[Newsletter May 23, 2013]The Power & Potential of Jewish Retreats

“This place opened my mind to what healthy, vibrant, connected, spiritual Jewish community can look like. It made me hopeful about my own life, spiritually and otherwise.“
- Isabella Freedman retreat participant

What if your vacation was not only fun and relaxing, but also inspiring, enriching, and connected you and your family to an eco-conscious and diverse Jewish community? What if Jewish retreats can anchor a 21st century Jewish community in communal values and vision that go beyond denominations and local communities, forming a wide network of people whose lives have been transformed by their retreat experiences, who themselves become forces for transformation in the world?

Hazon’s merger with Isabella Freedman will provide you with an opportunity to access a variety of retreat opportunities in one of the most enchanting and inspiring places in the world. This Jewish retreat center in the Connecticut Berkshires, which has been living Hazon’s values for many years, will soon be ours to call home. Isabella Freedman also comes with an array of programs that invite you to engage spiritually, ecologically, and creatively with a Judaism in which you can find meaning in your own way, through your own passions and interests.

This summer, there are over a dozen ways to join Hazon’s Isabella Freedman community. And for every retreat, people fly, drive, train, and bus to the pilgrimage destination that is this most beautiful and special place. We invite you to join us at our new home, Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, for retreats that include:

Teva Seminar June 4 – 7
The annual Teva Seminar on Jewish Environmental Education is the premiere professional development opportunity for adults of all ages to explore Jewish environmental education, environmental sustainability, camping, gardening, or simply enjoying nature with others.

Elat Chayyim Living Laboratory & Shabbat June 17 – 23
Join us for a week dedicated to continuing the experiment in renewing Jewish spirituality. 5 Labs, 1 Community – renewing Jewish spirituality through yoga, prayer, meditation, text study, and social action. Presented in partnership with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal.

Judaism & Baseball June 28 – 30
Excitement is in the air as the manager has handed in his card announcing the starting line-up for the summer’s 2nd annual “Judaism & Baseball” retreat. If last year’s home run performance is any indication, fans will be in for the time of their lives! Presented in partnership with JewishMajorLeaguers.org and theNational Museum of American Jewish History.

Elat Chayyim ArtFest June 30 – July 3
Hands-On Jewish Art Festival! Celebrating and highlighting the vibrant infusion of creativity and artistic engagement in a diverse, eco-conscious Jewish community. Presented in partnership withThe Jewish Daily Forward, LABA House of Study, Jewish Art Now,Jewish Art Salon, Art Kibbutz NYC, and Meta-Phys Ed Performance Collaborative.

Torah Yoga July 22 – 28
Experience the wonder of Torah study and the groundedness of yoga practice with Diane Bloomfield, whose teachings spring forth from her own deep learning in Jerusalem. Through the study of Jewish teachings and the practice of select yoga postures, we will dive into the inner world of body, mind, heart, and soul. Presented in partnership with JCC Manhattan.

Adamah Farm Vacations July 29 – August 1, August 19 – 23
Join us for a summer vacation in the Berkshires that is affordable, family-friendly, and eco-conscious! The Adamah Farm allows you to spend quality time with yourself and your loved ones in an easy to get to place that is far from the fast-paced world. Hourly childcare is available by request for an additional fee.

Mikvah: Immersion in Collaborative Judaism August 14-18
Every participant is a volunteer-leader. Lead a workshop, a song, a prayer service, or a conversation, teach a text, share a skill, or lead a dance, a hike, or a yoga class. Pluralistic, inclusive, diverse community: everyone is welcome, all religious practices will be supported. Gift-economy fee structure: pay what you can, and pay it forward for others. Presented in partnership with Limmud NY.

We strive to ensure access to retreats for everyone. Need-based Financial Aid is available for each retreat.

