The story of my snack – Ultimate goal Think globally, act locally

What is the life story or history of your snack?

(planting, natural fertilizer, people picking fruit, transport, prep, etc)

This past Sunday, I showed the children an apple and bag of Doritos.  The great thing about having visual objects was that our children were really engaged and thinking about what goes into making both the apple and the Doritos.  They also spoke about how we get those foods to our house.

Each year, the same scenario looms as we get ready Passover.  I get thoroughly stressed about every aspect of the preparation and yet my family is always ready for the holiday just in time.  When I say just in time, that is exactly what I mean.  Our cleaning is completed just before it is time, our seders are ready just as everyone walks into the door, and I usually kvetch until the moment the seder begins.

The bottom-line of my Passover craziness is that by the time the holiday begins, my entire family (including me) is so excited about the seders.  Our seders begin at sundown and go sometimes as late as 2 AM in the morning.  They are dramatic and active from the moment they begin until the moment they end.  Part of the reason for this is because each year we develop our seder as a family.  That means that we listen to our children and our guests and we build it from wherever they stand.  OK, I am an educator too!  Which means that I also have some ideas of how our Passover seder will develop ahead of time.

My hope is that I can share some of our family traditions with you as well as turn you on to a new book that came out last year called Creating Lively Passover Seders:  A Sourcebook of Engaging Tales, Texts and Activities by David Arnow, PH. D at Jewish Lights Publishing.  This book is a solid source of ideas that can help you add spark to your seder.  It is good for families with young children, adults, and anyone in between.

One generation goes and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. (Ecclesiastes 1:4)

Teaching children is always a partnership. In order for learning to take place, the children and the parents, the educators, and the mentors need to work together in a partnership.

Last Sunday, I loved hearing the wisdom of the children as they discussed what the quote above means to them. The beauty of children is that say what they think and they usually have the best of intentions. One child expressed that, while people live and die, the earth will always be here; we have a responsibility to always remember the earth.

Partnership

Awareness

Interconnectedness

Responsibility

With Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for the Trees, coming, I wanted to have our Religious School community reflect on what being an integral part of the bigger picture could mean for each of us when we talk about the environment and all interconnected relationships. So, I taught them about the acronym PAIR.

A new tradition has begun. Each Sunday morning, I will be sharing an environmental teaching to the Kurn Religious School community and then blogging about it on our updated Temple Emanue-El website within the week. My hope is to offer a bissel, a little, Torah and an insight on how to take the teaching home.

Teaching:

It is not up to us to complete the task (of repairing the world).
Yet neither are we free to desist.
~Pirkei Avot 2:16

In order to make this world the best that it can be, we have to begin by doing our part wherever we can. While each of us has a job to do, we can't do it alone. In order to make a difference, we have to work as a team with others. Essentially that means that while you have to do your part to make the world stronger, healthier, better, you don't have to do it alone and you don't have to complete the work you started. Just take one step and begin the journey. Ultimately you will find if you are doing the work, others will join you.

"One generation goes and another comes, but the earth remains forever."(Ecclesiastes 1:4)

Suggested Discussion Questions:

1. What is our responsibility to maintain the earth for future generations?
2. What does it mean that the earth remains the same forever? Is this true? Must we sustain it or can it sustain itself?

(adapted from American Jewish World Service's http://www.on1foot.org)

As we embark on the questions above, my goal as the Youth Education Director is to mirror the values of our larger Temple Emanu-El community. This, of course, becomes easier when we share similar values. With the help of dedicated lay leaders including Jerry Shulman and the Men's Club, Micki Shulman, Sol Brody, Scott Arden, Mona Gibson and the Youth Education Committee, I am embarking on creating a Jewish Environmental Curriculum to utilize within the Kurn Religious School. Here is a plan of how we will be moving forward:

• Opening/TefillahWeekly blog based on Sunday's teaching and email link home in News You Can Use emails

  • 3 minute teachings each Sunday morning
  • sharing an action plan for how to take that teaching home (show and tell)

