“Leaning in” to Work and Rest

By Judith Rosenbaum

Like most people following the news over the past few months, I’ve been thinking about what it means to “lean in” (and its counterpoint, “opt out”) and the assumptions and judgments inherent in the term. Sheryl Sandberg, an executive at Facebook, coined “lean in” to encourage women to make a more passionate commitment to career ambition and leadership; it’s meant to carry a positive connotation (though in my experience is referenced dryly and with some cynicism/resentment by many women). And opting out, of course, refers to women choosing to leave the workplace to become stay-at-home mothers. Both place work at the center, with action defined by one’s orientation toward career (and notably placing all the agency in the individual with little to no regard for the social context for these actions).

But as someone in the midst of career transition, I find myself wondering why this debate is necessarily framed around work. I’ve recently left my job of more than a decade in order to invest time and energy in figuring out what I want to do next, and to catch up on the self-care I’ve neglected for too long. At first glance, this might look like opting out, but I prefer to see myself as leaning in, in a broader sense – not into a specific workplace or leadership position but rather into an exploration of my passions and desires, which after all are necessary fuel for that “lean in” drive. True, I’m not working full-time or earning a significant salary right now, but I’m deeply engaged in questions of how to create a meaningful, sustainable career, as one component of a meaningful, sustainable life. And believe me, this process takes effort worthy of “lean in” recognition.

Debt Forgiveness as a Foundation for Society

By Rabbi Mordechai Liebling

Studying the Torah laws about debt forgiveness (Shmita) can help us understand how to bring about a more just, equitable and sustainable society. The root meaning of Shmita is to let something drop. When Shmita is addressed in Deuteronomy 15:1-3ⁱ, it refers to letting debt drop. To understand the significance of this concept of forgiveness of debt, we need to look at the historical context.

The law of Shmita was developed in an agricultural society. Farmers frequently needed to borrow money to buy seeds for the spring planting or to buy food in a time of drought. Not surprisingly, the Torah is filled with stories of drought and famine. In fact, every agricultural society is dependent on loans and therefore produces debtors.

Shmita and the Power of Imagination

By Adina Allen

In his book To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual, Jonathan Z. Smith writes, “Ritual is, above all, an assertion of difference…a means of performing the way things ought to be in conscious tension with the way things are.”[1] Rituals help us to acknowledge the aspects of our world that we desire to change.

Through the creation and performance of rituals, we direct our creative energy towards imagining the world as it could be. These rituals create the scaffolding for us to live—even if only for a moment—as if the world we imagine is already here.

In Jewish tradition, the observance of the Shmita year, commencing after Rosh Hashana 2014, is such a ritual. The instructions for Shmita observation occur three times in the Torah.[2] These passages include directives that, for one year out of every seven, we are to abstain from planting our fields, allow the land to rest, and welcome the poor of our communities to come and eat from what is ours. In addition, all debts are to be forgiven and those who lack are to be given all that they need.

Putting Shmita back on the Jewish Map

By Nigel Savage

Cycles of time are central to Jewish life, and they are amongst the most significant of our contributions to the world around us. The modern weekend of western tradition is simply the extension of the Sabbath from one day to two; without the Sabbath there would be no weekend. And without the Torah, and the Shabbat of Jewish tradition, there would be no Sabbath. In practice, today, Shabbat remains central to Jewish life, though Jewish people observe Shabbat differently from each other. But it’s literally impossible to imagine Jewish life without Shabbat.

And just as Shabbat punctuates the week, so too the chaggim – the holidays – punctuate the year. Tu b’Shvat and Purim and Pesach herald the spring. Shavuot marks early summer. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur provoke self-reflection as a new Jewish year begins. Succot celebrates the harvest and the end of summer. Chanukah offers light in the darkness and the knowledge that a new natural cycle will shortly begin.

Welcome to Sova!

Sova (“Enough-ness”) is a collaborative effort of the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network, the Heschel Sustainability Center in Israel, and the Center for Global Judaism at Hebrew College in Boston.

The goal of this shared endeavor is to help raise awareness across the international Jewish community and beyond about issues of sustainability—with a particular focus on economic justice—by engendering a multi-disciplinary conversation about such fundamental issues as responsible land usage, wealth and debt, work and rest, fair labor practices, private and public (commons) property ownership, and physical and spiritual revitalization.

The recent economic crises in North America and the European Union emphasize the need for renewed collaborative thinking across disciplines and communities that promotes sufficiency over excess, and leads us to prosperity without crashing. We need to develop structures and habits that blend doing well with doing good, for humanity and for the rest of life.

Among other things, this involves honest reflection about the strengths and weaknesses of our financial and political systems, as well as our communal and individual values and priorities. Why do so many people go to bed hungry every night throughout the world when we have the resources to feed them? Why do corporations that pollute our air and water continue to grow unchecked? What do our personal purchasing and lifestyle choices have to do with these issues? What are some examples of inspiring thinking and effective action in the business, activist, educational, and religious sectors? How can we create mutually enriching networks of creativity, support, and transformation?

The timing of the launch of the Sova Project is intentional. We begin during Sefirat ha-Omer, a traditional time of focused reflection on personal and communal transformation, rooted in ancient Jewish agricultural practices.