Siach – The Impact of the Israeli Elections on Civil Society and Social Change

The Siach network invitess you to FREE Post-Election Analysis Webinar: 

THE IMPACT OF THE ISRAELI ELECTIONS ON CIVIL SOCIETY AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Are you interested in hearing about…

• the impact of the election on civil society in Israel
• changes and emerging trends in Israeli society
• the future for the third sector in Israel

 Join us as two experts – Rabbi Michael Melchior and Don Futterman – share their insights on how the changing political map in Israel will impact the future for civil society and society as a whole in Israel.

MONDAY January 28 2013 – 9pm Israel (GMT +2); 7pm UK (GMT)

2pm New York (EST)

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Jewish Farm School: Farmer

2013 Farm Season: February 15 – November 1

We are now accepting applications!

The Jewish Farm School and Eden Village Camp are seeking a motivated, hardworking, and enthusiastic farmer for the 2013 season to oversee production of our2-acre educational farm and other growing areas on site at Eden Village Camp.

Who You Are:

Ideal candidates will:

• Have at least one full season working on a farm using sustainable agriculture techniques;
• Have experience working with chickens, goats, sheep and bees;
• Be comfortable teaching and demonstrating agricultural practices;
• Be excited about working with a diverse range of growing techniques and settings (ie annual vegetables, perennial orchard, permaculture, animals husbandry, educational gardens);
• Be enthusiastic about working collaboratively with other staff, program participants, and volunteers;
• Be an inspiring leader and creative problem solver. 

Your Responsibilities:

• Conducting daily work on the farm;
• Directing farm apprentices, campers, staff, and volunteers in meaningful, educational, engaging, and productive farm projects;
• Overseeing educational gardens on the farm and other gardens on the site (ie, Director’s House Garden and 10 cabin snack gardens)
• Maintaining the Pardes Brachot Orchard;
• Maintaining all livestock and developing further plans for animal care;
• Maintaining site-wide composting system;
• Maintaining appropriate care of all farm related tools, machinery, facilities and equipment;
• Leading and participating in ongoing farm staff meetings, check-ins, and group practices.

Compensation

Weekly salary of $200 and up, dependent on experience. Health insurance subsidy and professional development funds are also available. Farmer will also be provided with shared housing and access to a kitchen, plus all meals when the camp kitchen is open. 

Submit Your Application

To apply complete the form on the Jobs page and send a cover letter and resume to farm@jewishfarmschool.org with Farmer in the subject line.

Jewish Farm School: Farm Educator Apprenticeship

About this Position
This is a six-month, paid apprenticeship for young adults seeking hands-on experience growing food, gaining practical skills, and developing as a Jewish farm educator. Live at Eden Village Camp, one hour north of New York City, April 14 through October 18, 2013

• Learn more about Eden Village Camp.
• Learn more about the Farm at Eden Village.
• More questions? Explore the FAQ page.

  Who You Are: Extensive experience is not necessary. Farming and education is a continuous learning process, but experimental curiosity is required. Our FAQ page has a list of preferred interests.

  How You Will Grow:
  If you build it you can do it at Eden Village Camp. Together, we offer a plethora of opportunities to develop yourself. All that is required is active participation and a desire to know.

• Jewish Educator Pedagogy
• Sustainable Agriculture Training
• DIY & Practical Skill-Building
• Jewish Community Living
• Seminars and Networking

Learn about each of these on the FAQ page.

Benefits
Apprentices receive full room and board for the duration of the program, as well as a stipend of $2,000.  Apprentices working less than a full season will receive a prorated stipend.

Submit Your Application
Apply today to grow your own.

Haven’t answered all of your questions? Visit the FAQ page or contact us at farm@jewishfarmschool.org.

Database Manager at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center

This is a full-time position overseeing all technical aspects of a sophisticated online database that serves non-profit registration, fundraising, and marketing needs. The Database Manager will also provide support to the Registration Department. Position is supervised by the Director of Marketing & Communications. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Oversee all technical aspects of database, including entering and cleaning up data, creating forms, and pulling reports
• Maintain primary contact with database customer support
• Provide support and train staff in how to use database
• Assist guests with their reservations using the online registration database
• Answer registration phone line and field general and program-specific questions (e.g. program content, transportation, kashrut, etc.)

Qualifications include:

• Experience working with online databases to manage and interpret data and create and run reports
• Excellent computer skills and ability to learn new programs
• Personable, friendly, and organized
• Ability to communicate information efficiently and clearly to guests and staff
• Ability to handle and organize a lot of information at once while paying attention to details
• Enthusiasm for working in a fast-paced, flexible cooperative team setting
• Resourceful and entrepreneurial, with good judgment and strong problem-solving skills
• Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends

Annual salary includes room, board, full use of the facility, and full benefit package.

Download a PDF of the job description here.

To apply, please send cover letter, resume, and salary expectations to Director of Marketing & Communications, Amy Hannes. Please describe in your cover letter why you are interested in and suited to this position.

