for college students by college students AGRICULTURE AND JUDAISM from page 27 ROAM from page 27 cise/nutrition program called Market Walk, where eastside citizens record walking miles and exchange their miles for market tokens, which work the same as money at the market. Additionally, I helped organize Community Soup, a monthly cooking work- shop for eastsiders. I've also worked with the market man- ager on general organizational tasks involved in operating the main market and the mini satellite market at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. All are important programs and services for this commu- nity. The programs certainly embody the principles and lessons regarding sustain- ability and social justice embedded in Judaism, which Plotkin organized Food Chatter as an educational program this year at the I learned at Oz. I carry these Lansing farmers market. principles with me each day. This spring, in collabora- tion with the Jewish Student Union, Hillel and Lansing's Garden Project, several students and Zachary Colman of Bloomfield Hills is a graduate of Michigan State University and is now a I hope to organize a community garden and promote programs that teach students the relation- graduate student in public affairs reporting at University of Illinois-Springfield. ship between Judaism, food and the environment, while also educating them on tzedakah and tikkun olam as they relate to agriculture as well as to sustainability and social justice in food systems. The goal is to maintain sight of human- kind's innate connection to nature and reliance on the soil-plant-animal-human food chain. As Jews, our holidays are structured around the fall's harvest and the changing of the seasons, among other aspects of our dynamic environment. Too often our link to the natural world and our food is fettered with cell phones, iPods and the stress we encounter in daily life. Food is a link to nature, and Judaism presents a unique medium for exploring our relation to our food and the sustain- The Oakland Academic Summer Israel Study program of Oakland University offers current ability and social justice components that and guest students a four-week study abroad experience in the Central Galilee region of Israel. are interwoven therein. ers around the time I left the city. (And yes, Omaha has a Jewish community.) My dad is hardly religious — in fact, the distinction he made between my generation and his is almost laughable, considering the source — but he does have a point. We didn't grow up with the concept of neighborhood, where people hung out on porches and your own block was your community. The synagogue was more important when our communities were more confined. My generation finds its Judaism through culture, and it's a well-documented fact. Look around Michigan and the nation and you'll see that synagogues are actively trying to recruit young people because my generation is disconnected from the synagogue. And that's perfectly fine. No, I don't go to shul. I'm actually one of the least religious Jews you'll ever meet. I even make bacon in my home, and you can ask my three Jewish roommates from college how much they enjoyed that. You can call me a bad Jew, and maybe some rabbis would agree. But I don't define my Judaism by whether I wear a yarmulke or if I'm in the presence of a Torah on Saturdays. I live as I was taught in Hebrew school every Sunday growing up and by the values my parents instilled in me. And if that's really a bad Jew — well, then there are a lot of us out there in my generation. Unfortunately, many people from my generation will have to leave Michigan, at least for a little while. I think we all want to come back at some point, but we all know our chances of landing a job in the state are about as good as Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu going on a wine tasting tour together in the Golan. So we move to places where we don't know anyone, or know very few people. It's tough to start over in an unfamiliar place, and it's something that I will likely have to do several more times. But bad Jews or good Jew, I know there's always a Jewish community that will accept me. © July 5-August 5, 2011 Participants will earn college credit while assisting in the education of sixth-grade Israeli students in an English-language summer camp. Sam Plotkin of Huntington Woods is a senior at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He's still majoring in social relations and policy, with a specialization in sustainable agriculture and food systems. This unique opportunity will include: Home hospitality for each student with a host family Workshops and field trips Special interest tracks of study Tours to sites such as Jerusalem's Old City, Tel Aviv, Masada, the Dead Sea, Tiberias, Yad Vashem, Caesarea and more 2011 Alternative Spring Break Opportunity APPLICATION DEADLINE is February 1, 2011 For more information, please contact: Jan Baker I (248) 370-4074 I jmbaker@oakland.edu MSU Hillel is working with City Year to organize a program exploring the relationship between social justice and Or visit the International Education website at oakland.edu/ie UNIVERSITY This program is offered in conjunction with College of Arts and Sciences Judaic Studies Program lioJewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit Cost is $200 plus travel to and from Los Angeles. Questions? Contact Ezt= PARTNERSHIP eirnim 1632390 28 November 11 • 2010 CA 54046_ 10. 1 0 11 0 Oakland Judaism in Los Angeles. The trip is open to students from MSU, CMU, GVSU and Albion College. Audrey Bloomberg at Audrey@msuhil- lel.org .