By Michael S. Simon
This year, Beth Israel Congregation (BIC) was one of six Jewish organizations featured in Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership “Coalition Counting the Omer” Project (https://adamah.org/climate/coalition/counting-the-omer/), which celebrated climate action success stories from coalition members.
BIC is a long-standing member of Adamah, the largest Jewish environmental organization in the US. Adamah cultivates vibrant Jewish life in deep connection with the earth, catalyzing cultural and systemic change through immersive experiences, Jewish environmental education, leadership development, and climate action. Adamah has been a major collaborator with the BIC Green Team Task Force and a source of support and funding for many of our initiatives, including Mission Mishkan. The Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition is a network of 500+ Jewish community organizations that recognize the urgency of climate change and commit to taking action. BIC was an early member.
The purpose of the Omer project is to highlight climate action solutions that Coalition members have implemented, including solar power, heat pumps, LED lights, support for regenerative agriculture, composting, and more. Our group provided video clips of Michael Simon and Nadav Caine from the Bimah and Jerry Sorokin from the roof (among other places) talking about our accomplishments and plans. Adamah combined these clips together with still photographs of our garden volunteers and produce, into a lovely video.
Thank you to Harvey Michaels for filming and providing guidance, and to Adamah for creating the final product. Check out the video on Adamah’s website (adamah.org) or YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uMVYuXNx4CE). For more information about Beth Israel Congregation’s Green Team Task Force, please contact the BIC office at (734) 665-9897 or Michael Simon at simonmichael725@gmail.com.