Ever since I was evacuated on a raft from my home in the pouring rain during Hurricane Harvey, I have cared about climate action. When I was 15, I learned that climate change intensified the Category Four hurricane that decimated Houston, Texas in 2017. That same year, I joined the Jewish Youth Climate Movement as a climate activist.

Now, amid my regular high school activities, I devote several hours a week to writing about climate change, and planning and attending actions demanding a better future for me, future generations and the world. 

Throughout my activism, I have watched, with increasing anxiety, the climate clock tick and the world experience more and more climate change-fueled disasters. More recently, I have seen extreme hypocrisy from the federal government and major companies that backtrack on promises to lower emissions and fight the climate crisis. These decisions all but confirm that the choking wildfire smoke I face in my new home in Denver will get worse and that my activism has not been enough to single-handedly stop the crisis. 

This climate neglect by the current administration starkly contrasts with the start of my activism during the Biden administration. During his term, climate change was acknowledged (a low threshold), and combating it was even one of the administration’s goals, eventually leading to the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, an imperfect but historically large climate spending bill.

The hope that this bill instilled in youth activists is now being undone by historic levels of climate denial, gutting clean energy initiatives and research and new federal investment in fossil fuel projects. This has left my peers and me dismayed and demoralized at a time when we most need the energy to protect our communities and our generation. 

Thankfully, for me and the other members of the Jewish Youth Climate Movement, having a Jewish focus to our activism can help prevent burnout and provide hope in a dark time for climate action. It’s easy for us to see climate work as inherently Jewish because our organizing seeks to repair the world and take care of the most vulnerable in our society, principles also instilled in Torah. Knowing that your faith supports and compels you to fight for a better future is motivating, and no lack of federal or corporate action can take that away. 

“Taking Jewish climate action enables young people to not only fight for their local geographic communities but for the continuity of a collectivist, environmental tradition at odds with the exploitation and consumption causing climate change,” said Madeline Canfield, one of the staff advisors with JYCM who herself was a youth organizer. “This crisis requires youth activists to see their Jewish identities as two-fold: something which links them to a community to strategically mobilize and gives them texts, rituals, ideals and histories from which to draw clarity and resilience amid existential uncertainty.”

JYCM, a program of Adamah, the Jewish environmental group, does this on an explicit level, building relationships between high school members of the National Leadership Board and drawing joy from community and Jewish ritual. Meetings include time to catch up on daily life, de-stress, discuss hopeful developments in the climate world, and focus on the things that we should be grateful for in the midst of our fight for a better future. There are divrei Torah (sermons) at retreats and online meetings, connecting our work to our Jewish roots and inspiring hope, which is central to all movement planning. Our activism is loving, friendship-based, fun, and incredibly Jewishly enriching.

We are bringing that same attitude to JYCM’s newest campaign, Underwrite Earth. In partnership with other climate organizations, the initiative targets insurance companies and calls on them to stop insuring new and existing fossil fuel projects. Fossil fuel projects cannot move forward without insurance, and recently, insurance companies have shown greater willingness to respond to public pressure than the current federal government, since they rely on the public’s trust when buying their plans. 

Underwrite Earth also specifically engages Jews who lead insurance companies. Part of the campaign strategy involves sending postcards to these Jewish executives pressuring them to stop insuring LNGs and to consider their faith and the climate in company decisions. Last month, in solidarity with the campaign, 110 rabbis, cantors, and clerical students sent a letter to the CEO of the insurer Chubb, making a similar Jewish appeal. 

This innovative use of shared faith as a strategic tool is a reflection of the Jewish spirit of JYCM. Jews have faced setbacks in their search for safety and freedom of religion, but they adapted and kept on practicing their religion. Similarly, the climate movement has faced setbacks and has changed its strategy to adapt to the times and meet the moment. Developing these new strategies to combat the climate crisis and drawing on our history as resilient people creates hope and sparks more motivation to continue the climate fight.

Teens Hope Adelson and Liora Pelavin, who serve with me on JYCM’s Leadership Board, also draw hope from Underwrite Earth. Due to pressure from many environmental organizations, “Chubb just recently ruled out insuring the East African crude oil pipeline, which is one of the biggest oil projects in the world,” said Adelson, 17, from Orlando, Florida, “We are seeing movement, and that’s inspiring, because it shows us that the world isn’t closing in on us.”

Insurance companies “have a big financial incentive to stop insuring fossil fuel projects, because their home insurance [rates] have to go up because there are more disasters,” said Pelavin, 17, from Teaneck, New Jersey, “If they want to actually make money from insurance, they have to fight the climate crisis.”

While pressure on insurance companies may provide a boost for climate activists, decreased governmental and corporate attention to climate change is causing burnout. Finding ways to keep up motivation in the climate fight is critical to youth activists outlasting this period of lackluster focus on climate change.

Adelson admits that living in a state whose government is highly averse to talking about or acting on climate change saps her motivation and energy for climate organizing. “It’s mind-boggling to me that my state has been hit with hurricane after hurricane, natural disaster after natural disaster, tornadoes, hail, and snow, which doesn’t happen in Florida, and yet our governor is doing nothing about it.” 

When frustrated with the lack of climate action in her state and on a federal level, Adelson leans on her Jewish faith. Her bat mitzvah portion discusses pe’ah, the commandment to leave a corner of your field unharvested so those who do not have food can take from it. Adelson reminds herself of this commandment when she feels herself losing hope or motivation. She remains grateful for all that she has and considers the ways that she can use what she has to help those who might not have the same resources. 

Pelavin said that “being in community is a way that I spiritually heal myself so that I can keep going in this fight… I burn out, and then I bring myself back up” by drawing strength from her community.

This cycle, she said, is fueled by “the Jewish community that I have, and the wisdom that I know.”

