Insights into Lehrhaus 360′s upcoming TED-style production Where We Are Heading: Voices From Our Community Imagining What’s Next, from Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan, Rabbi and Senior Educator at Lehrhaus Judaica. Founded in 1974 in Berkeley, CA, Lehrhaus took its name (meaning “house of learning”) and inspiration from a school for Jewish studies founded by philosopher Franz Rosenzweig in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1920. Attracting scholars such as Martin Buber, S.Y. Agnon, A.J. Heschel, Gershom Scholem, and Erich Fromm, the original Lehrhaus — until its closure by the Nazis — was the focal point of a Jewish intellectual revival between the wars. Dialogue between the student and teacher was the primary method of learning, which, according to Rosenzweig and Buber, “could restore something genuinely Jewish to the Western intellectual.” UpStart is proud to cosponsor this special Lehrhaus event at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto on Sunday, Feb. 26, 1-5 p.m.

On the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 7, the holiday of Tu B’Shevat begins. It’s the time of year when my phone really starts to ring.

During this one-day holiday, the de-facto Jewish Earth Day, people want to hear what our tradition has to teach us about our relationship to the natural world. On this day, throughout the world, we host seders, deliver sermons and offer school programs that are designed to inspire us to become more active in solving the environmental challenges we currently face — and to remind us that our tradition calls on us to make a difference, letaken olam, to repair the world.

Just a few years ago, being innovative was key to a new organization’s success. But, as time has gone on, debate has hatched over what can truly be defined as innovative and unfortunately, it has become clear that even with initial funding, it is difficult to keep an “innovative” program afloat. There have been a huge variety of conversations and articles dedicated to the conversation of innovation, both sharing its importance and questioning its long-term impact. However, recently much of the innovation buzz and discussion has dissipated, but fear not, it is has been replaced by our new friend, organizational sustainability!

Since its inception, UpStart has committed itself not only to strengthening the professionalism and efficacy of new Jewish initiatives, but also to strengthening the Jewish knowledge of the leaders and the quality of Jewish content offered by these initiatives. It remains unique in the network of Jewish incubators aimed at bolstering the Jewish innovation ecosystem, and begs the question: why is it important to engage the leaders of new Jewish initiatives in substantive Jewish learning? And, furthermore, why does UpStart believe that it is not only important, but ultimately intricately interwoven with the potential success of these leaders and their projects?

UpStarter Urban Adamah has announced the launch of its Spring, 2012 Young Adult Fellowship. Jewish young adults can apply for the fellowship online at http://urbanadamah.org/apply/. Twelve fellows will be selected to participate in the new organic farm and Jewish environmental education program in West Berkeley, beginning March 4. This blog is an account of Urban Adamah fellow Aliza Slavin Gazek's experiences on the farm in the summer of 2011.

"What's wrong with your elbow?" an eight-year old asked during Camp Urban Adamah, a Berkeley day camp that explores Judaism and the environment. Struggling for a good view of this hard-to-see part of my body, I yielded to another camper, who responded, "She's a farmer!" It was then that I learned the necessity of scrubbing my elbows; their dark appearance came from dirt — or soil rather. I've also learned that soil and dirt are actually the same thing, given two different names based solely on their location (dirt is on the ground, soil is in a planter).

I've acquired dirty elbows and expanded my understanding of food systems this summer as a fellow in the inaugural season of Urban Adamah, an urban edition of the existing Jewish farming venture in Connecticut. As one of twelve fellows, all in our twenties, I'm enjoying three months living in a house with my "fellow fellows," working our one-acre plot of urban land, learning about permaculture, Judaism, and food justice, and exploring beautiful Northern California, especially with those of us unfamiliar with coastal drives and towering redwoods.