Swifts return to nest at Judaism most sacred site When the swifts came back to Jerusalem’s Western Wall last week there was rejoicing as bird watchers and the religious welcomed them home to Judaism’s most sacred site. The common swift, which spends is entire life flying or sitting its nest, returns from wintering in South […]
Ahead of Rio +20 join the interfaith climate and energy conference in Jerusalem next week. Can mobilizing the world’s faithful save the planet where activists without faith have failed? Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders will be speaking out on climate change next week, while conveying their shared visions on renewable energy at the Interfaith Climate […]
Public transportation shuts down completely on the Jewish Sabbath across Israel, but now Tel Aviv (Israel’s secular capital) wants to allow buses within the city on Saturdays. It’s a bit of a paradox: Saturday is the one day that Israelis universally have off from work, but it is also the only day that public transportation […]
Spring has sprung in Israel, marked by almond blossoms and Tu Bishvat The Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat begins as the sun sets on the 7th of February 2012. This holiday has its origins in some ecologically-focused passages in the Talmud. Deuteronomy 14:22-29 requires that one tenth of all that a field produces in a […]
In honor of the last day of Hannukah, the Yesh Meain permaculture farm will be hosting an all-day permaculture celebration. Links are often found between Jewish holidays and the environment, and environmentally-minded organizations in Israel try to find eco-friendly ways to celebrate them. We’ve seen these eco Jewish celebrations center around Sukkot, a holiday that […]
Sustainable designer Aya Tager will teach upcycling workshops this month so that the lighting miracle of Hannukah can continue beyond the holiday’s 8 days. The Jewish holiday of Hannukah celebrates the miracle of a single day’s supply of oil lasting for eight days of lighting, and is beloved by environmentalists who appreciate the energy efficiency […]
Jerusalem belches out its untreated waste to area of beauty, holy sites Mohammed Nakhal is normally a calm man, but he’s seething now. The stench of raw sewage is overpowering. It is rushing by, down the biblical Kidron Valley through the Judean Desert toward the Dead Sea where even you know what floats. Nakhal, an […]
Often-ridiculed craft with ancient Middle Eastern roots serves as gentle conduit to change. It’s pretty much agreed that the origins of knitting are placed somewhere in the Middle East. The craft spread to Europe via Mediterranean trade routes, then on to the Americas with European colonization. Some of the earliest examples of knitting have been found in […]
Made by artisans who receive fair wages while upcycling metal products, this bike chain menorah is sustainable for people and the environment. In our recent survey of sustainably designed Hannukah menorahs, we featured menorahs (and other light fixtures) made locally in Israel. Not all Jews have the luxury of being in an area where Judaica […]
Can’t find your old Hannukah menorah? Israeli designers come up with clever alternatives. With the Jewish Hannukah holiday only a few weeks away, many Jews in the Middle East and elsewhere are anxiously waiting to eat sufganiot (jelly doughnuts) and searching their closets and cupboards for their Hannukah menorahs. In case they can’t be found, […]
Yearning for a doughnut or sufganyah, but horrified at all that oil? Try this tasty and healthier baked alternative. While the menorah sheds its festive light, the Jewish family gathers at the table, noshing on traditional foods like sufganyot. You know sufganyot. Those brown disks of tender dough with hearts of jam and coats of […]
The Festival of Lights gives spiritual and historical messages. This year, add a green message to the lights. Hannukah falls on December 20th this year. Among the laws of lighting the menorah – one of the Hannukah traditions that Jews follow for eight days – is one that requires placing it where the lights can […]
You may be eating a dead person’s hair in your commercially-baked bread. Watch out for L-cysteine if you’re queasy. It’s name is inconspicuous enough, not something that would make the average consumer squirm as they read the ingredients label on a loaf of bread. The problem isn’t what L-cysteine does – it’s a non-essential amino […]
Religious leaders will gather in Assisi, Italy (home of St. Francis of Assisi) to launch the Green Pilgrimage Network next week. Religious pilgrimage is an important component of many world religions. Here in the Middle East, the annual Hajj to Mecca draws millions of Muslims from all over the world who want to fulfill one […]
Maimonides, a Jewish scholar, prescribed tahini almost 1,000 years ago. It’s a calcium food for vegans. When my friend Elia consulted her doctor complaining of debilitating pain in some of her joints, she was surprised to hear him suggest tahini (or tahina) paste rather than prescribing a pill. He explained that this cure came to […]