• Monthly – Students will have an experiential lesson to incorporate environmental teaching from a Jewish perspective

• Two classes (grades 4 and 5) will have outside fieldtrips to experience Jewish Environmental teachings. (Spring 2013)

• Encourage Trash to Treasure Mentality with teachers and students for class and art projects

• Create library with books that support the teachings and environmental consciousness

While I am focusing on teaching our students during Religious School, all of these Jewish and universal teachings will be accessible through my blog each Monday morning following Sunday morning classes. May the many Jewish teachings become a springboard for walking more gently on our earth. As Jews and human beings we can make a difference.

Together through our learning, we are planting seeds in our children's minds to keep our earth.

l'Shalom,

Chava

Temple Emanu-El is consciously growing more eco-friendly. That means that over the coming months you will be introduced to an environmental curriculum that will enhance our current Judaic curriculum within the Kurn Religious School as well as some new steps taking place within our greater Temple community. With that in mind, I want to look at Hanukkah through an environmental lens.

In the story of Hanukkah, the Macabees can be seen as an environmentally conscious and savvy group of warriors. Although few in number, it was because they knew where to hide, when to attack, how to feed themselves so that their enemies could not detect them. Their ability to function in their environment as they did made it possible to rededicate the Temple, ultimately allowing us to celebrate Hanukkah today.

In Gil Mann's book How to Get More Out of Being Jewish Even If:

1. You are not sure you believe in God,
2. You think going to synagogue is a waste of time,
3. You think keeping kosher is stupid
4. You hated Hebrew school, or
5. All of the above!

In Chapter 7: "Hebrew School Was Worthless and Boring", Gil Mann lists eight key points that can help guide us towards growing a healthier Religious School and embracing the realities of our times. I do agree with each of Gil Mann's points and realize that in order to proceed in the most effective way; we will need to address these points over time. At this time though, I want to focus on only three of his points:

Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays. To me, it represents finding the gifts in life as well as valuing the simplicity of what is. While we can say that Sukkot סֻכּוֹת is a biblical harvest holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei and is also known as the Festival of Booths. Sukkot is also the holiday of profound symbols that remind us of how important is is to walk through the world consciously.

As a both a Youth Education Director of Temple Emanu-El Kurn's Religious School in Tucson and as a mother, I thrive on the symbolisms of Sukkot; in recent years I refer to each symbolism as life's metaphors. While each symbolism has a name and concept associated with it, they can also be an awareness for what's most important in life. This reality was brought home to me this week by one of my third grade students Selina Feldman who drew a picture for her parents showing what she learned about Sukkot during Religious School.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year. Our tradition encourages us to confront ourselves during communal prayer by sincerely acknowledging errors and pledging to overcome them to the best of our abilities.  Each and every one of us have the opportunity to come together within our community to grow spiritually as we both individually and collectively look at our mistakes and go through a teshuvah, repentance, process.

The communal aspect of the High Holy Days always brings me joy even if the day has a solemn energy.  I love seeing many people dressed in white as they join in prayer, in fasting, and in community.  Even as a little girl, I loved the stories, the music, and the many congregants that came together for the High Holy Days.  I remember feeling that I was part of a special group, a loving community of Jews.

When I came to Tucson, I was told it is a lot more relaxed than Washington DC; for the most part I have found this to be the case.  Although in Washington DC, I don't think I experienced any of my students or the families going to school/work during the High Holy Days.  Yet in Tucson, I heard from some students and families alike that they had chosen to keep to their normal routines on Rosh Hashanah.  While I understand life schedules can be challenging, I found myself perplexed that some people missed services; those of you that were not at services were truly missed as part of our Temple Emanu-El community.

In spite of our crazy schedules, as Jews we have the sacred responsibility to take Yom Kippur as a day of reflection and be at one with Jews throughout the world.  For some people, communal prayer might not work, but hopefully you can find some way to connect with our Jewish lifecycle.  While my hope is that I see each and every one of you in services or hear about your unique Yom Kippur experiences, I also hope that you have a meaningful Yom Kippur and an amazing year too.