More than just retreats, Isabella Freedman is home to several Jewish spiritual and environmental programs:

 

See All Retreats at Isabella Freedman

Golden Gate Ride: Important Information for Riders and Crew

We couldn’t be more excited to come together as a community next week for the 4th Annual Hazon Golden Gate Ride: Pedaling for a Healthy Planet. Please take a couple of minutes to read through this email containing many pertinent details.

Feel free to contact Adam Kotin or Deborah Newbrun with any last minute questions about transportation, housing, packing, arrival – we’re here to support you.

adam.kotin@hazon.org | deborah.newbrun@hazon.org 

(415) 397-7020 (Office) | (415) 823-1302 (Cell)

Emergency contact phone number for the retreat site where we will be staying during the ride: Walker Creek Ranch: (415) 491-6000

Getting Your Bike to Camp

We will help transport your bike to the ride from the Bay Area and from Los Angeles at no additional cost. We’ll offer bike loading at the following times and locations. Look for Hazon volunteers and a 14-foot Uhaul truck.

Thursday

San Francisco: 6:30pm – 7:30pm, near 16th Street Mission BART (Walgreens parking lot on Capp St, near 16th).

East Bay: 8:30pm – 9:30pm, Ashby BART.

Friday

San Francisco: Starting at 1:45pm at Jewish Community High School (1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA). Bike loading will begin at 1:45pm. The charter bus will depart promptly at 2:40pm.

Los Angeles: 8:30am – 9:00am at Milken Community High School (15800 Zeldins Way, LA)

Getting Yourself to Camp

Registration opens at 2:30pm on Friday May 24th at Walker Creek Ranch. We are offering a shuttle from San Francisco and LA that will arrive in time for Shabbat. If you are signed up to join us later in the weekend, please note arrival times and directions below.

Driving and Carpooling

We have been in touch with many of you about carpooling up to the ranch. We need to minimize the number of cars being driven to the ranch as much as possible. Any cars driven to the ranch that we are not aware of will be left there and alternative transportation should be arranged to retrieve them.

For approved carpooling to Walker Creek Ranch, please consult these directions.

San Francisco Shuttle

Civic Center BART

• Shuttle departs Civic Center BART at 2:15pm
• The bus can not idle and will depart promptly. There will be no bike loading at this location. If you would like to bring a bike and use this pick up you must utilize our Thursday bike loading locations.

Jewish Community High School

• Shuttle departs JCHS at 2:40pm
• Bike loading starts at 1:45pm. Please arrive no later than 2:25pm.

 LA Shuttle/Carpool

• Carpool departs Milken Community High School at 9:00am
• Bike loading available

Weekend Schedule

Hazon is excited to offer a thoughtful and well-rounded program for this year’s retreat. Thanks in advance to all of the participants who are presenting, teaching a session, leading a service, and sharing their interests and skills with the community!

See the Full Schedule [PDF]

Packing List

Be sure to review the packing list for the Golden Gate Ride. All of your things should fit into one small piece of luggage. Our crew are transporting luggage each day of the ride, so please pack lightly. Our accommodations over the weekend will be rustic but clean and comfortable.

Only those with upgraded housing will be provided linens. All other participants must bring their own linens (sheets, blankets, or sleeping bag), pillow, and towel.

See Packing List

Closing Ceremony

Be sure to invite your friends and family to our closing ceremonies from 2 PM to 3 PM on Monday May 27th at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay (1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA). We encourage you to bring people to join with us in celebrating a successful weekend and in honoring your accomplishments!

Prepare for an Extraordinary Weekend!

A Note from Volunteer Ride Co-Chairs Erica & Adam  

Dear Hazon Community,

Ten days from now we will gather in the rolling hills of Marin to share our values of environmentalism, health, and sustainability in the Jewish world and beyond. We hope to be catalysts for positive change through the vitality generated from our cycling adventures, crew spirit, and engaging Shabbat programming. Gear up, bring your ruach(spirit), positivity, and openness — prepare to leave with a spark!

