Hazon is a nonprofit organization, based in New York City, that seeks to create new vision in the Jewish community through outdoor and environmental education. In Hebrew, hazon means "vision."
Hazon is best known for the Jewish environmental bike rides it organizes in the New York City region, and for its joint sponsorship of the Israel Ride, a fundraiser in Israel for the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. The New York ride, which takes place during Labor Day weekend each year, combines a Shabbaton on the Friday and Saturday, with two days of cycling on the Sunday and Monday. The first New York ride was held in 2001. The Israel Ride has been held since 2003.
Hazon was founded in 2000 by Nigel Savage. Its first program was a six week cross-USA bike ride, from Washington State to Washington DC.
Hazon also promotes programs on issues related to food, and the annual Hazon Food Conference is held every December. Its Tuv Ha'aretz program sponsors Jewish communities (synagogues, JCCs, schools) to build community supported agriculture programs (farm shares), and to engage in study of Jewish sources and traditions as it relates to healthy eating. Tuv Ha'aretz is a Hebrew phrase that suggests both "best of the land" and "good for the land".
Hazon's Board of Directors includes Mandy Patinkin and Ruth Messinger.
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We create healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond.
Our programs are multi-generational and give entree points for Jews of all backgrounds who are concerned about the environment and the world. Hazon serves a national and international population; members of every denomination and those who are unaffiliated; intergenerational from children to seniors – including families and singles, with a particular focus on young adults interested in developing the skills to take on leadership roles in their communities and make a difference in the world.
We effect change in the world in three ways.
Our programs directly touch lives in powerful ways. Hazon's New York Ride is held over 4 days during Labor Day weekend in the New York area and draws over 300 participants from across the country. Rider fundraising supports the work of Hazon and its major partners. A series of smaller grants are allocated to projects in the Jewish community.
Hazon’s California Ride is held in the spring in Northern California. We launched our inaugural Ride in 2010 with 120 participants. The Ride features Hazon programming at the Shabbat retreat, followed by a beautiful ride in Sonoma and Marin Counties, and ending in San Francisco.
The Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride: Cycling for Peace, Partnership & Environmental Protection is held annually over 7 days in the Fall. The Israel Ride is a 200–300 mile journey that provides participants the opportunity to experience the beauty and challenges of the Israeli landscape in a whole new way.
The Hazon Food Conference brings together foodies, educators, rabbis, farmers, nutritionists, chefs, food writers and families who share a passion for learning about and celebrating food.
Hazon CSA is the first Jewish Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in North America and is currently the largest faith-based CSA program in the country. In 2010, more than 50 Hazon CSAs put over $1 million in Jewish family purchasing power behind local, sustainable farms. Hazon CSA sites include JCCs, synagogues, Jewish day schools, and Hillels – and we’d love to add your community to the list.
Writing, speaking, teaching, and advocacy. The Jewish Food Education Network (JFEN) offers resources, curricula, and training about food and Jewish tradition, to help you navigate questions on topics such as nutrition, industrial farming, obesity, and family food traditions in a Jewish context. JFEN enables educators to tap into the passion about food and the environment in their communities and use food as a platform for innovative Jewish education.
"The Jew and the Carrot", a partnership between Hazon and the Forward, at jcarrot.org, serves as a public front page for our food work, bringing the discussions among Jewish farmers, day school educators, food enthusiasts, chefs and families about what is kosher – literally, "fit" – for us to eat to far reaching corners of the Jewish community and beyond.
Through the work initiated two years ago with the Jewish Climate Change Campaign, Hazon is participating in a new global initiative on Green Pilgrim Cities to inspire pilgrims on all continents and the pilgrim cities that receive them to leave a positive footprint on the Earth.
Supporting great people and projects in North America and Israel. Hazon is one of the largest American funders of the Israeli environmental movement. Our outdoor events support some of the most vital work happening on environmental issues in Israel. The Israel Ride has raised over $1.5 million for the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. It also enables participants to learn first hand about some of the key issues Israel faces, and some of the ways that environmentalists are helping to create peace.
Hazon supports a number of environmental organizations that have significantly benefited from the grants awarded through the New York and California Rides. Since 2000, we have given away $600,000 to support more than 70 projects, including:
Additionally, Hazon fiscally sponsors a number of innovative and cutting edge Jewish environmental organizations, including Jewish Farm School and Wilderness Torah.
We start with the belief that engaging Jews in environmental education, action, and advocacy changes them, their families, their institutions, and the community as a whole.
If we have a set of values which stand purely as values, these include:
We hold a series of connected beliefs:
The NY Ride was founded in 2001, and takes place each year over Labor Day Weekend. The Hazon New York Ride is more than a bike ride, it is a four-day event that includes a Shabbat retreat, a 2-day Ride and so much more. Additionally, it raises money for cutting-edge Jewish environmental projects in the United States and Israel.
The CA Ride is held every spring, and features a Shabbat retreat and a 2-day ride, with a century option for the first day. Funds raised support Hazon and other organizations that support environmental causes in Jewish communities in the United States and in Israel.
The Israel Ride was founded in 2003, and takes place each year in November. The Ride brings people to Israel who’ve never visited before, and gives people who’ve been to Israel many times the chance to see the country from a unique vantage point – the seat of a bicycle! The experience builds relationships among American Jews, and between Israelis and Americans, and raises significant funds to support the work of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and for Hazon.
Learn more about the 2012 Hazon Cross USA Ride as the ride’s director, Wendy Levine, travels this October and November to speak to potential riders. View a list of the stops she’ll be making below. We ask that you RSVP if you’re planning on attending.
Bike to the Beach: Hazon’s annual day of biking and beach lounging! Starting from multiple locations and riding to Coney Island for a party on the beach, it’s the perfect summer fun (and free!) activity for friends and family.
Makom Hadash is a hub for the Jewish innovation community in New York, and a residency center for second-stage Jewish non-profit organizations. Combining affordable space and office services with a community of colleagues and regular opportunities to learn, socialize and collaborate, it enables its member organizations to focus more on their missions, develop more sophisticated organizational infrastructure and collaborate more effectively together.
Founded in 2010, Makom Hadash now offers office space for up to 27 full-time workers, with the possibility of increased capacity up to 45 seats; a few spaces for resident organizations are available for immediate occupancy.
The global Siach network of Jewish environment and social justice professionals and activists launched at our 1st conference in May at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, USA. Plans are underway for next year’s conference in Israel, and the network is supporting ongoing conversations, connections and collaboration to further the impact of Jewish Social justice around the world.
Siach is also deepening the nuanced understanding of Jewish Peoplehood and Israel engagement with those for whom the pursuit of social and environmental justice is one of the defining characteristics of their identity.
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