Climate activist Bekah Garlikov, 16, who served as a youth climate ambassador for San Mateo County, acknowledges that “activism as a whole, it’s hard. It’s really hard. The things you learn while becoming an activist are somewhat depressing and anxiety-inducing.” However, Bekah’s Jewish identity helps motivate him and avoid burnout. “Being a Jew, understanding that you have to rally behind your community, it’s a similar feeling of rallying behind climate action and making progress. The world and nature are our community, and we fight to protect them.”

My motivation comes from my community of Jewish climate activists. With them, I have attended protests, phone-banked, planned actions, established local JYCM chapters, and educated thousands of Jews intergenerationally about the climate crisis and its connection to Judaism. Throughout our work, we never lose sight of our Jewish roots, recognizing that we are supported by hundreds of generations of Jews who have cared for the earth before us. These Jewishly-rooted communal components of climate organizing help me avoid burnout and continue fighting for climate justice.

Reducing any amount of greenhouse gas emissions is a huge win and will prevent natural disasters from intensifying. If action had been taken earlier, then perhaps the climate-change-fueled hurricane that destroyed my home would not have been as extreme either. The stakes in this fight are not low; they affect everyone on Earth. 

With the continued intensification of the climate crisis, Jewish teen climate activists are not slowing down. We are coming up with new strategies to reduce fossil fuel consumption despite a lack of federal government interest and are drawing on our Jewish identities, communities, experiences and families to find the motivation to continue our work and avoid burnout. There is no excuse to stop fighting for climate action. Our fight is holy work that benefits all of humanity.

The post ‘Climate anxiety’ isn’t a fad. For Jewish teens like me, it’s our inspiration. appeared first on Adamah.

Since February, I’ve had the honor to study at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Ketura, Israel. Here, I have had the opportunity to study with incredible peers and professors, and have made connections which will last far beyond the conclusion of the semester.

I think it is critical to start this post by explaining a bit about my background. I am a Modern Orthodox Jew who grew up in Baltimore and New York. I was raised in a Zionist home and community which instilled within me a love for the Jewish people and a desire to learn more and contribute to the Jewish state. I was also raised on the values of environmentalism and sustainability. My maternal grandfather was a climate scientist who was one of the first advocates for greenhouse gas emissions research and policy at Exxon before they eliminated his research team. From a young age, my parents taught me the importance of caring for a sustainable world. I always felt passionate about being an environmental leader.

These passions which I developed early in life led me to study both Near Eastern Studies and Environmental Studies at Princeton University for my undergraduate degree. Prior to beginning my degree, I would not have seen such an intersection between these fields. I began to conduct research as an undergraduate on the transformation of a river in Northern Israel. Without going into too much detail, what I discovered in my research was that in order to understand environmental policy and change in Israel, it was critical to learn more about the conflict and the geopolitical and historical context from which it began. This inspired me to study abroad for a summer in Jordan, where I was able to become relatively proficient in Arabic. I cherished the opportunity to speak with Jordanians of Palestinian descent about their lives and family histories and discovered how meaningful the power of storytelling and dialogue can be. 

When I first heard about the Arava Institute, I was shocked that there could be an academic institution which was so catered to my interests. Despite Princeton’s pushbacks in studying in Israel because of security concerns, I pushed them to grant me permission to study at the Institute for a semester. I was ultimately successful, and have been enormously satisfied with the decision to study here this semester.

The institute is constantly challenging what environmental stewardship can look like in a world bound by political borders and unrest. I learned here that while the basic mantra of the Institute is that “nature knows no borders,” the reality of the Middle East is far more complex. Different actors in this region need to understand when the environment transcends political borders, and also when nature is anthropogenically differently altered across varying political borders. Every class that I’ve had here, whether more focused on science or politics, has included that complex conversation which is critical to the work which the Institute does. I have really appreciated the honesty and humility with which the professors who I’ve been lucky to study with conduct themselves, which is hard when attempting to enact ground-breaking work to combat simultaneous political and environmental crises. As someone who is aspiring to be a change-maker in this field, hearing and understanding these nuances from professionals has opened my eyes to the practical work of well-grounded applied research.

Furthermore, it has been such an honor and privilege to have met the diverse student population which the Institute brings together. As one of very few international students this semester, it has been incredible to connect with students and interns who I would have never met otherwise. I have developed meaningful relationships with my roommates and peers while utilizing both my Hebrew and Arabic in the process. It has been critical for me to hear the stories of my peers both in and out of the official dialogue space. In addition to allowing me to deepen relationships, this has allowed me to widen my perspective of the different truths which people who live in and out of this region experience. Throughout the hardships and traumas which we discover here at the Institute, we are building deep channels of support and comfort to face the challenging realities which we face. 

Moreover, as one of very few religious students on the program, it has been so important for me to both share my lifestyle with others and connect with Muslim peers. On a recent trip to an Arab village in the Negev, one of my Muslim friends invited me to pray with him at the local Mosque during the fajr services at the crack of dawn. It has been so spiritually moving for me to be able to connect with others in this realm, simultaneously while being surrounded by the uplifting atmosphere of the still and vast Arava desert.

I must express again how grateful I am to have had this experience so far. It has been such a unique experience for an American university student. In a time in which our world is being plagued by toxic, extremist ideological battles, it has been so critical for me to hear the real-life stories of those experiencing this conflict. I have come to understand how critical social and environmental change are for our ever-changing reality, and how we need to ground such work in the nuances which our world includes. I will forever cherish the time I have spent here. I hope that this semester is only the beginning of engagement in this incredibly critical, meaningful, and complex work.

May we see more peaceful and sustainable times.

