I am currently volunteering on my second farm in Israel, Yarok Az, located in Moshav Ilanlia, near the Kineret. They are currently building an ecological visitor center, where people can come to learn about cheese, yogurt, and permaculture. I am helping in the dairy as well as building an outdoor shower out of mud. They…
Protests in Jerusalem
For the past several weeks there have been Haredim protesting the opening of a parking lot near the Jaffa gate of the Old City. Finally today I went to go witness first hand these “violent” protests. There were maybe a few hundred people there, 2/3’s Ultra-Orthodox in robes and fur hats and the other were…
City Tree: Cracker Making
Tami juices a lot, everything really. Waste not, want not, she then takes the pulp from the juice, combines it with some nuts and sprouted seeds, and puts them in the dehydrator. The end result is a delicious and healthy cracker that is always different. Sometimes she clumps the pulp to create granola. Spread some…
Organic Dairy Farming 101
I spent the past week at חלב עם הרוח (Chalav Im HaRuach – Milk with the farm), which is an organic dairy farm in the Jezreel Vally in Northern Israel, near Yodfat. I milked goats for the first time, moved rocks, built a floor, tended the garden, fed the animals, and met some amazing people….
Make your own Soap – CityTree tip #1
I’m volunteering at Eitz BaIr, lit. Tree in the City, but in English it’s called City Tree. To read more (all in Hebrew), the website is http://www.citytree.net. It’s on the corner of Bialik Square, named after the famous Israeli poet, in the heart of the city. I have learned a lot since being there and…
An Environmentalist’s (and Human’s) nightmere
Like a bad dream, as the plane approached LA I looked out of my window to see a thick cloud of pollution hovering over the city. Out my window I could barely see the groud, the mountains, the cars, the buildings. Normally, this is OK. The plane will descend below the clouds, everything will clear…
Driving on Shabbat
To the left is exhibit A – Suburban Sprawl. This presents a major challenge for the modern Jew who is faced with the task of interpreting the halacha. What to do when your community forces you to drive to your Shabbat engagements? I quote my friend and collegue David Singer: “The real issue isn’t weather…
Virtual Learning
Above you is what it looks like when our teacher goes to write on the virtual whiteboard in our new e-learning classroom. I’m not writing this post because I find this facinating, but because video-conferencing is one major way to reduce the carbon footprint of schools and businesses. Today, we had our first vitual lesson. …
Things that make you go א
Things that make you go א, originally uploaded by swimfast. Talk about the perfect day: Dinner a fabulous restaurant (thank you David)! We then drove along the Mountain Loop Trail and made camp for the night at Verlot campground in the Mt. Baker State Park. We then drove to the Lake 22 trail head where…
Beginning
Writing ב, originally uploaded by swimfast. This is David finishing the writing of the Torah, which ends by writing the letter ב (Bet) to complete the very first word ברשית, which means beginning.
Rabbi Brian Immerman 