I ! I
and throughout southeast Michigan"
Caplan said.
The group is facilitated by AARC mem-
ber Dr. Marcy Epstein.
"We started the shmitah learning group
because so many of us needed to learn
more about the Torah's teaching on shmi-
tah and how to interpret it as the cultural
practice of shmitah among modern Jewry
is reawakening" Epstein said.
"We came from many walks of life and
interests, from folks interested in human
rights and food systems to others trying
to understand this larger scope of Jewish
time: seven years and seven times that
cycle for Jubilee she said, in reference to
yovel, the year at the end of seven cycles of
shmitah.
"We want to understand and bring to
life the meaning of release. So Idelle and
I gathered sources— cultural, religious,
historical, practical, communal — draw-
ing some from Hazon's national Shmita
Project curriculum, but sketching in a
good many of our own interests" Epstein
said.
According to Hazon, the Shmita Project
aims "to expand awareness about the
biblical Sabbatical tradition and bring
the values of this practice to life today
to support healthier, more sustainable
Jewish communities. It explores the pos-
sibilities of shmitah in a modern context,
both in Israel and beyond, and not just for
farmers, but for businesses, families, com-
munities and individuals as well as way to
prepare for it and how the wider shmitah
cycle may hold the key to approaching
the economic, environmental and societal
challenges we are facing today"
Epstein said, "The (AARC) group has
been learning about biblical and rabbinic
sources on shmitah as well as units on
land and food release, debt forgiveness
and economic justice, and modern slav-
ery, today's Jewish commons.
"Over the summer, we've shifted from
textual study and reflective exercises that
help us to grasp what shmitah has meant
in the past and present to how we might
practice in accordance with shmitah in
the present and future. It's been a thrilling
adventure, and the shmitah year of 5775 is
just beginning.
"The shmitah group is planning to
reconnect within and beyond the Jewish
community this year through prayer, con-
ference, social action:'
This past spring they initiated a sym-
posium called Food, Land and Justice:
Through a Jewish Lens.
"It took the teachings of shmitah as a
way to shed light on environmental sus-
tainability and justice issues facing us on a
local lever Hammond-Sass said.
Funding Future Plans
"In partnership with Pardes Hannah
(the Jewish Renewal Community of Ann
Arbor in Affiliation with ALEPH: The
Alliance for Jewish Renewal), a small
group of interested individuals applied
for a grant from the Jewish Federation of
Greater Ann Arbor late last winter, and
gratefully received $5,000 for program-
ming which will take place throughout
this shmitah year" Caplan said. "We are
looking to move forward, through this
year and beyond, as a Jewish alliance for
food, land and justice"
The bus tour was the group's first grant-
sponsored event, with a year of shmitah-
related programming planned, with
AARC members, Caplan, Hammond-Sass
and Rena Basch of Locavorious, along
with Oran Hesterman, Lucinda Kurtz
and Linda Jo Doctor of the Kellogg
Foundation, all from Pardes Hannah,
comprising the event's committee.
There is a hope for partnerships with
other Ann Arbor synagogues.
"We are in the process of creating an
event on Dec. 7, focusing on 'farm to
institution: bringing local healthy food
into our hospitals, schools and the public
sphere" Hammond-Sass said. "We'll visit
the farm at St Joseph Mercy Hospital in
Ypsilanti where we will meet their farmer,
Dan Bair, and learn about the impact the
farm has made on the patients and staff,
see the facilities and hear from others in
the farm to school movement about how
access to healthy fruits and vegetables
can also teach geography, and offer other
place-based learning opportunities for the
classroom and cafeteria"
Future events include "Sustainability
at Home" with a focus on organic home
gardening and permaculture principles in
honor of Tu b'Shevat; "Land Conservancy"
a program on maintaining both open
space and farmland; and a "Stewardship
Day" in the spring. The year's events will
culminate in a community-wide Youth
Outdoor Education Farm Day and
Community Jewish Food Festival at a local
organic farm.
Reaching Out
"My personal goal is, and has been for
quite some time, to help people bridge
what I feel is a very narrow space between
environmentalism and spirituality"
Caplan said. "Luckily, as food is a natural
topic around which Jews gather, it is also a
perfect place to explore environmentalism
and spirituality.
"Further, shmitah, with its directives
on letting the land rest, which addresses
good farming practices; seeing all seventh-
year produce as hefker (ownerless), which
addresses food security and accessibility;
release of debt, which addresses economic
justice; and sanctification of all seventh-
year produce, which addresses conscious
food consumption, provides a rich frame-
work from within our tradition to do this
exploration" she said.
I
I
May the coming year be filled
with health, happiness and prosperity
for all our family and friends.
The Eisenbergs
Harry, Marsha, Emily & Jennifer
r -
1
0.
1
0.
1
•
0.
I
May the coming year be filled
with health, happiness and prosperity
for all our family and friends.
Dr. Jeffrey and Laurie Fischgrund
Michelle, Marcy, Mark
Andrew and Melanie
May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
1.2Shanah Tovah!
Seventh Year on page 44
September 25 • 2014
43