About the Author
Davi Frank is a junior at Princeton University studying Near Eastern Studies with minors in Environmental Studies and Religion. He founded and co-led the Adamah on Campus Chapter at Princeton for two years. In that role, he helped create meaningful events on campus, including a Jewish Learning Fellowship centered around Jewish ethics during a time of climate change, reverse tashlich events to cleanup nearby streams, and an environmentally themed Shabbat including a panel of activists, clergy, and professors in the field of environmental ethics and protection.

The post A Semester at the Arava Institute appeared first on Adamah.

Last Wednesday and Thursday, SAR Academy’s fifth grade embarked on a fantastic overnight trip to Teva. The experience was filled with bonding, learning and plenty of fun.

The adventure began with early morning tefillah at school, followed by breakfast. Afterward, the fifth graders boarded buses headed to the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, ready for two days of outdoor exploration and connection.

Once they arrived, students enjoyed a wide range of activities—hiking scenic trails, engaging in nature lessons, walking along a stream, participating in team-building challenges, playing sports and enjoying delicious meals.

In the evening, the grade gathered for dinner and capped off the day with s’mores around a cozy campfire under the stars.

The Teva trip was a wonderful opportunity for SAR’s fifth graders to connect with nature, strengthen friendships and create lasting memories in the great outdoors.

The post SAR Academy Embarks on Teva Trip appeared first on Adamah.

Bringing the themes of Passover to Earth Day, we connected with our partners at Adamah to discuss, “How can we all be free from environmental injustices?”. Read on for a conversation between Recustom’s Partnerships Manager, Jessica and Madeline, the Youth Empowerment, Education and Actions Manager at Adamah, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America.

At Recustom, we provide tools to DIY Jewish rituals. Our full content library is free to explore here. And, you can learn more about how to connect with Adamah here. 

Jessica: I would love to hear a bit about your background and work with Adamah. 

Madeline: At Adamah we’re trying to catalyze vibrant contemporary Jewish life in connection with the earth. My focus is working with young people to do climate action, organizing, and education, which is rooted in Jewish environmental teachings, traditions and rituals.

Passover is both a call to environmental thinking and a call to climate justice work. It’s about liberation and finding autonomy in that process of collective liberation. My own background as a a young person who has experienced the front lines of the climate crisis in the Gulf South, who has been in a lot of movements, and who has watched the Jewish community suffer at the hands of climate change, both through experiencing things life wildfires and floods, particularly in my hometown, and who has watched the roots of Jewish tradition be jeopardized by changing climate patterns. All of this has brought me to my work at Adamah.

Jessica: Could you share a bit more about how you understand climate action to be a Jewish value and where you see that value ultimately intersecting with Passover? And, how might we bring this understanding into our day to day? 

Madeline: In Passover, so much of the tradition is rooted in the turning of the season, connecting with the foods that are available to eat seasonally. At the same time, we’re abstaining from wheat, from chametz. Therefore, we can draw this understanding of collective liberation coming from a process of figuring out what in our lives we want to take out, in order to move from narrowness into expansiveness. I think the climate crisis shows us the ways that we have fixated on a narrow understanding of what it means to produce and consume, based on a model of extraction from the land that is not regenerative and frankly, not aligned with Jewish time or practices. 

Passover is an opportunity to root out the many systems of oppression that brought us to the current moment: racism, white supremacy, unequal economic systems, anti-semitism. Passover is this big liberation holiday in which a relationship to land and an attunement to the time of year is put into relationship with justice. That’s a lot of what fighting the climate crisis is. It’s an opportunity to see how a different mode of relating to land, to agriculture, to resource extraction, renewable energy, to economy, can also be an opportunity for justice for so many marginalized groups that have suffered at the expense of the systems that have enabled the climate crisis historically.

Jessica: There is a broad spectrum of backgrounds who might be represented at a seder table: Jewish people, friends of Jewish people, people attending their first seder, people in interfaith relationships, and more, each with their own connection to the climate crisis. What advice do you have for hosts, who want to bring these ideas into their next seder or gathering?  

Madeline: The entrypoint that comes to mind are the plagues. There is a tradition in liberal seders in recent decades of talking about modern day plagues in connection to the climate crisis.

What I think needs to be probed more deeply is that the plagues are not these injustices that are festering in Egyptian society that the Israelites are rooting out in their liberation tale. Rather, they are inflicted upon the Egyptians in the process of liberation. So, they’re really complicated. They’re fraught because what they demonstrate is that the process of coming into a better future of freedom, sometimes has measures of violences that come as a side effect, or even a deliberate response. And that’s really complicated. When we think about the climate crisis, there’s a lot that needs to change in our world. We’re experiencing how, when those in power don’t shift, the consequences are like plagues. I think there’s a lot of interesting room for conversation there.

We can interpret the plagues and climate disasters as the ways that people suffer at the hands of their leaders. The Egyptian people are different from Pharaoh, and yet everybody, and sometimes including the Israelites (but mostly including the Egyptians) suffer from the plagues. From there we can draw parallels to the ways that the climate crisis is manifesting for everybody. What losses might happen? What would we actually need to think of ourselves as shifting and what might feel tense? What pleasures or privileges do we feel like we’re losing on a shifting planet? And actually, how can we transcend that mindset of narrowness and loss to the expansiveness of getting out of narrowness into a justice oriented to climate justice?

The practice of storytelling and the plagues, particularly thinking that you personally came out of Egypt and being in conversation with our descendants and ancestors are really ripe topics for understanding the meaning of the climate crisis as an emotional, somatic, intergenerational experience and an imperative to action today. 

Jessica: How might hosts empower attendees to bring their own stories to the table? And, to feel empowered to talk about something that could feel sensitive and challenging?