     The world is full of infinite possibilities, but still I have to take the first step.
                    ~Chava Gal-Or

My hope is to relive my running days by beginning a new running/jogging journey with these awesome new shoes. Took the first step by purchasing the shoes...now for the rest of the journey. . . .

Writing Elul Reflections has been a profound practice for me. Thanks for joining in my journey and sometimes sharing your thoughts.

As Elul winds down, I am feeling the need to go to a quiet space. While there might be more to share, I don't have much more to add at this time. Over the last month, I have taken the time to open my heart and share honestly not only about my life but tools for creating sacred space within your own lives, tools for reflection, and finding a more balanced foundation.

On Day 28, I want to emphasize my last essential thought for navigating life as a whole and Elul in particular. The more simple you make life's journeys, the easier life is to navigate. Find joy in simplicity; enjoy the realities of what is as you make choices to stretch yourself. Live honestly with yourself, live with your own integrity; try not to think so much about what others think of you.

May all of us endeavor to find a sacred space within our own lives as we create our own toolbox for growing spiritually and emotionally.

With love, light, and blessings,

Chava

I am a human being; I struggle with how to walk in the world and how to live according to my values. Sometimes I slip, other times I excel at keeping to my values. And I often struggle to articulate information about the issues that I hold dear. I seem to become tongue tied instead of being able to give the facts that support my actions. This is the time that my introverted tendencies become ridiculously obvious. Sigh.

When it comes to doing Tikun Olam (repairing the world) or living consciously, nothing is a laughing matter. There is so much holy work to do; none of us can do it all, but each of us can do our part. Yet when you decide to live consciously by honoring what you know to be true; life can be so much more precious.

This week I was challenged and called a hypocrite (in humor) for eating a york peppermint patty. I didn't buy it, but I picked it up, and ate one. Being called a hypocrite for eating something which probably utilized cocoa beans that were harvested by slave labor is wrong. Unquestionably wrong. The person was being playful, but to me it was/is a value that I hold dear. How could I let myself partake in something I know to be wrong?

Photo from this morning courtesy of Judy Shepard Gomez

As I settle into life here in Tucson, I am astounded by the beauty that surrounds me. Each and every morning, I look to the north and with a tear running down my face I chant Hebrew for the words,

     "How great is your work, oh God, how very deep are your thoughts!" Psalm 92:6

Sometimes I wonder how I am blessed to see such beauty. And in truth, we all are, we just need to open up our eyes and our hearts to that which surrounds us.

Today a friend walked into my office and gave me mint to plant. I have no idea what I am doing, but I will try. The smell waffled through my office today and left me with a huge smile. And then I came home to try to dig a hole in my yard so that I could plant the mint. It didn't work; tomorrow I will buy soil for a pot I have so that I can plant my mint. I am so excited!!!

Life is full of moments. I am always amazed how beautiful my world is! I have precious children that I teach, a fabulous caring community that I joined only recently, and my own family and friends that I treasure.

The key to life is remembering to open your eyes, your heart, and all of your senses so that you can see, feel, hear, the beauty that surrounds you. Even on the days when you feel moments of darkness, take the time to look a little deeper, don't forget to take a deep breathe and focus on one beautiful aspect of your life. While perfection is worthy of desire, try to notice the small gifts. The more you do; the more you will find.

In most any given moment, gifts can be found. May we all be blessed to see them.

Writing Elul Reflections has given me the opportunity to share my intense side without delving into any drama. On any given day, I reflect about the world around me. I notice the small things; I notice the large things. What I notice more than anything is how people handle life's realities.

Accidents happen; moments happen. It takes a moment to create positive and challenging reverberations that affect the rest of your day and sometimes the rest of your weeks, months, or years.

Over the past few days, I have excitedly been considering taking up running again. I can't wait to try, to gain physical strength, and to ultimately succeed. I believe in myself; I believe in my power to move forward by physically engaging in life.