If we have not yet had the chance to meet, please make sure to come say hello to us – Adam and Erica – your friendly volunteer co-chairs for the 2013 Golden Gate Ride. Adam will be riding his spiffy new Trek bicycle and Erica will be supporting riders as an enthusiastic crew member. We both look forward to meeting friends new and old, spending time outside, soaking in the Shabbat sessions, and learning lots from the whole experience.

As the weekend approaches, please reach out to us if you have any questions – we’re here to help and support! We really don’t mind helping, in fact, that’s what we signed up for! Our emails are below.

As the ride draws near, we know many folks are working hard on their fundraising.We’ve found that NOW is the best time to make the push toward your goal.
Here are a few tips:

1. Reinventing the wheel is silly – check out Hazon’s fundraising tools for inspiration and more tips.

2. Make your appeals early, often, and personalized – photos, Facebook shoutouts, a phone call.

3. Follow up is key – many of your soon-to-be-donors just need a quick reminder.

4. Think about how you will say thank you. We plan to write personalized notecards with a photo from our weekend.

5. Use social media: Post about your excitement, your training, and your goals! Here’s a great example…

Lastly, as we get ready for the holiday of Shavuot we are reminded of the lessons from The Book of Ruth. This ancient text incorporates themes of peoplehood, responsibility, and the centrality of the harvest season. These ideas are on our minds as we make the final preparations for the ride, working toward an event with inclusivity and the shared responsibility for the sustainability of our communities. Wishing you a happy holiday and an awesome Golden Gate Ride weekend!

Adam Arenstein & Erica Hymen

2013 Hazon Golden Gate Ride Co-chairs

adamarenstein@gmail.com

ericahymen@gmail.com

Introducing a new Jewish acronym – JOFEE

[Newsletter May 09, 2013] An Extraordinary Weekend

10 Ways to Make your Shavuot More Sustainable

Here are the Top 10 quick and useful suggestions from Hazon, to make your Shavuot more healthy and sustainable. To find out more information and suggestions from Hazon for Shavuot, visit the Hazon Shavuot Resource Page.

1 – Shavuot Recipes

2 – Understand the Dairy Connection

Although everyone agrees that the food of choice for Shavuot is cheese (most typically blintzes, crepe-like pancakes filled with farmer cheese, or a Sephardic [Mediterranean Jewish]equivalent such as burekas, cheese-filled dough pockets), there are differences of opinion (some quite charming) as to why it is a custom.

3 – Choose the Right Kind of Dairy

Traditionally, Shavuot is a dairy-laden holiday, with cheesecake and blintzes and burekas up the wazoo. Check out the Hazon Food Audit Toolkit and Food Guide for links to Kosher sustainable dairy providers.

4 – Eat Dairy Responsibly

If you are looking to dive into the kitchen, head over to our Healthy and Sustainable Shavuot Menu with recipes and resources to bring delicious local seasonal treats bursting with spring flavor to your dairy-based feast.

5 – Learn about Adamah Dairy

Our friends at Adamah have built a thriving dairy operation based on Jewish and sustainable food values. Check out these articles and podcasts on their amazing work:
Goat Days
New Kids on the Block
Milking it With Hazon

6 – Explore the Connections Between Shavuot and Farming

What can Shavuot teach us about the connections between Jewish tradition and agriculture? This text presents one farmer’s take on seeing Jewish rituals as they connect to the cycles of planting, harvest, and eating, which is useful to think about when considering Shavuot and Farming.

7 – Participate or Lead an All Night Study Session

Since we are celebrating the revelation of the Torah at Sinai, Shavuot is a great time to dive into some Jewish study. People will often study until the wee hours of the morning at a Tikkun Leil Shavuot. Food for Thought, Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food, and Contemporary Life had lots of great texts that can spark the conversation.

We have created a special three-page Food for Thought Excerpt that you can print and use at your own Tikkun or Shavuot table.

