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Religious Sustainability


Sustainable farming and cooking one’s own food can protect the environment and provide pathways to mindful eating. And for 15 students who took a unique excursion last week, these experiences also brought new layers of meaning to ancient theological texts.

The spring-break trip, sponsored by Hillel national and the Jewish Farm School, explored Jewish environmental ethics in unconventional ways. After a weekend of poring over related texts at a Jewish retreat center, the students traveled to an organic farm in southern California, where they cleared brush, milked goats and picked avocadoes, kumquats, oranges and berries. In the evenings, they attended lectures and group discussions and enjoyed the fruits—and veggies—of the day’s labor. [Story continues below.] 


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  • Daniel Grover '12, a double major in international studies and English, pauses for a photo.
    Daniel Grover '12
  • Kexin Shu '15 proudly displays her carrots, freshly picked. Shu, a native of China, was one of two international students on the trip.
    Kexin Shu '15
  • Professor of Mathematics Barry Tesman (far left), Nina Geller '12 (center) and Emma Rodwin '14 harvest fruits the old-fashioned way.
    Barry Tesman
  • Catherine Maugle ’15 puts the day's fresh picks to delicious use.
    Catherine Maugle ’15
  • Donna Buono, the owner of Morning Song Farm (right), keeps a small herd of Nigerian dairy goats on her property, which includes four kids, born last month. Above, she chats with Olivia Gell, one of the three students on the trip from a neighboring university. (The trip was co-sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Consortium.)
    Nigerian Pygmy Goat
  • After a morning of picking oranges, these students enjoy their just desserts.
    Fruits of Labor
  • The students harvested berries, kumquats, oranges, carrots and more.
    Kumquats!
  • Elise Minichiello '14 presents a pizza brimming with fresh veggies.
    Elise Minichiello '14
  • Emma Rodwin ’14, Catherine Maugle ’15 and Lauren FitzGerald (Gettysburg College) pose for a group shot.
    Emma Rodwin ’14
  • First row: Nina Geller ’12. Second row (from left): Brett Porter ’15, Kexin Shu ’15, Donna Buono (farm owner), Danielle Thompson ‘12, Olivia Gell (Franklin & Marshall). Third row (from left) : Elisabeth Maranca ’12, Lance Yhost, (farm manager), Catherine Maugle ’15, Emma Rodwin ’14, Lauren FitzGerald (Gettysburg College), Elise Minichiello ’14, David Faich (Franklin & Marshall College), Caitlin Flanagan ’13. Fourth row (from left: YiMing “Michael” Zhang ’13, Professor of Mathematics Barry Tesman, Scott Hoffman ’12, Daniel Grover ’12.
    The Gang
Daniel Grover '12, a double major in international studies and English, pauses for a photo.Prev ImageNext Image

This blend of theology and hands-on work lends interesting underpinnings to the study of sustainability, notes Ted Merwin, director of the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life, who joined the students for a Shabbat celebration at the farm. “It’s new territory for us, particularly as a way of building Jewish identity, and it’s very exciting,” he says.   

A pleasantly surprising mix 

As Merwin explains, there are many intersections between Jewish thought and sustainable philosophy, including Torah passages about how to rotate crops to preserve land for future generations and how to properly yoke animals; there also are instructions to leave one corner of the field unharvested, to provide food for the poor. In fact, Dickinson offers an entire course devoted to Jewish environmental ethics, an area that has received growing scholarly attention.

Because the Hillel spring break was created as a vehicle for Jewish students to explore this lesser-known facet of their faith, organizers were astonished to learn that half of the students who signed up were non-Jewish.  

“It was a very pleasant surprise,” says Professor of Mathematics Barry Tesman, who led the trip. “Everyone brought different perspectives to the table, and we had very interesting discussions because of the mix. It was phenomenal.” 

Read another spring-break story: Where the Heart Is.

By MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Photos courtesy of participating students