2014 curriculum by Amir

Cultivating Justice

Letter From The Editors The purpose of this book is to provide meaningful programming that will teach our campers about Jewish environmental and social justice issues through the garden. Our hope is to inspire our campersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; further exploration and involvement in the issues and their solutions. It is quite difficult to capture nuance while creating short programs that are childfriendly, However, we hope that the complexity of these issues is not forgotten. Along with every activity, there are several source sheets. In them lies the opportunity to delve more deeply into the complexity of the issues with your campers. We encourage you to continue your Jewish and general education surrounding these issues to make you a more impactful educator. We were fortunate to have a strong framework of past Amir Program Guides to work with, along with several Amir farmers who helped us research and compile this iteration. We hope that you benefit from the fruits of our labor. Abby Weiss, Writer Yosef Gillers, Editor

Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the long history of jewish writing and thought on social justice and sustainability.Particularly, we would like to appreciate the work of those who have written about these topics more recently, helping us appreciate the relevance of these texts. Enormous gratitude is due to Jacob Shonzeit and Jaclyn Kellner for their help compiling Jewish sources for this book. Additionally, gratitude is due to Dor haberer and Kevin Kousha for their help compiling general sources on environmental and social justice issues for this book.

How To Use This Book • This sourcebook is a resource for you. We hope that it is flexible and adaptable enough for each of you and your camp’s needs. • Each camp is different. Every group of campers is different. Most crucially, each Amir farmer is different. We wrote this with all of you in mind, and therefore it is completely yours for adaptation and adjustment to your strengths and styles. • Modify the programs for your audience, and your personal skill-set. Read through this and MARK IT UP! Make it YOURS. • Use the sourcesheets. They are thorough. Sometimes, you may skip an activity and jump straight to the sources. Other times, you may never get to the sourcesheets. Both are fine. • Typos happen. Despite the hundreds of hours spent by our team of writers and editors, we still make mistakes. please let us know of any corrections you make. Below are the icons that direct you to different activities in the Gardening Manual Fence

Composting

Raking

Harvesting

Pruning/Weeding

Pest Control

Shoveling

Planting

Trellis

Rainy Day

Watering

Example Pages: Activity Page

Source Sheet

Jewish Source Sheet

Pedagogical Tips Engage your campers: As much as you have to teach and share, if they are not engaged, they will not receive it. Befriend campers and fellow staff as soon as you meet them so that the garden is not merely “another” activity to attend, but an exciting and enjoyable opportunity to spend time with that awesome Amir Farmer. Rewind: Be Kind. Remember what it was like to be a camper and try to treat them as you would have wanted to be treated. If they appreciate how you treat them, you gain their respect, appreciation, and cooperation. Catching Attention: Get creative with how you capture campers’ attention. To start an activity, climb a tree and call down from your perch to introduce yourself; the stunned campers will have little choice but to watch the amazing show you are about to perform. Then you include them and everybody wins. Not a climber? Have them lay on their backs and stare at the clouds for a few minutes before beginning your program. They are in camp to have fun: We are here to enlighten, inspire, and empower. Make it fun and you will be successful. You are not a teacher in the classroom, you are a farm-based educator. You are a Guide on the Side, not a Sage on Stage. Facilitate their learning experiences, don’t mandate them. Go with the Flow --- if campers are into it, go with it. If they are bored, recognize it, and adapt.

Be honest, fun, and sincere.

Table of Contents Unit ONE: Protecting Our Earth Shomrei Adamah (p.6)

Unit THREE: Protecting Each Other Shomrei Bnei Adam (p.72)

1. Our Relationship with Nature a) First Impressions b) Drawing Nature c) Guards or Masters

7. Distribution of Wealth a) Social Trellises b) Universe of Obligation c) Assessing our Needs

2. Acute Environmental Impact a) Nature Deficit Disorder b) Activism c) Water Issues

8. Caring for Others a) Biodiversity in the Bunk b) How We Share - Achrayut c) Tomato Juicy Gossip

3. Chronic Environmental Impact a) Destructive Industrial Systems b) Alternative Energy c) Climate Change

9. Caring for Ourselves a) Uprooting bad habits b) Sacred Space c) Natural Healers d) Eating Meditation

Unit TWO: Protecting Our Future Shomrei Atid (p.39) 4. Farming Practices a) Keep Poison Off My Plate! b) Interconnected Food Systems and their Counterparts c) Preserving the Harvest 5. Animal Welfare a) How we Treat Animals b) The Vegetarian Debate 6.Waste Stream a) Defining Waste b) The Plant Lifecycle c) Composting

Supplemental Programming (p.108)

1) Sign Making 2) Step Up, Step Back 3) Garden Covenant Making

‫שומרי אדמה‬

Unit One: Our Earth Shomrei Adamah

Relationship with Nature Acute Environmental Impact Chronic Environmental Impact

Program A: First Impressions

*Ideal for a first entrance into the garden. Goal: Campers develop first impressions of the garden in a “true” sensory way, approaching it as a blank slate.

Materials: Blindfolds, paper, pencils Timing: 15 minutes Activity:

Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

Every time you enter the garden, do so with fresh eyes. Notice something new every single time.

Distribution of Wealth

Parting Challenge:

Waste Stream

Why do we grow a garden at camp?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• MEET campers at a location near the garden, but from which the garden is not visible. • BLINDFOLD campers and lead them in a single file line, with their hands on each others’ shoulders, into the garden and walk around the paths. • Tell them to breathe deeply as they walk. Ask, “What do you smell?”. • INSTRUCT them to hold out their hands. Give each a handful of dirt to rub between their fingers, smell, and maybe even taste. • Make noise by rustling leaves. Ask, “What do you hear?” • REMOVE the blindfolds and give a chance for silent reflection / journaling about first impressions of the garden. Discuss the experience. • READ the following from Michael Pollan’s Second Nature: • “A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space -- a place not just set apart but reverberant -- and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.” • DISCUSS how you, as keepers of this garden, can create poetry in this space.

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 1: Relationship with Nature

Chapter 1: Relationship with Nature Program A: First Impressions - Jewish Sources Upon encountering newness:

“Blessed is Hashem our God, ruler of the universe, who has enlivened us and sustained us and brought us to this time.”

Upon experiencing an earthquake, or seeing a comet, exceptionally lofty mountains, or exceptionally large rivers (in their natural course), recite:

“Blessed is Hashem our God, ruler of the universe who makes the works of creations.”

Upon seeing exceptionally beautiful people, trees, or fields, recite: “Blessed is Hashem our God, ruler of the universe, who has such in his universe.”

Upon seeing exceptionally strange-looking people or animals, recite: “Blessed is Hashem our God, ruler of the universe, who makes creature different”

Upon seeing fruit trees in bloom during the spring (this blessing may be recited only once each year):

Blessed is Hashem our god, ruler of the universe, in whose universe nothing is missing, and who created good creations and good trees, from which human beings derive pleasure.”

Goal: To break down the conceptual barriers between Nature and humans. Materials: Paper, Markers, crayons, etc. Timing: 40 minutes Activity:

How does everyone’s different conception of Nature impact how we treat each other?

Try to open up your eyes to the natural places that you previously did not notice.

Waste Stream

Parting Challenge:

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• DISTRIBUTE art supplies. • INSTRUCT campers to draw their conception of Nature, with no other prompts or questions. • GIVE campers at least 15-minutes to draw. • INVITE campers to share their drawings and explain their understanding of nature. • DISCUSS: What existed in your idea of Nature that differed from your peers? Why did each person’s Nature differ from the others? Did anyone draw something that you think is not Nature? Did anyone’s drawing open your eyes to a new understanding?

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 1: Relationship with Nature Program B: Drawing Nature

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 1: Relationship with Nature Program B: Drawing Nature - Sources The Trouble With Wilderness (abridged) William Cronon

The time has come to rethink wilderness. This will seem a heretical claim to many environmentalists, since the idea of wilderness has for decades been a fundamental tenet—indeed, a passion—of the environmental movement. For many Americans wilderness stands as the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth. Seen in this way, wilderness presents itself as the best antidote to our human selves, a refuge we must somehow recover if we hope to save the planet. And yet: go back 250 years in American and European history, and you do not find so many people wandering around remote corners of the planet looking for what today we would call “the wilderness experience.” As late as the eighteenth century, the most common usage of the word “wilderness” in the English language referred to landscapes that generally carried adjectives far different from the ones they attract today. To be a wilderness then was to be “deserted,” “savage,” “desolate,” “barren”—in short, a “waste,” the word’s nearest synonym. Its connotations were anything but positive, and the emotion one was most likely to feel in its presence was “bewilderment” or terror. But by the end of the nineteenth century, all this had changed. Wilderness had once been the antithesis of all that was orderly and good—it had been the darkness, one might say, on the far side of the garden wall— and yet now it was frequently likened to Eden itself. To gain such remarkable influence, the concept of wilderness had to become sacred. Wilderness is the natural, unfallen antithesis of an unnatural civilization that has lost its soul. Most of all, it is the ultimate landscape of authenticity. The dream of an unworked natural landscape is very much the fantasy of people who have never themselves had to work the land to make a living—urban folk for whom food comes from a supermarket or a restaurant instead of a field, and for whom the wooden houses in which they live and work apparently have no meaningful connection to the forests in which trees grow and die. Only people whose relation to the land was already alienated could hold up wilderness as a model for human life in nature, for the romantic ideology of wilderness leaves precisely nowhere for human beings actually to make their living from the land. If we allow ourselves to believe that nature, to be true, must also be wild, then our very presence in nature represents its fall. If this is so, then also by definition it can offer no solution to the environmental and other problems that confront us. We thereby leave ourselves little hope of discovering what an ethical, sustainable, honorable human place in nature might actually look like. Worse: to the extent that we live in an urban-industrial civilization but at the same time pretend to ourselves that our real home is in the wilderness, to just that extent we give ourselves permission to evade responsibility for the lives we actually lead. By imagining that our true home is in the wilderness, we forgive ourselves the homes we actually inhabit. How can we take the positive values we associate with wilderness and bring them closer to home? In reminding us of the world we did not make, wilderness can teach profound feelings of humility and respect as we confront our fellow beings and the earth itself. Feelings like these argue for the importance of selfawareness and self criticism as we exercise our own ability to transform the world around us, helping us set responsible limits to human mastery—which without such limits too easily becomes human hubris. Wilderness is the place where, symbolically at least, we try to withhold our power to dominate. Learning to honor the wild—learning to remember and acknowledge the autonomy of the other—means striving for critical self-consciousness in all of our actions. It means never imagining that we can flee into a mythical wilderness to escape history and the obligation to take responsibility for our own actions that history inescapably entails. Most of all, it means practicing remembrance and gratitude, for thanksgiving is the simplest and most basic of ways for us to recollect the nature, the culture, and the history that have come together to make the world as we know it. If wildness can stop being (just) out there and start being (also) in here, if it can start being as humane as it is natural, then perhaps we can get on with the unending task of struggling to live rightly in the world—not just in the garden, not just in the wilderness, but in the home that encompasses them both.

Gary Snyder, The New York Times

“A person with a clear heart and open mind can experience the wilderness anywhere on earth. It is a quality of one’s own consciousness. The planet is a wild place and always will be.”

Henry David Thoreau, Walking

“In Wildness is the preservation of the World.”

Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“I found in myself, and still find, an instinct toward a higher, or, as it is named, spiritual life, as do most men, and another toward a primitive rank and savage one, and I reverence them both. I love the wild not less than the good.”

“Human beings have indeed become primarily tool-making animals, and the world is now a gigantic tool box for the satisfaction of their needs…. Nature is a tool box in a world that does not point beyond itself. It is when nature is sensed as mystery and grandeur that it calls upon us to look beyond it.”

“My beloved brethren, listen to me clearly, and know that what I am going to say is a fundamental belief of our people, as it has been since we were founded. There is no such thing as nature. The word simply does not exist in the Hebrew language. About 500 years ago or so, some people took the word teva and decided to use it to describe what they called the laws of nature. But in truth, no such thing exists.”

Caring for Ourselves

“The wilderness is not just a desert through which we wandered for forty years. It is a way of being. A place that demands being honest with yourself without regard to the cost in personal anxiety. A place that demands being present with all of yourself. In the wilderness your possessions cannot surround you. Your preconceptions cannot protect you…. You see the world as if for the first time.”

Caring for Others

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Honey from the Rock

Distribution of Wealth

Rabbi David Nieto

Waste Stream

Two men were fighting over a piece of land. Each claimed ownership and bolstered his claim with proof. To resolve their differences, they agreed to put the case before the Rabbi. The Rabbi listened but could not come to a decision because both seemed to be right. Finally he said, “Since I cannot decide to whom this land belongs, let us ask the land.” He put his ear to the ground, and after a moment straightened up. “Gentlemen, the land says that it belongs to neither of you – but that you belong to it.”

Animal Welfare

Jewish Folk Tale

Farming Practices

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man, 1976

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 1: Relationship with Nature Program B: Drawing Nature – Jewish Sources

Chapter 1: Relationship with Nature Program C: Guards or Masters? Goal: To explore the concept of man’s complex role on, and relationship with, the earth.

Timing: 15 minutes Activity: • PREPARE campers for the story “Adam Learns from the Animals.” • DISCUSS: • How do we perceive our relationship with animals? • Are we stronger? Better? More important? • READ The story • DISCUSS Our relationship with animals.

Reflection:

What is your attitude about the relationship between humans and the earth? How did you form this attitude?

Parting Challenge:

Notice how your actions reflect a worldview about your relationship with Nature. Are you a ruler? Dominator? Protector? Worker? Namer? Friend? Etc.

Adam Learns from the Animals by Marc Gellman

Animal Welfare Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Farming Practices

God made and named almost everything in the world. God made and named Heaven. God made and named Earth. God made and named the sun and the moon, the stars and the waters. God made and named almost everything. God even made and named the first man, “Adam,” which means “red earth” because God made the first man out of red earth. But God did not name the animals. God thought, “I want Adam and Adam’s children to protect and care for these animals. Maybe if I let Adam name the animals, he will get to know them better and really take care of them!” Well, when Adam heard that he could name the animals, he was so happy. He ran right over to a brown furry with teeth who was sleeping under a tree and yelled in its ear, “I am going to name you!” The brown furry with teeth opened one eye, yawned, and went back to sleep. Very soon, Adam realized he didn’t know what to name the brown furry with teeth, or, for that matter, any of the other animals. Adam sat down on the sleeping brown furry with teeth to think up a plan for naming the animals. Suddenly it came to him: “I know! I will give each animal a number. That way, when I want to call an animal I can just call its number.” Adam looked down at the brown furry with teeth, lifted up its ear, and screamed, “You are number one!!” The brown furry opened one eye, yawned, and went back to sleep. Adam spent the rest of that day numbering the animals. He gave numbers to slimy swimmers with no fins, fuzzy hoppers with twitchy noses, squeaky flyers with colored feathers, chirping swingers with curling tails, speedy crawlers with tiny feet, scaly swimmers with red eyes, and a whole bunch of gray, black, and white furries with teeth who looked like they were related to Number One. In the late afternoon, somewhere between the numbering of the tiny sanddiggers and the swarming wood-eaters, Adam lost count! He plopped down again on the brown furry with teeth to think up a new plan for naming the animals. After a little time, Adam decided, “I will call all the animals, “Hey You! That way, when I need an animal, I will only have to remember one name.” The next day, Adam needed a big rock moved out of his way. He wanted the large-graywrinkled-up- long-nosed-big-eared-white-tusked-tree-eating-stomper for the job, so he yelled out, “Hey You! Come over here and move this rock!” Instead of the large-graywrinkled-up-long-nosed- big-eared-white-tusked-tree-eating-stomper, a rather small quite-noisy-banana-eating-chirping-swinger hopped on top of the rock and began eating a banana. Adam was quite discouraged and returned to the brown furry with teeth to think up a new plan for naming the animals, but this time nothing came to him. Then the brown furry woke up, shook Adam off into a nearby bush, growled a huge growl, looked Adam in the eye, and said to him, “Listen to me! With all your talking you never once thought to ask us – the animals – what we would like to be named. Why don’t you try that? Now, I don’t know what they call a skinny-hairless-red-earth-foot-walker like you, but they call me a bear!” So Adam asked all the animals what they wanted to be called. And you know what? They told him! And so Adam began to learn from “all his relations:” his fellow creatures that inhabited the earth with him.

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 1: Relationship with Nature Program C: Guards or Masters? - Sources

Chapter 1: Relationship with Nature Program C: Guards or Masters? - Jewish Sources

Breishit 1:26, 28, 29-30

“And God said ‘Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. They shall rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over the animals, the whole earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth…and God blessed them and said to them ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea, the bird of the sky, and every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Breishit 2:5-7, 15, 18-20

“And all the trees of the field were not yet on the earth and all the herb of the field had not yet sprouted for God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to work the soil. A mist ascended from the earth and watered the whole surface of the soil. And God formed the man of dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the soul; and man became a living being.”

