Shmita resources
We are so grateful to be part of an ecosystem of Jewish organizations that produce truly AMAZING resources and learning opportunities at the intersection of Judaism and agriculture. Please enjoy this robust, yet incomplete library of Shmita resources!
​
If you have something you'd like to add, please email liel@jewishfarmernetwork.org
Books:
​
Free Download of The Hazon Shmita Sourcebook by Yigal Deutscher, Anna Hanau, and Nigel Savage: The Shmita Sourcebook is designed to encourage participants to think critically about the Shmita Cycle – its values, challenges, and opportunities – and how this tradition might be applied in a modern context to support building healthier and more sustainable Jewish communities today.The Shmita Sourcebook is a 120-page sourcebook that draws on a range of texts from within Jewish tradition and time, tracing the development and evolution of Shmita from biblical, historical, rabbinic, and contemporary perspectives.
Rav Kook’s Introduction to Shabbat Ha’aretz [Sabbath of the Land] by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook: “This is the first-ever English translation of the introduction to Rav Kook’s book on shmita (Biblical sabbatical year). Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the land of Israel in the 20th century. His essay, written in 1909, is lyrical and mystical, a meditation on the big themes that underlie religious environmentalism.”
Video and Audio Recordings:
The Shmita Project Northwest: A project who seeks to educate, inspire, and build community around bringing Shmita to life. There are video recordings of past webinars on their website.
Shmita: Release and Repair w. Sol Weiss Part 1- Reparations in Occupied America: How are Shmita* and Reparations** inter-connected? How can we draw inspiration from these 2 subversive concepts as diasporic Jews living in occupied America in 2021? Through text learning, storytelling and personal reflection, this webinar explores these concepts and how they can support the integration of Jewish tradition, healing, and work for liberation in our own lives.
Recordings from Cultivating Culture 2021: Register for a Jewish Farmer Network Shmita Plot to get access to recordings of all six Shmita sessions from our 2021 virtual conference!
General Resources:
​
The Shmita Project: The Shmita Project is working to expand awareness about the biblical Sabbatical tradition, and to bring the values of this practice to life today to support healthier, more sustainable Jewish communities. Here you can find texts and essays, videos, weekly parsha reflections, Shmita inspired works of art, and general resources on the practice of Shmita.
Shmita Resources from Hazon: Here you can find more information on the core principles, values, and ethics of Shmita along with the traditional texts on which Shmita is based including a curated list of Shmita curricula and educational materials, essays and articles, and audio and video from Hazon.
Ekar Farm Shmitah Resources for Further Exploration: Here you can find general resource to further help you explore the Shmitah cycle as well as a curated list of resources related to various social justice topics that related to Shmitah such as racial equity, economic justice, justice for immigrants, food justice, Indigenous rights, and environmental justice. Thoughtful reflection questions accompany each section to provide opportunity for further learning.
​
​
Upcoming Courses and Programming:
Shmita Hives: a year-long group that will meet once a month to explore the themes of Shmita through study and embodied practice. Shmita Hives is a free set of monthly curricula/prompts to support explorations of Shmita in small groups (“hives”) of affinity communities. The curricula will offer options for hives to study together, practice rest and collective care, access play and embodiment, identify community needs, and collaborate on social/environmental justice projects. We are excited to offer a virtual hive specifically for farmers to connect and collaborate. We hope this can be an opportunity for hives to connect with a broader network, and find inspiration and support to sustain their local projects. You can read more here tinyurl.com/ShmitaHives and register here tinyurl.com/SignupSH. When you register, please specify that you are interested in the Jewish farmer hive.
​
.png)
Creative Projects:
The Unraveling Zine by Liel Green: A creative, sci-fiesque beginning exploration of queer-Jewish futures, Shabbat, and the liberatory potential of Shmita. It explores how Jews in diaspora feel home in between "here" and "there" and how this liminality also allows us to exist between the present and the future. How can we become undone, unravel, and release?
Shmita Inspired Art through the Shmita Project
​
​
Text Source Sheets (Sefaria):
Shmita Sourcebook Section VI: Reclaiming The Sabbatical Tradition – Exploring Shmita Today from Hazon
Cursed is the Ground for your Sake: An Introduction to Jewish Farming Source Sheet compiled by Nati Passow
Shmita Re-Wilding Judaism by Riv Shapiro
​
Themes of Shmita and the Relationship between Shmita and Shabbat by Tzvi Sinensky