Perennials and Restaurant Sales Manager at The Pearlstone Center

The Pearlstone Center is looking to hire a year- round, full- time, salaried Perennials and Restaurant Sales manager  to join our farm team. This position is responsible for day-to-day management and development of our perennials systems including our edible mushroom enterprise, perennial gardens, fruit orchards, berries, asparagus, and grape vines as well as specialty item restaurant sales.

The three primary areas of responsibility are to:

• Manage and implement sales of mushrooms, culinary herbs, ginger, gherkins and other specialty items to restaurants; including organizing harvests, post-harvest handling and delivery as well as record keeping.
• Support, enhance and maintain various Pearlstone center gardens and perennial crops including overseeing tree dedications and honorary plantings.
• Manage and develop a productive mushroom enterprise including inoculation, harvest and sales of gourmet edible mushrooms.

The position is supervised by the farm director and supervises apprentices and volunteers. Compensation package is $15,000, housing in the Pearlstone staff housing, Associated benefits package and fresh produce, goat milk and eggs from the farm.

Contact Jakir Manela for more information at Jakir@pearlstonecenter.org.

Registrar at Isabella Freedman

This is a full-time position managing all aspects of guest registrations for year-round programs that serve populations who identify as orthodox, conservative, reform, reconstructionist, renewal, and secular, as well as those who are exploring the variety of Jewish perspectives and practices. Position is supervised by the Director of Marketing & Communications. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Answer registration phone line and field general and program-specific questions (e.g. program content, transportation, kashrut, etc.)
• Assist guests with their reservations using an online registration database
• Respond to email and phone messages promptly
• Send requested program information to guests via mail or email
• Create and implement payment plans and assist with financial aid
• Generate and send invoices to guests/li>
• Assist in the maintenance and management of the registration database
• Maintain information systems for interdepartmental reporting
• Manage guest check-in and check-out for select events and assist with post-retreat closure
• Assist in marketing and outreach efforts
• Assist in general retreat center operations during busy periods

Qualifications include:

• Service-oriented, with excellent customer service skills
• Extremely personable, friendly, and organized
• Ability to communicate information efficiently and clearly to guests and staff
• Ability to handle and organize a lot of information at once while paying attention to details
• Computer literacy and ability to learn new programs
• Familiarity with Jewish beliefs, practices, and community norms
• Ability to interact comfortably with people of various ages, economic classes, and cultural backgrounds
• Ability to supervise a part-time assistant
• Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends

Annual salary includes room, board, full use of the facility, and full benefit package.

Download a PDF of the job description here.

To apply, please send cover letter, resume, and salary expectations to Director of Marketing & Communications, Amy Hannes. Please describe in your cover letter why you are interested in and suited to this position.

Program Coordinator at Isabella Freedman

This is a full-time position producing unique immersive events that serve a diverse and vibrant Jewish community. Position is supervised by the Program Manager. The position requires becoming intimately familiar with all aspects of the retreat center operations and offerings, as well as Jewish customs, holidays, and traditions. In addition, applicants must be committed to supporting Jewish practice across and beyond the denominational spectrum. We serve populations who identify as orthodox, conservative, reform, reconstructionist, renewal, and secular, as well as those who are exploring the variety of Jewish perspectives and practices. Ability to lead learning sessions and lead prayer services is a plus. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Plan multiple shabbatonim, retreats, training programs, and holidays over the course of a calendar year
• Hire and coordinate teachers, prayer leaders, and volunteers/interns for specific events
• Convene and work with steering committees and partnering organizations to gather volunteer support and extend our constituency network
• Fulfill responsibilities of Event Leader before, during, and after events including staffing a Guest Services desk, leading welcome/orientation opening circles as well as closing circles, making announcements and coordinating blessings after meals, responding to guest needs in tandem with operations staff, and working with teachers/leaders during events
• Arrange participant housing, food requirements, and guest transportation with other departments
• Coordinate and assist in set-up and break-down of program spaces before, during, and after events

Qualifications include:

• Computer literacy
• Candidate must be a team player, willing to go above and beyond job description when necessary
• Ability to juggle multiple projects and deadlines effectively
• Strong oral and written communication skills, organization, and attention to detail
• Excellent customer service skills, patience, and ability to maintain professional demeanor over multiple long days of work in a row
• Ability to interact comfortably and supportively with people of various ages, cultural backgrounds, and Jewish practice
• Ability to work flexible and sometimes very long hours that will include some evenings and weekends

Annual salary includes room, board, full use of the facility, and full benefit package.

Download a PDF of the job description here.

To apply, please send cover letter, resume, and salary expectations to Program Manager, Adam Sher.

Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth

Jewcology is a diverse platform for Jewish environmental activists to learn from each other in order to educate Jewish communities about our responsibility to protect the environment.

Hazon is excited to share these resources with you! We provide and promote ways to relate Jewish learning and Jewish teaching to environmental action and sustainability efforts.

By Rabbi Yonatan Neril[1]

The first two chapters of Genesis contain teachings with profound relevance for ourselves and our world today. After creating Adam and Eve, G-d blesses them, saying “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”[2] What does it mean for humans to subdue the earth and have dominion over other creatures?

