American Jewish food writer Leah Koenig talks about her journey back to meat-eating. A million answers have been given (and a million jokes cracked) around the Passover question “Why is this night different from all other nights?” But this year, my Passover truly felt different. This year, for the first time since I became a […]
Holland, where religious tolerance has been known since the 16th century, proposes a step backwards to the Dark Ages. Although here on Green Prophet we advocate adding more vegetables to your diet, we acknowledge the human appetite for meat. In Holland, about 45.000 Jewish and 945.000 Moslem citizens eat only meat slaughtered according to religious […]
As California’s LEED synagogue hits the auction block, a more sustainable “light unto the nations” might be the DC synagogue’s Energy Star rating. Larry reports. Orthodox Judaism rarely gets mentioned in the same breath as energy conservation. And from the outside, there’s little to suggest that Washington DC’s Ohev Sholom — which brands itself “The […]
Traditional Jewish burials: guidelines to a green farewell. The recent controversy over arch-terrorist Osama bin Laden’s burial at sea has piqued an interest in eco-funerals here at Green Prophet. It can hardly get more friendly to the environment than a biodegradable cloth shroud in which to wrap the corpse, plus weights to ballast – then […]
This tree gave Anne Frank so much pleasure when she was in hiding. Just before it was about to die, seeds from the Anne Frank tree in Amsterdam were collected and germinated so that the tree that she loved so much could live on. In her diary, now a book, The Diary of Anne Frank, […]
Help save the world’s first green synagogue which is currently under threat of closing down due to financial difficulties Here at Green Prophet, nothing makes us happier than when faith embraces green ethics. From anti-consumerist Ramadans, eco Passovers and Purims to celebrating the Persian autumn festival, there really is something that everyone of faith can […]
Tomorrow night the Jewish holiday of Passover begins. The holiday marks the time when the Israelities left Egypt as slaves, and entered the land of Israel (Canaan) as free people. Today Jews around the world are working vigorously right now to remove each and every last speck of hametz (leaven) in their homes, and most […]
It’s every parent’s nightmare: an advocate of simple, green cleaning products, Green Prophet’s Sophie reports how her child was almost poisoned by Passover cleaning products. The Jewish Passover holiday is associated with springtime, freedom and joy. The pleasure of cleaning out the old for the new and a good spring clean. Well the joy of […]
Scholars have known since the late 1960s that the ancient Israelites worshiped both Yahweh and his wife Asherah. Despite efforts by some editors to translate Asherah’s name to mean ‘Sacred Tree,’ archaeological findings and excerpts from the Book of Kings depict God’s wife as a powerful fertility Goddess. (Read how present day Jews continue to […]
Cooking and baking are one way that Jews celebrate the Purim holiday of salvation. Jews celebrate the holiday of Purim on the 14th day of Adar II, which falls this year on the evening of Saturday, March 19 until sunset on March 20. In Jerusalem and other ancient walled cities, the one-day celebration begins Sunday […]
Myths and facts about the “Jewish Earth Day” This Wednesday evening and Thursday, Jews around the world will celebrate the holiday of Tu B’Shevat (15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat). Tu B’shevat traditions include planting new trees, and eating dried fruit. Tu B’Shevat has also become the Jewish Earth Day, to celebrate the environment […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCzZWlFgjFM[/youtube] Pamela Anderson tries to convince orthodox Jews to get with the times and give up the fur. During a visit to Israel a few weeks ago, former Baywatch star and current Honorary Director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Pamela Anderson tried to convince orthodox Jews to forgo their traditional fur […]
Is Feng Shui kosher? An Israeli world musician Yisrael Borochov discovers some unusual connections between the Chinese practice of Feng Shui and ancient Jewish traditions of how to live in harmony with nature I was skimming through one of the main books dealing with detailing the Jewish mitzvas (commandments), and was really surprised to feel […]
Is taking down this year’s sukkah already getting you thinking about next year’s? Have the end of the Jewish holidays, return to work, and impending cold weather got you down? Fantasizing about next year’s warm evenings spent inside an outdoor sukkah (or temporary booth) might help fight that feeling. This year’s much-publicized Sukkah City design […]
If you knew a giant flood was coming, what would you put in your ark? Teva Ivri, a non-profit organization committed to Jewish environmental responsibility, understands that the Biblical Noah saved humanity and animal species from annihilation in a major climatic change with his ark. And they want to give him a break this time […]