Adamah Fellowship Program at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Aitan Mizrahi always knew he wanted a profession that was based on do-it-yourself, off-the-grid skills, and he wanted his line of work to be in line with a Jewish way of life. He was in his mid-20s when he found the perfect opportunity to combine Jewish text and teachings with practical thought and hands-on agricultural experience. Adamah: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship (Adamah) at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center (IFJRC) helped him manifest a career that is both informed by and practiced within the context of the Jewish tradition. The fellowship gave Aitan a way to assume the traditional biblical identity of a Jew: farmer and herder, with a land-based connection to his work. And since his father is from the Middle East, his work is consistent with his ethnic connection to biblical Judaism.
In May 2004, Aitan started what was originally intended to be a three-month summer fellowship with Adamah. In September, however, the director of Adamah took a leave of absence, and instead of hiring an interim director, the Adamah fellows formed committees to take over the various tasks involved with overseeing the farm and program. Aitan and a fellow participant managed all aspects of the animal husbandry operation at the retreat center.
Aitan describes the director and mentor of Adamah, Shamu Sadeh, as a spectacular and dynamic leader, who infuses religion and agriculture on micro and macro levels. With guidance from Shamu and his own interaction with the other fellows, Aitan unearthed a deep connection between taking care of animals and the way he lives his life as a Jew. Since the Torah offers a series of ethical guidelines for animal husbandry, he has found a way to maneuver through a modern experience with these ancient laws as his guide.
The process of slaughtering animals according to the laws of kashrut, and then sharing the meat with friends, gave Aitan a chance to talk with others about the mindfulness that goes into not only raising a goat, but also processing it into food. For example, if the slaughter is not performed properly, the meat is not considered kosher, and one must find a non-Jew to take the meat—an ethical requirement that leads to interesting questions and conversation.
Following his fellowship with Adamah in 2004, Aitan worked on a small, organic vegetable farm in California (Eat Well Farm), which coincidentally, and by no connection with Aitan, became a CSA farm for the nearby Berkeley Jewish community through Hazon’s CSA Program. After working on the vegetable farm he realized that animal husbandry, more so than vegetable farming, was his calling. He traveled to Israel for two months at the end of 2005 to study with goat dairies in the region. When he returned to IFJRC to work with the goats and chickens, he knew he was home. In 2006, he purchased his first 3 goats, and by 2008, his herd had grown to 13. During the summer of 2008 he merged his Adva Dairy herd with the Adamah herd. Now he is on staff at Adamah, where he teaches the fellows and retreat center guests the art of milking. He uses the goat milk to craft artisanal cheeses and yogurt.
Aitan’s experience as an Adamah Fellow placed him on the vocational path he is now walking. He is not sure what he would have ended up doing professionally had he not discovered his passion for animal husbandry at IFJRC. But he is grateful for what that experience has provided and continues to provide for him: great satisfaction in the work that he does, with a tangible connection to his life as a Jew.
Contact: Aitan Mizrahi at Adva Dairy.
For further information about the Adamah Fellowship at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, please visit: http://isabellafreedman.org/environment/adamahadamah.org.