Also check out this handout created specifically for families, with a recipe and family discussion questions.

8 – Learn More about the Raw Milk Debate

In this blog post, the author explores the issues around raw milk production and tastes the difference.

9 – Learn About Shavuot Basics

Shavuot, the “Feast of Weeks,” is celebrated seven weeks after Pesach (Passover). Since the counting of this period (sefirat ha-omer) begins on the second evening of Pesach, Shavuot takes place exactly 50 days after the (first) seder. Although its origins are to be found in an ancient grain harvest festival, Shavuot has been identified since biblical times with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

10 – Don’t Do Dairy?

Believe it or not, there are still ways to be festive on Shavuot and enjoy your delectable dishes, even if you do not eat dairy products! Try making vegan whipped cream (Vanilla, Chocolate, Coffee, Mocha..yum!) to put on any dessert! You can also try adding dairy free peach pudding or dairy free sorbet to your dessert menu!

I Grew Up On A Factory Farm

By Yadidya Greenberg

I spent the first eight and a half years of my life living on one of Israel’s much-idealized kibbutzim (communal living villages). My mom worked in the kibbutz dairy, and for a time my dad worked with the broiler chickens. I loved milking the cows, and my favorite thing in the world was to let the calves put my entire hand in their mouths. Through these experiences I developed a great fascination and love for animals that has never left me.

(more…)

Israel Ride Info Session in Plano, TX

Discover how the Israel Ride can be your next adventure

Monday, May 20th, 7:00 pm
Chabad of Plano
3904 West Park Blvd. Plano, TX 75075

RSVP

What does it feel like to cycle on the Israel Ride?  Hear from Mark Segal – 2011, 2012, and 2013  Israel Rider – about cycling through Israel, the Middle East’s environmental challenges, and the potential for regional cooperation at the Arava Institute.

Bring your friends with you  |  All are welcome at this event!

Israel Ride Info Session in North Carolina

Discover how the Israel Ride can be your next adventure

Wednesday, May 29th, 7:30 pm
The Levin JCC
1937 West Cornwallis Road Durham, NC 27705

RSVP

What does it feel like to cycle on the Israel Ride?  Hear from Steve Drysdale, 5-time Israel Rider, about cycling through Israel, the Middle East’s environmental challenges, and the potential for regional cooperation at the Arava Institute.

Join us:  Durham — Chapel Hill — Raleigh
Cary — Hillsborough

Bring your friends with you  |  All are welcome at this event!

Fundraising Made Easy

Thank you for joining Hazon’s Golden Gate Ride! It’s time to flex your fundraising muscles! This weekend we make your fundraising push. Cycle up that mountain if you will.

Fundraising is easier than you think, you just have to get started! Use Hazon’s tools to craft a fundraising plan that will have you reaching your fundraising goal:

• Don’t reinvent the wheel! Use our fundraising letter writing guide.
• Start this weekend! Vamp up your fundraising and send your appeal to no less than 40 friends, family, and coworkers.
• Veteran rider Yesh Ballon shares tricks of the fundraising trade.
• What are you riding for? Read about the winners of our Mini-Grant Awards

Start this Weekend: Raise $1000 in 8 Days

The biggest secret to successful fundraising is to ask everyone you know. Think you’ve exhausted your resources? We’ve got a list to help you think of new people to ask. To get a sense of how your whole community can support you in reaching your fundraising goal, consider this recipe for How to Raise $1000 in Eight Days:

1. Donate $50 to yourself
2.  Ask 4 family members to donate $50
3.  Ask 10 friends to donate $20
4.  Ask 5 co-workers to donate $20
5.  Ask 5 neighbors to donate $15
6.  Ask 10 people from your synagogue to donate $15
7.  Ask your boss for a company donation of $100 (Ask if your company will match what you raise)
8.  Ask 5 businesses that you frequent – like your dry cleaner, hair stylist, or favorite restaurant – to donate $25

Fundraising Tips from Veteran Riders

Yesh Ballon has been one the Golden Gate Ride’s highest fundraisers, participating in 4 rides in 3 years. What are the keys to his success?

