Compost Bin in IsraelJRF is launching its third year of facilitating text study during the Omer period, the 50 days between Passover and Shavuot. This year our focus will be on Sustainability (balancing environmental, social, economic and spiritual life in our congregations and larger communities). The selection of this issue is based on a variety of factors: our own movement's resolution on the environment; our commitment as a Jewish People to the health and welfare of the planet; our movement’s membership in The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA)’s Climate Change Campaign; and our findings from the 2005 JRF Tikkun Olam survey, that JRF congregations work on environmental issues as one of their major Tikkun Olam efforts.

We are looking for submissions from congregations that have ongoing projects related to sustainability. We are asking that submissions be based on texts we have supplied—or from other texts—which would form the basis for the teaching.

We are looking for teachings that incorporate a description of the work the congregation has done and ties it to the text(s). Ideally, we are looking for "teaching teams" that will include rabbis, educators, and lay leaders young and old across the spectrum.

Some examples of congregational activity that could be applied to text(s) for the Omer study are:

• hiddur mitzvah- beautification of a sanctuary or a park
• using biodegradable or reusable dishes, cups, etc.
• environmentally sensitive synagogue design
• recycling and re-using initiatives
• energy efficiency initiatives
• Hebrew school education lessons
• B’nai mitzvah projects
• Divrei Torah tied to the Jewish year cycle and sustainability issues
• action and advocacy for environmental causes in the larger community
• organic, free-trade or healthy approaches to food consumption

If you are interested in being one of our teachers, gather a team from your congregation and brainstorm on how you would approach this. Then fill out online application.