Celebrate a greener Rosh Hashana

The holiday of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, (and the month of Elul leading up to it), is a time for shedding spiritual and relationship baggage.  It's a time to open up to new possibilities and be grateful for everything you have. More than anything, Rosh Hashana offers the opportunity for tshuva - to return to our best, most full selves. Turning inward gives the chance to ask, what impact do we want to have on our communities?

Here are some suggestions so you may welcome Rosh Hashana with mindfulness and joy.

Go apple picking.  What could be better than dunking for apples you picked yourself, straight from the tree?  Many family farms welcome visitors to pick apples, make fresh cider, and tour their grounds.  Needless to say, this is a great activity for the whole family.  Find a farm near you at PickYourOwn.org 

Avoid the honey bear. Apples and honey are two of the most recognizable Jewish holiday foods.  Meanwhile, "colony collapse disorder" (the mass disappearance of bees from hives) indicates that something is awry in the bee community.  (Find our more about about the potential causes of CCD by doing a web search.) Meanwhile, the ubiquitous honey bear that sits in most of our cabinets tends to be filled with industrially-produced (and not particularly flavorful) honey.  This year, dip your apples in delicious, raw honey produced by a small-scale apiary.  Try:

• Bee Raw Honey recommended by The Jew &The Carrot blogger, Eric Schulmiller.

• Marshall's Honey, raw and certified kosher

• Tropical Traditions raw and certified kosher

Make it Maple Orthodox maple syrup farmer, Rabbi Shmuel Simenowitz celebrates the New Year with his family by dipping apples into maple syrup from his own trees.  Join him in this sweet twist on traditional apples and honey by switching to maple syrup or, better yet, maple butter (swoon!).

Seasonal centerpieces  Instead of fresh-cut flowers that will wilt after a few days, create a sustainable centerpiece to impress your guests.  Place 12 heirloom apples or pomegranates in a glass bowl, or place potted fall flowers (chrysanthemums, zinnias, marigolds etc.) around the table to add seasonal color.

Eat and Learn.  Rabbi Shimon said: If three have eaten at one table and have not discussed words of Torah over it, it is as though they had eaten of the sacrifices of the dead, as it is written (Is. 28:8).  Ask each of your Rosh Hashana guests to bring a reading (e.g. traditional Jewish texts, Hasidic tales, a favorite poem or scene from a play, children's book etc.) to share on a particular Rosh Hashana-related theme.  Need an example?  Try "returning" "scarcity and abundance" or "mindfulness."  At dinner, ask your guests to share what they brought.

Highlight local flavors Rosh Hashana falls at a time of year when it's easy to find fresh local vegetables through your CSA (Community Supported Agriculture farm, see LocalHarvest.org for ones near you) or farmers' market. Search the internet for recipes that highlight autumn fruits and vegetables, especially local delights you might never have sampled before.

Celebrate non-local foods. Pomegranates are an important symbolic food on Rosh Hashana, but are not necessarily local to most regions in America.  Instead of eschewing them entirely, take the moment to recognize why you are including this food and how it fits into your celebration.  Ask someone at your dinner table to prepare a few words (a poem or fact sheet) about pomegranates, or whatever other food you'd like to highlight.

Kosher organic wine.  Serve your friends and family wines from Hazon's kosher,organic wine list atjcarrot.org. The wines on this list are tasty, hechshered (having an orthodox kosher certification) and good for the earth. You'll be able to impress your friends as the world's best sustainable sommelier.

Get outside!  Rosh Hashana celebrations have the tendency to fall into the rhythm of pray, eat, sleep, pray, eat, sleep...eat.  This year, change up that rhythm by finding some time to get outside into the crisp fall sunlight.  Go for an early morning walk before synagogue, meditate outside in the afternoon, take a walk on the beach (if you're lucky enough to live by one!), or bring your kids to the park after lunch to sing holiday songs.  Whatever way you get there, don't wait until Tashlich to get outside.

Cast away cleanup.  Tashlich is one of the most beautiful moments of Rosh Hashana where we head towards a flowing body of water and toss in bread to symbolically cast away our sins.  As part of your Rosh Hashana preparation, take a day in the week leading up to the holiday (and bring your friends and kids) to "clean up" the river or watershed where you will perform the tashlich ritual.  Collect any garbage or bottles lying about and walk around to get a lay of the land.  When you come back the next week, note if you feel a different connection to the space.

Adapted from The Jew & The Carrot: Hazon's blog on Jews, food, and contemporary life. jcarrot.org   

Recipe: Kale with lemon sauce

Use local and organic ingredients when possible.

Ingedients:

1/2 bunch Kale, trimmed and washed, chop roughly

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced into "coins"

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
salt to taste
1 3/4 cup water
1 lemon
1 tsp flour (optional)

2 tbspns butter

Over medium high heat sauté vegetables (celery, onion and garlic) in olive oil. When celery is bright green and garlic has browned a bit add kale. Sauté for a bit then add the water and the juice from half the lemon. Cover and let steam for about 7 min.  The kale should be wilted and still a bit al dente. Remove the kale from the pan leaving the juices and the other aromatics. Whisk in the flour add the juice from the other half of the lemon. Keep the heat low and whisk in the butter as it melts. Return the kale to the sauce and stir to coat. Serve immediately with some good bread to soak up the sauce. Simple yet has sophisticated taste.

Recipe contributed by Wenonah Michellet-Ferrier

The above information is excerpted from the book, Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, Copyright 2008 The Green Year, LLC. Permission is needed to reproduce any portion of the above article. Contact for permission.