Gil Peled: knows how to get resultsOne thing Israelis aren't short on: Talk.  So it’s a reassuring sign of the times that whether it’s climate change, the rapidly shrinking Dead Sea, or the way urban pollution effects everyday quality of life, the environment—HaSviva—is becoming a much more common topic of conversation.

It hasn't always been that way. Gil Peled, an Israeli architect and green building consultant, explains, “Now everyone is aware of environmental problems, but when we had suicide bombers up the road it was the last thing on people’s minds."

Fortunately, converting talk into action is precisely what Peled’s Eco-Housing Pilot Project has been doing. Like so many people in the country, Peled lives in a stone-brick apartment block erected two generations ago when the national priority was ‘building the land’ rather than ‘saving the planet’. But what sets Peled’s building in central Jerusalem apart from the others nearby is that the residents have reduced their ecological footprint by over 30% since the project began in 2002.

The trademark stone floors and thin walls work well in the summer, letting heat escape, but that same lack of insulation becomes a burden during the icy Jerusalem winter. I’m not alone in huddling around an electricity-hungry portable heater from December to February. Not exactly what the Jewish Agency promised… And when it comes to recycling, if there’s a deposit box for newspapers or plastic bottles at the end of the street then you’re one of the lucky ones.

Jerusalem's Eco-Housing Pilot Project: shows that it's possible to turn talk into actionNu, so how is it possible to ‘green’ a 50 year-old building, not to mention stubborn stuck-in-their-ways Israelis? For Peled, the most important thing was to green people’s attitudes. “It’s easy to jump on technological solutions, but it’s really a matter of changing people’s behavior,” he says.

Now, with the full participation of the ten apartments in the building, they have succeeded in reducing their resource consumption via simple changes like recycling, using energy-efficient appliances, and harvesting rainwater from the roof to feed plants in the garden—itself a reclaimed patch of wasteland. “The place was very neglected and in disrepair and we’ve taken responsibility of our environment,” says Peled.

The Eco-Housing Project is the first—and remains the only—green apartment building in Israel. Peled notes that it’s much easier to design green housing when building from scratch, pointing to a number of independent projects in the Negev and Galilee doing just that. However, he argues that “detached housing is, by definition, un-ecological” because of the roads and infrastructure needed, not to mention the extra space required in a land-scare country.

The building, which over 20 people currently call home, has seen tenants come and go, but their enthusiasm hasn’t waned. “They didn’t come here because they were ‘green’, but when they arrived they understood that there is something special here,“ explains Peled with satisfaction.

Whether you're contemplating your first or fifteenth trip to Israel, the following destinations are unique, hidden gems that won’t be crawling with tour groups.  Birthright, Ulpan, and Federation trip alums can rest assured that these won't be repeats.

Care For Some: Biblical grass?1. Stroll in Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve
You may have already visited the amazing Biblical Zoo, but how about a botanical gardens that shows you all of the plants and flowers mentioned in the Bible? It’s gorgeous, fun, and educational in the marginal ‘not-too-boring’ kind of way.

2. Check Out the Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology
It’s easy to skip most of East Jerusalem on your first few trips because there’s so much going on in West Jerusalem, but the Rockefeller Museum is definitely worth a trip. They have some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, displayed differently than the big exhibit in the Israel Museum, and all kinds of cool things that have been dug up in Israel from the Iron Age to the Byzantine Empire.

Shen Ramon: mean's 'Roman's Tooth'3. Hike to Shen Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon
Mitzpe Ramon is a huge crater in the middle of the Negev (or maybe it’s an erosion cirque—I can never tell the difference). There’s a fairly standard hike that takes you past waterfalls and up ladders (assuming you go during the rainy season), but if you have it in you to try hiking to the craters inside Shen Ramon, the highest peak inside the crater, you’re rewarded with unbelievably beautiful views, and maybe a peak at an ibex or two.


4. Find the Last Supper
There are two places in Jerusalem that claim to be the site of the Last Supper. They’re both almost certainly wrong, but fun to visit anyway. First, head to the Assyrian Church of the East in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. I can’t find a link for it (that’s how hidden it really is), but to find it enter the Old City at the Jaffa Gate, make a right, walk past the church with the red British post box outside. Take the second left and wind around a few little alleyways. There’s a small sign, but probably best to ask someone… At the church they pray in Aramaic, and they’ve got a room in the basement where they claim Jesus had his final piece of matzo.

Coenaculum: pretty space for a simcha? Or you could head to The Last Supper Room, also called the Coenaculum in the Old City, directly above the Tomb of David. This room can’t possibly be the room where Jesus had his last supper, since it was built in the 12th century, but it could possibly be built on top of the site where Jesus and the disciples chowed down. Anyway, it’s pretty and kind of a fun thing to visit. Last time I was there I kept thinking how funny it would be to have a Jewish wedding in that room.

5. Help Out at Urban Kibbutzim
There’s a new trend of young Jewish collectives in urban areas, instead of way out in agricultural spaces. Urban kibbutzim, as they’re called, can be found in Jerusalem, Sderot and Beit Shemesh, and have been meeting with great success in the past few years. In Jerusalem, Kibbutz Reshit has converted the Ir Ganim neighborhood into a safe and beautiful place after years of it being a crime-ridden area with trash on the streets and drugs for sale on the corner. Stop by to see how young Israelis are reinventing the kibbutz movement. (And there are even urban kibbutzim specifically for English-speakers!)

Elijah's Cave: say Ommmm6. Meditate in Elijah’s Cave
If you’re up north in Haifa and want something different to do, visit Elijah’s Cave at the bottom of Cape Carmel. Tradition holds that this is where Elijah came to pray before he called down holy fire to defeat the followers of Baal on nearby Mount Carmel. He also hid in the cave after a nasty run in with Ahab and Jezebel. Since Elijah is holy to Christians, Jews and Muslims you’ll find all kinds of groups visiting the cave to pray and meditate. It’s beautiful inside, and a nice place to sit quietly with your thoughts.

7. Make A Speech on the Mount of Beatitudes
I’ve never been particularly interested in the Sermon on the Mount, being a Jew and all, but it’s certainly a nice homily, and if you’re feeling profound take a trip up to the Galilee, where you can visit a church that claims to be on the site where Jesus gave his famous sermon. It’s a gorgeous area, regardless of the history, and the church grounds are peaceful and nicely kept. Plus, it’s free.

