Young Adult Learning Series

This program is supported by a Young Adult Community Grant from Combined Jewish Philanthropies as well as by the Moishe Kavod House.

Fermenting the Omer
Starting the second day of Passover we count the 50 days of the Omer until Shavuot.   In ancient Israel, Jews brought an Omer (a biblical measurement) of barley to the temple as a sacrifice every day, signaling the beginning of the barley harvest, leading up to the wheat harvest on Shavuot. Barley, lacking adequate levels of gluten to make bread, has been viewed throughout the ages as an inferior grain.  Luckily, there is an age-old tradition to use it to Brew Beer!  This session will teach the ancient art of home-brewing in the modern kitchen.
Educators: Ilya Faibushevich (John Harvard’s Brew Pub), Rabbi Or Rose (Hebrew College)
Sunday May 29th, 3:00-6:00pm
Cambridge

Bread for the Earth, Bread for the People, part 2
Farmer’s of ancient Israel had a variety of ways in which they would separate out their harvest to dedicate for the poor (Peah, Leket, Shechicha).  Both planned and unplanned giving charactarize their giving.  How can we learn from this tradition when making our own choices about tzedakah. In celebration of the wheat harvest and Shavuot, let’s use the ancient method of sour dough bread making combined with the classic art of bagel making and learn how to make sour dough bagels!
Educators: Becca Weaver, Naomi Sobel (Temple Israel)
Sunday June 12th, 3:00-5:00pm, Boston

What is a Kosher Animal?
In this hands-on workshop, you will be able to witness a traditional chicken shechita, participate in the kashering process from beginning to end, and ask an experienced shochet all your questions about kosher meat production and the place of kosher meat in the local food movement. We will also discuss a series of texts from the Tanakh, the rabbis, and other Jewish thinkers that illustrate traditional Jewish ideas about kashrut and ethics. This workshop will unmask the mysteries of kosher meat production and explore how the conscious practice of kashrut changes and deepens our relationships with G-d, animals, and the earth.
Educators: Marion Menzin (LoKo), Naf Hanau (Grow and Behold)
Sunday July 10th, Newton Center

Wisdom and Worms: The Torah of Composting
Come explore Jewish and environmental texts about this amazing and transformative process. We will also get our hands dirty as we learn all about the carbon, nitrogen, worms and humus of composting as well as how to begin or improve our home compost system!

Educators: Jeff Kasowitz and Adina Allen (Hebrew College) and Becca Weaver (New Entry Sustainable Farming Project)
Sunday July 17th, 2:00-5:00pm, Jamaica Plain

Preserving our first fruits for Bikkurim
Jewish agricultural law requires farmers to bring their first fruits to Jerusalem to be consumed there during the festival holidays. If the first fruits emerged at a different time of year, then farmers could preserve them to bring when the time was right. Lets learn our modern methods of preservation techniques in order to save the fruits of our harvest for our own festival times. Come make jam with seasonal produce.
Educators: Aaron Weinblatt (Boston Science Museum), Rabbi Natan Margalit (Organic Torah)
Sunday July 31, Brookline

Wild Edible and the 7th Year
If every seven years we are commanded to observe a Shmita, a year without planting, a year of rest and rejuvenation, what might our options be? This session combines text study on Shmita combined with learning to identify and eat what grows around us as we continue in the cycle.
Educators: Rabbi Jacob Fine (Jewish Farm School) and Rakia Shemaya Chandler
Thursday August 25th, 6:00-8:00pm, Arlington