Madeline: I love a good discussion prompt. What’s beautiful about the seder is that in the enactment of the ritual, everything is thematic, everything has meaning to be parsed, and that meaning is really oriented in time. It’s not just that we’re telling the story of the past. We’re figuring out why this past has meaning to us today. 

I would recommend finding one or two resources that resonate and preparing a few discussion questions to invite in conversation. Ask participants to share their own stories– maybe you, as the leader, could model telling a story first, making a connection between the personal, collective, and present moment. I think there are lots of different ways to do it. What’s beautiful about Jewish ritual is that it’s always an invitation to interrogate our current world and how it shapes our understanding of the past into the future in creative ways.

Check-out discussion prompts from Adamah for your next seder or to use year round on Recustom and explore Adamah’s full Passover 2025 resource here.

The post From Passover to Earth Day appeared first on Adamah.

Written by: City & State

The transition to clean energy has entered a new phase in New York, as the state faces threats from new tariffs, economic headwinds and a pivot away from climate change policies in Washington, D.C. Yet renewable resources like solar and wind power as well as advances in battery storage and energy efficiency remain a key part of the energy equation, championed by public officials and industry executives alike. And even as federal subsidies for renewable energy dry up and climate goals come under scrutiny, there remains plenty of industry momentum behind major initiatives like offshore wind installations and upgraded and expanded transmission lines across the state.

City & State’s annual Trailblazers in Clean Energy puts a spotlight on the clean energy leaders of New York, including innovative industry figures, groundbreaking policymakers and notable environmentalists and conservationists.

Shahar Sadeh

Founding Director, Adamah NY

Shahar Sadeh is connecting the Jewish community to the clean energy and climate change movements in order to make progress toward a sustainable future. Adamah, North America’s largest Jewish environmental organization, is creating the Roadmap to Decarbonize American Jewish Life that incorporates sustainability practices within Jewish organizations. The roadmap is expected to launch in the later part of 2025. Adamah organizes an environmental education camp for Jewish children and the Jewish Youth Climate Movement to better involve Gen Z in sustainability issues.

The post The 2025 Trailblazers in Clean Energy appeared first on Adamah.

Read the full interview below!

Urban Dor: Tell us about what you like about the Greater Hartford Jewish community and when did you first hear about Urban Dor?

Shaina: I love seeing the growth of the community here. Even since moving a year and a half ago, I have already seen an increase in the quantity of events offered and in the number of people being reached. I am excited to see the ways the community will continue to meet this demand with more programming and engagement in months and years to come! I first heard about Urban Dor through the local young Jewish adult WhatsApp group; my first Urban Dor event was the Wine & Cheese Social at The Crown!

Urban Dor: We love that you jumped into the Greater Hartford Jewish community headfirst and started a new group for Jewish women, tell us about your first event and where you envision it going?

Shaina: When I was in college at George Washington University in DC, I was the co-founder of a Jewish sorority, so I feel like a lot of my inspiration came from the joy of that community and group brought me. There is something so special about having a space and ritual just for women. Throughout the last year or so, I have mentioned this idea to some people at events, with lots of reciprocated enthusiasm, so finally I decided to make it happen! Our first event was supported by The Greater Hartford Jewish Federation and took place on Rosh Chodesh Shevat. We discussed what Rosh Chodesh is and how it became a woman’s holiday, did a text study about Shevat, specifically into the ideas of people planting roots and growing, like trees, in the spirit of Tu B’Shevat. In that same Tu B’Shevat spirit, we snacked on some dried fruit and nuts and made tree collages out of recycled magazines. All of this was grounded in a deep sense of connection and community-building. We already have our next event planned, hosted by another community member! Feel welcome to join the WhatsApp group.

Urban Dor: We are so inspired by your love for the planet and infusing Jewish principles through it. What are ways for people to get involved with Jewish sustainability?

Shaina: I work full-time for an organization called, Adamah. At Adamah, we work to cultivate vibrant Jewish life in deep connection with the earth and help people understand the connection between “people and planet,” “Adam and Adamah.” Adamah has opportunities for people of all ages. Specific to our community, are things happening at our nearby Retreat Center, Isabella Freedman. Whether it be with our organization, or just reflecting on the ways that Judaism’s holidays, history, rituals, and values are connected to environmentalism and climate, there are so many ways to make this more central to your spiritual experience. Whether that be reflecting on the ways Judaism calls on us to be stewards of the planet, emphasizes Bal Tashchit (not wasting) and Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), hosting a vegan Shabbat dinner, calling on your synagogue to commit to taking bold climate action… all of these things are so valuable!

Urban Dor: For Urban Dor’s next event – the Wine & Cheese Social in March 2025 – you will be volunteering with us to make Charcuterie Boards (thank you!) – how did you first get involved with that hobby and are you considering taking it further than a hobby?

Shaina: I have always loved to be creative, and this hobby really just came about randomly when making cheese boards for family and friend events. I realized I was both quite good at it, and also had a lot of fun making them! I also love that it is a way to bring in and support local farmers and their produce (during the right seasons). I plan to continue keeping the hobby pretty lowkey, needing to make time for so many other hobbies and passions, however I am always happy to chat if people have a special request or event and want to chat about the possibility of me making a board for them! I love getting to customize based on preferences – I have made mediterranean-themed boards, dessert boards, so many other variations!

Urban Dor: What do you enjoy doing in your down time in Greater Hartford?

Shaina: In the warmer months, I am a big outdoors gal, always on a walk or hike somewhere, one of my favorites is Talcott Mountain. I also love exploring new coffee shops and restaurants, some of my favorites are Birdhouse Coffee in South Windsor and Sayulita in Glastonbury!

Want to connect further with Shaina? Email her at shaymorrel@gmail.com.

Article by Simon Lichter.