Breishit 2:15

“God took Man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and to guard it.”

“Now, God had formed out of the ground every beast of the field and every bird of the sky and brought them to the man to see what he would call each one. Whatever the man called each living creature, that remained its name. And the man assigned names to all of the cattle and to the birds of the sky and every beast of the field; but as for man, he did not find a helper corresponding to him.”

Breishit 3:17-19

Waste Stream

“When God created Adam, God led him around all the trees in the Garden of Eden. God said to him, “See how beautiful and praiseworthy all of My works are? Everything I have created has been created for Your sake. Think of this, and do not corrupt or destroy my world; for if you corrupt it, there will be no one to set it right after you.”

Animal Welfare

Kohelet Rabbah 7:13

Farming Practices

“To Adam he said ‘Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate of the tree about which I commanded you saying ‘You shall not eat of it,’ accursed is the ground because of you; through suffering shall you eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, from which you were taken: for you are dust, and to dust shall you return.”

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Breishit 2:19

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program A: Nature Deficit Disorder

Goal: Campers will understand how spending too much time indoors can affect them negatively.

Materials: Music, Lights, Papers, Pen, Timing: 30 minutes Activity: • As campers arrive play cacophonous music, flashing lights, loud sounds, or any other high sensory input medium. • While the music plays, have the campers sit down and draw whatever they feel like drawing. Don’t have them share the pictures yet-- collect them and put aside for later. • TURN OFF the music • LEAD campers on a quiet walk through the garden or a nearby wooded area. • ENGAGE them by encouraging them to take off their shoes, touch the dirt, smell the plants, etc. (Alternatively, do a garden activity that involves really touching the dirt with your hands.) • Again, have the campers draw pictures of whatever they feel like drawing. • Hang up the pictures side by side and compare. • DISCUSS: What were you feeling when you drew the first picture? The second? How did spending time in the garden affect your creativity? Calmness? Ability to focus?

Reflection:

How can we find a balance between living our modern technological lifestyles and creating more time in natural settings?

Parting Challenge:

When you choose an elective or how to spend your free time this week, choose an outdoor activity that you may not have otherwise chosen.

Last Child in the Woods, Introduction (Abridged) by Richard Louv

Animal Welfare Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Farming Practices

One evening when my boys were younger, Matthew, then ten, looked at me from across a restaurant table and said quite seriously, “Dad, how come it was more fun when you were a kid?” I asked what he meant. “Well, you’re always talking about your woods and tree houses, and how you used to ride that horse down near the swamp.” At first, I thought he was irritated with me. I had, in fact, been telling him what it was like to use string and pieces of liver to catch crawdads in a creek, something I’d be hard-pressed to find a child doing these days. Like many parents, I do tend to romanticize my own childhood—and, I fear, too readily discount my children’s experiences of play and adventure. But my son was serious; he felt he had missed out on something important. He was right. Americans around my age, baby boomers or older, enjoyed a kind of free, natural play that seems, in the era of kid pagers, instant messaging, and Nintendo, like a quaint artifact.Within the space of a few decades, the way children understand and experience nature has changed radically. The polarity of the relationship has reversed. Today, kids are aware of the global threats to the environment—but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading. That’s exactly the opposite of how it was when I was a child. As a boy, I was unaware that my woods were ecologically connected with any other forests. Nobody in the 1950s talked about acid rain or holes in the ozone layer or global warming. But I knew my woods and my fields; I knew every bend in the creek and dip in the beaten dirt paths. I wandered those woods even in my dreams. A kid today can likely tell you about the Amazon rain forest—but not about the last time he or she explored the woods in solitude, or lay in a field listening to the wind and watching the clouds move. The shift in our relationship to the natural world is startling, even in settings that one would assume are devoted to nature. Not that long ago, summer camp was a place where you camped, hiked in the woods, learned about plants and animals, or told firelight stories about ghosts or mountain lions. As likely as not today, “summer camp” is a weight-loss camp, or a computer camp. For a new generation, nature is more abstraction than reality. Increasingly, nature is something to watch, to consume, to wear—to ignore. A recent television ad depicts a four-wheel-drive SUV racing along a breathtakingly beautiful mountain stream—while in the backseat two children watch a movie on a flip-down video screen, oblivious to the landscape and water beyond the windows. Our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature. That lesson is delivered in schools, families, even organizations devoted to the outdoors, and codified into the legal and regulatory structures of many of our communities. Our institutions, urban/suburban design, and cultural attitudes unconsciously associate nature with doom—while disassociating the outdoors from joy and solitude. Yet, at the very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical, and spiritual health directly to our association with nature—in positive ways. Several of these studies suggest that thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can even be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorders and other maladies. Reducing that deficit—healing the broken bond between our young and nature—is in our self-interest, not only because aesthetics or justice demands it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depends upon it. The health of the earth is at stake as well. How the young respond to nature, and how they raise their own children, will shape the configurations and conditions of our cities, homes—our daily lives. Full text can be found here: http://richardlouv.com/books/last-child/excerpt/

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program A: Nature Deficit Disorder - Sources

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program A: Nature Deficit Disorder - Jewish Sources Jerusalem Talmud, Kedoshim 4:12 (page 40b) “It is forbidden to live in a town, which has no garden or greenery.”

Rambam “The Preservation of Youth”, Chapter 4

“The quality of urban air compared to the air in the deserts and the forests is like thick and turbulent water compared to pure and light water. And this is because in the cities with their tall buildings and narrow roads, the pollution that comes from their residents’, their waste, their cadavers, and offal from their cattle, and the stench, of their adulterated food, makes their entire air malodorous, turbulent, reeking, and thick, and the winds become accordingly so, although no one is aware of it. And since there is no way out, because we grew up in the cities and became used to them, we can at least choose a city with an open horizon… And if you have no choice, and you cannot move out of the city, try to at least live in the suburbs situated to the northeast. Let the house be tall and the court be wide enough to permit the northern wind, and the sun to come through, because the sun thins out the pollution of the air, and makes it light and pure.”

Midrash Sifre (Deuteronomy) 20:19

“If not for the trees, human life could not exist.”

Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (In the Meadow)

“It is good to pray and dialogue with God in the field amongst the grass and trees. When a person prays in the field then all the plants and animals join in the pray and help him or her giving strength to the prayer.”

The Seer of Lublin

The child of a certain rabbi used to wander in the woods. A first his father let him wander, but over time he became concerned. The woods were dangerous. The father did not know what lurked there. He decided to discuss the matter with his child. One day he took him aside and said, “You know, I have noticed that each day you walk into the woods. I wonder, why you go there?” The boy said to his father, “ I go there to find God.” “ That is a very good thing,” the father replied gently. “ I am glad you are searching for God. But, my child, don’t you know that God is the same everywhere?” “Yes,” the boy answered, “but I’m not.”

Goal: To learn about a variety of environmental issues, and to explore ways to respond to them with action.

Materials: “Times They Are a-Changin’” (Bob Dylan), “If It Can’t Be Reduced”

(Pete Seeger), “Same Love” (Macklemore), or any other protest/ activism song.

Timing: 45 minutes Activity:

What are different ways to have people listen to issues we care about?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• PLAY The above songs, have campers follow along with the lyrics. • DISCUSS: What is the singer advocating, or what is he protesting? Why are these songs effective? • SPLIT into small groups. Each group receives a information about an environmental issue (next page) • DISCUSS the environmental issues in the small groups. • REWRITE an activist song for each environmental issue.

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program B: Activism

Parting Challenge:

Talk to someone outside of this group about the issue you studied today. Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program B: Activism - Sources Air Pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulates, biological materials, or other harmful materials into the Earth’s atmosphere, possibly causing disease, death to humans, damage to other living things such as food or the environment. Some common sources of air pollution include: cars, chemicals from agriculture, factories, aerosol cans, landfills, and military resources. Air pollution is destructive to human health, and has been linked to increase of asthma, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/air-pollution/what-is-air-pollution.html http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/air/ozonlayr.htm http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/

Water Pollution

When people contaminate bodies of water with visible pollutants, like trash, or invisible pollutants, like toxic chemicals, it can kill animals, plants, and other organisms living in those bodies of water or destroy whole ecosystems, so that the entire nature of life in the water is changed. This pollution is also destructive to human life, causing contamination in water that makes it dangerous to swim-in, enjoy, or even drink the water. Thousands of people die every year from drinking contaminated water. Common sources of water pollution include: household cleaning products, landfills, byproducts of driving automobiles, prescription drugs, chemical waste from factories, and other byproducts of the industrial complex. http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/water-pollution/what-is-water-pollution.html http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/pollution/02history.html

Fracking

Fracking is used to drill deep into the earth to extract natural gas. It is a process in which large volumes of fluids—a mixture of water, sand and chemicals—are injected at high pressure underground to crack open or fracture layers of rock. This can take place 3,000-15,000 feet below the surface, often crossing natural aquifers and water tables. Toxic chemicals are used during fracking that can infiltrate and contaminate habitat, waterways, and even the drinking water that people and wildlife depend on. Despite tremendous uncertainty about both short and long term impacts, fracking companies operate with almost no federal oversight. They’re exempt from laws that protect clean water, and they don’t have to disclose what chemicals they pump into our waterways. Without proper safeguards, fracking threatens our land, water, air and wildlife. Flammable methane leaks out from the earth and into the water supply, making water undrinkable for humans and lethal for any life that comes into contact with it. http://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Energy-and-Climate/Drilling-and-Mining/NaturalGas-Fracking.aspx

Extinctions of entire species of animals are cause by a wide variety of human activities, including road-building, overhunting, pollution, resource extraction, deforestation, and many more. Because animals, like humans, are dependent on a specific set of environmental needs in order to survive and flourish, subtle manipulations of their environment can cause them to go extinct. When one species is removed from an ecosystem it could have major impacts on the rest of an ecosystem. For example, humans hunted wolves for protection so much so that by the 1970s, there were fewer than 1000 wolves left in the United States! Because wolves are the main predator of deer, with so few wolves left, deer populations exploded. This, in turn, affected the populations of the plants eaten by deer, as well, of course, as the spread of Lyme Disease carrying deer ticks. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_ crisis/

Animal Welfare

Deforestation is when humans remove or clear large areas of forest lands and related ecosystems for non-forest use. These include clearing for farming purposes, ranching and urban use. In these cases, trees are never re-planted. Since the industrial age, about half of worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original forests have been destroyed and millions of animals and living things have been endangered. Despite the improvements in education, information and general awareness of the importance of forests, deforestation has not reduced much, and there are still many more communities and individuals who still destroy forest lands for personal gains.

Farming Practices

Deforestation

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Extinct and Endangered Species

http://eschooltoday.com/forests/what-is-deforestation.html http://eschooltoday.com/forests/problems-of-deforestation.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2dueyHZ6tY#t=12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WH5suYWAw8#t=67 http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org/facts/steps.php

Distribution of Wealth

Coal that is found under the surface of a mountain can be accessed by removal (with explosives) of the top of the mountain. The toxic byproducts of this mining are often dumped in nearby valleys, killing plants and animals, polluting the air, and toxifying the water. The residents of areas where mountaintop removal mining takes place have seen hugely increased rates of cancer and other diseases.

Waste Stream

Mountaintop Removal Mining

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program B: Activism - Jewish Sources Shemot 6:30-7:2

Activism Tactics

“And Moses said before the LORD: ‘Behold, I have unskilled lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?’ And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘See, I have set thee in God’s stead to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.” Activism Tactic: Appointing an eloquent speaker, and the “thinker” behind the speaker.

Shemot 32:19-20

“And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.” Activism Tactic: Dramatic display, punishment.

Dvarim 3:23-24

“O Lord God, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth, that can do according to your works, and according to your mighty acts? Let me go over, I pray you, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly hill-country, and Lebanon.’” Activism Tactic: Flattery, begging, poetic language.

Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 37a

“Each said, I will not be first to jump into the sea. Nachson ben Aminadav jumped into the sea and went in first. At that moment Moses was lengthening his prayers. G‑d said to him, “My beloved ones are drowning in the stormy seas, and you are lengthening your prayers?!” Moses replied, “Master of the world, what am I to do?” Said G‑d, “You lift your staff and spread your hand over the seas, which will split, and Israel will come into the sea upon dry land.”

Goal: To familiarize campers with water conservation issues. Materials: poster, markers, materials for water conservation projects (see below)

Timing: 15 min- 1 hr (depending on project) Activity:

Be a water conservationist! Use your water wisely.

Distribution of Wealth

Parting Challenge:

Waste Stream

Where in our country is there water shortage? If we live with plenty of water, are we responsible to conserve it?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• DISCUSS: For what do we use water? What personal activities of ours use the most water? What industrial activities use the most water? • EXPLAIN: Although we may have abundant rain where we live, some places in the world, such as Israel, have shortages of water and must take great efforts to conserve it. • BRAINSTORM ways to conserve water. Write on poster/butcher paper. • SEND small groups of campers to different areas of the garden to be “moisture detectives,” to stick their fingers in the earth and determine if the plants need water. They can also look to see if any plants are “bolting” (going to seed), a sign that they are stressed from the heat and could use more water. • INTRODUCE the following different water conservation mechanisms, and build one or more of them: • Greywater (recycling) • Drip - Irrigation (responsible use) • Shade Net (limiting need)

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program C: Water Issues

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program C: Water Issues - Sources Grey Water System:

A grey water system filters out undesirable particles in used water so that it may be reused. Israel is the world’s leader in water recycling, redirecting 80 percent of household water to irrigate agricultural fields, and using nearly 50 percent recycled water for irrigation.

(http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/14/us-climate-israel-idUSTRE6AD1CG20101114). See http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Wastewater-wonders for how a grey water plant works.

Materials: 5-gallon bucket, irrigation pipe (or any plastic tube), small piece of mesh/ fine netting • MAKE a hole at the bottom of a five gallon bucket just the right size for your irrigation pipe and line it with the mesh. • FILL the bottom half of the bucket with straw and the top half with rocks, to filter out large and small particles (the mesh filters out the smallest). • Get your hands really dirty and wash them over the bucket to test it out.

Drip Irrigation:

When we use drip irrigation, we are able to give our plants water in small doses, so that they are able to absorb water more efficiently. Materials: plastic soda bottles with caps, small drill or hammer/nail, shovel, sharp knife • MAKE a hole or holes in the bottle cap. Let the campers decide how big they want the hole and how many holes to make, based on what they think is best for the plants. • CUT off the bottom of the water bottle so that it can be easily refilled. • POUR water into the bottle to see how slowly it drips through the holes. • DIG a small hole next to the plant, being careful not to disturb roots. • PLACE the bottle in the hole and fill it with water.

Shade Net:

One way that farmers can reduce their need for water is to make the environment cooler for their plants by covering them with a shade net. Materials: Shade net, wooden stakes, rope • CHOOSE an area where plants are suffering from insufficient moisture. • POUND four wooden stakes into the ground at the corners of this area. • SPREAD out the shade net over the area and tie each corner to a stake.

Water and Faith in the Torah BaMidbar 20:2, 7-12

“Bless for us, Lord our god, this year and all the varieties of its produce for good; and bestow dew and rain for blessing upon the face of the earth. Satisfy us from Your bounty and bless our year like other good years, for blessing; for you are a generous god who bestows goodness and blesses the years. Blessed are you Lord, who blesses the years.”

Caring for Ourselves

“And it will be, if you will diligently obey My commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, to love the L-rd your G-d and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, I will give rain for your land at the proper time, the early rain and the late rain.”

Caring for Others

Devarim 11:13-14 (Shema prayer)

Distribution of Wealth

Daily prayer for sustenance, Shemona Esrei/ Amidah

Waste Stream

To sanctify Me: For had you spoken to the rock and it had given forth [water], I would have been sanctified in the eyes of the congregation. They would have said,”If this rock, which neither speaks nor hears, and does not require sustenance, fulfills the word of the Omnipresent, how much more should we!

Animal Welfare

Rashi, Bamidbar 12: 5

Farming Practices

The congregation had no water; so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock in their presence so that it will give forth its water… Moses took the staff from before the Lord as He had commanded him. Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Now listen, you rebels, can we draw water for you from this rock?” Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, when an abundance of water gushed forth, and the congregation and their livestock drank. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them.

