Joyful Compassionate Abundance
I like food, plant food, that is — I like to plant, grow and eat it. I like to serve it to others and recycle it to contribute to next year’s harvest. I like working and being outdoors, walking and hiking. I like to study Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, especially the first five books, the Torah. Most of all, I like to think about all these things and what they have to say about the meaning of life. I started my blog when I decided to explore veganism, and it has led not just to recipes and farming but to taking a look at the Hebrew Bible from a different perspective. It also gave me a chance to study the biblical perspective on modern themes like ethics, ecology, evolution, animal rights, and the human place in creation. I explore and refresh my own spirituality through these projects.
Yitro (Ex 18:1-24:18) begins with a story of working out the relationship between Moses and the Israelites and ends with a story of working out the relationship between the Israelites, G-d and the natural world. Choreography mediates these negotiations, which seem to suggest
INTRODUCTION The first three chapters of Genesis tell us the entire story of the Torah. As one of my teachers used to say about Jewish ritual, it’s the “microcosm of the macrocosm.” If I am actually able to work through a year
This soup, like so many other dishes, began its life with me on Pinterest, where I often go for inspiration. It’s a lovely, brothy soup the first day. The flavor improves with age, and it also thickens, due to the quinoa. By
INTRODUCTION Today I begin a new project of looking at the weekly Torah portions, searching for insights on food, “animal rights,” agriculture and ecology. Immediately a difficulty presented itself. My approach to the text doesn’t always fit neatly with the portions. This week,
I believe there is a creative energy behind and in creation. That energy created the world and suffuses it with wisdom and beauty. I also believe there is a destructive energy in creation. I see this in the paradox that is the
JOURNALING When I woke this morning, it was sunny for the first time in weeks. I believe everything is interconnected, interdependent, so I took the sunshine as a signal that my mental and spiritual condition would reshape itself today, and I shouldn’t stand
I would call this a “chowder,” but it’s not quite thick enough. If you want more of a chowder consistency, stir some cornstarch into water and add it to the soup toward the end of the cooking time. You may need to
BEANS ‘N’ GREENS SOUP Ingredients Cannellini, 1 lb. dried, cooked (check water during cooking to be certain the beans are always just covered) Garlic, 3 cloves Salt, 2.5 tsp. Hot paprika, 1/2 tsp. 1/2 cup wine Extra virgin olive oil, 2-3 TB
Ghandi is well-known for the non-violent resistance techniques he taught and modeled during the struggle for Indian independence from a colonial power. What we perhaps don’t as often remember is that he spun the cloth for his own simple clothing and taught that
LEMONY MUSHROOMS, LENTILS & GREENS Ingredients Lentils, 2 cups dry Crimini mushrooms (Baby Bella), 1 lb. sliced Greens, rough chopped (I used kale this time – if using a “softer” green, just add in at the very end) Garlic, 2 cloves, minced