A Symbol: of Peace8. Explore Kibbutz Ramat Rahel
You can stay at the kibbutz hotel, or attend a wedding on kibbutz grounds without ever noticing all of the cool things to see at Kibbutz Ramat Rahel. The kibbutz has a crazy history because for many years it was right on the border with Jordan, and has been destroyed and rebuilt three times. Way before that, though, Jezebel had her lair (a huge palace) on the site where the kibbutz is now. Seriously. Most of the archeological ruins have been taken to the Israel Museum, but there’s still stuff to see. Plus, if you hike out into the kibbutz fields you may run into actual shepherds herding their flocks, and you can see a fantastic sculpture—three huge columns with an olive tree planted on top of them, more than twenty feel in the air. There’s a bucket on a pulley so you can water the tree. It’s a gorgeous and easy hike, and the sculpture will take your breath away.

Happy Israeli Independence Day!

Israel's Yellow Vented Bulbul: one of ten in the running for national birdIt has recently become a bit of an issue here in Israel that there is no national bird, and so sixty years on, we're finally adopting a bird to symbolize the country. Britain is proud of its little Robin with its red breast, America boasts of its bald Eagle, and Japan celebrates its own aesthetic in the shape of the elegant Crane—now Israel will join the flock.

The scheme to match Israel with her bird representative is the brainchild of Dr. Yossi Leshem, pioneering Israeli ornithologist, senior researcher in the Zoology Department at Tel Aviv University, and Director of the International Centre for the study of Bird Migration in Israel. Leshem is justly proud of the scheme, and explains that “Birds are an essential part of the future of Israel’s landscape and environment. Public awareness will be drawn to Israel’s natural ecosystem and the bird’s habitat.”

Leshem and his co-initiator Dan Alon of the Israel Ornithology Centre, based near the Knesset in Jerusalem, have designed an educational project that gives both schoolchildren in Israel's 4,000 schools (and 9500 nursery schools), and soldiers across all the IDF’s regiments, the chance to acquaint themselves with the birds that have been chosen for the contest. 13 fighter planes from the IAF have been named after birds, and the military is taking an active interest in the project.

In my garden in Jerusalem I am oft woken early to a wonderful trilling that I swear sounds like, “Here’s Gabriel." On Shabbat, it becomes “Swing Gabriel swing,” but none of the experts has as of yet identified it. A blackbird recently built her nest close by, and I often hear her young feeding. It's always a good reminder that we share this environment with such a rich plethora of bird life, all trying to adapt to sharing space with humans.

This past December, over 1000 bird lovers—fondly known in the trade as ‘twitchers’—were offered the chance to draw up a list of 10 species who might fit the bill as Israel's National Bird. Criteria for these 10 include the number of times they are referenced in biblical sources, the color, and the sound of the feathered friend.

Here are the 10 most favored.  To study their glorious plumage in technicolor, check out our photo gallery.

1. The Hoopoe (Duchifat, Heb.)
2. Yellow Tufted Sunbird – (Tsufit). This bird is also known as the Palestine Sunbird, so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t become the feathered face of Israel on a stamp…
3. Barn Owl (Tinshemet)
   
4. Lesser Kestrel (Buz Adom)
   
5. Yellow Vented Bulbul (Bulbul)
   
6. Griffin Vulture (Nesher)
   
7. European Goldfinch (Chochit)
   
8. Spur-Winged Plover (Siksak)
   
9. Graceful Warbler (Pashosh)
   
10. White Breasted Kingfisher (Lavan Hazeh)
    

Whether this will just mean another icon for the stamps, or whether the contest and accompanying educational campaigns will result in real environmental and ornithological awareness remains to be seen. Voting ends tomorrow, May 8, and President Peres will announce which of these birds the nation has chosen on May 29th, at a special ceremony in Jerusalem. Israel-focussed environmental website Green Prophet, where I also blog regularly, is running a special online poll here. So if you know your Hoopoe from your Plover, or your Warbler from your Bulbul, get involved and add your vote.

View the gallery of contenders.

Recently I discovered a relatively new food blog called Hezbollah Tofu. As the face of a self-described "Bourdain Veganizing Collective," the site got me thinking a bit more deeply about chef, author, and travel show host Anthony Bourdain. In the past, I'd written him off as annoying but relatively harmless: Narcissistic, yes, and prone to angrily shit-talking those who disagree with him (and sometimes even those who don't), but generally not someone to worry about.

I took his anti-vegetarian and vegan rantings with a big grain of kosher salt. In his book Kitchen Confidential, he writes:

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn...Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It’s healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I’ve worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold."

Sticks and stones, right? Wrong. Though it had never occurred to me before, today everything became kristallnacht clear: Who else stereotyped minority groups as "persistent irritants" and "the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit"? Who else saw minority groups as "an affront to all he stood for" and typecast them as physically weaker? Hint:

Toasting The End of The Vegans

Newsflash: Hitler is dead. In fact, today is the 63rd anniversary of his death. Alas, since World War II, Jewish discourse on absolutely every single matter of import to Jews has been crippled by the rhetoric of comparing perceived enemies and threats to Hitler. Whether it's intermarriage, Israel, matrilineal succession (i.e. "who is a Jew?"), whether Jews should retain their separateness, how America should deal with Iran, or whether we should care about Jeremiah Wright's sermons, again and again and again, Nazism and Hitlerism are invoked on every side.

In 1990, a guy named Mike Godwin noticed a similar problem in the online community Usenet. He formulated what's now known as Godwin's Law: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." In the intervening eighteen years, Godwin's Law spread far beyond Usenet to became a bona fide Internet meme. It's now shorthand for any conversation riddled with useless comparisons to Hitler or the Nazis.

It's fine to be sensitive to the historical lessons of WWII, but the tragedy of Godwin's Law is that the Hitler fetish doesn't improve our understanding or insight into any problem. Instead, it diminishes our ability to discuss it. The preoccupation with Hitler and WWII prevents us from honestly considering the opposing side of any debate. We dehumanize our opponent as complicit in genocide, and isn't that very dehumanization and strawmanning and simplifying of people's motives...sort of like Hitler?

In honor of the anniversary of Hitler's death, we looked for some unexpected personalities to Godwin. It's surprisingly easy! More are on their way, so check back often.

Hitlery Rodham Clinton propels herself to power through bogus, distorted, simplified economic pandering targeted at the lowest common denominator of an electorate.

John Sidney Hitler McCain sees politics as a break in between wars and seeks to impose his country's values on the rest of world.

Santa Claus, Enemy of the Jews has at least half of the world’s children under his thumb and saturates the media with his own likeness, ideas, and philosophy.

Baraq Hitler-ssein Osama leads a frightening cult of personality.

Everyone at Columbia is accusing everyone else of Hitlerian tactics in honor of Israel's 60th anniversary.

Anthony Bourdain stereotypes minority groups as "persistent irritants" and "the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit."

Creator of Godwin's law, Mike Godwin, weighs in. 