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Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program C: Water Issues - Jewish Sources

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program C: Water Issues

Honi Ha’Maagal’s Lessons in Faith and Rain

“It once happened that Honi Hama’gel (the circle-drawer) was asked by the people to pray for them, that rain might descend. He said to them: “Go and bring in the Passover ovens, that they may not be spoiled by the rain.” He prayed, but the rain did not descend. What did he do then? He drew a circle around him, and placing himself within it, prayed as follows: “Creator of the universe! Your children have always looked up to me as being like a son of your house before you. I swear, therefore, by your great name, that I will not move from this place until you will have compassion on your children.” Whereupon the rain commenced to drop down gently. Said he: “It was not for this I prayed, but for rain sufficient to fill the wells, cisterns, and caves.” The rain then fell in torrents, and he said: “Not for such rain have I prayed, but for mild, felicitous, and liberal showers.” The rain then descended in the usual manner, until the Israelites of Jerusalem were obliged to seek refuge from the city to the Temple Mount, on account of the rain. They came and said to Honi: “Even as you did pray that the rain might descend, so pray now that it may cease… Hanan the Hidden was a son of the daughter of Honi Hama’gel. When the country was in need of rain, the rabbis would send the school-children to him, who would surround him, take hold of his garments, and cry: “Father, father, give us rain!” And he would say to the Holy One, blessed be He: “Creator of the universe! Cause rain to descend, for the sake of those who cannot distinguish between a father capable of giving rain and one who is not.” -- Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 19a, 23b

Prayer for Rain

Farming Practices

Animal Welfare

Waste Stream

Distribution of Wealth

Caring for Others

Caring for Ourselves

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 2: Acute Environmental Impact Program C: Water Issues

Prayer for Rain (English Translation) Af-Bri (Anger-Health) is the name of the angel of rain; he thickens and forms clouds, he empties them and to cause rain. Water to crown the valley’s vegetation, may it not be withheld because of our debt. In the merit of the faithful ancestors protect the ones who pray for rain. Blessed are you, Hashem, shield of Abraham.

water! Remember the one [Jacob] who carried his staff and crossed the Jordan’s water. He dedicated his heart and rolled a stone off the mouth of a well of water, as when he was wrestled by an angel composed of fire and water. Therefore You pledged to remain with him through fire and water.

You are eternally mighty, my Lord, the resuscitator of the dead; abundantly able to save. May the angel of rain give us portions of the segregated rain, to soften the wasteland’s face when it is dry as rock. With water you showed your might in the Torah, to soothe with its drops those in whom was blown a soul, to keep alive the ones who recall the strengths of the rain.” God is implored to provide healthful rain to us in the merit of our forefathers, in connection with whom water-related verses are cited:

For his sake, do not hold water back!

Our God and the God of our forefathers: Remember Abraham, who was drawn behind You like water. You blessed him like a tree re-planted alongside streams of water. You shielded him, you rescued him from fire and from water. You tested him when he sowed upon all waters. For his sake, do not hold water back! Remember Isaac born with the tidings of, ‘Let some water be brought. ‘ You told his father to slaughter him - to spill his blood like, water. He too was scrupulous to pour his heart like water. He dug and discovered wells of water. For the sake of his righteousness, grant abundant

Remember Moses drawn forth in a bulrush basket from the water. They said, ‘He drew water and provided the sheep with water.’ At the time your treasured people thirsted for water, he struck the rock and out came water. For the sake of his righteousness, grant abundant water! Remember Aaron over the Temple, who made five immersions in the water. He went to cleanse his hands through sanctification with water. He called out and sprinkled [blood bringing] purity as with water. He remained apart from a people who were impulsive like water. For his sake, do not hold water back! Remember the twelve tribes You caused to cross through the split waters, for whom You sweetened the bitter taste of water. Their offspring whose blood was spilt for You like water. Turn to us - for woes engulf our souls like water. For the sake of their righteousness, grant abundant water! For you are Hashem, our God, Who makes the wind blow and makes the rain descend. For blessing and not for curse. Amen! For life and not for death. Amen! For plenty and not for scarcity. Amen!

Program A: Destructive Industrial Systems

Goal: To understand that are global societal issues have deep roots. Materials: The Lorax (movie or book), copy Global Weed profiles, markers, paper Timing: 45 minutes Activity:

The Once-ler challenges you: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” What Truffella seeds are you being handed? What can you do to cultivate them?

Distribution of Wealth

Parting Challenge:

Waste Stream

How can we discourage people from cultivating the global weeds we discussed today?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• ASK: What is a weed? Why do we remove weeds from our garden? Encourage campers toward the understanding that a weed is a plant that is not necessarily inherently bad, but, when allowed to grow freely, can destroy a garden. • WATCH/READ The Lorax (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRbNlPbHEo). If you can schedule a movie night, do so. • DISCUSS: What is a/the “global weed” in this story? (deforestation). Why is it a “weed?” Can you think of other “global weeds?” • SPLIT campers up into groups. Distribute a different Global Weeds Profile to each group to read and discuss. • With art supplies and paper, have each group briefly rewrite The Lorax, adding their “global weed” to the plot. • ASK groups to share, and then reflect and discuss together

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact Program A: Destructive Industrial Systems - Sources Agro-business

“Global Weeds” Profiles

Agro-business is an umbrella term for all industrial or commercial operations that have to do with agriculture, usually in the form of mass production of crop or livestock for consumer purchase, either as raw food, processed foods, or energy, in the case of ethanol. Agro-business also entails all the industries that participate in the production of commercial agriculture, like machinery and pesticide industries, as well as seed banks (large collections of a variety of seeds, many of which are patented by major corporations which they sell for profit). A large aspect of the agro-business are CAFOs, Confined Animal Feeding Operations, or factory farms. Factory farms present multiple challenges. Gross mistreatment of animals, be it too-small caging, unnatural diets of grains and even plastics rather than grasses, and inhumane and often violent management practices create ethical dilemmas for consumers of agro-business, which most of us are. The massive amounts of methane produced by unhealthy cows is more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, and farmers are faced with unreasonable amounts of animal waste, which seep into the ground and effect underground water supplies. Mono-cropping, the production of one crop in large plots of land, present challenges to biodiversity and takes away from the benefits biodiverse plots of land provide the soil, wildlife, and human diet. Workers’ rights are also often threatened on CAFOs, as the nature of the industry is to hide much of its practices from public eye. As destructive as CAFOs are, not all industrial agriculture endeavors are factory farms, and it must be noted that we would not be able to eat as abundantly as we do without its mass-scale structure.

Global Shipping With the industrialization of agriculture and growing global connectedness has come the globalization of the food industry. The U.S. is the world’s largest importer and exporter of food. Because so many internationally traded goods are produce, such as coffee, tropical fruits, and corn, air travel is a major mode of transportation. However, planes are harmful carbon emitters, and the transportation of agricultural products weighs heavily in total annual emissions. To make food that has to be transported either across the country or across the world stay fresher for longer, common agricultural practice is to apply lots of chemicals, preservatives or pesticides, to food while it grows and before it travels. These chemicals are not all dangerous to the environment and to our bodies, but many are. A lot of U.S. produced food is subsidized, meaning that the government helps farmers by offsetting the cost of (for example) corn so it can be sold for less than it costs to produce. This cheap corn is then sent overseas to poor countries in a process called Food Aid, which many western countries participate in. Food Aid benefits many people in need, and provides

Abuse of Workers’ Rights

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Waste Stream

A GM seed is the result of a laboratory process of taking genes from one seed and inserting them into another in an attempt to obtain a desired trait or characteristic. One of the largest producers and possessors of GM seeds is Monsanto, a multi-national agricultural biotechnology corporation based in the U.S. Monsanto patents its seeds, which means it owns the legal rights to their GM seeds. If a farmer is found guilty of growing Monsanto-produced crops without having purchased the rights, Monsanto is legally entitled to massive compensation. Because of natural pollination systems, wherein seeds travel by wind, by animal, or by other natural occurrences, many farmers who never intentionally planted Monsanto seeds have suffered for the seeds’ appearance in their crops. The benefits to GM seeds are also the drawbacks; while modified seeds yield greater harvests, larger fruits, and resist pesticides, they also increase dependence on unnatural yield, which is greatly threatened by natural weather or pest events, crowd out heirloom, or unaltered, seeds, and encourage pests to adapt and become more resilient to common pesticides, which creates a need for more robust, more toxic chemical solutions. This cycle self-perpetuates.

Animal Welfare

GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms)

Farming Practices

Working people in America have certain basic legal rights to safe, healthy and fair conditions at work. Unfortunately, many employers violate these basic rights because they value their profits more than their workers’ health. Industries such as manufacturing, textiles, footwear production, construction, and agriculture are some of the most at-risk for workers’ rights abuses. In the field of agriculture, most farm workers today are below the poverty line, and workers are often denied the right to overtime compensation despite their long and grueling work hours. Along with risks related to working with heavy machinery and engaging in intense physical labor for long periods of time, agricultural workers also face sun and pesticide exposure, poor sanitation in the workplace, and dangerously crowded, sub-standard housing conditions. In addition, these workers are denied the right to organize into groups that would enable them to bargain collectively with their employers to seek out better conditions.

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

food to people of foreign countries who do not have access to the resources they need to produce enough food for themselves, like water, land, or a safe place to live. Food Aid also has major drawbacks, like undermining the local food economies in the countries that receive aid and creating aid dependence. The model the U.S. uses for Food Aid is universal, meaning every country receives aid in the same form, regardless of its actual need, which creates excess cost for the U.S. that would not have been spent had the Food Aid plan been more individualized.

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact Program A: Destructive Industrial Systems - Jewish Sources Babylonian Talmud, Bava Kama 50b

“A landowner was clearing rocks from his field to public thoroughfare. On seeing him do this, a certain Hasid (righteous person) asked him, ‘Fool, why are you throwing rocks from property that is not yours to property that is yours?’ The landowner laughed at the Hasid. Eventually the landowner lost his money and had to sell the field. While walking along the same thoroughfare, he tripped on the rocks he had once thrown there. ‘That Hasid was right,’ he said to himself, ‘when he asked me why I was throwing rocks from property not mine to property that is mine.’”

Vayikra 22:28 “Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.”

Ramban Dvarim 22:6 “Scripture will not permit a destructive, cruel, and unmerciful act that will cause the extinction of a species, even though it has permitted the ritual slaughtering of that species (for food). And he who kills mother and sons in one day, or takes them while they are free to fly away, is considered as if he destroyed that species.”

Goal: Create a solar oven and learn about alternative energy sources. Materials: renewable energy profiles, solar oven materials, food to bake it in Timing: 1 hour Activity:

Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

Bring your solar oven back to the bunk and use it to make an afternoon snack!

Distribution of Wealth

Parting Challenge:

Waste Stream

What other simple ways can we incorporate renewable energy into our lives without purchasing expensive equipment?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• In a circle, each camper will read one blurb about a source of renewable energy and make up a corresponding physical action or hand motion based on how the source provides energy. • PLAY “Simon Says” with campers, calling out the energy sources, prompting them to carry out the agreed-upon gestures. • SAY: “Today we are going to harness one of these energy sources, solar, by building a solar oven.” • FOLLOW instructions for building a solar oven from this website: • http://www.hometrainingtools.com/build-a-solar-oven-project/a/1237/ A • As you are building the oven, discuss the function of each part, and encourage the campers to put their own touch on the design. • If there are a lot of campers, you can split into two groups: one preparing the oven and the other preparing the food. Switch halfway through. • Place the solar oven in a sunny place directly facing the sun. The best times to cook are from 11am-3pm, when the sun is high overhead. Adjust the flap so that the tinfoil is reflecting as much sun as possible into the saran wrapped window. If necessary, prop the flap up in this position using a stick. • Place the food on a baking tray inside your solar oven. Some ideas of what to cook: • chocolate chip cookies • grilled cheese with herbs from the garden • baked thinly slice apples with cinnamon • As the food cooks, explain how the oven works.

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact Program B: Alternative Energy

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact Program B: Alternative Energy - Sources Wind: A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind, also called wind energy, into mechanical energy; a process known as wind power. This power has been used since ancient times in the forms of windmills. Wind turbines are usually placed in areas that are very windy and open.

Water: Hydroelectric is electrical power created through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy, and is usually harnessed through dams.

Solar: Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar energy is usually categorized as active or passive. Active solar techniques include the use of solar panels and thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air. Hydrothermal: This is the process of harnessing the heat from the centre of the earth through underground pipes to turn water into steam. The steam is then used to turn a turbine, which turns a generator and produces electricity.

Geothermal: Geothermal energy is heat from the earth. It is considered a renewable resource because the heat emanating from the interior of the earth is essentially limitless. Geothermal energy can be used for electricity production, for commercial, industrial, and residential direct heating purposes, and for efficient home heating and cooling through geothermal heat pumps.

How the Solar Oven Works The heat from the sun is trapped inside of your pizza box solar oven, and it starts getting very hot. Rays of light are coming to the earth at an angle. The foil reflects the ray, and bounces it directly into the opening of the box. This process heats up the air that is trapped inside. The black paper absorbs the heat at the bottom of the oven, and the newspaper make sure that the heat stays where it is, instead of escaping out the sides of the oven.

Kohelet 1:3-11

Farming Practices Animal Welfare Waste Stream

“A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth endures forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and to its place it yearns and rises there. It goes to the south and goes around to the north; the wind goes around and around, and the wind returns to its circuits. All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers flow, there they repeatedly go. All things are wearisome; no one can utter it; the eye shall not be sated from seeing, nor shall the ear be filled from hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. There is a thing of which [someone] will say, “See this, it is new.” It has already been for ages which were before us. [But] there is no remembrance of former [generations], neither will the later ones that will be have any remembrance among those that will be afterwards.”

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact Program B: Alternative Energy - Jewish Sources

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact Program C: Climate Change Goal: To familiarize campers with the concept of climate change and the incredible challenges we face.

Materials: large greenhouse effect diagram, geodesic dome materials, clear plastic bottles

Timing: 30-40 minutes Activity: • DIAGRAM the greenhouse gas effect • EXPLAIN it to the campers • ACT it out. • READ article about the effects of climate change. • EXPLAIN that a greenhouse can heat things up. This can be good for plants. Our planet, however, has a stable temperature and does not need heating. • Build a greenhouse for plants. • http://www.instructables.com/id/20-Geodesic-Dome-Greenhouse/

Reflection:

Does it seem like it will ever be possible to reverse the profound changes we have already made to the earth? Does that mean we should stop trying?

Parting Challenge:

Let go of one habit of yours that requires the use of fossils fuels and emits greenhouse gasses. Put away your video game (or play it less) or hair dryer (or other unnecessary electronic device), turn off the lights when you leave a room, etc.

Diagrams About Greenhouse Gasses

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact Program C: Climate Change - Sources

Farming Practices Animal Welfare Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others

http://www.clean-air-kids.org.uk/globalwarming.html http://climatechangeconnection.org/Science/Greenhouseeffect_diagram.htm

Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 3: Chronic Environmental Impact Program C: Climate Change - Jewish Sources Breishit 6:5-8

And the Lord saw that the evil of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of his heart was only evil all the time. And the Lord regretted that He had made man upon the earth, and He became grieved in His heart. And the Lord said, “I will blot out man, whom I created, from upon the face of the earth, from man to cattle to creeping thing, to the fowl of the heavens, for I regret that I made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Eruvin 13b

For two and a half years Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel argued -- these (Beit Shammai) saying, ‘better for humanity not to have been created, than to have been created; and these (Beit Hillel) saying, ‘better for humanity to have been created, than not to have been created.’ They voted, and decided: “better for humanity not to have been created, than to have been created -- but now that the human been created, let it examine his/ her [past] deeds. Others say-- he should consider his [future] deeds.

Breishit 8:22 So long as the earth exists, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Classic Tale from the Ari Z’al

At the beginning of time, God’s presence filled the universe. When God decided to bring this world into being, to make room for creation, He first drew in His breath, contracting Himself. From that contraction darkness was created. And when God said, “Let there be light”, the light that came into being filled the darkness, and ten holy vessels came forth, each filled with primordial light. In this way God sent forth those ten vessels, like a fleet of ships, each carrying its cargo of light. Had they all arrived intact, the world would have been perfect. But the vessels were too fragile to contain such a powerful, divine light. They broke open, split asunder, and all the holy sparks were scattered like sand, like seeds, like stars. Those sparks fell everywhere. That is why we were created — to gather the sparks, no matter where they are hidden. And when enough holy sparks have been gathered, the broken vessels will be restored, and tikkun olam,the repair of the world, awaited so long, will finally be complete. Therefore it should be the aim of everyone to raise these sparks from wherever they are imprisoned and to elevate them to holiness by the power of their soul.

‫שומרי עתיד‬

Unit Two: Our Future Shomrei Atid

Farming Practices Animal Welfare Waste Stream

Chapter 4: Farming Practices Program A: Keep Poison off my Plate!

Goal: To raise awareness that most produce is grown with chemical pesticides and most processed foods contain chemical additives.

