About Us
The Shmita Project Northwest seeks to educate, inspire, and build community around bringing Shmita to life. This regional effort is a project of Congregation Beth Shalom and Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light.
The Shmita Year is part of a cycle analogous to the weekly Sabbath, but taking place once every seven years as opposed to every seven days. Also known as the Year of Release, Shmita invites each of us to re-examine our relationship with the earth, with the Divine, and with one another. In the Shmita year, we rest alongside the land; we share the abundance of our landscapes as equals with one another and with the wild creatures; money is deemphasized; and debts are released.
In the sixth year, tried to ensure that as many people as possible in our community
Were aware that next year is a Shmita year,
Understood what the Shmita year means, and
Were invited into community to think creatively about bringing Shmita values to life in their homes and communities, and the wider world.
In this, the seventh year, we are working to publicize and share emergent Shmita-related programs and activities, focusing on the greater Seattle and Pacific Northwest region.