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Learning and Resources / Holidays
Shavuot and The Omer: Make it count!
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During the 49 days between Pesach and Shavuot we count the Omer. With its connection to the land, this is also a great time to increase our connection with and commitment to the planet.
Great new resources for this year!
New! Goats, Grapes and Greenbelts: Sustainability and Settling the Land
by Yonatan Neril
The period of the Omer and the festival of Shavuot present opportune times to explore our connection and relationship to the land. The grain offerings of the Omer (barley) and Two Loaves (wheat) had to come from the choicest grain of the land of Israel, and thus represented an offering to G-d of the best of Jewish agriculture in Israel. All together, the offerings of Shavuot were thus brought from Jews' fruit trees, cattle herds, and agricultural fields.
The Jewish people have been around a long time—3747 years since Avram and Sarai came to Israel, of which over 1500 years involved significant settlement in the land of Israel. How did they manage to live in the land of Israel for so long? While Divine Providence in response to the people following the commandments played the fundamental role, the Oral Tradition provides guidelines for living in the land of Israel that can give us a clue about living sustainably on the land over a long period of time.
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Website/HTML version
Print-Friendly Version for Download (PDF, 5 pages)
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New! Canfei Nesharim's Omer Counter 5770
Enhance your counting with a consciousness of the agricultural and spiritual journey of the time between Pesach and Shavuot.
Download and Print:
Colorful Version (1-page PDF)
Print-Friendly Version (1-page PDF)
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New! Omer and Shavuot Text Learning and Discussion Guide
Explore texts related to Goats, Grapes, and Greenbelts and teach them to your community. Great for Tikkun Leyl Shavuot!
Download and Print:
Study Guide (PDF, 5 pages)
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New Curriculum Resource!
Our Relationship to the Land: The Meaning of the Omer
A series of lessons to introduce the agricultural and environmental meaning of the Omer to Jewish students.
Click here to view the full set of resources |
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More Torah Learning Resources:
- Counting the Omer, Refining Ourselves: “Counting the Omer” offers an opportunity for strengthening and refining our character. As we will explore, this process also contains within it meaningful ways to address, from a spiritual place, some of the pressing issues of our time
- Counting the Omer: A Tool for Nature Consciousness: In addition to our historical understanding of Pesach as our Exodus from Egypt, the holiday also signified the start of the grain harvest. Thus, scripture portrays the Omer season as a time for awaiting the wheat harvest.
- "Counting the Omer, Refining Ourselves"/"The State of Our Land": printable Fact Sheet for the Omer with teachings on the Omer and facts about the Land of Israel
- The Jew and the Omer: Once we grow as spiritual beings, we can again refer back to our dimensions of space and time, in order that our souls contribute to the healing of the world.
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There are nine Torah portions during the seven weeks of the Omer, many of which contain important lessons to help us understand our Jewish responsibility to protect the environment. (Why nine? Tazria-Metzora, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, and Behar-Bechukotai are read together this year.)
Learn Torah each week of the Omer with the Eitz Chayim Hee Parsha Series:
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1. Shemini: An Abundance of Fish
2. Tazria: Healing Ourselves, Healing Our Planet
3. Metzora: Natural Healing
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4. Acherei Mot: Raising Up The Physical
5. Kedoshim: Stumbling Blocks
6. Emor: Our Relationship to Other Creatures |
7. Behar: Mitzvah of Shemitah
8. Bechukotai: The Blessing of Rain
9. Bamidbar: Spiritual Lesson of the Desert |
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Canfei Nesharim is pleased to share the following program and curriculum resources for educators and synagogue communities. (Have a great program that you'd like to share? We'd love to see it.)
An Activity For Children Ages 8-12
Baking Bread and Counting the Omer: An Activity for Children
New Curriclum Resource!
Our Relationship to the Land: The Meaning of the Omer
A series of lessons to introduce the agricultural and environmental meaning of the Omer to Jewish students.
Introductory Materials: big ideas, learning objectives and additional resources
Teacher's Guide
Lesson One: Everything Comes from the Land (upper elementary school and middle school students)
Teacher Guide
Student's Course Book
Lesson One Alternate: Everything Comes from the Land (older middle school and high school students)
Teacher Guide
Student's Course Book
Lesson Two: We Have to Maintain the Land (upper elementary and middle school students)
Teacher Guide
Student's Course Book
Lesson Three: Lessons of Sefirat HaOmer in Working Towards Balance (Izzun) (upper elementary and middle school students)
Teacher Guide
Student's Course Book
Additonal Resource: Meaning of the Omer in Three Lessons (for text-savvy middle school students)
Teacher Guide
Student's Course Book
Full Printable Version
Teachers' Guide
Students' Course Book
More Lesson Plans for Jewish Educators
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| Partner with Canfei Nesharim in bringing this education to your school or synagogue. Click here to email us for more information. |
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Celebrate the Holidays with Canfei Nesharim
Celebrate a Sustainable Purim
Purim Products
Ideas for Eco-Friendly Mishloach Manos
Save Energy This Chanukah
Chanukah Activities sheets
Save Energy, Save Money, Protect the Environment! Fact Sheet
Energy Saving Resources
Energy Saving Eco-Reminders and Wallet Cards
Chanukah Alternative Gift Campaign
Energy Activities for Adults
Energy Activities for Children 3-6
Energy Activities for children 6-10
Energy activities for Teens
Birkat Hachammah
Standing Above the Sun
Children's Activity: Make Your Own Green Cleaners
Clean Green This Pesach
Green Cleaning Recipes
Suggested Community Activity: Make a Clean Sweep for Pesach
Where Does Bread Come From?
Counting the Omer, Refining Ourselves
Grapes, Goats, and Greenbelts: Sustainability and Settling the Land
Omer Fact Sheets and Wallet Cards
The Three Weeks
17th of Tammuz: Warning Signs Scavenger Hunt
17th of Tammuz: Warning Signs Charades Game
Diminishing Returns
Energy Savers
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