Shmita, like Shechina, Goes Global: Reflections from a Hammock on This Shmita Year
By Amichai Lau-Lavie A year ago I was laying in a hammock on a Brazilian beach, planning a year’s worth of Shmita study and action
July 30, 2015
Weekly Parsha Essays
From Shmita to Hak’hel: Assembling on October 4
By Rabbi Arthur Waskow In the last several years, many societies and cultures have been stirred by the sense of a great planetary crisis caused by human
July 3, 2015
Making Hummus with Shmita Values
By Michael Bomze On a weekly basis, I make hummus – very much at the mercy of area farmers, as I use fresh produce in each batch
June 4, 2015
Love and Money in the Cycle of Release
By Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips The words of the Shema call for love of God “with all your me’od.” Me’od ordinarily means very-much, and is generally translated
May 6, 2015
Stop Now! 'Shmita' and Climate Change
by Mirele Goldsmith This article originally appeared on December 27, 2014 on the Shma website. Read the original article here. Imagine that you’re a wealthy
April 29, 2015
Jewish Gifts to Interfaith Climate Change Work
by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav used to say: “Friends do not despair! When a difficult time has come upon us, joy
April 2, 2015
Shmita and Interconnection
By Rabbi Rachel Barenblat Note: This piece first appeared in the Shalom Center’s Purim to Pesach campaign. To sign up to receive future mailings, visit
March 19, 2015
The Taste of Shmita
By Rabbi David Seidenberg “May the Merciful One turn our hearts toward the land, so that we may dwell together with her in her Sabbath-resting,
February 11, 2015
In the Shmita Year, Lifting the Burden of Pay Day Loans
by Ari Hart The beginning of 2015 is also the halfway point in the year of shmita, the once in seven years when the Bible
January 8, 2015
Shmita Reflections on the Origins of Teva
By Amy Meltzer I’m no farmer. The amount of produce harvested from everything I’ve ever planted would surely not top ten pounds. The impact of
December 17, 2014
The Earth Belongs to Whom?
By Deirdre Gabbay As we move through liturgical time, we are called upon to embody the various mindsets that Torah wishes specifically to cultivate. During
November 18, 2014
Life Lessons Learned from the Shmita Year
by Akiva Gersh It’s fair to say that Shmita inspired me to become religious. After learning about it and other environmentally-related laws and values of
October 20, 2014