The post Spotlight: Shaina Morrel appeared first on Adamah.

February 12, 2025
Once again, it’s the new year of the trees (see below for context on the holiday).  On the one hand, Tu b’Shvat is about hope.   Our tradition notes that even at the height of the global north’s winter, when deciduous trees are decidedly bare and spring feels so very far off, the process toward new verdancy is unfolding as it should.  The trees, bare now, will shortly bear fruit.  Deep within each tree, the sap is already rising.  And so are we.

On the other hand, Tu b’Shvat 5785 comes in the chaotic early weeks of a new U.S. Administration which has already pulled us out of the global climate accords, fired numerous scientists and experts, eliminated the justice and equity divisions within the EPA and Department of Energy, and celebrated the return of plastic straws, among numerous other back-sliding steps.  Dayenu’s Rabbi Jennie Rosenn aptly calls this “nothing less than an assault on the Tree of Life.”  For people of faith and conscience — who appreciate what a threat climate change poses to us, the globally vulnerable, our descendants, and Creation – it’s a long cold lonely winter, indeed.

Hope can feel hard to come by, as so much that we hold dear gets wiped away by executive fiat (some of it constitutional).  But however thin or far off the hope may feel, it’s real, and we must name and celebrate and grasp it.  Right now, I find hope:

•      in the multifaith coalitions within which COEJL does its best and most important work – like the many congressional meetings that a Quaker, a Catholic, a Lutheran and I are now scheduling to jointly defend clean energy tax credits, urging thoughtful Republican House members to lift up the good things the Inflation Reduction Act has brought to their districts and their constituents. 
•      just today, in a Jewish Earth Alliance Tu b’Shvat lobby day Zoom room with two senate staffers, two rabbis, and multiple policy wonks, where the unquestioned leader was Izzy, a remarkable Adamah-trained Colby College student active with the Jewish Youth Climate Movement.  Go Izzy!  Go Jewish youth!  Go Adamah!  
•    in the growth of the Jewish environmental movement (which I’ve followed since the creation of Shomrei Admah in 1988 and of COEJL in 1993). Today its advocacy efforts are often led by Dayenu, with thoughtful national offerings and local activist Dayenu Circles doing great work all across the country.  Plan now to join their March 18th (8:30pm ET) Mass Call: Rising to Meet the Moment.  Rising, like the sap.
•       through the many multi-faith religious organizations (including the Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform movements) who just joined a lawsuit to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from entering houses of worship (as the new Administration just  authorized them to do).  Note:  a huge percentage of today’s refugees are in motion courtesy of climate change, with more extreme weather and more widespread migration already locked in ahead of us.  Immigration and climate are profoundly intersectional; and both in turn profoundly intersect with racism, now running rampant.  Let us remember, religiously: we are all in this together.

And perhaps above all, I feel hope in the expansion of Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition (JCLC), where numerous national Jewish organizations are joined by literally hundreds of synagogues and other local groups in crafting, committing to, and publicizing their own respective climate action plans.  Now in just its third year, the JCLC has already had a catalyzing effect on our national community, and it’s setting a high bar that many communities are now rising to meet.  Rising, like the sap. 

Adamah.org’s Liore Milgrom-Gartner wrote this in a Tu b’Shvat email blas,t earlier this evening:  “Instead of counting the age of trees, today we’re counting our carbon emissions…. we now have over 400 climate action plans from organizations spanning 42 different states. Individually, [each is] a snapshot of one organization’s journey of climate action and resilience.  Collectively they are a testament to our commitment to a livable, beautiful planet for future generations.” 

Do please look up the JCLC – and plan for your group to join it this year, if it hasn’t done so already.  There you’ll see, among other inspiring examples:  “a Los Angeles Hillel that’s focusing on a rooftop solar campaign as fires surround them; an Asheville, North Carolina synagogue that’s creating a space for climate dialogue and action amidst flooding; and an Atlanta synagogue that’s tapping into Adamah’s support to reduce emissions, save money, and lead nature-based Jewish programs.” 

Liore wrapped up her message by affirming that “this Tu B’Shvat we can start anew with the power of community binding us together in action and resiliency.”  Ken y’hi ratzon – may it be so.  May we rise, like the sap, and make it so.

​Context on the holiday:
​
              The Mishnah tells us of four different New Years, with Rosh Hashanah (1 Tishrei) being just one – animals have their own a month earlier (Elul 1); kings and infrastructure are commemorated just before Pesach (Nissan 1); and trees’ timing turns over in winter, at the full moon, on the 15th of Shvat. 
​
            (In alpha-numerics, the number 15 should be rendered as10+5, but that would yield Yod-Hey, Yah, a Divine name – so we substitute 9+6, Tet-Vav, and pronounce it “tu.”  Thus our Jewish Arbor Day, in the middle of this month, is known as “Tu b’Shvat”.).

             This may seem odd, but a certain wisdom inheres here.  We are those who take the long view, who faithfully affirm that the barren branches before us will yet re-grow greenery, and songbirds absent now will again alight upon them.  Leo Tolstoy supposedly said, “there’s hope for a people who celebrate trees in the middle of a Russian winter!” 

              The Mishnah is most concerned with tithing cycles, so originally, Shvat 15 was akin to April 15.   The medieval mystics made hay of this holiday, since in Kabbalah, divinity gets diagrammed as a tree (truly, a tree-shaped set of ten spheres of godly emanation, the s’firot).  Early Zionists embraced Tu B’shvat anew; as they made tree-planting a (sometimes controversial) core practice in Israel, it became rooted as a modern mitzvah world-wide.

