From the Rabbi's Desk - February 2012 Rabbi Juda's Pages >> About Rabbi Juda Rabbi's Sermons From Rabbi's Desk From Rabbi's Desk - 01/12 From Rabbi's Desk - 12/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 11/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 09/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 08/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 07/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 06/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 05/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 04/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 03/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 02/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 01/11 From Rabbi's Desk - 12/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 11/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 10/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 09/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 07/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 06/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 05/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 04/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 03/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 02/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 01/10 From Rabbi's Desk - 12/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 11/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 09/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 08/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 06/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 05/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 04/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 03/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 02/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 01/09 From Rabbi's Desk - 12/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 10/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 09/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 08/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 07/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 06/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 05/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 04/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 03/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 02/08 From Rabbi's Desk - 12/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 11/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 10/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 09/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 07/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 06/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 05/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 03/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 02/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 01/07 From Rabbi's Desk - 12/06 From Rabbi's Desk - 11/06 From Rabbi's Desk - 10/06 From Rabbi's Desk - 09/06 From Rabbi's Desk - 06/06 Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Jewish tradition includes four new years, Rosh Hashanah being the best known and most widely observed. Tu B’Shevat, the fifteenth day of Shevat, which this year falls on Tuesday night and Wednesday, February 7 and 8 is doubtless the other new year holiday with which most of us are familiar. (The other two are the first of Nisan and the first of Elul.) Tu B’Shevat is the birthday of the trees. Leviticus 19:23-25 clearly indicates why it was important to calculate and know the age of food bearing trees. We were not allowed to eat the fruit from the first three years of growth and in the fourth year, the fruit was set aside as “holy” and, again, not to be eaten. Starting with the trees’ fifth year, its produce could be enjoyed. As anyone who grows his or her own fruits and vegetables knows, there is nothing like fresh produce. Increasingly, I have noticed that local supermarkets make a point of advertising local produce when they have it. Fruits and vegetables traveling great distances, which is clearly what happens at this time of year, must be harvested early and cannot be allowed to ripen on the vine lest they spoil before reaching their destination. We are fortunate that there are many local resources for fresh fruits and vegetables during the summer, including farms where we may pick the produce ourselves, farm road side stands and farmers markets where we may buy directly from a local farmer. Now a new opportunity exists which may both strengthen local farmers and give us a convenient way to obtain fresh produce. There is a Jewish organization known as HAZON. Hazon means "vision.” The mission of Hazoni is “We create healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond.” Hazon reminds us “As Jews, we’ve been thinking about kashrut – about what is “fit” to eat – for nearly 3,000 years. And a growing number of people today realize that our food choices have significant ramifications – for ourselves, our families and the world around us.” Hazon offers several programs, one of which is “Hazon CSA: Community-Supported Agriculture is a co-operative agreement between a farmer and a group of urban members where members pay in advance for a share of a farmer’s produce for the season. Hazon’s CSA program is the first ongoing effort in the American Jewish community to support local, sustainable agriculture. Founded in 2004, our CSA program now includes over fifty-six in the US, Canada and Israel, and over 2,300 households. The Hazon CSA program has helped the Jewish community to put over $1 million dollars behind sustainable agriculture, and supported Jewish institutions such as synagogues and JCCs create innovative educational programming around the intersections of Jewish tradition and contemporary food and environmental issues.” Last year, Bnai Abraham Synagogue in Easton offered a CSA program in conjunction with Blue Blaze Farm in Danielsville. Now, we are looking to expand the program and include Brith Sholom as a participating site. In simple terms, this means that we have the opportunity to pay NOW for fresh produce throughout the 2012 growing season. We anticipate that the produce will be delivered to Brith Sholom on Wednesday evenings for pick-up. Blue Blaze Farm “is a member of Buy Fresh Local and Certified Naturally Grown, a grassroots certification program with 10,000 farmers worldwide. We are fully committed to organic practices….” What can you expect? “Nearly 40 varieties of produce…. Go away a lot in summer? We’ve got a program for you too! … While we would love to give you an exact start and end date, we’ve found nature dictates that more than we do, but we can generally expect harvests to be plentiful and consistent June through October. Once the CSA season begins, you can expect to receive a weekly portion of the harvest. If you want more background information on this concept, you may check the Hazon website . There will be an information session on Sunday, February 12th at 2 PM in Easton. Applications with payment for the season will be due on Monday, February 27th. If you are interested in more details or in participating, please call the Brith Sholom office or email: cbs@fast.net. Tu B’Shevat reminds us to eat the fruits and produce of Israel. But it also prods us to be sensitive to environmental issues of all kinds and the opportunity to support local farming and fresh produce is good for us and for the environment. Rabbi Allen Juda