He May Look Delicious: but he ain't kosher

Ann VanderMeer, wife of bleeding-edge fantasy writer Jeff VanderMeer, says ET is treyf. When she's not busy working as the Fiction Editor of Weird Tales magazine, VanderMeer -- an observant Jew -- finds time to tutor Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. She recently fielded questions from Jeff's ravenous companion animal, Evil Monkey, regarding which imaginary animals are kosher. Ever wondered if would be halachically okay to eat a Cornish Owl Man? Find out on Jeff's blog.

Here's an appetizer, from the M's:

Man-Eating Tree - A: “Tree part yes, man-eating no, therefore treyf.”

Mermaid - A: “No, for the obvious reasons.” EM: “What if you marry one? Is that kosher? Will a rabbi marry you?” A: “Kosher is a term about eating, not about sex.” EM: “I’m not talking about sex–I’m talking about marriage!” A: “If the mermaid is Jewish, the rabbi will probably marry you. But only if you’re Jewish too. But you’ll definitely have to find the right rabbi…”

Mongolian Death Worm - A: “No, because you cannot eat anything that crawls on its belly.” EM: “Does that mean an injured kosher animal that is crawling along isn’t kosher any more?” A: “Yes, because you can’t eat an animal that’s been injured or is sick.” EM: “It’s a wonder you haven’t all starved to death.”

Enjoying The Moment: while thinking aheadIt might seem a little premature to start planning for next Passover when we’re still in the throes of the great matzo shortage of 2008, but if anything, this should be a lesson to plan for the future. Instead of winging it every year, buying random boxes of whatever sketchy, prepared-for-Passover foods happen to be on sale at the supermarket, here are some strategies to ensure that Passover goes more smoothly next year. These five easy steps will save major time in 2009.

1. Lists, Not Listless: Document everything you bought this year. If you hosted a seder or another big meal, keep a copy of the menu. Save receipts, too--but what you really want is a list of how many boxes of farfel you needed, and how many jars of pickles you went through. If you’re hardcore, you can even use a spreadsheet.
2. Waste Not, Want Not: At the end of the holiday go through everything and see what you have left. If you bought five boxes of matzah but only ate two boxes, there’s no reason to buy another five boxes next year. Add a column to your list or spreadsheet, keeping track of what you actually used. This is a nice and easy way to integrate Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin’s philosophy of “enoughness” into Passover.
3. Roger, Copy That: Instead of sifting through the glut of random kosher for Passover recipes, save the ones you loved, make copies of them, and put them all in one binder together. Next year: Voila!
4. Eyes On Supplies: Label all new utensils, pots, and pans that you buy clearly. If there are any that are on their last legs, toss them and add them to your shopping list for next year, so that you're not short a serving dish or spatula in the midst of next year's prep.
5. Taste Test: While people are still finishing up leftovers, ask friends if you can sample some of their more successful recipes. That way, you don’t have to take their word for it that their lemon matzah kugel was great—you can taste it and decide for yourself if you want to make it.
   

These easy steps will make next year’s preparations simpler, faster, and more economical.

Related: Jewcy's Guide to Passover

Appearing Daily: god in the wilderness As we've told you before, Adventure Rabbi Jamie Korngold is earthy. So earthy, in fact, that she leads her services outside. Sometimes she's on skis, sometimes she's on a bike, but she's always on a quest to introduce more Jews to the spiritual power of connecting with nature. Since starting her Adventure Rabbi program in 2001, she's encountered extensive interest in what she does--but not everyone can personally participate in her retreats. That's why she wrote her new book, God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors with the Adventure Rabbi. Designed to fit easily into a backpack or pocket, it's the perfect accompaniment to a spiritually-inspired hike, and you can read an excerpt here. We asked Korngold how she became the Adventure Rabbi. Here's what she had to say:

Which came first, your spiritual relationship with the natural world, or your love of Judaism and Torah? At what point did the two become intertwined? They have always been my twin passions. When I was a kid, I went to great outdoor camps and that was the time in my youth when I felt most accepted for the essence of who I am. I didn't know it then, but I was having what Buber would call I-Thou experiences. I grew up in a very religious family. Our lives centered around our Judaism: My parents helped start the Reform synagogue at which they both taught and were very active. My childhood rabbi, Rabbi Peter Rubenstein, is now at Central Synagogue in NYC and wrote one of the endorsements for my book.

Jamie Korngold: on a rabbinical adventureWhat happens when you take Judaism out of synagogue and into the wilderness? It becomes infused with ruach! It becomes meaningful, accessible, and relevant. In our culture we have so little free time. If Judaism has to compete with outdoor time, it's going to lose. By combining the two, I'm saying to people, "You don't have to change your lifestyle. I recognize that you are going skiing on Shabbat. Okay, I'll go skiing with you. And let me show you how you can make the day holy." I often say, "You know that spiritual experience you have outdoors? Let me show you how it is Jewish."

What kinds of transformations have you witnessed in your congregants through their process of worshipping outdoors and seeking God in nature? Jews who had jettisoned their Judaism come back for another look and become happy to identify as Jewish. It's a joy to watch people who were previously either angry about their Judaism or just not interested in it become vibrant members of our community!

Tell us about God in the Wilderness. Why did you decide to write the book, and what was the experience like? The premise is that religion was created in the wilderness for a reason. There are certain spiritual lessons that we "get" best outdoors. By combining Biblical passages with descriptions of outdoor adventures, I am able to draw out 8 lessons, and gently nudge the reader to explore a different way of being. I loved writing the book. The secret? I ate a lot of chocolate cake. (See the acknowledgements for details.) I decided to write the book because of the expansive desire by people all around the country to get involved in the Adventure Rabbi program and learn from me. They may not be able to come on our retreats, but they can all read my book.

If ever there was a time for Jews--and all people--to be contemplating the divinity and vulnerability of nature, it's now. What does Judaism teach us about our responsibility to the earth? What are some initial steps that Jews can take toward developing a relationship with nature, and helping to heal the environment? I talk about this a lot in the afterward, so check it out. But for me, the most important message of this book is that if in fact--as I believe--nature does contain a plethora of spiritual portals, then that is yet another reason we must protect the earth.

Read the first chapter of God in the Wilderness here!

Related: Earth Day is a Jewish Holiday

Cultivate the Patience to See Burning Bushes

"Moses said, "I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn`t the bush burn up? When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: Moses! Moses!" Exodus 3:3-4

Almost all of us know the story of the burning bush. Moses is out tending his father-in-law`s flock, when he notices an amazing site - a bush that burns but is not consumed. He stops to look at it, and God appears to him from the flame. This is the first time that Moses meets God "face to face." God taps Moses as the man to free the Israelites, and receive the Ten Commandments, and from there on, it`s all history.

But what if the story had gone differently? What if it went something a little bit more like this: Moses is tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He drives the flock into the wilderness, and comes to Horeb, the mountain of God. He had always found that place relaxing, although he never thought much about why, and since Moses had a lot on his mind this particular morning, he decided Horeb was, as always, a good place to sort though his thoughts.

