 members. Five mosques have officially signed on, including the first solar mosque […]
Jordan opened 15 lower-cost vegetable markets Saturday in several cities in honor of Ramadan, the month-long Muslim fasting holiday that began Friday. According to the Jordan Times, the government began the market program last Ramadan. In exchange for a free stall, water and electricity, farmers agree to mark their produce down 30 percent. The program […]
A year ago, James wrote an article on Green Prophet about a unique organization known as the Sulha Peace Project and its role in reconciliation among peoples of different religious faiths and cultures, which is what the word sulha or reconciliation in Arabic is supposed to be about. The Sulha Peace Project was founded in […]
The links between religion and environmental concern/activism are no news to Green Prophet. We’ve covered them in our Eco Rabbi series, discussion of the environment and the Qu’ran, and in stories about multi-faith perspectives on the environment. But it was news to discover an Eco-Activist Beit Midrash (EABM) in Jerusalem’s Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo, which, in […]
Just six months ago, JGooders.com was started as way to build a global, accessible, vibrant, and transparent central Jewish and Israeli arena that would connect needs and generosity; social initiators and social enablers, and allow everyone to Do Good. [from JGooders.com] JGooders is off to a fast start, as hundreds of Non Profit Organizations have […]
Coming to Israel for the first time is now becoming more environmentally friendly. Not only does Taglit-Birthright still offer a free 10-day trip for Jewish 18 to 26 year olds, but now each trip incorporates at least one environmental awareness aspect, and some newer tracks are even environmentally centered. Taglit Birthright Israel first started in […]
Every month, observant Jewish women in Israel and around the world immerse in a ritual bath known as a mikveh. Some men do it too before the Sabbath and holidays. Now a unique project in Jerusalem intends to recycle water from the mikveh showers that people take before immersing in the pool of living water.
Twenty years, ago, Sally Bingham went to her local bishop and announced that she wanted to be ordained so that she could become the world’s first priest for the environment. She was received with some skepticism. Undeterred, she embarked on almost a decade of study and became an Episcopalian minister in 1998. She went on […]
(Modern-day Israelites “glean” at a Tel Aviv market to help feed African refugees in Israel.) Chapter 25 of the biblical Book of Leviticus relates how God instructed the Children of Israel on how to make of most out of the land when growing crops, and how to care for livestock, and for servants who worked […]
In last week’s Eco Rabbi I discussed aspects of vegetarianism and Judaism. This week’s Eco-Rabbi post I discuss cleaning for the holiday of Passover. This week Jews all over the world are cleaning up their homes in preparation for the festival of Passover (Pessach in Hebrew). On Passover one cannot own, in their home, an […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In this week’s Eco-Rabbi post I discuss a Jewish approach to meat. I’m a vegatarian… sympathizer. (Seriously, could you really eat lamb after looking at that picture?) […]
This week Jewish people everwhere, and in Israel, celebrate the festival of Purim, which I would call the festival of communal identity. The beginning of the Megillah (what Jewish people read on Purim) opens with King Achashverosh’s party, a seven-day-all-out-eat-your-heart-out party. After spending an entire half-year celebrating throughout the country, the king wanted to impress […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post I discussed how to create room for God to live within us. This week I discuss giving thanks to God for the energy […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post I discussed free trade and the commandments, this week I write about how to create room for God to live within us. […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post we discussed trees and the receiving of the Bible (Torah) on Mount Sinai, this week I’ll discuss free trade and the commandments. […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post we discussed water and life. In this week I will discuss man, trees and the receiving of the Bible (Torah) on Mount […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post we discussed the power of symbols. This week continues with discussing of water and life. Pharaoh finally agrees to let the Jewish […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post we discussed Moses’ fight for his people’s freedom. This week continues with discussing the power of symbols. Moses finally persuaded Pharaoh to […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post we discussed the Jews slavery in Egypt along with Moses’ first prophecy via a burning bush. This week continues Moses’ fight for […]
Tu B’Shvat is the Jewish holiday marking the beginning of a new year for trees, and is usually celebrated by planting trees and exchanging gifts of dried fruit with loved ones. While these traditional activities are great and we support going out to plant trees (thus increasing the amount of carbon-eating leaves out there), these […]
Orthodox Jews read a segment of the Five Books of Moses each week so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post we discussed Jacob’s descent to Egypt and the grand cedars that he brought with him. This week’s segment, Parshat Vayechi, is the […]
The Christmas season in Europe is often silly season for the world’s media outlets, when they outdo each other to find the strangest, weirdest and oddball news story to give people an extra sparkle to their celebrations. Strange shaped vegetables, or bagels that bleed are the sort of stories that crop up. Despite the crisis […]
Joseph was sent down to Egypt by his brothers to remove him from the picture. Their father had favored Joseph and his brothers were not too happy about that. Upon arriving in Egypt Joseph found success wherever he went. Originally he was sold as a slave but very quickly he found himself in charge of […]
