If the science of climate change doesn't reconnect you to the earth, perhaps Wilderness Torah will

It’s harvest time. I know because every time I pass my garden I have to deal with the humiliation of my half-a**ed attempts at gardening from this past year. Since the season has come to a close, and before starting again with my winter garden, it is time to take stock of what I have to harvest, and why. It is an opportunity for soul searching, for examining all elements of my life, and while the harvest may not be bountiful in my garden, there are plenty of accomplishments outside of my garden that I can relish in (even if I can't can them).  And while the fruits of my labor are not coming via my garden, they are coming from other directions, so I am grateful for this time to stop, listen, and plan for the next year.

Now if you are Jewish, by now you already know I am speaking of Sukkot. If you are of another religion that acknowledges the agricultural seasons, you are aware of the connection between religious and agricultural holidays ...or if you are like I was a year ago, you may just hear me speaking of the seasons. All are fine be me.

There are two things you never talk about in an elevator~ religion and politics. I rarely speak about being Jewish. I was raised in a non observant household, and found my connection to spirit on my own time in my own way. It wasn’t until I was half way through my 30’s when I was introduced to the emerging organization Wilderness Torah, who has made it their mission and vision to bring people together via the celebration of the earth-based traditions of Judaism. I have attended two events now, and I can authentically say they have shifted the way that I relate to both my community and the Jewish religion, making them both far more accessible and appealing than before. I think of the events a little like..well.... gardening. In the moments of being in the garden, when you are planting seeds, weeding, watering...you never get to see the growth; but the work you do when you are there is what provides the nourishment and opportunity for growth to occur.

The festivals Wilderness Torah produces feels like something between the back to the land movement and a back to the Jew movement~ they are reconnecting Jews to the land as well as sustainability concepts. Julie Wolk, co-founders of Wilderness Torah explains that they saw that there was a clear environmental problem when the industrial food system is disconnected from spirituality.

We saw an opportunity to reconnect people to both the land and to the earth to promote healing for both the spirit, and address the sustainability challenges that lay before us. There is no better way to connect people to the land than to connect them to the source of their food.

We do this through an annual cycle of land-based festivals, including Sukkot on the Farm, Passover in the Desert, Shavuot on the Mountain and Tu B’shvat in the Redwoods; earth-based rituals and rites of passage, such as the Jewish Vision Quest, vision walks, and b’nai mitzvah rites of passage programs; and through educational programs that model and teach sustainable Jewish life, such as communal Jewish ritual, organic gardening and farming, and sustainable living skills.

Zelig Golden co-founder of Wilderness Torah, explained that,

"Our vision came from wanting to create a land based center for Jewish education and a renewal of awakening the earth based traditions.... Sukkot was the first holiday we picked since it's fundamental purpose was to bring the Jewish community to a deeper connection with the land. There is no deeper connection we have than to our land and the source of food. Sukkot is about celebrating the harvest: a manifestation of the abundance that creation provides.

The Jewish culture has become an urbanized culture: disconnected from the land we are living on and the  farms that feed us.  So our events are an opportunity to bring both together: to show that our traditions are deeply routed in agrarian life. People around the world are becoming very aware of the dangers of being disconnected from our food source. In just the past few years there has been an emergence of programs, for example: Hazon and their food conference, the environmental fellowship by Admah organization, the Jewish Farm School, Eco Isreal: a Jewish farm apprenticeship in Isreal, just to name a few. These programs started on the east coast and we are bringing it to the west coast.

But this is just the beginning: we want to teach how human beings can live aligned on the earth again; in the midst of all of the environmental problems that we are facing."