Moses thought through the day ahead. As soon as he had tended to the flock, he needed to rush back to the tent, change into his dress robes, and catch a caravan into the city, because he had a packed day of meetings ahead of him. He was trying to figure out how he could get all his work done in time to get to the gym that night, and still get home before his son Gershom went to sleep, when his eye caught a marvelous sight! There was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not being consumed by the fire. Moses said, "I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn`t the bush burn up?"

Just then his cell phone vibrated. He grabbed the phone out of his robe pocket. It was a text message from his friend Nathan, who always seemed to know what was going on a few days before anyone else.

Moses read, "Wool futures 2 go up. Don`t sell 2day. Call L8r. N8."

By the time Moses had read the message, he was well past the bush and had already forgotten about the odd flames. With the phone still in hand, he called his wife, Zipporah, just to check in.

Five minutes later, when he got off the phone, he remembered the miraculous burning bush, but it was already well behind him. He thought of going back but realized then he wouldn`t have time to stop for a cup of coffee, so he called the fire department, which sent a crew to put out the fire.

Thus for a short time Moses became a local hero for saving the wilderness from burning down. Meanwhile, God tried the burning bush routine a few more times, but eventually, God realized that no one had time to notice the subtle miracle and scribbled a quick note: "Note to Self: Command these people to take a day off every week so they have time to notice my miracles!" Then God switched to email. But unfortunately, everyone thought God`s messages were spam, and deleted them. So ends the story of the Israelites. The Bible never gets past the Burning Bush scene of Exodus 3:3, well before the freeing of the Israelites from slavery, the parting of the Red Sea and the awe inspiring moment on Sinai, culminating with the giving of the Ten Commandments.

The rabbis teach us that the striking part of Moses` behavior in the Burning Bush story, in its original form, is that he takes the time to notice that the bush is burning but not being consumed. It takes patience to notice that something is on fire but not burning up, because you have to actually sit with it for awhile to observe the changes, or lack thereof.

The Bible says, "When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush," (Exodus 3:4) stressing that it is not until God sees that Moses turns aside that God actually speaks, as if this was the actual test. Will Moses notice? Will he take the time to stop and observe this peculiar site?

Today, our lives are so frenetic that, like Moses in the "what if" version, we rarely have time to catch our breath, let alone be alert for spiritual portals or miracles. One of the reasons many of us love the desert is that when we are surrounded by the vast vistas, the sparse vegetation, and the bold colored rocks, we do have time to stop and notice. Out "there" we are able to remove ourselves from everything that normally demands our attention - email, cell phones, voice mail, laundry, to-do lists, breaking news, not such breaking news, carpools, schedules, what should I make for dinner and on and on. Perhaps the spirituality many of us experience outdoors is created by the simple fact that we are less distracted, so we are able to be deeply attentive to what is around us as well as what is inside us.

Throughout the Bible, theophany (God appearing to humans) does not just occur in the wilderness, but it usually does. Perhaps God did try to show Himself in the towns or cities but there was so much tumult - people coming and going, merchants hawking their wares, kids playing running games, friends shouting greetings - that no one noticed Him.

One message of the Burning Bush story is that spiritual awareness involves slowing down and waking up to the world around us. I am not suggesting that if we slow down and take time to look, listen, and notice that we will actually meet God face to face, because according to Jewish tradition since the end of the Prophetic Age, God no longer makes direct contact with humanity.

But I believe we still have opportunities to meet the Divine (whatever you believe that to be), because in the wilderness, we connect with That Which is Greater Than Ourselves (one of my favorite names for God), and we are embraced by a sense of belonging, of oneness, and of peace.

I know that it`s not always possible (or even desirable) to relocate to the middle of the desert for a month. For people who live in the city, the closest you might get to the wilderness is an urban park. But even there you can cultivate the patience to see burning bushes and open yourself to spiritual opportunity. One of my favorite "tools" for slowing down, taking notice, and being fully present, is a short, sensory meditation that can be done anywhere. Let me share with you how it worked on an Adventure Rabbi hike I was leading on the trails above Boulder, Colorado.

A group of 40 people had gathered for one of our monthly Sabbath hikes. My task, in two hours, was to give the group a chance to separate from their work weeks, to slow down and catch up with themselves. Ultimately the goal was for them to taste "Sabbath rest."

There was a palpable buzz as we hiked up the trail - the excitement of people who were meeting for the first time and were not sure of what to expect. The steep red rocks ahead of us, jutting skyward above Boulder, had a luminous rosy glow to them, unique to the early morning hours. The small wildflowers of early spring poked courageously from the still cold ground, and here and there pockets of snow still clung to the rocks. Early morning in Colorado is a glorious time for those who are awake!

As we hiked, I invited the group to try to consciously slow down their minds and shift into their "Sabbath souls," to allow themselves to experience the calmness and grace that surrounded us. As I listened to the talk on the trail though, I realized that not only was the shift not happening but my group could not even notice much of what they were seeing around them. Their work weeks were too entrenching, still demanding thought and attention, and their conversations with others on the trail were too compelling.

I stopped the group at a large rock outcrop, to try to readjust. As they sat down to rest, I read them the Burning Bush story. They immediately pointed out how hard it is to be like Moses today, to be fully present, to be here and now. Then we discussed how difficult it can be, even here in the outdoors, surrounded by nature, to stop our brain wheels from turning.

Then I introduced one of my favorite mind focusing exercises, and the group agreed to try it. Each person would focus quietly on either listening, or seeing, for ten minutes, after which we would share what we had noticed.

Ten minutes went by, uncomfortably at first and then, all of a sudden, too quickly. When the time was almost over, I slid my backpacker guitar out of my backpack. Quietly, I began to play Oseh Shalom, a Jewish prayer for peace. Those who had wandered off to sit elsewhere made their way back to the rock, so that we were all sitting in a circle, and gradually the group joined me in song. Forty voices singing together, the ancient Hebrew words linking us together.

"So what did you notice?" I asked my now very chilled-out group.

"I noticed," said Greg, "how loud it was. I mean at first when we stopped talking it was really quiet, but after a while I noticed all these sounds I didn`t hear before, and it was really loud."

Kate said, "I hadn`t heard a single bird while we hiked. But when I was quiet I heard chickadees, robins, and cardinals and lots of bird sounds I didn`t even recognize."

"I didn`t realize how close we were to the road," said Steve. "It seemed so far away, but it was much louder than I thought it was."

The people who focused on the sense of sight during their ten minutes joined in.

Mark said, "At first I was disappointed that I had sat on the rock, instead of in the meadow where all the flowers are. But after a while I noticed that there are several different lichens growing here, and the greens are all different, and quite beautiful."

"I was really taken by the textures. I was sitting under a ponderosa pine, and the bark falls off in these really cool patterns," said Anita.