              In recent decades, awareness has grown of our interdependence with trees and with all the biosphere – and Tu B’Shvat has by now become more of a Jewish Earth Day than a Jewish Arbor Day.  So this season, Jews around the world are tuning into what tradition tells us about stewardship and sustainability.  But of course, as with the aspirational slogan “every day is Earth Day,” we must ensure that our consciousness and commitment only continue to expand, season by season, day by day. 

The post COALITION on the ENVIRONMENT and JEWISH LIFE appeared first on Adamah.

by Sam Sobel

February 12, 2025 

Hello, reader! In case you missed the previous Baltimore Environmental Sustainability Network blogs, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sam Sobel, and I’m the Baltimore climate action coordinator for Adamah.

The BESN is a collection of Jewish organizations and individuals working to promote a more sustainable Jewish Baltimore. This network is a partnership between The Associated and Adamah, initiated by Mark Smolarz and guided by the leadership of Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin.

While the BESN focuses on community collaboration, I also work with local Jewish organizations on their own climate efforts through Adamah’s national Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition. Open to any Jewish nonprofit at no cost, the Coalition is made up of community organizations that recognize the existential threat and moral urgency of climate change.

There is only one requirement for Coalition members — to submit a Climate Action Plan once a year in time for Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish new year of trees that starts this year at sundown on Wednesday, Feb. 12

An organization’s CAP details actions taken over the past year while setting goals for the coming year. More than 400 organizations internationally — primarily based in the United States and Canada — have joined the Coalition since its inception in September of 2022. Last Tu B’Shevat, there were eight Coalition members in Baltimore. By Tu B’Shevat this year, Baltimore can proudly claim 21 Coalition members.

The Coalition Climate Action Plan is broken down into a variety of categories focused on expanding impact and the path toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. While members are asked to share their progress in all categories, organizations often excel in one category more than the others. These strengths are apparent in our own community and are worthy of being spotlighted.

Energy Efficiency

The energy efficiency section of the CAP asks, “What steps have you taken and/or are you going to take to reduce energy use at your facilities?”

To begin to answer this question, an energy audit is often a useful first step. Several Coalition members in our community have gone through this process in the past year, including Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. The audit assessed the age and condition of all mechanical and other systems, and provided a list of energy conservation measure recommendations, which BHC plans to prioritize for implementation.

Having all-electric efficient equipment is a cornerstone for becoming a net-zero emissions building, a fact reflected in the opportunities of Adamah’s Climate Action Fund. One of these opportunities is the North American Climate Grant Fund, which has provided matching grants for projects that involve sourcing clean electricity, going electric and energy efficiency.

The Edward A. Myerberg Center in Northwest Baltimore was recognized for its climate goals with a grant award to replace its nearly four-decade-old refrigerator with a new and efficient model. When hearing about the Myerberg Center receiving this grant, one community member was inspired to donate a new freezer to complete the efficient set.

The Myerberg Center kitchen is far from complete however, as they plan to replace their ice machine and gas oven as well with efficient electric models, and share their experiences and the climate impact of their actions.

Fuel Switching to Electric Appliances

The goal of all-electric efficient appliances often requires switching over from fossil fuel-powered appliances to electric powered appliances. The Associated is engaging with this process by conducting a comprehensive inventory of fossil fuel-dependent equipment and infrastructure across their 19 buildings.

By carefully mapping out the natural replacement cycles of appliances, equipment, and vehicles, The Associated is creating a strategic roadmap for transitioning to electric alternatives. This methodical approach ensures both environmental and financial sustainability, setting an example for how organizations can make systematic progress toward climate goals.

Food We Serve

There are many intentional food choices that can be made to reflect a more sustainable way of eating. For Chizuk Amuno Congregation in Pikesville, a new grant from the Center for Jewish Food Ethics will allow them to model sustainable food choices for their community.

The synagogue and school will move toward more plant-based foods, starting with school lunches. To start, each Friday the meal is plant-based, with no meat or dairy. A caring committee of teachers, parents and synagogue members is brainstorming ways to help bring more plant-based options to other parts of programming, whether it’s the kiddush after services, meals and treats for the faculty and Shabbat/community dinners.

Food We Waste

As highlighted in a previous Jmore blog, food donation is a meaningful method of limiting food waste while also benefiting the community. When possible, the Towson University Hillel works with “The Hub,” the campus food resource organization. Through this partnership, Towson University Hillel aims to ensure that students in need have access to their food surplus, whether or not they are a part of the Hillel community.

Nature-Based Solutions

Nature-based solutions encompass climate action in natural spaces, such as lawns, forests, waterways and more. With 180 acres of land at the Pearlstone campus in Reisterstown, nature-based solutions are a priority.

This past year alone, 70 very rare Giant River Canen Arundinaria Gigantea — which used to be a major part of Maryland’s ecosystems but now are entirely gone — were planted onsite. Fourteen were also donated to other nurseries in the community to restore the species’ presence in the state.

But an organization doesn’t need to have a sprawling campus to make a difference with nature-based solutions. At Pikesville’s Beth Tfiloh Congregation, a stream restoration project in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency began in 2019.

The restoration of the Moores Branch runoff adjacent to Beth Tfiloh’s property has focused largely on future resiliency, installing components to protect from future erosion. In addition, a new footpath through the area was built so that anyone using the path as a shortcut for services would be gently steered onto a trail rather than disturbing the natural vegetation.

Education & Nature Connection

A central focus for many organizations is engaging communities through programming, celebrations and learning moments connecting people to the Earth, educating them about climate change and inspiring collective action

The Owings Mills Jewish Community Center exemplifies this approach with its pending grant proposal to create an educational nature trail featuring artwork highlighting native species. The project has actively sought community input throughout its development.

While this initiative represents a permanent installation, impactful environmental education can also occur through special events. One example is Chevrei Tzedek Synagogue’s upcoming “Green Mitzvathon” at The Myerberg Center (3101 Fallstaff Road).

