36 | OCTOBER 31 • 2019
I
n Noach, God promised
to never destroy the Earth
again (Genesis 8.21).
But that says nothing of
our precarious power as
humans to jeopardize our
own future.
What could Noah have
been thinking, we won-
der, as he built his ark,
watching the people go
by, knowing God’
s intent
to wipe out land and flesh
alike and yet never reach-
ing out to his neighbors
or peers? There was no
warning of what God has
told him. No encouraging
them to build their own arks or
work together. No impetus to
petition God.
Here in Michigan this past
spring, we experienced a sort of
a deluge of our own. With rain
on 23 of May’
s 30 days, farmers
weren’
t able to plant their fields
until much later in the season.
Some seeds rotted as they
waited to be planted,
and the ones that made
it couldn’
t get in the soil
until drier conditions
prevailed. Now we have
historic shortages across
the state of economic
staple crops like corn and
soybeans to show for it.
When we consider our
legacy and our reputa-
tion, when we consider
how we will be viewed
when people look back at
our lives, how will we be
judged?
As Hazon’
s president and
CEO Nigel Savage recently
wrote, “This is a moment in
which we all need to raise our
game. This is the year the pieces
have to start to come together
more deeply. This is the year in
which we have to challenge the
Jewish community to engage in
serious ‘
environmental teshu-
vah.
’
”
Thankfully, in the words of
author Jonathan Safran Foer,
in his new book We Are the
Weather: “We are the flood, and
we are the ark.
”
We got ourselves into this
mess. We abdicated our respon-
sibilities to serve and steward
this home we have. Thus, it
is entirely possible, and even
a sacred obligation, for us as
Jewish practitioners and people
of faith, to return to the kind
of reverence and gratitude for
Earth that it and we deserve.
This is the year we make a deep
and true and vulnerable teshu-
vah (return) as we commit to
doing our part to shift actions,
consciousness and history itself.
You might urge your com-
munity to join Hazon’
s Seal
of Sustainability program or
deepen your engagement with
the pre-existing Green Team
at your Seal-certified site. You
might sign up for the Hazon
Detroit newsletter and/or like us
on Facebook so you can show
up at one of our programs and
get more involved. You might
choose to support our work
financially.
Whatever action steps you
take, trust that they are needed.
When future generations look
back on 5780, they will care
most that this was the year we
stopped being the flood and
started being and building the
ark together.
Rabbi Nate Degroot is associate director
and spiritual and program director at
Hazon Detroit.
Parshat
Noach:
Genesis
6:9-11:32;
Isaiah
54:1-55:5.
Rabbi Nate
Degroot
Spirit
torah portion
Building The Ark Again
Eretz
T
he Council for Higher
Education in Israel
(CHE) last week official-
ly launched the national initia-
tive “Study in Israel” to double
the number of international
students enrolled
in Israeli colleges
and universities,
initially targeting
students in North
America, China
and India. There
are currently
about 12,000
international stu-
dents studying in Israel.
Study in Israel, which fea-
tures a dedicated website, touts
high Israeli academic stan-
dards and distinctive, engaged
approach to education with the
theme “Engage in Excellence,
”
highlights the country’
s inno-
vative academic and research
landscape as part of the “The
Startup Nation” and points to
Israel’
s competitive tuition costs.
Recently, four Israeli univer-
sities were ranked among the
top 50 undergraduate programs
globally that produce the most
venture capital-backed entre-
preneurs, according to the latest
ranking by PitchBook.
The initiative also under-
scores that Israeli universities
and colleges offer dozens of
short-term study programs, as
well as full degrees and research
opportunities, taught in English.
Study in Israel will eventually be
aimed at students worldwide.
“We have committed to
making Israel a brain gain
country for excellent students
and researchers from around
the world — North and South
America, Europe and Asia,
”
said Professor Yaffa Zilbershats,
chair of the CHE’
s Planning and
Budgeting Committee (PBC).
“With this new campaign, Israel
is now more attractive than ever
for students in North America
and beyond — and we’
re look-
ing forward to bringing many
more students from around the
globe in years to come.
”
Meanwhile, the CHE also
recently authorized 26 new
international degree programs
in a range of fields in which
Israel is globally recognized,
including STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics), Innovation
and Entrepreneurship, Jewish
Studies, Middle Eastern Studies,
Agriculture, Urban Studies,
Environmental Studies and
Design.
In addition, the Council has
provided earmarked funding to
its public higher education insti-
tutions to bolster marketing and
recruitment efforts, create new
courses in English and develop
international student services.
The Council also finances and
manages a number of fellow-
ship programs for international
students and post-doctorate
researchers.
Study in Israel is the latest
effort by the CHE to promote
internationalization in the
Israeli higher education system
and attract international stu-
dents.
Israel Wants to Double
International Students
Prof. Yaffa
Zilbershats
COURTESY OF THE COUNCIL
FOR HIGHER EDUCATION