David added, "I sat in the meadow and I was amazed at how many different types of grasses there are. I thought it would be just one kind of grass but really there are quite a few."

Amazingly, we all seemed to share the experience of, "At first I thought one thing, but after I sat for a while I noticed something else." In order to be like Moses and truly notice what is directly in front of us, we had learned that we needed to sit quietly for a while, to observe, and to become fully present.

As we continued up the trail, a feeling of tranquility permeated the group. Conversations shifted, and some people chose to hike silently. At last, most of us were fully present in the experience.

When we reached the top of our hike, we gathered in a circle and joined together in traditional Sabbath prayers. Then we sat in silence for a long time, after the last exhalation of sound had drifted over the foothills. As I looked around the group, I saw that everyone`s faces appeared less strained, and their shoulders had finally relaxed.

And as we hiked down the trail, I heard snippets of conversations: "What a difference it makes when you really slow down and notice what is around you!"

"That was the first time I`ve ever said a prayer and felt anything."

"I didn`t know that Judaism could be so powerful."

"Too bad the congregation can`t have their sanctuary up here! It would be so easy to pray!"

I privately gave thanks for this amazing trail, for rocks and flowers, for grasses and birds, for this experience that allowed these 40 people to open their eyes, ears and souls to the wonder of creation. Their journey toward cultivating the patience to see burning bushes had begun.

I have repeated this simple yet powerful exercise countless times, seated and walking, outside and indoors. Although I love doing the exercise while hiking, it works indoors as well. I recently tried it with a group inside a sanctuary with wondrous results. What do you notice after gazing at your hand or listening to your own heartbeat for five minutes?

Heightened awareness is the first step toward engaging the spiritual possibility that continually surrounds us. It is accessible to us whether we live in Manhattan or Montana. Cultivate the patience to see burning bushes. You will be amazed at the wonders you discover. When we marvel at the world around us, we prepare to meet the miracles that await us, around most every corner.

From the book God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors with the Adventure Rabbi by Rabbi Jamie Korngold, published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

Related: Q&A with Rabbi Jamie Korngold, Author of God in the Wilderness

Just in time for Passover, lots of religious pet news! This week we learned that Pope Benedict XVI's loves cats -- he even has an authorized biography written by a furry friend named Chico who was his neighbor in Germany. The book is called “Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat" (as told to journalist Jeanne Perego).

As for Jewish furballs, a recent article at Petside.com suggests that Passover is the perfect time to have your pets keep kosher too. While the dogs at my seder (there were four!) seemed to enjoy a stray matzoh ball, the article doesn't offer much insight into KforP pet food. It does, however, provide some helpful hints for keeping Fido kosher the rest of the year:

The companies that now provide kosher kibble adhere to the strict separation of meat and dairy to qualify the food as kosher for animals. This does not make the pet food kosher for human consumption, and in a kosher household, the animal’s dish would have to be washed in a bathroom or laundry room sink, separate from the kosher supplies in the kitchen.

Of course, there are no Jewish laws stating that pets must keep kosher, but for pet owners, it can be a way to ensure that beloved dogs and cats are getting high quality food. In no time at all, they'll be ready for their Bark Mitzvahs.

Okay, First Things First: stop shooting at us.The threat of man-made climate change looms larger than any other problem facing the planet, so it's no wonder that the discussion about global warming has turned into a kind of choreographed screaming that drowns out the facts.

Science unequivocally tells us that climate change is real and caused by man, but predictions of destruction on an epic scale don’t stack up.

Consider the plight of the polar bear – a pin-up ‘victim’ of global warming. Some campaigners claim polar bears are dying because of warmer temperatures, but the facts don’t support the hysteria.

Since the 1960s, polar bear numbers have actually grown five-fold. Polar bears will eventually be affected by climate change, but many creatures and plants in the Arctic will do better as temperatures rise. That doesn’t make up for waning populations of polar bears, but we need to hear both sides of the story.

Scare stories are based on faulty assumptions about just one declining bear population. For the sake of argument, let's accept those faulty assumptions at face value. That means we are losing 15 bears a year to climate change. This means that – at most – 15 bears could be saved this year if we could stop global warming right now. Of course, we can’t. The Kyoto Protocol will cost $180 billion dollars, yet will not affect temperatures by very much: it would probably save .06 of one bear each year.

There are smarter alternatives. Hunters shoot between 300 and 500 polar bears each year. We can revoke hunting rights and clamp down on poachers. Surely it makes more sense to save 300-500 polar bears at virtually no cost than it does to spend hundreds of billions of dollars saving just one.

Of course, we don’t just care about polar bears, but also about the human toll of climate change. It seems logical to expect more heat waves and therefore more deaths. But though this fact gets much less billing, rising temperatures will also reduce the number of cold spells. And the cold is a much bigger killer than the heat. According to the first complete peer-reviewed survey of climate change's health effects, global warming will actually save lives. It's estimated that by 2050, global warming will cause almost 400,000 more heat-related deaths each year. But at the same time, 1.8 million fewer people will die from cold.

The Kyoto Protocol, at great expense, is not a sensible way to stop people from dying in future heat waves. At a much lower cost, urban designers and politicians could lower temperatures more effectively by planting trees, adding water features, and reducing the amount of asphalt in at-risk cities. Estimates show that this could reduce the peak temperatures in cities by more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Global warming will claim lives in another way: by increasing the number of people at risk of catching malaria by about 3 percent over this century. According to scientific models, implementing the Kyoto Protocol for the rest of this century would reduce the malaria risk by just 0.2 percent.

On the other hand, we could spend $3 billion annually -- 2 percent of the protocol's cost -- on mosquito nets and medication and cut malaria incidence almost in half within a decade. For every dollar we spend saving one person through policies like the Kyoto Protocol, we could save 36,000 through direct intervention.

The world shouldn’t ignore climate change. Rather than throwing trillions of dollars at a treaty that will achieve little, I advocate a dramatic increase in spending on research into low-carbon energy. If every nation took part, this would be much more efficient than Kyoto, yet cost almost ten times less.

We should remember when we respond to the threat of climate change that other huge challenges face the planet:

• 4 million people will die from malnutrition this year
• 3 million from HIV/AIDS
• 2.5 million from indoor and outdoor air pollution
• 2 million from lack of micronutrients (iron, zinc and vitamin A)
• And almost 2 million from lack of clean drinking water.

Climate change policies are not the most effective way of dealing with these issues.

My latest project, Copenhagen Consensus 2008, will look at the world’s biggest challenges and ask some of the world’s top minds to identify the best solutions to them. Four Nobel laureates and four other top economists will weigh up how much good could be achieved by different approaches to world problems, and will identify the most effective ways to make a difference.

There’s more information at Copenhagen Consensus.

