A friend from Canada sent me a link to this video in an email today and I thought it was rather beautiful and worth sharing.

So enjoy!

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This morning I received an email from a guy over at the Awakened Heart Project (AHP) telling me about their new website. I decided to check it out and WOW, I am impressed with what I saw. It’s basically an online resource with the stated aim of enhancing peoples understanding and experience of Jewish meditation and prayer.

Here is a blurb from their about page.

The mission of Awakened Heart Project is to promote the use of Jewish contemplative techniques that foster the development of a heart of wisdom and compassion. Cultivating an awakened heart leads to acting in the world with loving-kindness towards all beings recognizing them as manifestations of the Holy One of Being.

The AHP provides opportunities for a focused effort at refining contemplative Jewish practices, such as meditation and prayer, as well as creating opportunities for intensive practice.

Also here is some of what the site offers, as listed on their welcome page.

• • Regularly updated podcasts
  • Essays and articles on Jewish meditation
  • Jewish meditation events calendar
  • Meditation and contemplative Jewish resources

I haven’t spent a whole bunch of time going through these resources yet but they do look good. So I’m sure to be, a frequent visitor to this site. If your interested in the contemplative side of Judaism this site is a must see. If you don’t know anything about contemplative Judaism but are curious, this site will get you up to speed in no time, so check it out.

Technorati tags: Contemplative Judaism, Online Judaism, Jewish Meditation, The Awakened Heart Project, Jewish Audio

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About a week ago I stumbled across this great resource called “The Better World Shopper” at some little independent bookstore (I think we were in Pasadena). Unfortunately I didn’t buy a copy for myself and have since then,vowed not to buy another book until October, because I have be spending too much and not reading enough as of late. Hum, maybe Tamara wants to buy us a copy?  

Anyhow its a tiny little book not much bigger than a Bencher is, so it’s very portable and IMO just as handy. It basically provides consumers with a graded list (click on the image above for the grading rubric) of a wide variety of products from over 1000 companies.

Here is a description of the books (& sites) basic goal.

BETTER WORLD SHOPPER is a site dedicated to providing people with a comprehensive, up-to-date, reliable account of the social and environmental responsibility of every company on the planet AND making it available in practical forms that individuals can use in their everyday lives. Coming out of more than 5 years of intensive research, this work is based on a comprehensive database of over 1000 companies and utilizes 25+ reliable sources of data to cover everything from the environment to human rights, community development to animal protection.

According to the Authors the problem can be summed up as the following.

Money is power. And wherever large amounts of money collect, so also new centers of power form. The latest historical manifestation of this is the modern corporation.

Make no mistake, these new power centers are not democracies. We don’t vote for the CEO’s or their policies (unless we are: rich enough to be significant shareholders, informed enough to know what’s going one, and compassionate enough to care about more than just personal profit), yet our destinies are increasingly in their hands.

The Better World Shopper goes on to break this problem down into five key issues.  

HUMAN RIGHTS: sweatshops, 3rd world community exploitation, international health issues, divestment, child labor, code of conduct.

THE ENVIRONMENT: global warming, rainforest destruction, pollution, recycling, renewable energy, greenwashing, toxic waste, eco-innovations, illegal dumping, sustainable farming.

ANIMAL PROTECTION: factory farming, animal testing, humane treatment, wild animal habitat.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: family farms, local business support, volunteer efforts, sustainable growth, philanthropic donations, nonprofit alliances, establishing foundations.

SOCIAL JUSTICE: fair wages, fatalities, union busting efforts, health & safety records, discrimination based on: race, gender, age, ability, religion, sexuality, ethnicity.

What’s nice is that the Better World Shopper doesn’t just identify problems it also proposes solutions.

As these power centers shift, we must shift our own voices if we wish to be heard. As citizens, on average, we might vote once ever 4 years, if at all. As consumers, we vote every single day with the purest form of power…money.
The average American family spends around $18,000 each year on goods and services. Think of it as casting 18,000 votes every year for the kind of world you want to live in. Use this site to take back your power.

Sound Interesting? Well if so, how about watching a video lecture featuring (among others) Dr. Ellis Jones, who is one of the brains behind the book discuss as he discusses a variety of topics related to the guide and social responsibility. I am watching/listening to it know as I write this post and its pretty damn good. So check it out!

I suppose to sum things up, I would say that this is a great guide and a worthy addition to any eco-Kosher toolkit. Essentially the underlying premise behind all of it is “informed Choice” and that’s something I (and suspect many of you) can get behind.

As always feel free to share you thoughts.

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I got up at 6 this morning and watched all three amazing parts of this series and I (of course) highly recommend them!

Oh and BTW Winston is practicing Jew and Scientist, which makes this series all the more interesting to watch IMO.