Make appeals early and often. Money usually comes in within 48 hour of a request. The more asks, the more donations.

Be Personal. Make your letter personal and specific to you. Tell your potential funders what the Ride is all about, and tell them why you’re so excited to do it. Consider writing personalized letters to different donors to address their specific needs.

Convey Your Enthusiasm. People are inspired by enthusiasm. Talk about the ride. Talk about your training and why you have decided to take on this challenge. Your enthusiasm is contagious — it will encourage your sponsors to be generous in their support.

Be Specific. Include your fundraising goal, and make it ambitious. Put it in bold! The more you ask for, the more people give. Share what your personal financial commitment will be. People are often inspired to see your personal financial commitment and might even be willing to match it. “In addition to training, I am pledging $500 towards my fundraising goal.” Ask for a specific amount and aim high. Say “Please consider a gift of $180”—they can choose to do so, or choose to give you more/less.

Thank your donors. Buy a nice box of thank you notes (environmental or bike theme optional) and hand write–yes, with a pen–a thank you note immediately after each pledge is received, and put it in the snail mail that very day. People will become loyal supporters!

“Thank you for once again being a great support to me and Hazon. This marks my fifth ride—one in Israel and now four in California. I am increasingly impressed by Hazon’s mission and the people engaged in it. Your gift makes their work possible.”

What are you riding for? Mini-Grant Awards Winners Announced

A portion of the fundraising from this year’s ride will be made available as small grants for Jewish and environmental projects on the West Coast. We’re pleased to announce this year’s winners!

13% of YOUR fundraising goes to support these amazing projects:

Milken Community High School

The MCHS Urban Farm Co-op, initiated with help from a Hazon grant two years ago, is a sustainable gardening and food justice initiative at Milken Community High School in Los Angeles. The Co-op plans to expand its garden to a minimum of thirty-six pallets across campus, continuing to connect students to their food sources, to the earth, and to their own potential.

Congregation Beth Sholom

Congregation Beth Sholom seeks to enhance and build upon its existing garden and landscape for our preschool and Hebrew school students, parents, and congregants. Further developing our small outdoor garden will build community around the shared experience of nurturing life and growing the food that is central to so many of the Jewish traditions we celebrate.

Jewish Learning Works

The Nosh Niche is a Jewish cooking project embedded within Jewish LearningWorks’ Shalom Discovery family engagement initiative. The Nosh Niche brings to life issues of food justice and farm-to-table Jewish values cooking lessons, discussion guides, and take-home recipes, along with a cooking feature on our website.

Kehillah Jewish High School

Kehillah seeks to revamp, expand, and improve its small school garden, which was funded and built by a student-led initiative last year. This garden has already begun contributing produce to Kehillah’s meals program, which feeds about 100 people per day with delicious vegetarian food. By growing the garden’s size, as well as its uses on campus, Kehillah can cut down on its food miles, improving overall campus sustainability while also serving as a valuable learning tool.

Temple Emanu-El Preschool

Being in San Francisco, with limited outdoors space, we have been grappling with how to include natural sciences with a focus on ecology to our children and families. This year we have been successful with outdoor education programs such as walking trips through the nearby Presidio and Family Education in Golden Gate Park with a naturalist. Through this project, we hope to bring tanks with natural habitats for animals as well as grow lights and indoor gardening to all of our classrooms.

Peninsula Temple Beth El Green Team

Holistic cooking classes through the ages and stages of life. The classes will focus on various temple groups that will impact our youngest members through our seniors. The emphasis will be to introduce to the audiences the importance of choosing healthy, sustainable ingredients, eating in the season, the nutrients in food and our food supply chain.