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Earth Etude for Elul 6
Blessed
by Judith Felsen, Ph.D.
~Blessed are we who have strayed and returned
called back by Your mercy,
awakened from selfishness to holiness,
from cruelty to kindness.
Unseeing we concealed, justified, perfected,
means to reach our ends, claim desires,
perhaps ignorant of damage done,
unaware of straying far from You.
Detours often deadly to our peace,
balance and well- being are brought to halt,
corrected paths of our atonement filled,
with deep regret, our shame and sadness,
healthy guilt a guide of our return to holiness.
...
Earth Etude for Elul 5
Priestly Atonement and Cleansing the Environment
by Andy Oram
~Can you really have an impact on climate change by switching to veggie burgers or lowering the heat in Winter? How about making a change at work that shaves some of the carbon footprint off of your product? Do these really matter when the world continues to pump tons more carbon into the atmosphere each year?
The Jewish tradition offers a useful perspective on this question in the afternoon Yom Kippur service, where we recreate the atonement ceremonies of the Temple's High Priest. Atonement is divided ...
Earth Etude for Elul 4
The Ultimate Emergency is a Cancer on the Earth, but It Can Be Successfully Treated
by Deb Nam-Krane
~In 2022, after a decade of worsening symptoms that included erratic energy as well as digestive issues – and plenty of gaslighting – I was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was serious enough that even after every visible trace had been removed I needed to undergo chemotherapy treatments. Just as I should have gotten the attention I needed earlier, climate scientists should have been heeded when we were at "crisis", not "emergency". But once we identify the causes ...
Earth Etude for Elul 3
Turn it and Turn it Again
by Leah Cassorla, Ph.D
~Our lives are marked by recurrences in time and season that nonetheless are not truly a circle, but rather a spiral, in which the return of the familiar sounds more like a harmonious echo than a repetition. Even Torah and holiday cycles regularly repeat and are never the same.
This summer, with its heat waves, wildfires, and flood-causing storms, however, seems like a step out of time—in both the musical and seasonal senses. We’ve lost the rhythms of our days. We’ve become slaves.
We live in a time of ...
Earth Etude for Elul 2
'A Monument'al Vacation
by Rabbi Steven J Rubenstein
During the late spring, my wife and I joined her son and daughter-in-law on a trip to Vancouver Island off the western coast of Canada, bordering Seattle, Washington. So many things reminded me of previous events in my journeys that are so life-affirming. First and foremost were the majestic mountains of the Canadian Rockies, holding on to the last vestiges of snow in late May at their peaks. They reminded me of my seven years in Denver and my view of the American Rockies on my way to work as I prayed the ...
Earth Etude for Elul 1
Perception of Time
by Thea Iberall, Ph.D.
~I ’m driving home from Marblehead where we commemorated Erev Tisha B’Av. My trip home seems so much faster than the trip there, even though my GPS says travel time is 45 minutes each way. As I stare out the window, watching headlights cut through the darkness, I’m baffled. Why can’t I measure actual time?
We measure distance, size and number without difficulty. I can know if I can fit through a door or whether the leftover spaghetti will fit into a refrigerator container. I know how many fingers I have and I can ...
An Evening of Earth Etudes for Elul!
Join us for our Zoom Program on Thursday, August 24th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm EDT
The 30 days of Elul (Elul 1 starts the evening of August 17) are a time for cheshbon hanefesh (soul searching) and teshuvah (return, repentance). They are a time to turn from the ways in which we have missed the mark and return to G!d and our best selves. Elul is a time to be reborn, transformed, and renewed.
This year for the first time, JCAN-MA and Ma'yan Tikya be hosting "An Evening of Earth Etudes for Elul," a time of reading and reflection, during which ...
The Earth Etudes for Elul are Coming!
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen
We’re noticing the sun is setting earlier each day. We’re lighting our Shabbat candles earlier each week. We’re rushing to pack into the remaining days of summer a last hike, a last day at the beach, a last cookout, a last camping trip.
My daughter-in-law, a teacher, calls August the “Sunday of summer vacation”, when thoughts turn to the new school year ahead and the end of the freedoms of summer looms. The Jewish month of Elul, which begins in August, is the “Sunday of the Jewish year.” Elul is a time of reflection and prepara...
Applying Religious Teachings To Reduce Abuses of Animals
Review of Animal Theologians
Animal Theologians, edited by long time British animal rights activists Andrew and Clair Linzey, has the potential to help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path. Why? It can help move people, especially religious ones, to plant-based diets at a time when the world is rapidly heading inward a climate catastrophe and a major societal change to such diets is essential to efforts to avert a climate ...