Materials: 4 similar food items (see below) Timing: 30 minutes Activity: • ARRANGE four food items in unmarked vessels. These should be similar products (i.e. sugar cereal, “healthy” cereal (like cheerios), organic brand cereal, homemade granola). Retain the packaging but do not yet show it to campers. • INVITE campers to inspect foods and vote on which product is the healthiest. • DISTRIBUTE the packaging materials and ask campers to match the labels with the product from which they came. • Using the least healthy product, run a SPELLING BEE with the campers, where they must spell the ingredients listed on the label. Make sure to select a product with a lot of funny ingredients. Run this with the most healthy product as well, and see how they fare.

Dress it up:

Play this as a game show!

Reflection:

Why do people continue harmful habits even when we know the consequences?

Parting Challenge:

When changing the way we eat, start small. Choose one time in the coming week when you would normally eat or drink a food with chemicals in it, and choose something else instead.

Farming Practices

Animal Welfare

Waste Stream

Distribution of Wealth

Caring for Others

Caring for Ourselves

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3028/ http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/pesticidesgw.html

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Chapter 4: Farming Practices Program A: Keep Poison off my Plate! - Cartoons

Chapter 4: Farming Practices Program A: Keep Poison off my Plate!

Three Reasons Pesticides Are Making School Harder for Today’s Kids In addition to being linked to many types of cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other diseases, pesticides have been shown to be extremely harmful to children’s developing brains:

Loss of Motor Skills

A new study published in the journal NeuroToxicology found strong evidence that a pregnant mother’s pesticide exposure could lead to significant damage to a child’s motor skills years down the road. Pregnant mother’s exposure to Propoxur—a common bug-killing carbamate pesticide—was linked to significantly poorer motor development in her child by the time the child turned 2 years old. Motor skills are those that shape the ability to perform complex muscle and nerve interactions that produce movement, ranging from writing and tying shoes to using a scissors and writing on a chalkboard. The chemicals used to kill pests on farms works by affecting the bugs’ brain and nervous systems. It’s believed that those same kinds of neurological disruptions are what’s harming the children as they develop.

Brain-Draining Pest Killers

A new report found that children exposed to organophosphate pesticides, a popular type of chemical used to kill bugs in fruit and vegetable farming, suffer lower IQs. Looking at 25 million children ages 5 and younger, the analysis found that exposure to these pesticides accounts for a collective 17 million lost IQ points.

Vanishing Attention Spans

Do you know any kids with ADD or ADHD? Diagnosed ADHD cases in kids have been on the rise, with increases between 3 and 5 percent reported annually over the last decade. Mounting studies suggest pesticides are partly to blame. For instance, a 2010 study published in the journal Pediatrics found that children with higher exposure to pesticides were twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Diet is generally the biggest source of pesticide exposure in kids, but a primarily organic diet can slash pesticide levels in the body by about 90 percent.

Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin

“Be as careful with the health of your soul as you are with the health of your body”

Rambam Hilchot Deot 4:1

Divrie Malchiel 2:53 (Lomzha Rav)

“It is forbidden to eat anything that leads to any disease.”

Farming Practices

“Maintaining a healthy body is among the ways of serving God, since it is impossible for one who is not healthy to understand or know anything of the Creator. Therefore one must distance oneself from things which harm the body, and accustom oneself to the things which strengthen and make one healthy.”

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Chapter 4: Farming Practices Program A: Keep Poison off my Plate! - Jewish Sources

Orhot Tzaddikim, 15th century, Chapter 1

Animal Welfare

“Clothing, bed, table, especially dishes, indeed everything that we ever take in our hands, must be clean, sweet, pure; and above and beyond all, the body, made in the image of God.”

The Nineteen Letters (1836), no. 11 (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch)

Waste Stream

Respect your own body as the receptacle, messenger, and instrument of the spirit.

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 4: Farming Practices

Program B: Interconnected Food Systems and their Counterparts Goal: To understand that when we holistically build our gardens, food systems, and lives, we support healthy selves and a healthy world.

Materials: Yarn, beach balls, printed garden elements cards Timing: 45 minutes Activity: (45 minutes) • TAKE the “What’s Your Farming Style?” Quiz [Older kids] or Cartoons about farming [Younger kids] • DISTRIBUTE “Garden Elements” cards to a circle of campers. EXPLAIN that each card is a different element that makes up a healthy food system. • LOOP one end of yarn around your hand, and read aloud what it says on your card. Toss the yarn to someone across the circle. As you do this, you should explain how your element is connected to their element. • Have each successive camper do the same, until everyone has gotten the ball at least once and the web is nicely filled (assist campers if they cannot explain the connections) • Once the web is built, DROP a beach ball onto it and bounce it around. EXPLAIN how the ball symbolizes the earth and how a healthy food system supports a healthy earth. • One by one, NAME problems with the industrial food system. As you name each problem, encourage the campers to determine which elements are affected by it, and ask the holders of the relevant cars to let go of their yarn. Watch what happens to the web and the “earth ball” as elements drop out. (assist campers) • DISCUSS: which kind of farming has systems that support each other and a healthy earth? • Read the quote by John Muir: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” Would this ball of yarn game work only when we are talking about farming systems? What else could it illustrate?

Reflection:

Why are sustainable systems not always instituted in the first place?

Parting Challenge: How can we create better structures in our bunk so that instead of making a mess all the time and cleaning it up, it is easier to keep it clean in the first place? Even if it takes some time to set up these structures, does it save us time in the long run?

Program B: Interconnected Food Systems and their Counterparts - Quiz

What Is Your Farming Style? 1. When choosing which crops to plant, do you:

a. plant all one crop because it’s easier to sell lots of one thing than small amounts of different things. b. plant a large variety of crops because it’s healthier for the farm to be diverse. c. a little bit of both: try to plant lots of different kinds of crops, but ultimately make decisions based on what makes the most money.

2. How do you deal with insects eating your crops?

a. Spray pesticides on your crops to kill as many insects as possible. b. Spray organic pesticides that are less toxic than chemical ones. c. I rotate my crops so pests have a harder time finding their favorite food.

4. How do you make sure that your plants have enough nutrients to grow well?

Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

a. My products are standardized and neat-looking, with attractive labels. I put preservatives in my processed foods so that they last a long time, and look nice on the grocery store shelf. I know that most Americans like to buy food that looks perfect. b. I make fancy labels that convey an image that my products came directly from a farm, even if they didn’t. I make sure that my customers know that my products are “green.” c. I speak to my customers, and tell them about my growing methods. They taste my products and see how delicious they are. I don’t need to grow “Hollywood tomatoes”: sometimes my products don’t look picture perfect, but I and my customers know that it’s more important that they taste delicious and are healthy.

Distribution of Wealth

5. How do you make your products look nice for customers?

Waste Stream

a. I focus on keeping my soil fertile. Some of my methods include: crop rotation, infrequent tilling, mulching, and applying compost. Because a lot of these methods are difficult to do on a huge scale, my farm is relatively small. b. I (or my customers) agree with a lot of the principles behind choice a, but it’s too hard to do those practices on such a large scale as I work, so I buy and use organic fertilizers. c. I buy synthetic fertilizers and apply them heavily during the growing season. These are the cheapest and quickest way to add fertility to plants.

Animal Welfare

a. To families and restaurants in my community. b. To large corporations that will process and/or ship the products all over the country/ world. c. To specialty corporations like Whole Foods that process and/or ship the products with a label that implies that they are healthy all over the world.

Farming Practices

3. To whom do you sell your crops?

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Chapter 4: Farming Practices

Program B: Interconnected Food Systems and their Counterparts

Quiz Results Mostly A: You are a conventional grower.

The good news is that it’s easy for you to find a market for your products. The government gives you subsidies, making it cost-effective to grow food the way you do. The bad news is that you are growing in a way that is not sustainable. You focus on the plants, rather than the soil, so every new round of plants presents the same challenges as the last. You use chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that are bad for the health of your consumers.

Mostly B: You are a conventional organic grower.

The good news is that you are not using chemicals to grow your foods, so they are not as bad for the earth as conventional growers. The bad news is that you are not really growing in a way that is sustainable. You use a lot of gas to ship your foods far away. Oftentimes, your foods are processed in ways that deplete their nutrients. A lot of what you do is put labels on your food to make people think that it’s healthy for humans and for the earth, when really it’s not that much better than conventional agriculture.

Mostly C: You are a small-scale organic farmer.

The good news is that you are a rockstar earth care-taker! You are growing food in a way that is healthy for humans and healthy for the earth. If everyone functioned like you, we wouldn’t have so many of the environmental problems that exist in the world today. The bad news is that the way you grow food is not supported by the current economic market. It will be very difficult for you to make a living as a small-scale organic farmer, and you may want to think about venturing into other businesses or having a second job if you want to be able to support your family, afford to pay the mortgage on your land, and enjoy some modern luxuries like computers, vacations, and electricity.

Program B: Interconnected Food Systems and their Counterparts

Farming Cartoons The following cartoons illustrate three different kinds of farming. What are the pros and cons of each kind? Which sounds the best? What do we do here at camp?

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Chapter 4: Farming Practices

Farming Practices Animal Welfare Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

These are the elements that should be written on cards and distributed to campers.

Garden Elements Mulching Weeding Crop Rotation Diverse Planting Compost

Pest Control Fertility Health Balanced Diet Water Preservation

Weed Control Chickens Tomatoes Spinach Cows

Below are some industrial problems to introduce after the ball is supported by the yarn web: Pesticides Monoculture Large Scale Farms Air pollution Water pollution Climate Change Chemical fertilizers Add any others you would like.

Program B: Interconnected Food Systems and their Counterparts Jewish Sources Vayikra 25:3-4

“Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the field. But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath of the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.”

Vayikra 19:25

Avot de-Rabbi Natan 31b

Farming Practices

“When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.

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Chapter 4: Farming Practices

“Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai used to say, ‘If you have a sapling in your hand and you are told that the Messiah has come, first plant the sapling and then go welcome the Messiah.’”

Prayer after using the bathroom

Caring for Ourselves

“Better is he who has a vegetable garden and fertilizes it and hoes it and earns his livelihood out of it than he who takes gardens from others on terms of half-profits (i.e. who rents many gardens but is not content with the ones he owns but has to surrender half the crops in rent).”

Caring for Others

VaYikra Rabbah 3:1

Distribution of Wealth

Blessed are you, Hashem our god, ruler of the universe, who fashioned human beings with wisdom and created within him many openings and many cavities. It is obvious and know before your throne of glory that if one of them were to be ruptured or but one of them were to be blocked, it would be impossible to survive and stand before you. Blessed are you god who heals all flesh and acts wonderously.

Waste Stream

“Once, while the sage, Honi, was walking along a road, he saw an old man planting a carob tree. Honi asked him: “How many years will it take for this tree to give forth its fruit?” The man answered that it would require 70 years. Honi asked: “Are you so healthy a man that you expect to live that length of time and eat its fruit?” The man answered: “I found a fruitful world because my ancestors planted it for me. So, too, will I plant for my children.”

Animal Welfare

Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 23a

Chapter 4: Farming Practices

Program C: Preserving the Harvest [Making Pickles] Goal: To learn about the value of eating local foods. Materials: 1/2 gallon glass jars, salt, water, garlic, dill, seasoning, labeling materials, Timing: 45 minutes Activity: • Discuss the following: • Why is it good to eat local foods rather than food shipped from far away? • Eating local sounds nice in the summer when the garden is overflowing, but how can we eat locally when the ground is covered in snow? • What are ways we can preserve foods so that we can enjoy our bounty year round? • Read sources on Local eating • Harvest small pickling cucumbers or string beans with the campers. • Divide into small groups and give each group a ½ gallon glass jar, ingredients and a copy of the recipe.

Instruct:

• Dilute 3 Tablespoons of salt in ¼ gallon of water to create a brine. • In ½ gallon glass jar, place garlic, dill or other seasoning at the bottom. • Fill the jar with cucumbers or beans, being careful not to crush them. • Pour the brine over the cucumbers or beans. • Use a clean rock, a plastic baggy filled with water, or anything else small but heavy to weigh down your pickles. Anything exposed to air will get moldy! **(clarify) • Challenge campers to think about product labeling. Ask: if you were to manufacture this product, how would you present it? Decorate artistic and informative labels for the jars. • The pickles should take about a week to ferment (keep them in a cool place if it is a hot week!). After 5-7 days, the jars should be refrigerated. Return the pickles to the campers at your next meeting, or bring it to their bunk’s table during meal-time. Enjoy!

Reflection:

Is it good to play (experiment) with your food? What is the relationship between eating and fun, and how can we continue to make food a fun experience throughout our lives?

Parting Challenge: Find ways to “preserve the harvest” in other areas of your life. How else can we work to make great things last longer?

Program C: Preserving the Harvest - Jewish Sources Shmot 23:10-11

“You may plant your land for six years and gather its crops. But during the seventh year, you must leave it alone and withdraw from it. The needy among you will then be able to eat just as you do, and whatever is left over can be eaten by wild animals. This also applies to your vineyard and your olive grove.”

VaYikra 25:1-7

Farming Practices Animal Welfare

“When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land must be given a rest period, a sabbath to God. For six years you may plant your fields, prune your vineyards, and harvest your crops, but the seventh year is a sabbath of sabbaths for the land. It is God’s sabbath during which you may not plant your fields, nor prune your vineyards. Do not harvest crops that grow on their own and do not gather the grapes on your unpruned vines, since it is a year of rest for the land. [What grows while] the land is resting may be eaten by you, by your male and female slaves, and by the employees and resident hands who live with you. All the crops shall be eaten by the domestic and wild animals that are in your land.”

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Chapter 4: Farming Practices

VaYikra 25:20-22

Waste Stream

“And if ye shall say: ‘What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we may not sow, nor gather in our increase’; then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce for the three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the produce, the old store; until the ninth year, until her produce come in, ye shall eat the old store.”

Distribution of Wealth

Caring for Ourselves

“At the end of every seven years, you shall celebrate the shmita year. The idea of the shmita year is that every creditor shall remit any debt owed by his neighbor and brother when God’s remission year comes around.”

Caring for Others

Dvarim 15:1-2

Chapter 4: Farming Practices

Program C: Preserving the Harvest Explore Shemita as a potential model for sustainable agriculture. Compare Shemita with conventional growing with regards to each of the below categories:

Category

Shmita

Global Capitalist Economy

Consistency

Do not work the land for one year every seventh year

Work Ethic

By taking a break, we restore ourselves and do better work. Space is made to check in Poor working conditions for on our workers and encheap labor, and a global sure their freedom economy that enslaves the lowest economic rung Let land lie fallow in order Add external fertilizers, there is to restore its fertility no time to rest Forgive all debts once If someone owes you money, every seven years. Do not never forget until they pay it charge interest. back with interest If we have faith, we know There is no room for faith in that we can take time the quest for infinite wealth. to rest and that God will provide us with our needs. During the shmita year, Uneaten food is wasted. If we we eat food we have cannot get a food right now, we preserved from previous ship it from a far away place. years.

Workerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rights

Farming Practices Debt Faith

Preserving Food

Markets want consistent suppliers, and will drop a supplier if they must take a break every seventh year Work hard, harder, hardest! Never stop!

Why Eat Local Resources

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Chapter 4: Farming Practices Program C: Preserving the Harvest

Farming Practices Animal Welfare Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

• Michael Pollan on “Why Eat Local” (video): http://www.nourishlife.org/2011/03/ why-eat-local/ • Top 12 Reasons to Eat Locally http://www.locavores.com/how/why.php • Why Eat Local? Quiz http://mosierfarmersmarket.com/eat-local-challenge/ why-eat-local-quiz/

Chapter 5: Animal Welfare Program A: How We Treat Animals

Goal: To understand how animals are treated and develop compassion towards them. Materials: copy pics, materials for relay race (see below) Timing: 15-45 minutes (depending on race) Activity: • SHOW campers pictures of how animals are treated on typical farms, and share statistics that accompany each picture (see source sheet). Vary which pictures you choose based on age/ maturity of group. • Invite campers to share their initial reactions. • DIVIDE the bunk into 2 teams. Each team should have one very tall and one very short kid. • EXPLAIN to the campers that they will participate in an obstacle course/ relay race of activities that resemble experiences animals have on a farm. They will complete a series of “events,” and the winning team of each event will get a point. The team with the most points at the end wins. • Set up the races (see source sheets). Before each leg of the race, explain the relationship to animal life on a farm. While they’re racing, you can alternatively be a “nice farmer,” and give them encouragement, or a “mean farmer” and be tough with them (if this feels appropriate for the age group/ maturity of the campers). • DISCUSS: Given the difficulties you have just experienced doing tasks that animals do on a farm, what can farmers do to treat animals more kindly? What will farm animals’ living spaces look like?

Reflection:

Most of us do not keep animals. How can we contribute to better farming practices toward animals if we are not animal farmers?

