What constitutes a responsible Jewish food ethic today? What does Jewish tradition have to teach us about sustainability, justice, and mindful eating? In our community Beit Midrash (House of Study) at this year’s food conference we will participate in an ongoing process of Jewish learning. We invite you to explore and engage with us in study and discussion of Jewish texts and our own values and experiences. We’ll delve into traditional, historical and contemporary sources, exploring issues of labor rights, environment and health. The only prerequisite is that you eat on a regular basis!
Leading this year’s Beit Midrash:
Rabbi Natan Margalit was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He received rabbinic ordination at The Jerusalem Seminary in 1990 and earned a Ph.D. in Talmud from U.C. Berkeley in 2001. He has taught at Bard College, the Reconstuctionist Rabbinical College and the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. Natan is Rabbi of The Greater Washington Coalition for Jewish Life in Connecticut and Visiting Rabbi at Congregation Adas Yeshorun in Rockland, Maine. He is President of Organic Torah, Inc. a non-profit organization which fosters holistic thinking about Judaism, environment and society. He lives in Newton, MA with his wife Ilana and sons, Nadav and Eiden.
Rabbi Toba Spitzer has served Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in West Newton since she was ordained in 1997 at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She is a popular teacher of courses on Judaism and economic justice, Reconstructionist Judaism, new approaches to thinking about God, and the practice of integrating Jewish spiritual and ethical teachings into daily life. Rabbi Spitzer has a special interest in Jewish approaches to economic justice and the mindful use of money in daily life. Her writings on process theology, Judaism and social justice, and explorations of Biblical texts have been published in The Reconstructionist Journal and in the anthology Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. She is a devoted and relatively patient Red Sox fan and also has a life goal of bowling in all 50 states. She has 31 down so far!
Source Sheets
Were you unable to attend the conference? Did you attend the conference and want to study the source sheets further or share with another group?
Source sheets may be downloaded here [PDF]
Please let us know if you use this in any way!