Cutting carbon emissions through Kyoto has become the instantaneous answer to any problem, but we could achieve more through simpler policies.

For one thing, we should stop shooting polar bears.

Bjørn Lomborg is the organizer of the Copenhagen Consensus 2008, adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School, and author of Cool It and The Skeptical Environmentalist.

How Many Jews: does it take to change a light bulb?During a time when global environmental catastrophes loom large, clear, and real, it's natural to question the impact of our individual actions. Considering that China is opening a new coal-based power plant every week, does my switching to an energy efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) really matter?

The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) challenged the American Jewish community to start fighting climate change with that simple act. During our How Many Jews Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb? campaign, Jews across America heeded the call and switched out their energy inefficient incandescent bulbs for CFLs. Thanks to the response in homes, offices, schools, and synagogues, over 80,000 CFLs were purchased, keeping approximately 29,000 tons of CO2 out of our atmosphere.

Simply put: Yes, your independent acts of environmental conservation matter. Below is a list of 10 actions with a range of required effort that will help you and the Jewish community reduce our collective impact on global warming.

1. Change 5 light bulbs to energy efficient and cost effective compact CFLs ( if all American Jews did this it would be the same as taking 1.76 million cars off the road for a year)
   
2. Switch out a meat meal for a vegetarian one (global livestock is responsible for 18% of CO2 emissions and 37% of methane emissions - a greenhouse gas that is twenty times more potent than CO2)
   
3. Eat local (in the US, conventional food travels an average of 1,500 miles to reach our markets)
   
4. Find new meaning in old traditions: walk or bike to synagogue (only 6% of all trips made in the US are by bike or foot)
   
5. Recycle ½ of your household waste (saves 2,400 pounds of CO2 a year)
   
6. Install a programmable thermostat and drop it 2 degrees in the winter and raise it 2 degrees in the summer (saves 2,000 pounds of CO2 a year)
   
7. Eliminate “phantom loads” by unplugging unused electronics, shutting off power strips, or buying smart ones that will shut it off for you (if all phantom loads in US homes were stopped, we could shut down 17 power plants)
   
8. Fully inflate your tires and improve mpg efficiency (Saves 347 lbs of CO2 a year)
   
9. Plant a tree – in your own backyard or Israel (if all Jews in America did this it, 6 million tons of CO2 absorbed over its life)
   
10. Due to the fact that CO2 is a global gas, when you’ve taken all the actions you can, buy carbon credits to offset the rest.

To purchase appliances that enable tips 6, 7 and 8 click here.

Though it may be scary, it’s also empowering. We - in our houses with our family, offices with our colleagues, and community with our friends - can be part of the solution.

Sinai and the Dead Sea: As seen from aboveHappy Earth Day! We asked a range of environmentalists and Jewish thinkers for their greenest thoughts. Here's what they told us:

Good news from Israel: Arabs and Jews working together to harness solar power for the benefit of sick Bedouin children

More good news: Community gardens thrive in Jerusalem

Read all about it: 10 books about why environmentalism is a Jewish issue

Stop shopping: Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin thinks we have too much stuff

Take action: Jennifer Kefer from the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life explains how to get your voice heard.

It's easy to help: COEJL's Liore Milgrom-Elcott offers 10 super simple ways to reduce your impact on the environment.

Stop shooting polar bears: Skeptical environmentalist Bjørn Lomborg explains why the Kyoto Protocol just doesn't make sense. 

Find more Jewcy environmentalism coverage here and here!

 

 

 

Lobbying for Earth: is easy, essential, and effectiveI've been shlepping canvas bags to the supermarket for over a decade. My house doesn't have a single "old-fashioned" lightbulb. I drive a hyrbid. Yet, the Earth is still warming. In fact, twelve of the last thirteen years were the warmest in recorded history. And last year, scientists from 130 countries declared with 100% certainty that climate change was occurring – and with 90% certainty that human beings are causing it.

Truth be told, the 50 lightbulbs in my house are not going to singlehandedly prevent US carbon dioxide emissions from exceeding 450 parts per million by mid-century. Yet, thanks to a little-known provision in the U.S. energy bill (HR 6), which was signed into law this December, incandescent lightbulbs will be but a dim memory by 2012. And the collective impact of 50 lightbulbs in one-hundred million households across the United States just might keep national emissions in check.

Unfortunately, too many of our political leaders lack the courage to acknowledge the need for aggressive action. No one wants to be held responsible for voting for legislation that may increase electric prices in their District or make it more expensive for their constituents to continue fueling their SUVs.

Our Senators don't know we're willing to accept these comparatively minor inconveniences, and they will never know unless we tell them.

That's my job as COEJL's Climate and Energy Program Coordinator. Each week, I visit members of Congress and tell them the Jewish community supports – even demands – strong national legislation to cap U.S. emissions. I tell them this desire is grounded in ancient texts, which establish our sacred duty to "repair the world." And I tell them our profound concern for U.S. energy security strengthens our resolve. But this message is more meaningful when it comes from you. Here are a few steps to begin with:

• A simple call to your member of Congress is an important first step. Ask to speak to the legislative assistant who works on climate and energy policy. Tell him or her that you are a constituent – and that you support a firm cap on U.S. emissions. Better yet, ask to schedule a visit (either with the Member himself or his legislative aid) – either in Washington, D.C. or at home in your District.

• Write and send an Op Ed or a Letter to the Editor to your local paper.

• Sign up to receive monthly updates about COEJL's education, action, and advocacy campaigns.

• To learn more about how to advocate for effective climate legislation, visit the COEJL website, we're I've prepared simple talking points on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act.
  

I don't doubt the importance of individual action. If we all justify our own bad environmental decisions because of our individual inconsequence, the climate crisis will be insurmountable. Yet, climate change is much larger than you or I, and it can only truly be tackled with larger changes – changes that are mandated by national legislation.

This past December, the Environment and Public Works committee voted to do just that. On December 5, America's Climate Security Act (S 2191) was voted out of committee and it will be considered by the full Senate this June. Call your Senator today and urge her to vote for the bill when it comes up for a vote. As Al Gore recently declared, "It's one thing to change a lightbulb. It's another to change the law."

To learn more about my thoughts on national climate and energy legislation, visit the COEJL blog at www.coejlblog.blog.com

Here Comes the Sun: harnessing solar power in the desert3-year-old Mohammed Abu-Kaf was was diagnosed at birth with sleep apnea, a life-threatening chronic illness. A resident of the 'recognised' village of Um Bathin, his father Hassan explained that Mohammed requires a special Seapack mask to keep his airways clear when he sleeps. Sounds simple enough, except that his mask must be plugged in to a regular power supply--a necessity made difficult by the fact that many Bedouin villages aren't connected to the national grid.