Parting Challenge:

During mealtimes in the coming week, try to heighten your awareness of the source of your food. When you pour milk in your cereal, think, “this if from a cow.” Awaken curiosity about the kinds of conditions these animals experience: “where does this cow live? What does she eat? How much personal space does she have? Etc.”

Program A: How We Treat Animals

Relay Race The following are ideas of some activities you can have the campers do in the “Walk a Mile in my Hooves” relay race, along with an explanation of how they connect to animal treatment. Feel free to come up with your own ideas as well. • Have kids split up into pairs and give each other “piggy back rides” from one point to another and back • Animals carry heavy loads/ people on their backs • Enclose a lot of kids in a small space (just big enough for them to all stand) and of the four corners) • animals live in extremely confined spaces

Farming Practices

have them complete a task (e.g each camper must pick up an object from each

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Chapter 5: Animal Welfare

• Set up a “3 legged” race with the tallest kid and shortest kid in the bunk. you can way. • the mitzva of kilayim, of not plowing with 2 different animals

a given amount of time wins the round • the degree of physical exertion often caused by animals working on a farm

• relate to animals plowing the field

Distribution of Wealth

• Set up a certain stretch of bed to be “double dug” by the campers

Waste Stream

• Have the kids move scattered rocks into a pile. Whoever has the biggest pile after

Animal Welfare

also try this with two kids who are close in size to show how much easier it is that

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 5: Animal Welfare

Program A: How We Treat Animals

Pictures and Statistics About Factory Farming

• 97% of chickens in America are confined to “battery” cages, tiny cages roughly 16 by 18 inches wide. • Five or 6 birds are crammed into each cage, and the cages are stacked in tall tiers. • As many as 50,000 to 125,000 battery hens, in sheds with minimal light, strain to produce 250 eggs per year, ten times the number of eggs they would produce in the wild. (http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?more=1&p=374)

• The egg industry grinds up millions of baby chicks alive for dog food each year. (http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_news/2009/09/horrific-egg-industry-grindsmillions-of-baby-chicks-alive.html)

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Farming Practices Animal Welfare Distribution of Wealth

http://www.sustainabletable.org/274/animal-welfare http://lairdsgarden.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/factory-farm-chickens.jpg http://awellfedworld.org/issues/animalprotection http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/hatchery-horrors-video-shows-nomercy-for-baby-chicks.html http://www.cleanwateractioncouncil.org/issues/resource-issues/factory-farms/ http://www.peta.org/features/dairy-industry-cruelty/#/

Waste Stream

Links:

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 5: Animal Welfare

Program A: How We Treat Animals - Jewish Sources

Part A: Our obligation towards animals Shmot 23:5

When you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, Chapter 60, Section 4

Here you are faced with God’s teaching, which obliges you not only to refrain from inflicting unnecessary pain on any animal, but to help and, when you can, to lessen the pain whenever you see an animal suffering, even through no fault of yours.

Dvarim 25:4 You shall not muzzle an ox when it is threshing.

Dvarim 22:6

If along the road you chance upon a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Send away the mother, and take only the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life.

Dvarim 22:10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 40a It is forbidden to sit down to your own meal before you have fed your pets and barnyard animals. As is says ‘and I will give feed to your animals’ and only after that does the verse say ‘and you shall eat and be satisfied’ (Dvarim 11:15).

Rambam, “Guide to the Perplexed”, Part 3, Chapter 48

It is forbidden to slaughter ‘it and its young on the same day,’ this being a precaution against killing a child in front of its mother. For in these cases animals feel great pain, as there is no real distinction between the pain of humans and the pain of animals. This is because the love and compassion of the mother for her young is not reasoned intellectually, but has only to do with emotions and instincts, which are found among animals no less then among human beings.

Talmud Yerushalmi Ketubot 4:8 A person should not acquire domestic animals, wild beasts, or birds before buying food for those animals to eat.

Program A: How We Treat Animals - Jewish Sources

Part B: Developing Compassion Devarim Rabbah 6:1

“Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, has compassion for human beings, so does He have compassion for animals.”

Babylonian Talmud, Beitzah 32b

“Jews are compassionate children of compassionate ancestors, and one who is not compassionate cannot truly be a descendant of our father Abraham.”

Animal Welfare Waste Stream

“While our teacher Moses was tending the sheep of Jethro in the wilderness a lamb ran away from him. He ran after her until she reached Hasuah. Upon reaching Hasuah she came upon a pool of water [whereupon] the lamb stopped to drink. When Moses reached her he said, “I did not know that you were running because [you were] thirsty. You must be tired.” He placed her on his shoulder and began to walk. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “You are compassionate in leading flocks belonging to mortals; I swear you will similarly shepherd my flock, Israel.”

Farming Practices

Shmot Rabbah 2:2

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Chapter 5: Animal Welfare

The Baal Shem Tov, Tzava’as HaRivash 12

Distribution of Wealth

“People should consider themselves, and the worms, and all creatures as friends in the universe, for we are all created beings whose abilities are God-given.”

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 5: Animal Welfare Program B: Vegetarians v Omnivores: The Great Debate Goal: To engender deep and complex thought about how animals fit into our diets. Timing: 15-45 minutes (depending on length of debate) Activity: • Read the Baal Shem Tov story and discuss. • Set up a debate between the campers about the merits of being a vegetarian vs being an omnivore. When picking “teams,” encourage the campers to argue the case that does not reflect their personal values (a vegetarian should join the omnivore team, etc.). You can give the campers sources from the source sheet to help them, or they can come up with arguments on their own. • It might help to structure the “debate” according to the following topics: • The Jewish perspective • Which is better for the “environment”? • Is it possible to be a “conscious omnivore”? Is there such thing as treating animals well when your intention is to slaughter them? • Health benefits • Developing compassion • Where do we draw the line? (Using animals for things other than meet, like milk or wool).

Reflection:

What were the most compelling arguments? Do you see these issues through a different set of eyes?

Parting Challenge:

Can we take ourselves out of our comfort zone in our real lives as well? If you are normally a meat-eater, try skipping meat for one or two meat-filled meals this week. If you are normally a vegetarian or vegan, try thinking about what conditions you would need to make you feel comfortable eating foods you normally do not eat.

Baal Shem Tov Story

“But meat with blood in its flesh you can not eat.”

Babylonian Talmud, Chulin 84a

Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

Is it possible to be a “conscious omnivore”? Is there such thing as treating animals well when your intention is to slaughter them? “The Torah teaches a lesson in moral conduct, that man shall not eat meat unless he has a special craving for it...and shall eat it only occasionally and sparingly.”

Distribution of Wealth

“Historically, Adam and Eve were vegetarians, as it says: “vegetables and fruits shall be your food” (Genesis 1:29). God only permitted meat to Noah and his descendents after the Flood.”

Waste Stream

Breishit 9:3; Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 59b

Animal Welfare

Breishit 9:4

Farming Practices

When he had lived with Rabbi Meir the Hidden Tzadik, the Baal Shem Tov had trained in the holy work of shkhitah (ritual slaughtering), learning all of its laws, rules and techniques. When he went to live in Kshilovitz, he served as the shochet for that village and also for many of the nearby villages. At that time, he innovated what came to be called the “Ukranian” method of whetting the slaughter knife, to make it especially sharp, so the slaughter would be as painless as possible for the animal. When he moved on, the town acquired a very experienced shokhet. On his first day of work, an old yente from the town came to observe his technique. As he slaughtered animal after animal, being certain to follow all of the laws of shekhitah exactly, the shochet heard the woman muttering under her breath “tsk tsk.” He initially ignored her, but she continued expressing her dismay, until finally he could not take it any more. “What,” he asked, “could I possibly be doing wrong? I am a shokhet for many years, my father was a shokhet, and his father, before him. I know all of the laws and obey them scrupulously. What could you have observed in my methods that is not exactly as it should be? I even use your old shokhet’s technique of whetting the slaughter knife!” The woman looked at him with piercing eyes: “our old shokhet, the baal shem tov, used to sharpen his knife with his tears. Before he slaughtered an animal, he wept, thinking, How can I kill a living creature? Am I better than it?

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Chapter 5: Animal Welfare Program B: Vegetarians v Omnivores: The Great Debate Jewish Sources

Sefer Chinuch: 451; “Pri Megadim” - Introduction to Shechita Laws

“Shechita (ritual slaughter) must be done with a minimum of pain to the animal. The blade must be meticulously examined to assure the most painless form of death possible.”

Developing Compassion Abarbanel, Shmot 16:4

“The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Eating meat is not essential to one’s nutrition; rather, it is a matter of gluttony, of filling one’s belly and of increasing one’s lust. Meat also gives rise in human beings to a cruel and evil temperament..therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, did not tell Moses that He would give the Israelites meat, rather bread, which is a fitting food and essential for the human temperament.”

Rabbi Joseph Albo, Sefer Ha-Ikarim, Vol. III, Ch. 15

“Aside from the cruelty, rage and fury in killing animals, and the fact that it teaches human beings the bad trait of shedding blood for naught; eating the flesh even of select animals will yet give rise to a mean and insensitive soul.”

Rabbi Abraham Isaac ha-Cohen Kook, Hazon ha-Tzimhonut ve-ha-Shalom me-Behinah Toranit

“It [meat eating] is an overall moral shortcoming of mankind, in that it does not promote good and lofty sentiments.”

Which is Better for the “Environment”?

• Meat of any kind requires anywhere between 3-33 calories of fossil fuel for one calorie of food. • Growing crops is five times more energy efficient than grazing cattle, 20 times more efficient than chickens, and 50 times more efficient than feedlot cattle. • Animals raised for food are responsible for 18% of global warming emissions – that’s more than all the transportation in the world! • Most of the 78 million acres of destroyed rainforest is used as grazing land and production for North American meat. (2012 amir program book)

Health Benefits

Rabbi David Rosen, from Rabbis and Vegetarianism, Micah, 1995, pg. 54.

“As it is halachically prohibited to harm oneself and as healthy, nutritious vegetarian alternatives are easily available, meat consumption has become halachically -unjustifiable.”

Program A: Defining Waste

Goal: To see a literal representation of how much waste we produce, and to trigger discussion about efforts to reduce our waste.

Materials: Garbage can with trash in it, craft supplies for art project Timing: 15-30 minutes Activity:

Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

What are key areas at camp where campers throw away things that should be directed toward other places? Make an effort this week to be more conscious about not throwing away things that can be reused, recycled, or composted.

Distribution of Wealth

Parting Challenge:

Water Stream

Why do we, as a culture, produce so much waste? Do we want to be wasteful? Do we just not care?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• Ask: “Do you think campers here are conscientious about what they’re throwing away? Let’s see what is in an average garbage can at camp.” • Dump a random garbage bin out on a sheet. Make sure the garbage has some compostables, some reusables, some recycleables, and some reduceables. • Pick out items from the garbage that should not be there and ask where each item should have been placed. • Ask campers how they could find a creative or unusual use for each item. • Create art for the garden using recycled materials. Some ideas: • Wind chimes/ sculptures out of old silverware (ask the kitchen) • Mats to sit on out of plastic bags http://www.kidspot.com.au/ OMO-fun-zone-Create-Plastic-bag-weaving+6389+568+article. htm?utm_source=OmoFunZone&utm_medium=QuickLinks&utm_ campaign=omofunzone • For more ideas, see: http://www.upcyclethat.com/ or Google.

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Chapter 6: Water Stream

Chapter 6: Water Stream Program A: Defining Waste

Quiz Q: How much waste do you think you generate each year?

A: 4.6 pounds/day which is more than 1600 lbs. a year. That’s the size of two adult gorillas! (you can multiply 4.6 by how many kids are in the bunk).

Q: What is the most toxic man made chemical found in?

A: It is called Dioxin, and we release it every time we burn PVC or plastic #3 in items such as cling wrap, many children’s toys, fashion accessories, shower curtains, soap bottles, credit cards, some computer parts and spray bottles.

Q: How many cellphones were thrown out in the US last year?

A: 130 million. Which is especially sobering when you consider the number of toxins in our cell phones and that if we chuck our phones into landfills those toxins leach into our groundwater or often the phones are being incinerated and releasing toxic chemicals.

Q: How many pounds of clothing does the average American throw away and how much of that ends up in landfill?

A: The average American throws away about 68 pounds of clothing and textiles each year – and about 85 percent of that ends up in landfills.

Q: How big is the largest floating garbage patch (that’s a patch of garbage that has accumulated from all the stuff we’ve thrown into our ocean)? A: The size of Texas, and a second patch in the Atlantic ocean was just discovered!

Q. What percentage of the world’s waste is produced by the United States? A. 70%

Q. What percent of products in the US are used only once and then thrown away? A. 80%

(Quiz from story of stuff, grownyc.org)

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Farming Practices

Animal Welfare

Water Stream

Distribution of Wealth

Caring for Others

Caring for Ourselves

http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/landfill.png

Chapter 6: Water Stream Program A: Defining Waste - Jewish Sources Dvarim 20:19-20

“When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siegeworks against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced.” Mishneh Torah, Book of Judges, Laws of Kings and Wars 6:10: “Not only one who cuts down food trees, but also one who smashes household goods, tears clothes, demolishes a building, stops up a spring, or destroys food on purpose violates the command: You must not destroy..!”

6:8: “And not only during a siege; whenever a food tree is cut down with destructive intent, punishment is incurred. But it may be cut down when it damages other trees, or it damages a field belonging to someone else; or its value for other purposes is greater [than of its food yield]. The Torah forbids only wanton destruction.”

Yeshayahu 45:18 “The designer and maker of the earth established the earth, not creating it to be a waste, but designing it to be lived in.” Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Mourning 14:24

“One should be trained not to be destructive. When you bury a person, do not waste garments by burying them in the grave. It is better to give them to the poor than to cast them to worms and moths. Anyone who buries the dead in an expensive garment violates the negative mitzvah of Bal Tashchit.” Tehillim 118:22 “The stone that the builder rejected will be the head cornerstone”

Goal: Learn about the plant lifecycle and honor the life-sustaining process of composting.

Materials: veggies scraps, compostable “browns”, index cards, pens/pencils Timing: 20 minutes Activity:

Parting Challenge:

Distribution of Wealth

During one meal this week, consider each of the food items on your plate and think about where it came from, what it has gone through to get to you, and what will happen to it after you dispose of it. Savor your food, meditating on this process.

Water Stream

Why do we put vegetable scraps in the compost?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• Distribute vegetable scraps to campers. • Sit in a circle and hand out Plant Lifecycle. Discuss the different stages of the lifecycle and situate composting within its context. • Support campers in creating organic gift boxes for their vegetable scraps, using sticks, mud, leaves, or any other compostable items. • Instruct campers to write a prayer/card for their vegetable scrap that incorporates each stage of the plant’s life-cycle. Encourage campers to create an identity for their scrap. What is the scrap’s name? What was its life journey? What was its happiest moment? Who is its best friend? What will become of it in its new life? Etc. • Invite campers to share their cards with the group. After each prayer, have the camper place the scrap in the garden’s composting unit.

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Chapter 6: Water Stream Program B: The Plant Life Cycle

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 6: Water Stream Program B: The Plant Life Cycle - Jewish Sources Shmot 25:8 â&#x20AC;&#x153;And you will make me a sanctuary and I will dwell within you.â&#x20AC;?

Shmot 25:2 Speak to the children of Israel, that they should make for me an offering. Every man whose heart is willing should take me an offering.

Kohelet 3:20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

Daniel 12:2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life.

Shemonah Esrei [God] brings to life the dead with great compassion.

Tehillim 118:22 The stone that the builders rejected will become the head-corner stone.

Goal: To teach campers about the value of composting, and to give them a basic understanding of how compost works.

Timing: 15-20 minutes Activity:

Depending on the existing compost program at camp, how can it be improved, both on a camp-wide scale and by bunk? What can you do to help?

Distribution of Wealth

Parting Challenge:

Water Stream

How would you convince your family that composting is “worth it” despite potential difficulties that might arise? How can you make your compost “mom/dad - friendly?”

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• Decomposition Tag: [younger campers] • Assign 1 camper the role of “Anti-Decomposition Force (ADF).” Review what reallife elements would cause the decomposition process to halt. • Assign half the other campers “decomposer” roles. Review examples of decomposers. • All other campers are matter in a compost pile. For fun, encourage each kid to take on an identity of something specific and act it out during the game. • A variation on freeze tag, a camper tagged by a member of the ADF freezes in place until he is tagged by a decomposer. See if the decomposers can keep the compost pile moving: are more kids frozen in place or running around? • Now, create scenarios in which decomposition slows (for example, you forgot to turn the compost pile, and the pile is not getting oxygen throughout). One by one, convert the decomposers to ADF, each time giving an explanation, until none remain. See how long it takes until all of the kids are frozen. • DISCUSS: With the right factors, was it difficult to have smooth decomposition (at the beginning of the game?)