Unfortunately I don’t have time to do a proper post but I will mention that Winston at one point in part 3, interviews Richard Dawkins and IMO does a great job of keeping him in check.

Anyhow enjoy and if you do watch feel free to share your thoughts on the subject.

From the BBC Press Release:

Robert Winston presents The Story of God

Professor Robert Winston presents a definitive three-part documentary series on the history of mankind’s quest to understand the nature of God.

The Story of God is an epic journey across continents, cultures and eras exploring religious beliefs from their earliest incarnations, through the development of today’s major world faiths and the status of religious faith in a scientific age.

Read the rest of the press release here

The Story of God part 1 of 3

The Story of God part 2 of 3

The Story of God part 3 of 3

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This morning I woke up at the ung-dly hour of 5 something AM and couldn’t get back to sleep. So I decided to see if there was anything new and interesting to watch online and that’s when I came across this.

They do not believe in peace talks. They do not want to share the land. They are well armed and are carrying out increasingly violent attacks, even targeting innocent civilians. They are members of Israel’s militant far right, and they are threatening to become Israel’s next big problem.

Read more about this documentary on the PBS webpage.

I’m far from being the most informed person when it comes to the many complicated nuances involved in the Israeli/Palestinian situation. However I just don’t understand how the extremists in this video can see themselves as being any different than Palestinian extremists. Murder is murder and misappropriation of G-D is insanely wrong regardless of whether you call him Allah or Hashem. Don’t get me wrong I think that much of what is done at the hands of Palestinian extremists is horrible but watching this documentary it’s clear that the bullshit flows both ways.

Anyhow I was disturbed by this documentary but it was very informative and I highly recommend checking it out.

Part one

Part two

Part three

Part four

Part five

Part six

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I just stumbled across this on Youtube and thought its was kind of cool, so I’m sharing it here. I don’t know when it originally aired but like I said, I thought it was kind of cool.  

Enjoy!

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I just came across the following in my RSS feed and although I haven’t listened to it yet myself it certainly looks interesting. I suspect those of you who are interested in global warming, eco-Kashrut, sustainable living and organic foods may also find this interesting.

Enjoy!

PS I almost bought the audio version of this book last month.

The Ethics of Eating (July 19, 2007)

In Public Radio

Author Barbara Kingsolver describes an adventure her family undertook to spend one year eating primarily what they could grow or raise themselves. As a citizen and mother more than an expert, she turned her life towards questions many of us are asking. What can climate change and sustainability really have to do my family’s daily routines? Where does the food we eat come from? And why do we resist when the healthiest choices can be a delight?

• Link
• Enclosure

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TG on YouTube has arrived! Will the miracles ever cease? Seriously through this is my first attempt Video Blogging, so it’s rough  but the book is good, honest! Anyhow check it out and let me know what you think!

Here are a few links for those of you interested in learning more about Mordecai M. Kaplan ( I referred to his theology in the video as Kaplanian) or his view of Judaism as an Evolving Religious Civilization.

Lastly anyone who’s interested in purchasing a copy of “Olive Trees & Honey” by Gil Marks can do so by clicking here.

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Hey this is just a quick FYI post to let people know about the Live Earth concert that is currently pretty much happening on every continent and in over 130 some countries. Neither myself or Tamara had heard anything about it until she stumbled across it on TV, looking for something to watch after Shabbos this evening. So far it’s been pretty cool it’s a mix of live music mixed with celebrity interviews and info on DIY eco-things anyone can do to help address the climate crisis. The commercials and sponsorship around the event even seem to be pretty cool running some sort of a conscious capitalism thing. In fact one of the ads was very cool because it was a service announcement telling people how to get taken off junk mail lists. Nice!

Anyhow if you’re into eco-Kashrut or the whole Tikkun Olam thing you might wanna check out this web site and flip through your TV channels to see if you can find it. We are going to watch it and I’ll try to do a follow-up post on Monday or something.

Enjoy, and if you do check it out please let me know what what you think.

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Today considering it’s Friday and all I decided to kick back, watch a few videos online and to my pleasant surprise I stumbled upon something I’d never seen before. It’s an hour and a half long documentary based on Karen Armstrong’s book ? a brief history of G-D?. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Karen she is probably one of the most important contemporary theologians around. This documentary which as I’ve mentioned is based on one of her best-selling books tracks the origins of man’s understanding, beliefs in and relationship with the G-D from its beginnings right up to the modern-day. Although it is based on Armstrong’s book it a also includes interviews with other academic and religious experts from all three major streams of monotheism. There’s even a little time dedicated to a kabbalistic understanding of G-D.

Although this documentary is trimmed down content wise compared to the near 500 page book , it is nonetheless entertaining and informative.

Anyhow if you do wind up watching it please let me know what you thought.

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