This weekend-long event on May 2-4 will explore the Jewish principle of Earth stewardship (shmirat ha-adamah) while offering practical guidance for environmental action. Activities will include nature walks, services, plant-based meals and an environmental fair featuring educational demonstrations and eco-friendly vendors.

The 21 current Coalition members in Baltimore are deeply connected to our community, and the impact of their actions resonates far and wide. This is work to be proud of, and it’s only just beginning. Let us keep this important work up, growing and learning in our community climate solutions.

May we have peace on a healthy Earth. And go Orioles!

Feel free to reach out to Sam Sobel and the BESN at besn@associated.org. For questions about the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, reach out to Sam at sam.sobel@adamah.org

The next BESN event, which will be open to all, will be on food waste prevention. Learn how to help the climate, your budget and the goal of greater sustainability at our food waste prevention gathering on Tuesday, Mar. 25 from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Myerberg Center, 3101 Fallstaff Road. Register here.

The post JMORE – Tu B’Shvat Climate Action appeared first on Adamah.

As Jewish organizations across the country navigate growing antisemitism on college campuses, UCLA Hillel has had to endure more: the LA wildfires. Through this emergency situation, UCLA Hillel’s commitment to sustainability never wavered.  

“I am looking forward to new climate initiatives at UCLA Hillel! Perhaps we will commit to a zero emissions policy, then take action to implement it by installing solar panels and switching to electric appliances.” – Aviram Bhalla-Levine, PhD student at UCLA

UCLA Hillel is one of 400+ members of Adamah’s Jewish Leadership Climate Coalition (Coalition). This Coalition provides financial, logistical, and communal support to a network of Jewish community organizations who recognize the urgency of climate change and commit to take action. Adamah’s Coalition helps organizations implement their organizational Climate Action Plans as well as provides Adamah staff liaisons to lead the climate action work.

Thanks to an Adamah Climate Action Fund zero-interest loan, UCLA Hillel will be installing a photovoltaic solar array, drastically reducing their carbon footprint.  With limited green space, they have found creative ways to encourage sustainable transportation, offering students bike storage inside the building and utilizing nearby EV charging stations. These small adaptations show how even urban organizations can make a positive environmental impact within their constraints.

“I feel really excited to be here at UCLA’s Hillel while we have this opportunity to invest in climate action – it’s a great chance to get more involved and have more of an impact on this community.” – Bella Goldwasser, undergraduate student at UCLA

UCLA Hillel’s commitment to the environment goes beyond just infrastructure. They are considering the creation of a Green Committee within its Board of Directors.  They have made food sustainability a key priority. All meals at Hillel feature vegetarian and vegan options, while efforts to reduce food waste are continuously refined.

On February 10, 2025, Adamah on Campus hosted a “Cookies & Climate” event at UCLA Hillel, celebrating Tu B’Shvat and the intersection of Judaism and environmentalism. Students decorated cookies while engaging in discussions about the climate crisis and Jewish environmental texts. They highlighted the words of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who said that “earth, humans, and rain” are equally important for the survival of the world. Rabbi Levi ben Hiyyata’s teaching—that without the earth, there is no rain, and without rain, the earth cannot endure—resonated deeply with students. This event, along with others like it, demonstrates how Adamah on Campus is encouraging students to explore how their Jewish values intersect with climate action.

As Samm Levy, a student at UCLA Hillel, shared, “As someone whose primary interests are environmentalism, conservation, and the energy transition, I was so excited to find an opportunity to intersect my passion for the environment and my Jewish identity.”

“I look forward to Hillel at UCLA’s transition to more sustainable practices that protect our planet and hope this encourages others to do the same.” – Brandon Damavandi, undergraduate student at UCLA

Through these initiatives and the support from Adamah, UCLA Hillel has shown that Jewish organizations can play a vital role in addressing climate change exemplifying the Jewish value of tikkun olam (repairing the world).

The post UCLA Hillel appeared first on Adamah.

 February 4, 2025
WASHINGTON — Dozens of consumer protection, community development, environmental, climate, and racial justice advocates have joined together to form the Equitable & Just Insurance Initiative, a coalition that aims to develop solutions that can guide community leaders and policy advocates working to address the climate-driven insurance crisis.

As insurance premiums skyrocket, and as insurance companies continue to cut and limit coverage for individuals across the country, more than 30 groups will push policymakers to stand up for communities and adopt policies that put people over profits and hold the insurance providers accountable for the industry’s fossil fuel underwriting and investment. 

“The insurance crisis is a direct outcome of the climate crisis, and as the cost of insurance increases, hard-working people are left to foot the bill,” said Deanna Noël, climate campaigns director with Public Citizen’s Climate Program. “Instead of protecting consumers, insurers are hiking premiums, cutting coverage, and abandoning areas hit hardest by climate change—all while maintaining record profits. The Equitable & Just Insurance Initiative will demand bold, transparent, and community-driven solutions that prioritize people over corporate profits and pave the way toward a resilient and sustainable future.”

In 2024, 27 separate billion-dollar disasters tore through the U.S., causing over $2.9 trillion in damages and claimed lives, destroyed homes, businesses, and entire communities. Now, just weeks into 2025, the deadly LA fires have added another $250 billion to this mounting toll. As climate-driven disasters have racked up billions in damages across the country, major insurers are abandoning ordinary families while continuing to insure and invest in fossil fuels. 

“The Equitable & Just Insurance Initiative is an effort to reshape, reimagine, and lay out the blueprint of the world that we want to live in by working alongside experts and community groups to develop tangible solutions that address the profit-driven nature of insurance companies that delay, deny, and withdraw working people’s coverage because of climate change-driven extreme weather events while simultaneously financing and profiting off of fossil fuels,” said Moonyoung Ko, climate finance campaigns associate director for Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund.