My Four Articles On Restoring and Transforming the Ancient New Year For Animals
Below are my 4 articles on restoring and transforming the ancient. Jewish New Year for Animals. They were written several years ago, so I plan to write a new article updating the situation. Their titles are:
An Audacious Initiative to Restore the Ancient New Year for Animals
Top Ten Reasons for Restoring and Transforming the Ancient New Year for Animals
Restoring and Transforming an Ancient Jewish Holiday Related to Animals
An Overlooked Mitzvah: Tsa’ar Ba’alei Chaim ———————————————-
An Audacious Initiative ...
Review of “Judaism and Global Survival – 20th Anniversary Edition”
Tikun Olam. What a wonderful Hebrew phrase! Once again, my very dear friend Richard Schwartz has imbued the saying with more potent meaning than I think I have ever seen. This 20th anniversary edition of Judaism and Global Survival elevates that concept—the “Healing of the World”—to its most relevant position in the history not only of our people but of humanity in general. As we move from the Holocene to the Anthropocene era we face challenges never before experienced in our planet’s history as humanity itself drives the world we live on a ...
There Is No Planet B
Because of the increasingly dire warnings of climate experts that climate change may soon reach an irreversible tipping point, the significant increase in the frequency and severity of heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, floods, and other climate-related events, and the failure so far of governments and other institutions to make adequate changes to address the threats, many concerned people are trying to awaken others to the dangers with the statement that “There is no Planet B.” This article discusses the climate threats and how risks of a ...
Dear Rabbi – How YOU Can Help Save the World
Shalom dear rabbi,
I have been fortunate to be involved with many rabbis in my 89 years, and I have always found you all to be the most dedicated people, committed to getting as many Jews as possible to live committed Jewishlives, filled with mitzvot and tikkun olam.
Because of this I very respectfully address this message to you. Your response could have an enormous and. Powerful effect on the future of Judaism and on our imperiled planet.
Recognizing and acting in response to the following three realities is the key ...
A Tisha B’Av Message: How Do the Warnings Today Differ From Those of Jeremiah?
A Tisha B’Av Message: How Do the Warnings Today Differ From Those of Jeremiah?
Over 2,600 years ago, Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah about the importance of changing their ways, with the result that the first Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, one of many tragedies that occurred on that day, including the destruction of the second Temple as well.
There are comparisons between the warnings and threats in Jeremiah’s lifetime and those today that can provide insights that can be valuable in responding to ...
Can Meat Be Humanely Produced?
A Review of Hope Bohanec’s Book, “The Humane Hoax”
Hope Botanec’s wonderful book, “The Humane Hoax: Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat , Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs,” which exposes the many lies and misrepresentation of these industries, is essential reading today for many reasons.
Most importantly, it is urgent that there be a societal shift toward vegan diets because there is very little, if any, chance to avert a climate catastrophe ...
A Tisha B’Av message: Will We Fail To Heed the Warnings Again?
Tisha B’Av, which we commemorate starting in the evening of July 26 in 2023, reminds us that over 2,600 years ago Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah about the importance of changing their ways. This resulted in destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem, one of many tragedies that occurred on that day, including the destruction of the second Temple also.
Today there are’t prophets like Jeremiah to issue warnings, but there are. increasingly dire warnings from climate experts that it is not just Jerusalem but the ...
Inconsistencies Between Jewish Values and Jewish Diets
There are significant inconsistencies between basic Jewish values and the diets of the vast majority of Jews. Please consider:
1. While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving our health and our lives, numerous medical studies in respected peer-reviewed journals have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other life-threatening diseases. Animal-based diets also make future pandemics, with their many negative health effects, far more likely.
2. While Judaism ...
Review of Animal Welfare in World Religion
Joyce D’Silva’s book Animal Welfare in World Religion: Teaching and Practice points out an anomaly that is the main reason that the world is rapidly approaching a climate catastrophe and facing other environmental threats. While about 80 percent of the world’s people belong to a religion and these religions have strong teachings about compassion for animals, the vast majority of the people have animal-based diets that involve great cruelty to animals.
Animal-based agriculture is the main cause ...
Religion, Ethics, Animals, and Choosing Vegan
Dr. Lisa Kemmerer has made it her mission to help people to recognize that core religious teachings in every faith require that we rethink our diet and how we treat animals more generally. Toward this end, she has authored "Animals and World Religions." She is also the author of "Eating Earth, Environmental Ethics and Dietary Choices," and "Sister Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice" and over 100 related articles and anthology chapters. As professor emeritus of philosophy and religious studies (Montana State University,&nb...