● About

What is Shoresh?

Through nature-based Jewish education, Shoresh leads, inspires, and empowers our community to be Shomrei Adamah, protectors of the earth.

Our Mission

Shoresh leads, inspires, and empowers our community in being and becoming Shomrei Adamah, through Jewish Nature Connection.

 

What do we mean by “Shomrei Adamah”?

The Hebrew word Adamah means Earth and expresses the inextricable relationship between humans (adam) and Earth (adamah). The Hebrew word Shomer has many translations, including one who observes, guards, cares for, and protects.  Acting as Shomrei Adamah means living up to our responsibilities within relationships, with the land, water, plants, and animals, including other human beings.  It is a “path to walk”/”way of being” (halacha) we continuously recommit to. 

Our Vision

A local Jewish community that is connected to the Earth, to Jewish traditions, and to each other.

Our Guiding Principles

As a Jewish organization, we ground our work in Jewish teachings and ethics.  The following are the core principles that ground and guide our programs, ventures, and working processes:

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Mah Rabu

Hold a sense of radical amazement for the natural world.

Ma Rabu Maasecha Hashem. Kulam Bechachmah Asita. Malah Haaretz Kinyanecha. How diverse are your creations, Hashem. With wisdom you have made them. The earth is full of your creations.  –  Psalms 104:24

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L’ovdah u’l’shomrah

Live up to our responsibilities in relation to the earth.

Vyikach Elohim et haAdam veyanichechu beGan Eden l’ovdah u’l’shomrah. Elohim placed the human in the Garden of Eden, to honour and tend it. – Bereshit 2:15

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Lo Alecha… VeLo Atah

Remember the work is not ours to complete alone and that we need everyone, because we each have a unique role.  

Lo alecha hamalacha ligmor ve lo atah ben chorin lehivatel mimeno. It is not upon you to complete the work and neither are you free to desist from it. – Pirkei Avot 2:16

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Kehilah

Create inclusive, interconnected community that is in relationship with the Earth and Jewish tradition.

● Our Story

Shoresh’s “Roots”

  • Shoresh was established as Torat HaTeva: The Jewish Nature Centre of Canada by Alexandra Kuperman and Tuvia Aronson.  Torat HaTeva began offering hands-on educational programs with Jewish schools and synagogues in Toronto, hosting an annual Tu B’Shvat Seder and visioning the creation of a nature centre at the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus in Vaughan.

  • Risa Alyson Cooper and Sabrina Malach, both Leo Baeck alumni, reunite at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut where Sabrina is part of the Adamah Fellowship and Risa is a Jewish environmental educator at the Teva Learning Center. Together they begin visioning how to bring Jewish environmental programs to their native Toronto.

  • With funding from Trillium and Environment Canada, and with the support of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, the Kavanah Garden was born. In our first season we hosted 1400 community members and grew 400 pounds of fresh, local, organic produce for tzedakah, with the help of 200 volunteers (including our first cohort of interns!).  We also hosted the first season of the Kavanah CSA in partnership with the Cutting Veg Organic Farm, providing 58 families with a full season of fresh, local, organic vegetables. Not bad for a pilot season!

  • In 2011, Torat HaTeva was relaunched as Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs. Sabrina Malach officially joined the team as Director of Community Outreach, just in time to bring together over 50 community members to celebrate the growth of the Jewish Food Movement in Toronto and share Shoresh’s vision for the future!