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Chapter 6: Water Stream Program C: Composting

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 6: Water Stream Program C: Composting Inside a Compost Pile

Dvarim 23:10, 13-14 “When you go out to encamp against your enemies…you shall have a place outside the camp, where you shall go. And you shall have a spade among you weapons; and it shall be, when you will easy yourself outside, you shall dig with it, and shall turn back and cover your excrement.”

VaYikra 19:3

Rashi, ibid

Farming Practices

“Scripture juxtaposes [the commandment of] observing the Sabbath with [that] of fearing one’s father [and mother], in order to state [the following principle]: “Although I have admonished you regarding the fear of your father, nevertheless, if he tells you to desecrate the Sabbath, do not listen to him.” And this is also the case with all the [other] commandments.”

Animal Welfare

A person should fear his mother and father, and my Sabbaths he should keep.”

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Chapter 6: Water Stream Program C: Composting - Jewish Sources

Distribution of Wealth

The purpose of this mitzvah [Bal Tashchit] is to teach us to love that which is good and worthwhile and to cling to it, so that good becomes a part of us and we will avoid all that is evil and destructive. This is the way of the righteous and those who improve society, who love peace and rejoice in the good in people and bring them close to Torah: that nothing, not even a grain of mustard, should be lost to the world, that they should regret any loss or destruction that they see, and if possible they will prevent any destruction that they can. Not so are the wicked, who are like demons, who rejoice in the destruction of the world, and they are destroying themselves.

Water Stream

Sefer Ha-Hinukh #530

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

‫שומרי בני אדם‬

Unit Three: Each Other Shomrei Bnei Adam

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Program A: Social Trellises

Program adapted from AJWS and Amir, 2013 [This program is most fitting for older campers]

Goal: Campers will learn about some of the “Social Trellises” in our society and how they address systemic societal problems.

Materials: Upstream Downstream Poster Timing: 40 Mintues Activity:

Read out loud the “upstream/ downstream” story. Draw the River on a large poster.

Reflect and Discuss:

How can we use a combination of different “Social Trellises” to eliminate inequality, poverty, and other social ills?

Notice a conflict this week and consider the different ways you can solve it. For example: if you have a conflict with a friend, is it based on a small misunderstanding? On a fundamental difference? Is it enough to just apologize and move on, or should the two of you engage in a deeper conversation about how to strengthen your friendship?

Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

Parting Challenge:

Distribution of Wealth

Reflection:

Waste Stream

Why do these “Social Trellises” exist? What is their value? What other trellises could address the problem as you travel upstream? What are the challenges to implementing these “Social Trellises”? What are the benefits? What would happen if we only had the downstream trellises? What if we only had the upstream ones?

Animal Welfare

• “upstream/downstream” is a term used by public health practitioners to draw distinctions between the root causes of social issues . • Divide the bunk into groups and distribute a different “Social Trellis Profile” to each group (alternatively, you can read the profiles to the group as a whole). • Have participants place the different “Social Trellises” on the upstream/ downstream river according to where it addresses a certain problem. Have them explain to the group why they chose that location.

Farming Practices

Explain:

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Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program A: Social Trellises Upstream/ Downstream Story

There is a long river (draw a squiggly line) with a village located here (pointing to the downstream end of the river) with a river running through it. One day, people in the village notice toxic debris floating down the river. The adults start pulling the debris out of the river and begin to tie a net to catch the oncoming debris. A few children ask, “What happened?” The busy and preoccupied adults answer, “That’s not important right now; we just need to dispose of this toxic debris before it further pollutes our water and kills the fish.” Two children decide to investigate so they go upstream to find out where all this debris was coming from (point to the area just upstream from where you started). They come upon another village where a flood had happened. The shore had caved in and the contents of a massive landfill were spilling into the rushing water. The children don’t understand why the river flooded like it did, and no one in that village could tell them, since they were busy trying to save their shoreline. The children go further upstream and find a broken dam which had been installed decades earlier by the former government and had fallen into disrepair ever since. Video: Watch http://storyofstuff.org/movies/the-story-of-solutions

Social Trellis Profiles Microloans:

To receive a normal loan, a business owner must be able to show proof that he will be able to pay it back, like a history of success in business. Many people do not have this, or are illiterate and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. In the case of microloans, on the other hand, lenders give small loans to poor borrowers who would not ordinarily be able to receive loans in the conventional way. Recipients of these loans are empowered to grow their own businesses and to develop a sustainable income source, allowing them to pay back their loans. Kiva Microloans is a standout example of this social trellis, having assisted in the loaning of over 500 million dollars, with a 99 percent repayment rate.

Video: http://vimeo.com/16991128

When a person is poor and has a family to support, it can be difficult to search for a job and to find a fitting and long-lasting position. Organizations like Project Ezrah aim to assist people who are unemployed or have lost their jobs in “getting back on their feet” and beginning a career. They offer services ranging from career counseling to resume assistance to job placement.

If you know of any others, please feel free to add them!

Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

At soup kitchens (or food pantries), food is offered for free or very cheap. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as religious or community groups. Soup kitchens sometimes obtain food for free or at a low price. Some soup kitchens, like Jewish-run Masbia in Brooklyn, NY, provide hot food daily with an option to take home a care package for weekends. Masbia puts an emphasis on respecting the dignity of its patrons, creating a restaurant-like atmosphere with waiters and nicely presented food.

Distribution of Wealth

Soup Kitchens:

Waste Stream

In the United States, welfare is a large and complex social institution that provides income and benefits to exceptionally low-income individuals and families. Welfare requires participation in a federally approved work-training program, or to be employed. This stipulation often infringes on recipient’s ability to care for their family or to obtain an education, so some people think that it perpetuates an individual’s need for welfare; however, it can also be seen as a way of providing training to those who do not have effective self-management or employment skills.

Animal Welfare

Welfare:

Farming Practices

Charitable Career Assistance:

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Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program A: Social Trellises

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program A: Social Trellises - Jewish Sources Mishna, Avot, 1:5 Yosi ben Yochanan of Jerusalem said: Let your house be wide open and let the poor be members of thy household.

Dvarim 14:22 Tithe you shall tithe all the produce of your seed which is brought forth from the field every year.

VaYikra 19:9-10 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not complete your reaping to the corner of the field, and the gleanings of your harvest you shall not take… for the poor… you shall leave them.

VaYikra 25:35 If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him… so that he can live with you.

Rambam, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 10:7

“The highest degree, exceeded by none, is that of the person who assists a poor Jew by (a) providing him with a gift or a loan or (b) by accepting him into a business partnership or (c) by helping him find employment--in a word, by putting him where he can dispense with other people’s aid. With reference to such aid, it is said, ‘You shall strengthen him, be he a stranger or a settler, he shall live with you’ (Leviticus 25:35), which means strengthen him in such a manner that his falling into want is prevented.”

Proverb

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime

Goal: To explore the challenge of allocating and distributing resources fairly. Materials: lyrics to songs (below), poker chips, pen, pencils, speakers, paper Trigger Activity:

• Circle Up. Show campers the cartoon, “Be fruitful and multiply. Now divide.” • Ask: are there unlimited resources on this planet for all of our needs? In the event that our resources are limited, how do we divide them? • Have campers draw concentric circles depicting their own personal “Universe of Obligation.” • Ask: What are your charitable priorities? Is it fair to distinguish groups of people?

Reflection:

Parting Challenge:

Caring for Ourselves

Notice patterns in your own personal priorities: do you always prioritize one friend over another? Are there kids you tend to leave out? How can you be more generous with your time and energy to include more people in your own Universe of Obligation?

Caring for Others

What are some more fundamental ways that we can help solve a wide variety of these problems at once? Is there really such thing as limited resources?

Distribution of Wealth

• Hand out lyrics to Matt Bar’s “Cain and Abel” and Tupac Shakur’s “Changes” http:// www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/2pac/changes.html. Play songs. • Compare the two songs

Waste Stream

Activity B: (for older campers) (20 minutes)

Animal Welfare

• Split groups into representatives of different sized communities: synagogue, city, country, and world. • Give 50 poker chips (or another small object) to each group to allocate among some of the following categories: Education, Infrastructure and Transportation, Health, Environment, Research, Social Services, & Security. Give the groups some time to discuss, decide, and make a pie chart depicting their allocation decisions. • Have each group explain their decisions. • Show campers the chart of government spending in 2012 (7.b4). Make sure to point out that “Environment” is not even a category (it is lumped in with “Other”). What else do campers notice? How does the government’s chart compare to ours? • Are these priorities fair? Ethical? Just? What would the world look like if people cared to help every problem in the world equally?

Farming Practices

Activity A: (25-30 minutes)

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Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program B: Universe of Obligation

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program B: Universe of Obligation - Activity Resources

Circles of Obligation:

“Be Fruitful and Multiply…..Now Divide”

Farming Practices

Animal Welfare

Waste Stream

Distribution of Wealth

Caring for Others

Caring for Ourselves

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program B: Universe of Obligation - Activity Resources

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program B: Universe of Obligation

Mat Barr’s “Cain and Abel”

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Distribution of Wealth

CHORUS

Waste Stream

I go to work, I teach about Cain and Abel, some say it really happened some say it’s just a fable, it doesn’t matter to me, there’s something sadder to see, kicked out the garden, no pardon, yeah Cain and Abel are startin’, to live in the real world giving gifts to the Lord, poor Cain’s is rejected but he don’t know what for, mad at the Lord, he takes it out on Abel, with that murder, murder Mo murder Cain is willing and able. The blood started flowing til it wetted up the ground, the ground started moaning so the Lord came round, put that mark on his head, though he’s better off dead, when the people see him coming they’ll say there’s a fugitive. Yeah, he was a farmer, but now when he digs, the earth is wearing armor and his shovel’s made of twigs, cursed all his days til he faces the reaper, all Cain had to say for himself is.....

Animal Welfare

CHORUS: Am I my Brother’s, my brother’s keeper (x3) I’m all about my people, Ha Shomer Achi Anochi (x3) I’m all about my people.

Farming Practices

8 AM, I wake up and then, go back to sleep I ain’t wakin’ til 10, I make a bagel with the cream cheese, workin’ at three, until then i’m trying to take it easy. Turn on the T.V., loads of shows they just go so slow with those highs and lows, no - I ain’t feelin’ that, turn on the news and the news is revealin’ that: single mom going crazy, working two jobs can’t provide for her baby, people in Darfur like “who’s gonna save me? Enslave me?” Members of the government again acting shady, man on the streets next meal is a ‘maybe,’ it doesn’t even phase me, it’s not that I’m lazy, my coffee is warm and my bagel is tasty, so why would it phase me, let alone change me what that phrase be?

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Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program B: Universe of Obligation - Sources

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program B: Universe of Obligation - Jewish Sources Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 71a

If the choice lies between “my people” (Jews) and a non-Jew, ‘my people’ has preference; the poor or the rich — the ‘poor’ takes precedence; your poor [of your relatives] and the [general] poor of your town — your poor come first; the poor of your city and the poor of another town — the poor of your own town have prior rights.

Talmud Bavli Shabbat 54b

Whoever can prevent his household from committing a sin, but does not, is responsible for the sins of his household. If he can prevent his community, but does not, he is responsible for his community. If he can prevent the whole world, he is responsible for the whole world.

Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Man of Faith in the Modern World: Reflections of the Rav

The Modern Jew is entangled in the activities of the Gentile society in numerous ways economically, politically, culturally, and on some levels, socially. We share in the universal experience. The problems of humanity, war and peace, political stability or anarchy, morality or permissiveness, famine, epidemics, and pollution transcend the boundaries of ethnic groups. A stricken environment, both physical and ideological, can wreak havoc upon all groups...It is our duty as human beings to contribute our energies and creativity to alleviate the pressing needs and anguish of mankind and to contribute to its welfare.

How to Feed the World (Abridged) by Mark Bittman in the New York Times

Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Animal Welfare

Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/opinion/how-to-feed-the-world. html?ref=factoryfarming&_r=1&

Farming Practices

Something approaching a billion people are hungry, a number that’s been fairly stable for more than 50 years, although it has declined as a percentage of the total population. “Feeding the world” might as well be a marketing slogan for Big Agriculture, a euphemism for “Let’s ramp up sales.” But if it worked that way, surely the rate of hunger in the United States would not be the highest percentage of any developed nation, a rate closer to that of Indonesia than of Britain. There are hungry people not because food is lacking, but because not all of those calories go to feed humans (a third go to feed animals, nearly 5 percent are used to produce biofuels, and as much as a third is wasted, all along the food chain). The question “How will we feed the world?” implies that we have no choice but to intensify industrial agriculture, with more high-tech seeds, chemicals and collateral damage. Yet there are other, better options. The current system is neither environmentally nor economically sustainable, dependent as it is on fossil fuels and routinely resulting in environmental damage. It’s geared to letting the half of the planet with money eat well while everyone else scrambles to eat as cheaply as possible. While a billion people are hungry, about three billion people are not eating well, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, if you count obese and overweight people alongside those with micronutrient deficiencies. There are two food systems, one industrial and one of small landholders. Yes, it is true that high-yielding varieties of any major commercial monoculture crop will produce more per acre than small farm-bred varieties of the same crop. But by diversifying crops, mixing plants and animals, planting trees — which provide not only fruit but shelter for birds, shade, fertility through nutrient recycling, and more — small landholders can produce more food (and more kinds of food) with fewer resources and lower transportation costs (which means a lower carbon footprint), while providing greater food security, maintaining greater biodiversity, and even better withstanding the effects of climate change. If there’s a bright side here, it’s that the changes required to “fix” the problems created by “industrial agriculture” are perhaps more tractable than those created by inequality. We might begin by ditching the narrow focus on yields. Better, it would seem, would be to ask not how much food is produced, but how it’s produced, for whom, at what price, cost and benefit. We also need to see more investment in researching the benefits of traditional farming. This isn’t about “organic” versus “modern.” It’s about supporting the system in which small producers make decisions based on their knowledge and experience of their farms in the landscape, as opposed to buying standardized technological fixes in a bag. Some people call this knowledge-based rather than energy-based agriculture, but obviously it takes plenty of energy; as it happens, much of that energy is human, which can be a good thing. Frances Moore Lappé, author of “Diet for a Small Planet,” calls it “relational,” and says, “Agroecology is not just healthy sustainable food production but the seed of a different way of relating to one another, and to the earth.”

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Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program B: Universe of Obligation - Sources

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program C: Assessing our Needs Goal: To think critically about what we need, and what is superfluous. Materials: copies of Leave no Trace principles, Materials for Wilderness activity Timing: 15 min-1 hour (depending on activity) Activity: • Instruct campers to make a list of things they could not live without. • Show pictures of destruction caused by manufacturing of our modern luxuries and food. Show pictures of people living in places where there are fewer modern resources. • Show Maslow’s Triangle of Needs. Together, make a list of our Basic Needs (,food, shelter, etc.). • Lead the campers in a “wilderness survival” activity. • Options include: • Wild harvest walk: Print out pictures and descriptions of edible common plants, and lead the campers to an area where these plants can be found. Make sure not to include edibles that could be easily confused with poisonous plants! • Start a campfire with just one match. • Make bow drills (with older campers/ small group) http://www.wildwoodsurvival. com/survival/fire/bowdrill/pmoc/basicbowdrill.html • Create shelters in the wilderness. http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/ shelter/index.html • If it is possible to do so, make this an overnight “wilderness survival” activity. Teach the campers how to build a shelter in the woods forage for dinner, etc.

Reflection:

What is the difference between need and want?

Parting Challenge:

Try to live for one week without one of the luxuries you listed as a “thing you could not live without.”

Leave no Trace Ethics • • • • • • •

Plan Ahead and Prepare / Know Before You Go Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces / Choose The Right Path Dispose of Waste Properly / Trash Your Trash Leave What You Find / Leave What You Find Minimize Campfire Impacts / Be Careful With Fire Respect Wildlife Be Considerate of Other Visitors / Be Kind To Other Visitors

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Farming Practices

- from www.lnt.org

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program C: Assessing our Needs Our Fair Share: Activity Resources

Animal Welfare Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program C: Assessing our Needs Our Fair Share: Activity Resources

Living Minimally

http:// www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/ articles2/ a98706_rsz_emmaorbach.jpg

Shmot 20:11 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Shmot 16:16

Farming Practices

“Gather as much of it as each of you requires to eat, an omer to a person for as many of you as there are; each of you shall fetch for those in his tent. The Israelites did so, some gathering much, some little. But when they measured it by the omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no deficiency: they had gathered as much as they needed to eat.”

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Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program C: Assessing our Needs - Jewish Sources

Yishayahu 5:7-8 Animal Welfare

Kohelet 4:1,7-8

Caring for Ourselves

“Rabbi Yitschak Eisik said, The motto of life is ‘Give and Take’ Everyone must be both a giver and a receiver. He who is not is like a barren tree.”