One of the central precepts of Rabbinic Judaism is that the Written Torah must be understood within the context of the 2,300 year-old rabbinic tradition (including the Midrash and other works) that interprets it. While on the surface the words of this verse appear to give people license to degrade and subdue the earth, the Oral tradition makes clear that a wholly different message is being conveyed.

The Midrash teaches, “Rabbi Chanina said, ‘if he [the human being] merits it then [G-d says] have dominion, while if he does not merit, then [G-d says] he will be taken down.’[3] This teaching links human dominion of creation to humanity’s righteousness: if humanity merits through its righteousness, then it shall rule over nature. But if it does not merit because it does not act in an upright fashion, then humanity itself will descend and not be granted rulership over nature.

Another Midrash makes clear that part of human righteousness involves being stewards of the earth. The Midrash says that G-d showed Adam around the Garden of Eden and said, “Look at my works! See how beautiful they are — how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it.”[4] Acting righteously thus involves treating the world with utmost respect; for this the human will merit dominion of creation.

Rabbi David Sears writes that the blessing to dominate “comprises a form of stewardship for which humanity is answerable to G-d. Both Talmudic and Kabbalistic sources state that it is forbidden to kill any creature unnecessarily, or to engage in wanton destruction of the Earth’s resources… The divine mandate for man to dominate the natural world is a sacred trust, not a carte blanche for destructiveness.”[5]

In the Torah, the order of domination is fish-birds-animals: “have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” The Kli Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz) explains that man has a greater ability to rule over land animals than birds (out of reach in the sky), and fish (out of reach and out of sight, in the sea). [6] If humans do not merit, then not only will they not dominate the fish, which are harder to catch, but also the birds and animals, which are easier.

Yet a glaring contrast emerges between the Kli Yakar’s 17th century description of the limited human capacity for domination of the animals, birds and fish of the natural world and what we know about the ability of contemporary society to dominate the land, air, and sea of planet earth.

For example, while the Kli Yakar emphasizes that fish are not visible to people, sonar, satellite data and the Global Positioning System (GPS) enable fishermen to effectively ‘see’ giant schools of fish with pinpoint accuracy. According to a study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, these changes have contributed to a dramatic fall in fish populations in all of the world’s oceans.

When human mastery grows such that we seriously deplete the numbers of a particular fish, our continued access to this fish quickly diminishes. Our lack of righteousness leads us to lose our domination of this resource in the long-term.

Rabbi Daniel Kohn links the blessing to subdue (kivshuha) in our verse with the Mishna’s use of ‘subdue’ in the Ethics of the Fathers (Pirke Avot), in which Ben Zoma teaches, “Who is strong? The person who subdues their inclinations.” Spiritual discipline comprises true strength. A person must decide in their own life which desires to subdue and which desires to bring to realization.

Jewish tradition teaches us that we only merit the opportunity to rule the earth if we behave righteously. This includes the spiritual discipline to use our resources wisely, and subdue with a sense of moral responsibility. In our times, we have demonstrated our ability to subdue the earth. A central question facing humanity concerns whether we will exhibit the strength to rein in our desires. If we do not, we may be taken down by our lack of righteousness. May we summon the strength to conquer our short-term desires, live with righteousness, and merit an enlightened dominion of the planet G-d created.

1 The author would like to thank Evonne Marzouk for her helpful editorial comments.

2 Genesis 1:28

3 Or, let others (the besasts) rule over him (footnote of Soncino translation) Midrash Genesis Raba (Vilna Edition), 8:12, translation by Soncino Press. The Maharal explains in Gur Aryeh to Genesis 1:26 that “the verse uses ‘v’yirdu’ for ‘ruling,’ from the root resh-dalet-heh, rather than the more common ‘mashal,’ so that it can be expounded as if it were from the root yud-resh-dalet, ‘declining, degenerating,’ as well.” (From Artscroll Rashi Bereishit)

4 Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 7:13

5 The Vision of Eden, Orot: Spring Valley, NY, 2003, p. 69-70

6 To Genesis 1:26

Rabbi Yonatan Neril founded and directs Jewish Eco Seminars, which engages and educates the Jewish community with Jewish environmental wisdom. He has worked with Canfei Nesharim for the past six years in developing educational resources relating to Judaism and the environment.

These materials are posted as part of Jewcology’s “Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment,” in partnership with Canfei Nesharim.  Learn more at http://www.jewcology.com/content/view/Year-of-Jewish-Learning-on-the-Environment.

Eat, Pray, Lulav

Head down to the Urban Adamah farm in Berkeley for ‘Eat Pray Lulav,’ a Sukkot Harvest Festival, on Sunday, October 7, from 2-6pm for a family event featuring live musical performances, goats, storytelling, cob stove building, a Really Local Tea Bar, Farm tours, face painting…and much more! (more…)

Jewish Farm School Seeks a Marketing and Development Intern

For the 2012-2013 academic year, Jewish Farm School is excited to offer a highly motivated and qualified individual the opportunity to serve as a Marketing and Development Intern. The Marketing and Development Intern will work closely with Jewish Farm School’s Marketing and Operations Associate on a variety of projects in New York City, to include assisting in planning development events, social media development, copywriting and editing, donation management, etc. For more information about this opportunity view our ad on Idealist.