Pre-shabbat action

Make climate action a regular habit, and connect that action to your Jewish values and practices.

Pre-shabbat action of the week

Shabbat Shalom and Moadim L’Simcha!  Although we are now at the point in Pesach that I sometimes think of as the “matzah slog,” it’s useful to remember that the middle of a journey is often the hardest part.  Just as with any sustained action, the beginning is full of excitement, and at the end we have hopefully arrived where we want to be, but the middle - the slog - is where the real, transformative work happens.

While our action at JCAN is primarily focused at the state and local levels, sometimes decisions at the federal level require state and local elected leaders to take action to protect their constituents.  That’s happening in many ways right now, and climate action is not exempt.  An executive order issued last week seeks to prohibit states and communities from implementing their own climate policies.  The President, is, of course, taking aim at states like ours for the strides we have made toward transitioning to a just, sustainable economy, so this week we’re going to send an email reminding Governor Hochul that she has a duty to stand up for the people of New York.  Click here to send a message now - you can even add a line about including the NY HEAT Act and funding for climate in this year’s budget!

Idea to Ponder:

In the Haggadah The Promise of the Land, compiled by Rabbi Ellen Bernstein z”l, the matzah is discussed:  “The broken matzah is symbolic of our own brokenness and the brokenness of the world. Some of us have broken with the past… Others may feel broken or detached from our earthy home… The whole matzah represents wholeness and freedom… It helps us to retrieve lost parts of ourselves so we may become whole again.”

As we continue with our Festival of Freedom this week, may we use the matzah to help us persist in imagining what is possible, reclaiming ourselves and our agency, reconnecting to and centering our earthy home and recommitting to bringing more justice and wholeness into our world.

Coming Up:

Join JCAN and the Marlene Meyerson JCC for a special Earth Day film and discussion event on Tuesday, April 22 from 7-8:30pm!  Click here for more information, and use the code jcan5 for discounted tickets. We’d love to see you all there