Caring for Others

Martin Buber, Late Masters, p. 220

Distribution of Wealth

“I further observed all the oppression that goes on under the sun: the tears of the oppressed, with none to comfort them; and the power of their oppressors – with none to comfort them. And I have noted this further futility under the sun: the case of the man who is alone, with no companion, who has neither son nor brother, yet he amasses wealth without limit, and his eye is never sated with riches. For whom, now, is he amassing it while denying himself enjoyment? That too is a futility and an unhappy business.”

Waste Stream

“God hoped for justice, and behold, injustice; for equity, But behold, iniquity! Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, till there is room for no one but you to dwell in the land!”

Chapter 7: Distribution of Wealth Program C: Assessing our Needs Consumerism and its antisocial effects can be turned on—or off:

Money doesn’t buy happiness. Neither does materialism: Research shows that people who place a high value on wealth, status, and stuff are more depressed and anxious and less sociable than those who do not. Now new research shows that materialism is not just a personal problem. It’s also environmental. “We found that irrespective of personality, in situations that activate a consumer mindset, people show the same sorts of problematic patterns in wellbeing, including negative affect and social disengagement,” says Northwestern University psychologist Galen V. Bodenhausen. In two of four experiments, university students were put in a materialistic frame of mind by tasks that exposed them to images of luxury goods or words mobilizing consumerist values (versus neutral scenes devoid of consumer products or words without such connotations). Completing questionnaires afterwards, those who looked at the pictures of cars, electronics, and jewelry rated themselves higher in depression and anxiety, less interested in social activities like parties, and more in solitary pursuits than the others. Those primed to materialism by exposure to certain words evinced more competitiveness and less desire to invest their time in pro-social activities like working for a good cause. The findings have both social and personal implications, says Bodenhausen. “It’s become commonplace to use consumer as a generic term for people,” and therefore to put people in the constant mind frame of consumption. We can also take personal initiative to reduce the depressive, isolating effects of a materialist mindset by avoiding its stimulants—most obviously, advertising. One method: “Watch less TV.” http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/consumerism-andits-antisocial-effects-can-be-turned-onor-off.html

Video About the Effects of Overconsumption: http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-stuff/

Program A: Biodiversity in the Bunk

Goal: To appreciate each others’ unique qualities, and to better support each

other. (This is an especially helpful activity for a group with a clique problem, or one in which bullying has been an issue.)

Materials: pens, copies of charts Timing: 45 mintues Activity:

Farming Practices Animal Welfare

• HAND OUT pens and the Veggie Metaphor Chart • Have campers sit next to a plant. of their choice, and complete the Veggie Metaphor Chart, alone, filling out the names of any friends/members of the bunk, etc. • FACILITATE the Statements of Support activity. This time, encourage campers to select different people than those they wrote about in the chart. • LEAD the group in an activity of trust falls, allowing the counselor to create pairs that may need some help fostering a healthier relationship. (Use a different trust activity if you prefer.)

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Chapter 8: Caring for Others

Reflection:

Parting Challenge:

Each day, spend quality time with someone new in your bunk.

Waste Stream

Does the group feel more cohesive now than it did before? Do we want the social dynamics in the bunk to change ?

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program A: Biodiversity in the Bunk - Activity Resources

Veggie Metaphors For each of the following, read aloud and have the campers match their answer with the specific part of the plant. 1. ROOTS: a. Grounds the plant to the earth, soaking up water and food nutrients. b. Who in our bunk is grounded and down to earth? 2. LEAVES: a. Catch the rays of sun and bring energy to the plant through photosythensis b. Who brings energy to the group? 3. FLOWERS: a. Attracting insects and animals, the beautiful and colorful life-saving addition. b. Who brightens our group and connects you to others? 4. STEMS: a. The spine and nervous system of the plant, carries water throughout the body. b. Who is a strong resource for support in our group? 5. FRUIT: a. Juicy and Delicious. Gives and sustains life. b. Who brings sweetness to your life? 6. SEEDS: a. Ensures that its genes will live on. Future-oriented part of the plant. b. Who are your friends that will be with you well into the future? 7. BRANCHES/ VINES: a. Which part of the plant spreads out in different directions? b. Who is unique, forging his/her own path?

VEGGIE METAPHOR CHART: Plant Part

Friend

Roots Leaves Flowers Stems Fruit Seeds Branches/vines

STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT:

Divide the group into two: one circle on the inside and one on the outside. The outside circle should close their eyes and keep them closed. The inside circle should keep their eyes open. After each statement is read, campers in the inside circle should gently tap on the shoulder of those campers in the outside circle to whom the statement applies, as a way of showing appreciation for the support these people have given. After reading all of the statements, switch roles and read the statements again. Make sure that no one is left out of being tapped by encouraging campers to tap different people than they wrote about in the Veggie Metaphors chart.

Tap a person on the shoulder who:

Farming Practices Animal Welfare Waste Stream

• Made you smile when you were feeling bad • Made you feel comfortable • You saw helping someone in need • Helped you or someone else to grow • Wakes up with gratitude • Did a favor for you or someone else • Taught you something • Helped you appreciate what you didn’t before • Inspires you • Encouraged you to push yourself • Brings love to camp • Cares about you • Helps to make camp a better place • You want to become better friends with • Is passionate

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Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program A: Biodiversity in the Bunk

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program A: Biodiversity in the Bunk - Jewish Sources Vayikra 19:18 Love your friend as yourself.

Morning Declaration I hereby accept upon myself the commandment of the creator, “love your friend as yourself.”

Pirkei Avot 1:6 “Make for yourself a teacher, and acquire for yourself a friend, and judge everyone favorably.”

Avot d’Rabbi Natan 8

“How does one acquire a friend? By eating together, reading together, studying together, sleeping together and revealing one’s secrets: both Torah secrets and everyday secrets.”

Rebbe Nachman of Bratslov- Likutei Mohoran

Judge all people favorably. This applies even to the worst of people. You must search until you find some little bit of good in them. In that good place inside them, they are not bad! If you can just find this little bit of good and judge them favorably, you really can elevate them and swing the scales of judgment in their favor. This way you can bring them back to God. This teaching is contained in the words of King David in the Psalms: “And in just a little bit there’s no sinner; when you think about his place, he won’t be there” (Psalm 37:10). King David is teaching us to judge everyone favorably. Even if you consider someone to be totally bad, you must still search until you find some little bit of good in him. Maybe he’s a bad person. Even so, is it really possible that he is totally devoid of even the slightest modicum of good? How could it be that all his life he never once did anything good? By finding one tiny good point in which he is not bad and thereby judging him favorably, you really do raise him from being guilty to having merit. This will bring him back to God. “In just a little bit there’s no sinner!” By finding this little bit of good in the bad person, this place inside him where he is not wicked, through this “...when you think about his place, he won’t be there.” When you examine his “place” and level, “he won’t be there” in his original place. For by finding some little bit of good in him and judging him favorably, you genuinely raise him from guilt to merit. And “when you think about his place, he won’t be there”. Understand this well.

Goal: Participants will characterize and evaluate different ways of relating to suffering.

Materials: Any craft supplies to make donation boxes. Timing: 45 mintues Activity:

Farming Practices Animal Welfare

• HAND OUT the “How do you relate to suffering?” survey, and allow campers a couple of minutes to fill it out. • EXPLAIN that each possible answer in the survey offers an example of how we might relate to suffering. Read the explanations for indifference, pity, empathy and solidarity out loud. • DISCUSS: How might we be able to share our harvest with the food pantry in a relationship closest to “solidarity.” What would that look like? What are the challenges? Why is it important? • Make donation boxes, then decorate them. These can be any size, material, etc. decide what the donations will collect (money, canned foods, clothing, etc.). They can be meant to stay in camp, or to take home.

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Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program B: How We Share - ‫אחריות‬

Reflection:

Parting Challenge:

When a friend tells you about a challenge s/he is facing, try to listen to her/him and respond from a place of solidarity.

Waste Stream

How can we communicate with people from a place of solidarity rather than pity?

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program B: How We Share - ‫ אחריות‬- Survey How do you relate to suffering?

Disclaimer: There is a lot here, and you will not fall into the categories perfectly. These prompts springboards for discussion and should not be taken literally. 1. You are walking down the street and a poor person asks you for money. a. Your phone starts ringing, and you rush to pick it up, walking right past the man. b. You feel bad for him, and hand him a dollar and some change from your pocket. c. You give him half of your sandwich, and sit down on a stoop to eat it with him, sharing stories from both of your lives. d. After giving him some food, you ask about local options for homeless people to get food. Learning that those options are limited, you work to open a soup kitchen 2. Your friend calls, crying about a fight she had with her mom. You: a. Distract her by telling a funny story from your day. b. Tell her how sorry you are for her, and feel lucky you are to have a good relationship with your mom. c. Listen to her story, and it makes you cry to think of how hard a time she is having. d. Listen to her story and help her come up with solutions of how she can improve her relationship with her mom. 3. A kid in your bunk bothers you sometimes, and is occasionally bullied by others. You overhear some kids making fun of him. You: a. Go hang out somewhere else. b. Quietly whisper to a friend that you don’t like how those kids are acting, but feel grateful that it isn’t you being bullied. c. Stand up for him, and tell the kid that you’re there for him if he needs to talk. d. Ask your counselor to initiate a group discussion/ activity about bullying, and hang out with the kid who is being bullied so he will have a friend. 4. With all the knowledge you have learned from working at the Amir Garden this summer, you are leading a group in your school garden. A kid with special needs asks if he can help. a. Tell him no. b. Nicely tell the kid that you don’t need any help, but he is welcome to hang out there if he wants. You feel bad for him, but he might interrupt the project on which you are working. c. Invite him to help out in the garden d. Institute a special day of the week for marginalized members of the community to work alongside other volunteers.

If your responses were...

...mostly A’s: Indifference A lack of interest or concern. “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” -Elie Wiesel ...mostly B’s: Pity A feeling of sadness because somebody else is in trouble or pain. “Charity involves a distance between the server and the served. In a charitable act, one person is clearly doing something for someone else, usually with some feeling of pity. While charity can help others, it can also emanate from an attempt to alleviate one’s guilt or to feel superior to others.” -from Community ServiceLearning, Rahima Wade

Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth

Another Disclaimer: Try not to get caught up in the semantics. If you feel a different word represents these actions better, then use this to engage campers in conversation about word-choice and how we relate to others.

Animal Welfare

...mostly D’s: Solidarity Harmony of interests and responsibilities among individuals in a group, especially as manifested in unanimous support and collective action for something. “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, let us work together.” –Lila Watson, Australian Aboriginal activist

Farming Practices

...mostly C’s: Empathy Ability to identify with another person’s feelings or difficulties. “[An “empathic justice”] seeks to make people identify themselves with each other– with each other’s needs, with each other’s hopes and aspirations, with each other’s defeats and frustrations.” -Rabbi Emanuel Rackman

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Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program B: How We Share - ‫ אחריות‬- Survey

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program B: How We Share - ‫ אחריות‬- Jewish Sources Jewish Folk Tale

Two brothers lived on two sides of a mountain. One was rich but had no children, one had many children but was very poor. The rich brother thought, I have so much my brother has so little, let me secretly cross the mountain in the middle of the night and bring my brother extra crop. The poor brother said, I derive so much happiness from my children, let me secretly bring my brother some of my crop so he could have a little extra joy in this world. And so it went every night each of the brothers secretly crossed the mountain to bring their brother food. Every morning the brothers would inspect their stock to learn nothing was missing. Neither could explain the phenomena but they thanked God for His kindness and continued in their good will. After years of this routine a schedule change occurred. Instead of the two brothers missing each other in the night, there on top of the mountain the two brothers met. They looked at each other in surprise and then simultaneously realized what had been happening for all the years. They both spontaneously embraced one another there on top of the mountain as they cried for joy. Who these two brothers were we do not know, but it was on that mountain top, says the Midrash that God decided the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple, should be built.

Pirkei Avot 2:13 “Your friend’s honor should be as precious to you as your own.”

Jonathan Sacks, To Heal A Fractured World, pg. 5

“We are here to make a difference, to mend the fractures of the world, a day at a time, an act at a time, for as long as it takes to make it a place of justice and compassion where the lonely are not alone, the poor not without help; where the cry of the vulnerable is heeded and those who are wronged are heard.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

“God asks for the heart, and we must spell out our answer in deeds.”

Goal: To explore the harms of gossip while also learning interesting facts about plants.

Materials: vegetable fun facts on index cards Timing: 30 mintues Activity:

What can we do if we find ourselves surrounded by people who are gossiping, or if a friend tries to engage you in gossip?

Pick one waking hour per day to consciously avoid any kind of gossip. Once you feel comfortable with that, increase it to two hours or more.

Waste Stream

Parting Challenge:

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• HAND OUT each camper a fact sheet with several strange facts about one crop in the garden. • ASK campers to choose two “true” facts and to come up with one believable “fake” fact about the crop. • Every player gets a turn to tell his/her two truths and lie. The others try to guess which is the lie. • DISCUSS: Can you believe everything you hear? Why do people start rumors? If a piece of gossip is true, is it okay to spread it?

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Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program C: Tomato Juicy Gossip - Lashon Harah

Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 8: Caring for Others Program C: Tomato Juicy Gossip - Jewish Sources Vayikra 19:16 “You shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people. Neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.”

Bamidbar 12:1-3

“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?”And the Lord heard this. Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth”

Rashi, bamidbar 12:1-3

Now if Miriam, who did not intend to disparage him [Moses] was punished, all the more so someone who [intentionally] disparages his fellow.

Babylonian Talmud, tractate Arakhin, page 15b “Why is gossip like a three-pronged tongue? Because it kills three people: the person who says it, the person who listens to it, and the person about whom it is said.”

Talmud Sanhedrin 31a “It was rumoured of a certain disciple that he revealed a matter stated [as a secret] in the house of study twenty-two years before. So R. Ammi expelled him from the house of study saying: This man reveals secrets.”

Rambam, Laws of Character Development 6:8 It is forbidden to call someone by a name they dislike.

Program A: Uprooting Bad Habits - Self Improvement Goal: Campers will use the metaphor of weeding as a springboard for self-reflection and as an impetus for self-improvement.

Materials: pen, pencils, markers, paper Timing: 20 minutes Activity:

Caring for Ourselves

Caring for Others

Focus this week on uprooting one bad habit you thought about today.

Distribution of Wealth

Parting Challenge:

Waste Stream

A “weed” is just another name for a plant for which we see no use, but many weeds are actually edible or have medicinal qualities. What are some behaviors that seem on the surface like “bad habits” but are, in fact, helpful if used properly?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• BRAINSTORM some of the bad habits that we might want to get rid of. Write a running list on a poster. • Have each camper WRITE down their own personal list of “weed habits,” and a “root” cause of those habits. (eg. Bad Habit = cursing a lot; Root Cause = trying to be “cool”) • DEMONSTRATE pulling a weed out when you simply pluck off the stem but don’t get its roots. Now dig up the roots, and show how they will continue growing if you leave them underground. • ENCOURAGE quiet reflection while campers weed.. • Discuss the different ways of disposing of weeds, and use this to think about different ways of eliminating bad habits: • Mulch/ Compost Weeds: Channeling energy in bad habits toward healthier pursuits • Letting Weeds Dry in the Sun: Gradually helping bad habits fade away • Burning: Destroying bad habits completely • What are the benefits of each of these methods? What are the potential risks?

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Chapter 9: Caring for Ourselves

Chapter 9: Caring for Ourselves Program A: Uprooting Bad Habits - Jewish Sources Siddur Olat R’aya, vol. 1, p. 267

“Rav Kooksees bowing and straightening up as a metaphor for two stages of personal development. People begin with all sorts of negative forces they need to weed out, suppress, and destroy. This is difficult work that demands a lot of subjugation — of ego, and of negative inner forces in general. This is the bowing stage of development, where we bend ourselves in an attempt to destroy the problematic elements within us. However, teaches Rav Kook, subjugation and self-negation are a preparatory stage of development. “The goal is to shine with the light of God with an abundance of strength and joy. There all of the powers of the soul straighten up and endure with much courage and an elevated and lofty life force.” First we bow, but then we straighten up.” http://www.darchenoam.org/humility-and-self-esteem/

Hasidic Story

Reb Zusha was laying on his deathbed surrounded by his disciples. He was crying and no one could comfort him. One student asked his Rebbe, “Why do you cry? You were almost as wise as Moses and as kind as Abraham.” Reb Zusha answered, “When I pass from this world and appear before the Heavenly Tribunal, they won’t ask me, ‘Zusha, why weren’t you as wise as Moses or as kind as Abraham,’ rather, they will ask me, ‘Zusha, why weren’t you Zusha?’ Why didn’t I fulfill my potential, why didn’t I follow the path that could have been mine.”