Filling the void left by a government seemingly unable and unwilling to address the sometimes dire situation that many of the Bedouin population find themselves in, Bustan--an NGO comprised of Jewish and Arab eco-builders, architects, academics, and farmers promoting social and environmental justice in Israel and Palestine--has initiated a project that utilizes solar energy for sick Bedouin children in the Negev. The organization has teamed up with solar designers and manufacturers at Interdan to bring solar-powered electricity to Bedouin villages that aren't connected to the national grid, and which would obtain electricity only by using expensive diesel or gas-powered generators at each family house.

The Abu-Kaf family home is now powered by a large solar panel, which Hassan turns around twice a day to catch the sun's rays.

"Thank you to Bustan for this," says Hassan. "Now my son is a happy and healthy child. He can sleep well at night, and so me and my family can now, too."

Um Bathin, a village of 3,500 residents who can trace their ancestral, semi-nomadic roots across many generations in this area, is one of seven Bedouin communities in the Negev that has been 'recognised' by the government in the past 3 years, but is still awaiting basic services such as electricity and water.

Founded in 1999 by American-Israeli Devorah Brous, and now headed by Bedouin activist Ra'ed Al-Mickawi, Bustan has a mandate to bring sustainable energy solutions to communities, focusing on a fair allocation for all of such resources. Previous projects have included work on a medical clinic made from straw bales in the 'un-recognised' Bedouin village of Wadi Al-Nam, south of the city of Be'erSheva.

Bustan also offers tours of the Negev area, bringing participants directly into the Bedouin villagers' homes and meeting places, and to meetings with the manager of the Ramat Hovav--Israel’s controversial chemical plant and industrial complex-- amongst other local players.

With Bustan's intervention and the involvement of Interdan, more sustainable and environmental solutions are on the horizon for Israel's marginalised communities.

Earth Day is a Jewish holiday. Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but from the quantity of books that have been written on the intersecting subjects of Judaism and the environment, you'd think that Earth Day—coming up on April 22—appears on the Jewish calendar between Passover and Yom HaShoah. There are a lot of paths leading from Judaism to environmentalism and vice versa, and the following ten books offer gateways and guidance. Hopefully they're printed on recycled paper, too.

	God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors, by Rabbi Jamie Korngold: "Balancing an in-depth knowledge of scripture with a wry sense of humor and a compassion for nature, Korngold reminds us of the nooks and crannies of the natural world and says that we must seek them out, soak them in and care for them. The variety of personal stories, tales of travel with various Adventure Rabbi groups and contemporary alternative biblical outcomes—what if Moses had been too busy texting to notice the burning bush?—make for a book that is easily digestible but at the same time worth savoring. Purposely sized to fit easily into a backpack or pocket, the call to return to the wild—or at least your local city park—is ever present."
	A Wild Faith: Jewish Ways into Wilderness, Wilderness Ways into Judaism, by Rabbi Mike Comins: "As the subtitle indicates, Comins asserts that the relationship between Torah and nature is a two-way trail: wilderness is the best place to work out a personal, unscripted, fresh relationship with divinity, and Judaism offers a vocabulary and practice to translate the experience of wilderness into a life of purpose and meaning. For those who love nature and know little about Judaism, and those who love Judaism but know little about wilderness, Comins's message is clear: one need not choose between the two to find potential, promise and fulfillment."
	The Way into Judaism and the Environment, by Dr. Jeremy Benstein: "For everyone who wants to understand how Jews view the natural world and the responsibilities of environmental stewardship, this book provides the way into an essential aspect of Judaism and allows you to interact directly with the sacred texts of the Jewish tradition. At a time of growing concern about environmental issues, Jeremy Benstein, PhD--a founder and associate director of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership--explores the relationship Jews have with the natural world and the ways in which Judaism contributes to contemporary social-environmental issues. He also shows us the extent to which Judaism is part of the problem and how it can be part of the solution."
	Ecology and the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature and the Sacred Meet, by Ellen Bernstein: "In today's modern culture, we've become separated from the spiritual possibilities of the natural world. "Modern" religion often overlooks nature, focusing instead on history and human drama. This book offers an alternative...a different, eye-and-soul-opening way of viewing religion: a perspective grounded in nature, and rich in insights for people of all faiths. Here, innovators in Judaism and ecology lead us on an exploration of the concepts of sacred space, sacred time, and community."
	Trees, Earth, and Torah, edited by Ari Elon, Naomi Mara Hyman, Arthur Waskow: "This exhaustive and exhausting collection of essays, biblical passages, poems, songs and recipes scrutinizes Tu B'Shvat, a minor Jewish festival that occurs on the 15th day (tu Equals number 15 in Hebrew) of Shvat, the fifth month of the Jewish year (it usually falls between mid-January and mid-February). Known as the New Year of the Tree, Jewish Arbor Day or Tree-Planting Day, Tu B'Shvat began as a tax day for calculating which fruit would be included in the tithe brought to the Temple. More recently, Tu B'Shvat has become a day for planting trees in Israel and for celebrating ecological concerns."
	Spirit in Nature: Teaching Judaism and Ecology on the Trail, by Matt Biers-Ariel, Deborah Newbrun, Michal Fox Smart: "This pioneering guide book awakens hikers of all ages to the miracles of God's creations along the trail. Each discovery revealed through the book's 27 engaging activities becomes an adventure of the senses and the spirit as hikers recite blessings over natural phenomena, "build a tree" with their bodies, and recreate the rainbow of colors that adorn fields and trees and stones. A special index highlights the connection between key Jewish values and the wonder of nature. Spirit in Nature will guide camp directors, counselors, teachers, religious leaders, parents, and youth group leaders in nourishing the spiritual lives of hikers exploring the natural world."
	Splendor of Creation: A Biblical Ecology, by Ellen Bernstein: "Many people see the environmental crisis as a spiritual one, but author Ellen Bernstein sees the Book of Genesis as a guide to living peaceably with the Earth. The creation story, according to Bernstein, invites a deep appreciation of nature and may be the perfect muse for a world that is hungry for an integrated ecological vision. This message, however, is a hidden one. Thus the importance of The Splendor of Creation. Written from a Jewish perspective, this book is both accessible and compelling to a broad audience, as it explores Genesis 1, verse by verse, reflecting on the language that contributes to a holistic ecological vision."
	Judaism and Environmental Ethics: A Reader, edited by Martin D. Yaffe: "Brought together in one volume for the first time, the most important scholars in the field touch on diverse disciplines including deep ecology, political philosophy, and biblical hermeneutics. This ambitious book illustrates - precisely because of its interdisciplinary focus - how longstanding disagreements and controversies may spark further interchange among ecologists, Jews, and philosophers. Both accessible and thoroughly scholarly, this dialogue will benefit anyone interested in ethical and religious considerations of contemporary ecology."
	Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed Word, by Hava Tirosh-Samuelson and twenty others: "This volume intends to contribute to the nascent discourse on Judaism and ecology by clarifying diverse conceptions of nature in Jewish thought and by using the insights of Judaism to formulate a constructive Jewish theology of nature. The twenty-one contributors consider the Bible and rabbinic literature, examine the relationship between the doctrine of creation and the doctrine of revelation in the context of natural law, and wrestle with questions of nature and morality. They look at nature in the Jewish mystical tradition, and they face the challenges to Jewish environmental activism caused by the tension between the secular nature of the environmental discourse and Jewish religious commitments."
	Pollution in a Promised Land: An Environmental History of Israel, by Alon Tal: Virtually undeveloped one hundred years ago, Israel, the promised "land of milk and honey," is in ecological disarray. In this gripping book, Alon Tal provides - for the first time ever - a history of environmentalism in Israel, interviewing hundreds of experts and activists who have made it their mission to keep the country's remarkable development sustainable amid a century of political and cultural turmoil. The modern Zionist vision began as a quest to redeem a land that bore the cumulative effects of two thousand years of foreign domination and neglect. Since then, Israel has suffered from its success. A tenfold increase in population and standard of living has polluted the air. The deserts have bloomed but groundwater has become contaminated. Urban sprawl threatens to pave over much of the country's breathtaking landscape. Yet there is hope. Tal's account considers the ecological and tactical lessons that emerge from dozens of cases of environmental mishaps, from habitat loss to river reclamation. Pollution in a Promised Land argues that the priorities and strategies of Israeli environmental advocates must address issues beyond traditional green agendas."