“In the Gulf South, we are all too familiar with what unjust and inequitable insurance looks like.  Insurance companies operate with a blank check in our region, profiting from our need to protect our homes from climate disaster, and then pulling out once they have made their money, all with little to no intervention from our public officials. In our disaster recovery work, Louisiana Just Recovery Network sees time and again how little insurance, which should serve as a safety net, serves our communities. Homeowner after homeowner is met with high deductibles, lengthy assessment processes, and the added risk of losing their insurance if they file a claim. We are excited to engage with national partners and other frontline communities, through EJII, who want to see a change to the way we manage risk in a climate changing world and where we focus on real solutions that center people and communities,” said Toi Jean Carter, co-founder of Louisiana Just Recovery Network.

“In communities across Indiana, rural and urban, families are struggling with steep increases in homeowner’s insurance coverage. Because going without coverage puts the largest asset for most Americans at risk, families have no choice but to pay the prices, especially if they have a mortgage payment that requires continued insurance coverage. Families may be put into the position of having to sell their home, and the loss of long-term generational wealth, due to these increasing escrow costs. Those who pay have less of their monthly income available for other needs putting them at risk to financial hardship due to a health care need, vehicle repair, or other unexpected significant cost. Now more than ever, we need to make sure that all homeowners have access to affordable and comprehensive coverage,” said Amy Nelson, executive director of Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana.

The groups making up Equitable & Just Insurance Initiative include Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Revolving Door Project, Better Markets, Center for Economic Justice, Center for International Environmental Law, Climate and Community Institute, Climate Defenders, Connecticut Citizen’s Action Group, Connecticut Coalition for Economic and Environmental Justice, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, Costa Rican Federation for the Conservation of Nature, Emergency Legal Responders, Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area, Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, Freeport Haven Project for Environmental Justice, Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance, Green America, Gulf South Fossil Finance Hub, HousingLOUISIANA, HousingNOLA, Insure Our Future, Jewish Youth Climate Movement – Adamah, Living Rivers Movement, Costa Rica, Louisiana Just Recovery Network, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American, Community Development, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, National Housing Law Project, National Housing Resource Center, New York Communities for Change, Oil and Gas Action Network, People’s Action Institute, Rebuild by Design, Revolving Door Project, Rise Economy, The Greenlining Institute, Third Act, and Union of Concerned Scientists.

The post Jewish Youth Climate Movement helps launch new initiative appeared first on Adamah.

On Tuesday the 7th, I watched from my math class as the Palisades fire caught and consumed the hills right in front of me. No one really knew what was going on; we were in shock and almost paralyzed with fear. By Wednesday morning the fire had burned more than 12,000 acres, school was canceled, and more fires were popping up in Los Angeles as the day went on.

Now, just after Shabbat, the Palisades fire is over 20,000 acres and Los Angeles is burning and choking on smoke all over. I think most Angelenos, if not all watching, can agree that this scene is something straight out of an apocalyptic horror film.

I am grateful to have a safe home and family, so these past couple days I’ve spent sheltered inside answering the “are you okay?” texts and trying to reflect on if I am. In multiple meanings of the word “okay,” I am. My house, family, friends, and school are safe, and I have the resources to help those around me, but in many other senses of the word, I do not feel okay.

The city I grew up in now looks like the dystopian horror stories that first motivated me to fight for climate justice; right now my world is on fire and I can feel the heat. More than that, I am not okay because these fires aren’t just some terrible, random accidents like a once in a lifetime tragedy, no. These fires are the result of hundreds of years of overconsumption of natural resources. Overconsumption that has led to an insatiable and aggressive search for more, causing the fossil fuel industry to thrive.

These fires were fueled by, if not caused by, climate change. The harshness and strength of these dry winds; the drought conditions that have allowed so much to burn so fast and so far; the lack of rain which will leave LA covered in a thick layer of smoke for weeks until it finally dissipates, followed by unimaginable muddy destruction. All of this is the result of fossil fuel companies and the insurance industry fighting more for their profit than our livelihoods. This is completely unacceptable.

So in these next couple weeks, while we continue to give support and relief to the victims who have lost everything, please add one more thing to your to-do list: fight back. Get involved in organizations fighting climate change, attend the next protest in your community, or contact your congressional representatives and tell them that we cannot live in a world where the new year comes in already hot. If you need resources on where to start, JYCM and many other organizations are able to help direct your fight. We need to make sure that our government and those in power know that fighting for climate justice isn’t something to put on the back burner, it is a priority now!

The post New Year On Fire appeared first on Adamah.

Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh Bazeh. We are all responsible for one another.

Adamah family,

As our Los Angeles community suffers devastating loss, we wanted to check in with you, as you, your family, and your friends are in our thoughts with the fire and evacuations. You are not alone in this; we at Adamah are here to support you.  

Working in Adamah’s Youth Empowerment Division, I’ve witnessed the resilience of young Jewish climate activists in our LA community and their passion for our environment. 

As I come to tears writing this, I am certain that we will return from this stronger, more prepared, and grateful for our ability to overcome adversity in these stressful times.  We alone aren’t responsible for the climate crisis, and together we can be instrumental in being part of the solution. I know our community will take time to heal and recover from this devastating fire, and it is important you know we are here to support you.   

May your strength shine through, 

Marissa Fink
Adamah on Campus California Coordinator

We are committed to building up our LA staff and programming in the months and years to come, helping engage, inspire, and mobilize vibrant Jewish life in deep connection with the earth, for our people and our planet—so that whenever these crises strike, together we know we will pull through. 

-Jakir Manela, Adamah CEO

The post Supporting our LA community appeared first on Adamah.