Chovot Halevavot, Shaar Hakeniya chap 2

“Humility can be divided into three parts: The first is common to man as well as many types of animals, and that is a weakness of spirit, and tolerance of avoidable abuse because one lacks the intelligence with which to evade it. This pertains to unintelligent people and ignoramuses, because they lack knowledge and are unaware of their own self worth worth. This trait is colloquially called “humility,” but in reality it is not humility at all but rather weakness and blindness that results from unintelligence. Real humility comes after one has achieved loftiness of spirit; has risen above the lowly habits of animals; and has become elevated above the character traits of lowly people, through wisdom and nobility and a clear knowledge of [one’s] various good and bad character traits. When, additional to all this, one is able to become humble, this is in fact a noble trait. Otherwise, “humility” is not one of the positive character traits at all, but rather a negative one, no different than the humility [i.e., lack of self-assertiveness] attributed to animals.”

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Goal: Campers will learn how to create “sacred space,” and to intentionally create time to take care of themselves.

Materials:

Pen/pencils/markers, paper

Timing: 30 minutes Activity:

Farming Practices Animal Welfare Waste Stream

• SHARE with campers about a sacred space, routine, or ritual you have for selfcare, and ask them to share about their own sacred spaces. • Distribute pen and paper to each camper • Instruct each campers to CHOOSE a secluded spot in the garden or in the woods nearby, away from friends or other distractions. • Once in their space, campers should draw a map of the location. They should note where the sun is, what plants are around them, where the wind comes from, what colors they see, etc. Encourage creativity and artistry. • After finishing their maps, campers should spend a significant amount of time in their space, during which they can do the following. • Sit quietly and observe their surroundings • Close their eyes and meditate, focusing on their breathing • Pray (with Jewish liturgy or with personal prayer) • Draw • Write in a journal • Stretch • Anything else that encourages inner reflection and does not disturb the group

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Chapter 9: Caring for Ourselves Program B: Sacred Space

Reflection:

Parting Challenge:

Learn to recognize times when you need some space to yourself, and return to your sacred space over the course of the next week a.

Distribution of Wealth

How did you feel while you entered your sacred space? How do you feel now?

Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

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Chapter 9: Caring for Ourselves Program B: Sacred Space - Jewish Sources Babylonian Talmud, 6b

“R. Helbo, in the name of R. Huna, says: Whosoever has a fixed place for his prayer has the God of Abraham as his helper. And when he dies, people will say of him: Where is the pious man, where is the humble man, one of the disciples of our father Abraham! — How do we know that our father Abraham had a fixed place [for his prayer]? For it is written: And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood. And ‘standing’ means nothing else but prayer.”

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 90:19

“A person should establish a place for his prayers.”

Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav’s prayer Master of the universe grant me the ability to be alone; May it be my custom to go outdoors each day Among the trees and the grass, Among all growing things; And, there may I be alone to enter into prayer There I may express all that is in my heart Talking to you, the one to whom I belong.

Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav, “In the Meadow”

Noam Elimelech

“Wherever people stand is holy ground. Whatever spot on earth you occupy can be sanctified to God.”

Jewish Folk Tale

The child of a certain rabbi used to wander in the woods. At first his father let him wander, but over time he became concerned. The woods were dangerous. The father did not know what lurked there. He decided to discuss the matter with his child. One day he took him aside and said, “You know, I have noticed that each day you walk into the woods. I wonder, why you go there?” The boy said to is father, “ I go there to find God.” “ That is a very good thing,” the father replied gently. “I am glad you are searching for God. But, my child, don’t you know that God is the same everywhere?” “Yes,” the boy answered, “but I’m not.”

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Goal: To give campers an appreciation for and to teach them some of the many uses of plants.

Materials: ingredients and materials depend on the natural healer you make (see below)

Timing: 30 min-1 hour (depending on activity) Activity:

Caring for Ourselves

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Caring for Others

If someone in your bunk gets a cut this week, look around for some plantain and make a poultice! Keep an eye out for any other wild medicines you might find. *Medical disclaimer: Please check with your camp’s medical staff before administering any of these, as many camps have strict health regulations. You can use it as an opportunity to educate the infirmary if they are unaware of these herbal remedies.

Distribution of Wealth

Parting Challenge:

Waste Stream

Over tea, reflect and discuss together: What are the benefits of natural healing? Why is it not more popular today? How is herbalism a global social justice issue?

Animal Welfare

Reflection:

Farming Practices

• Before campers arrive, SET UP each recipe. PLACE ingredients and an example of a finished product at different stations. • ASK: what do you do when you get sick? Has anyone ever been to an herbalist? • EXPLAIN: Using herbs and natural products as medicines allows us to take our health into our own hands. For many minor ailments, we can learn to take care of ourselves with plants found in our own backyard. Additionally, herbal medicine focuses on holistic health: keeping our bodies healthy, rather than healing them once they become sick. • Four groups of campers will rotate through the various stations. At each station, they will try the finished product, discuss its effects, and prepare the recipe for themselves. • The four stations are: • Dandelion Salve • Lemon Balm and Honey Puree • Plantain Oil and Poultice • Herbal Tea

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 9: Caring for Ourselves Program C: Natural Healers

Activity Resources Visit the following websites for recipes for each of these natural healers: Dandelion Salve: http://thenerdyfarmwife.com/dandelion-salve-recipe/ Lemon Balm and Honey Puree: http://www.nyrnaturalnews.com/article/recipe-lemon-balm-and-honey-puree/ Plaintain Poultice: http://www.instructables.com/id/Plantain-Poultice-Boils-Blisters-Bug-Bites/ Herbal Tea - Digestive Relaxer: (Pepperment/Chamomile) http://tigereyedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-healing-herbal-tea-recipes.html

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Mishlei, 11:17

“He who does good to his own person is a man of piety.”

Genesis 3:19

“By the sweat of your brow shall you get bread to eat”

Rambam, Hilchot De’ot 4:14-15

“As long as a person exercises and exerts himself…sickness does not befall him and his strength increases…. But one who is idle and does not exercise…even if he eats healthy foods and maintains healthy habits, all his days will be of ailment and his strength will diminish.”

Animal Welfare

“Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who formed man with wisdom and created within him many openings and many hollows (cavities). It is obvious and known before Your Throne of Glory that if but one of them were to be ruptured or if one of them were to be blocked it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You (even for a short period of time). Blessed are You, Hashem, Who heals all flesh and acts wonderously.”

Farming Practices

Blessing of Asher Yatzar, recited after using the restroom to appreciate healthy bodily functions

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Chapter 9: Caring for Ourselves Program C: Natural Healers - Jewish Sources

Waste Stream Distribution of Wealth Caring for Others Caring for Ourselves

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Chapter 9: Caring for Ourselves Program D: Eating Meditation Goal: Campers will learn to eat more slowly, and to contemplate the purpose and experience of bringing food into our bodies.

Materials: fruits and vegetables to eat Timing: 15 minutes Activity: • INSTRUCT campers to harvest a vegetable from the garden and to bring it to the circle. • READ the following quote: “Chew with all your teeth, and you will find strength in your legs” - Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 152a. Discuss the benefits of eating in a focused and intentional way. • EXPLAIN: We are going to have a race to eat our vegetables. But, instead of a race to eat the quickest, we will race to see who can eat the slowest. • LEAD an eating meditation • (for more ideas/prompts, see http://www.metatronics.net/eat/): • Start by just touching the vegetable. Smell it, look closely at it, feel it on your cheek. • Slowly take a tiny bite. Feel it between your teeth, on your tongue, in one cheek and then the other. Explore. Think of words to describe the taste. • Give the campers time to eat the vegetable. • Reconvene and have the campers discuss their experience.

Reflection:

Why did we do this eating meditation?

Parting Challenge:

Make a conscious effort to eat slowly and intentionally for at least one meal this week. Try this with foods you like a lot and with foods you do not like as much. Notice changes in your experience of eating, the quantity of food you eat, which foods you choose to eat, etc. Also, make an effort to say a blessing before eating.. You can say a traditional Jewish blessing or one of your own invention.

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Jewish Blessings on Eating Food Blessing on bread:

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam Hamotzi lechem min haaretz. Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.

Blessing on other grain based foods:

Blessing on wine or grape juice:

Animal Welfare

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam borei pri hagafen. Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.

Farming Practices

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam borei minei mezonot. Blessed are you L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, Who creates various kinds of sustenance.

Acute Chronic Relationship Environmental Environmental with Nature Impact Impact

Chapter 9: Caring for Ourselves Program D: Eating Meditation

Blessing on perennials:

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam borei pri ha-adamah. Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe who creates the fruit of the earth.

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Caring for Ourselves

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam shehakol nihiyah bed’varo. Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, by Whose word all things came to be.

Caring for Others

Blessing on all other foods:

Distribution of Wealth

Blessing on annuals:

Waste Stream

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam borei pri ha-aitz. Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.

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Supplemental Programming Program 1: Sign Making Goal: To engage campers with the garden while beautifying and creating organization within it.

Materials: Scrap wood or plywood, paint + paint supplies, tarp or drop-cloth Timing: 15-45 minutes Activity: • Set up scrap-wood or plywood, paint, paintbrushes, water cups, and any other art supplies on the tarp or protective covering before campers arrive. • Split campers into groups; assign each group the task of creating signs for various plants in the garden. Some ideas for signs: • Label each plant in English and Hebrew, incorporating pictures into the signs • Write Garden quotes and decorate • Create informative signs about biological processes around the garden (beneficial insects, compost, etc.) • Garden rules and guidelines • Erect the signs. Hammer the finished plywood signs onto the wooden stakes and hammer signs into appropriate areas of the garden. Other signs can be hung on fences, trees, etc.

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Supplemental Programming Program 1: Sign Making

Quotes for Sign-Making Midrash, Talmud Bavli Taanit 23a

“Just like my ancestors planted trees for me, so too will my trees provide for my children”

Place this sign at the corners of the field: VaYikra 19:9

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest… but you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger; I the Eternal am your God.”

Devarim 24:19

When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to take it. It shall be for the convert, for the orphan, and for the widow; so that Hashem your G-d may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Dvarim 8:10

“You shall eat and be satisfied and bless Hashem your god on the good land that has been given to you.”

Kohelet Rabbah 7:13

“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.”

Breishit 2:15

“And the Lord took Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and guard it.”

Midrash Sifre 20:19

“If not for the trees, human life could not exist.”

Avot d’ Rabbi Natan 31b

“Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai used to say, ‘If you have a sapling in your hand and you are told that the Messiah has come, first plant the sapling and then go welcome the Messiah.’”

Rebbe Nahman

Every blade of grass sings poetry to God

Rebbe Nahman’s Prayer

Master of the universe grant me the ability to be alone; May it be my custom to go outdoors each day

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Among the trees and the grass, Among all growing things; And, there may I be alone to enter into prayer There I may express all that is in my heart Talking to you, the one to whom I belong

Vayikra 19:18

Love your friend as yourself.

Pirkei Avot 2:19

It is not upon you to complete the work, and neither are you free to exempt yourself from it.”

Shemot 3:5

“The place on which you stand, it is holy ground.”

Near Compost Pile: Tehillim 118:22

The stone that the builders rejected will become the head-corner stone.

Daniel 12:2

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life.

Yeshayahu 45:18

“The designer and maker of the earth established the earth, not creating it to be a waste, but designing it to be lived in.”

Lila Watson, Australian Aboriginal activist

If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, let us work together.

John Muir

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”

Albert Einstein

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Deuteronomy 23:14

“And thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons; and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee.”

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Supplemental Programming Hebrew Names for Vegetables ARTICHOKE BEETS BROCCOLI CABBAGE CANTALOUPE CARROTS CAULIFLOWER CORN CUCUMBER EGGPLANT GREEN BEANS KALE KOLRABI LETTUCE OCRA ONION PEAS PEPPER PEPPERMINT PUMPKIN RADISHES SPINACH SQUASH STRAWBERRIES TOMATO WATERMELON ZUCCHINI

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Supplemental Programming Program 2: Step Up, Step Back Goal: Cultivate a group dynamic where all voices are embraced. Enable participants to gain increased self-awareness and challenge campers to reflect on their behavioral patterns.

Timing: 5 - 30 minutes Activity:

• Gather everyone in a circle. Designate a special object (a rock, pinecone, etc.) as the “speaking object.” Whoever holds this object is the only one permitted to speak. Ask some questions about campers’ interest in gardening. After a few minutes, hold the conversation and ask, “Does everyone talk the same amount?” • Introduce the idea that there is a spectrum of “frequent talkers” and “infrequent talkers.” • Have campers split themselves up into two different groups; people who talk a lot, and people who are more shy. Campers should self-identify and not identify one another. • In the two groups, have facilitators lead a discussion about what it is like to be a frequent talker or infrequent talker. Ask: • Do you think about how much or when you speak? • What are the benefits and drawbacks to speaking up or speaking less? • Within their groups, have each camper find a partner, or assign partners. Run “Peer Listening”: provide a discussion question and three minutes to answer. The question should be simple, like, “What’s your favorite thing about the garden?” or “What’s the best part of camp?” As one person responds, the other listens. The listeners cannot respond in any way. After the set amount of time, reverse roles. • Come back together as an entire group and share experiences. Explain that for this discussion, you will not be using the speaking object, and that everyone should try to be conscious of his or her participation and step-up or step-back in contrast to their normal pattern of behavior.

Reflection:

Growing a vegetable garden is partially about breaking societal norms of behavior (like buying in the store) to try out a new paradigm (like growing food ourselves). Which of our other patterns can we attempt shifting?

Parting Challenge:

Try to change one habit this week, just to see what it feels like. Brush your teeth with your less dominant hand, spend time with a group of friends you don’t know so well, etc.

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Supplemental Programming Program 3: Garden Covenant Making Goal: To create a covenant that commits us to a positive standard of behavior toward the garden, each other, ourselves and the world.

Materials: Butcher paper, markers, index cards or post-it notes, wood, paint. Timing: 30 minutes Activity:

• Write these questions on a piece of butcher paper. • How do I want to be treated by others while I am here? • If I were the garden, how would I want to be treated? • Split campers into pairs and ask them to share and discuss their responses to the questions. Have them choose their three most valued answers on the sticky notes. • Bring the entire group back together. Have every pair post their three sticky notes. • As a group, agree upon the ten or so ideas you would like to include in your covenant. Be sure to be sensitive to every participant’s opinion in this process. • Once the group has created a covenant, paint it on the wood. Make sure to leave space for their signatures and the signatures of future campers. Decorate and place the covenant somewhere visible in the garden, where it will stay throughout the summer. • When new campers arrive at the garden, review the covenant and invite them to sign. You can return to this agreement throughout the summer as a way to reinforce positive and respectful behavior.

Reflection:

This covenant was made with people who are close to us. How can we create a covenant with people who are farther away?

Parting Challenge:

Help each other remember to keep the covenant even when not in the garden.

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Letter From The Founder I created Amir because I fell in love with informal education after my three-years as a camp counselor. When I attended camp as a child, I didn’t quite realize what was happening to me educational and socially. When I was 20-years old, though, I realized that while I learned a lot in the classroom, my sprit, emotional fortitude, and social consciousness grew exponentially while I was at summer camp. Amir began with the dream of building multiple camps dedicated to our mission of creating an environmentally conscious and socially just future. The camps would have huge, awesome farms that kids would work in. We’d use the farm as a conduit to express how the Earth is our greatest common denominator, and to learn that no matter our physical, intellectual, religious, etc. differences, we are all one of the same and part of a larger challenge to create a sustainable and healthy world. Camp was the medium to tap into a child’s heart and mind, and to channel their energy for good. I piloted the project in 2010, and it became immediately clear that this project should spread like wildfire throughout. Today, I’m honored to lead this incredible organization that now helps twenty-three (23) summer camps build social-action Amir Gardens. All of you Farmers that are using this Sourcebook (and reading this letter) have a great challenge ahead of you. You can look at it as though this summer is your personal project and challenge, and that would be fine. But if you ask me, your challenge is much greater. First, you have to commit yourself to a life of the pursuit of justice. There are multiple ways to accomplish this, of course, but that is of utmost importance to me. Second, you have to transmit this philosophy to your campers and fellow staff. We have to be committed – within ourselves, and throughout our actions – to building a more environmentally conscious and socially just world. You have the opportunity to impact the hearts and minds of over two-hundred people this summer. More powerful than being a bunk counselor is that you get to see almost every child this summer. Reach them. Teach them. Change them. We need you to do this. That’s why you’re here with Amir, that’s why the camps sign up for our program, that’s why Amir staff is here, and that’s what the campers really want. They want the permission to be Agents of Social Change. Give them that permission. Enlighten, Inspire, and Empower them to change the world. In doing so, YOU will be changing the world. Best of luck for a great summer 2014, and I look forward to sharing this life’s journey with each of you. Sincerely, David M. Fox

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