How Much: is enough? I go to my closet every morning, push around a lot of hangers and choose what to wear. If a favorite pair of pants is in the wash, no matter: I have another. If this black sweater doesn’t match my pants, or the occasion, or the weather, or my mood, no matter: I have another.

Yet I don’t think of myself as having too much. Good people (the kind I imagine myself to be) don’t have too much. We don’t eat too much or drink too much or spend too much or own too much or use too much.

But there it is: A closetful of plenty. I know I am not alone. America is bursting with too-muchness. So much so that we have to build special buildings just to hold the too-much stuff that won’t fit into our increasingly too-big homes.

So I am left to wonder: How did my closet get this way? If I have a lot now, then a while ago, along the road from Some to Plenty, I must have had Just Enough. When was that? Why didn’t I notice? Why didn’t I stop?

Every time we turn on the TV, surf the web, or read a magazine, the challenge stares us in the face: How much more do we need? In light of this assault, it is hard to know how to measure enough. It sounds like it could be a third grade word problem: If I have Plenty of clothes in my closet, how many would I have to give away to get back to Enough? Yet, the solution lies not in numbers, but in the spirit. It demands that I reconnect with the notion of “full,” and that I cultivate a modest but satisfying measure of Fullness.

If we could turn down our appetite thermostats—if we could become fuller sooner—we would have a head-start on solving environmental degradation. Imagine how much less damaging our lifelong footprints would be if our E-quotient, “Enough quotient,” was modestly set, and if we always stopped when it was full?

It's true that fixing the environment requires energetic research and development to bring us new technologies at an affordable price. But is also requires a renewed awareness of the blessings of sova, satisfaction, satedness, Enoughness (a word that Alice Trillin used). If we "needed" less stuff, if we wanted less stuff, there would be more resources to share and more goods to go around, which would buy more time to discover technological fixes.

Most of all, people would be happier, for we are driven to accumulate too much by a persistent, marketplace-cultivated sense of dissatisfaction in what we still don’t have, and thus what we have not yet become.

The path to Enoughness is satisfaction and pleasure in what we already possess, and who we are. In such a spiritual state, everyone—including the natural world—would win.

Related: 10 Books on the Intersection of Judaism and the Environment

Jerusalem of Green: Bustan Brody community garden Downtown Jerusalem is cluttered enough at any time of year, but rarely more so than this past week. Posters for cleaning services and chametz sales imploring people to burn, sell, or otherwise dispose of their leavened bread in preparation for Pesach were pasted on lampposts and notice-boards on every street. Jews are generally partial to consuming food rather than throwing it away, but this time of year is the exception to the rule.

Only a few minutes from my apartment is another exception to the rule: A place where Jerusalemites come each week to throw away their leftovers, no matter the season. Down at Bustan Brody, part of a city-wide network of community gardens, ecologically-minded Israelis bring their unwanted food to dump on the compost heap. The volunteer-run garden is a green oasis in the midst of five-story apartment buildings—an area which was once slated for development during Ehud Olmert’s stint as Jerusalem Mayor, in a bid to reduce the city’s budget deficit by selling off public plots of land for construction.

“We took responsibility for our own backyard, that’s a revolutionary concept,” says Abba Zavidov, one of the founders of the Bustan, which lies within easy walking distance from the Prime Minister’s official residence. “If we’re going to talk about sustainability then we need to prove it can be done. People bringing their kitchen waste to compost at the garden is a great way of showing how."

In Jerusalem, organic refuse like kitchen scraps and garden clippings make up around 40% of the city’s solid waste. If not recycled via composting, it typically ends up contributing to more of the brown landfill mountains like those straddling the road from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, which trick you into thinking that you’re still in the Judean Hills instead of speeding across the (once flat) coastal plain.

And God Said, "Are You Gonna Eat That?': compost in the holy land But it’s not just the Festival of Matzo that inspires a frenzy of food disposal: Figures published last week reveal that folks in my native Britain throw out one-third of all food they buy each year, including over four million apples. And they don’t even have Pesach as an excuse. Waste on such a huge scale has been partly fueled by cheap food culture and marketing ploys like ‘two-for-one’ offers, which encourage over-consumption.

I hope that Rabbis in Israel and the Diaspora will be using their sermons during the Jewish festival of freedom as an opportunity to reflect on the merits of environmental responsibility in a world where not everyone can take their food for granted. In any case, composting can offer a green solution to the stale matzo and indigestion-cookies due to be littering kitchens across Israel next week.

God in the Wilderness: by the Adventure RabbiReform Rabbi Jamie Korngold, AKA The Adventure Rabbi, has made quite a name for herself in the past seven years. In 2001 she started the hugely successful Adventure Rabbi program, which seeks to bring "Jews back into communal religious life through innovative religious programs which combine the outdoors and Jewish practice."

Her first book, out just this past week, is called God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors with the Adventure Rabbi. A celebration of and guide to the divinity inherent in the natural world, the book was designed to fit easily into a backpack or pocket. With chapters like "Cultivate the Patience to See Burning Bushes" and "Restore Your Soul Beside Still Waters," it's a must have at only $9.56 from Amazon.

You can read the first chapter here.

Previously: The Passover Box of Questions