170 results for tag: Conservation


Loss and Transformation – Earth Grieving

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen I teach a class called Loss & Transformation: Connecting Sacred Texts to Family Stories to Help Deal with Loss, in which I set forth a theology of how our losses can lead us to be transformed, and how the joining of the stories of our familial ancestors with texts of Jewish tradition can provide a useful tool in transforming our grief into a deeper relationship with the Sacred and bringing us to a place of greater strength and peace. At the core of the theology is the phrase we recite to mourners, HaMakom yinachem etchem – May the Place/Space heal you. The word makom, which in modern Hebrew means ...

A Dialogue Between a Jewish Vegetarian Activist and a Rabbi

For a long time, I have been trying to start a respectful dialogue in the Jewish community. Because I have had very little success, I am presenting the fictional dialogue below. I hope that many readers will use it as the basis of similar dialogues with local rabbis, educators, and community leaders. If you do, please let me know how it turns out. Thanks. Jewish Vegetarian Activist: Shalom rabbi.. Rabbi: Shalom. Good to see you. JVA: Rabbi, I have been meaning to speak to you for some time about an issue, but I have hesitated because I know how busy you are, but I think this issue is very important. Rabbi: Well, that sounds interesting. I am never ...

Sukkot, Simchat Torah, and Vegetarianism

There are many connections that can be made between vegetarianism and the joyous Jewish festivals of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret (the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly), and Simchat Torah: 1. Sukkot commemorates the 40 years when the ancient Israelites lived in the wilderness in frail huts and were sustained by manna. According to Isaac Arama (1420-1494), author of Akedat Yitzchak, and others, the manna was God's attempt to reestablish for the Israelites the vegetarian diet (Genesis 1:29) that prevailed before the flood, in the time of Noah. 2. On Simchat Torah, Jews complete the annual cycle of Torah readings, ...

An Overlooked Mitzvah: Tsa’ar Ba’alei Chaim/A New Year for Animals Message

While tsa'ar ba'alei chaim (the mandate not to cause "sorrow to living creatures") is a Torah prohibition, many religious Jews seem to be unaware of it or to not consider it of any great importance. Some examples reinforce this assertion: • Upon reading an article about my efforts to get Jewish teachings on animals onto the Jewish agenda, a member of my modern Orthodox congregation was incredulous. "What? Jews should be concerned about animals?" she exclaimed. • Some years ago, I was at a Sukkot gathering at which there were some ducks in an adjacent backyard. Upon seeing them, two youngsters of about ...

Earth Etude for Elul 2 – Elul Writing Project

by Molly Bajgot We’re nearing a time when the Earth will not provide as bountifully as it has in the past. In exchange for a loss of resources, I believe the Earth is pleading for us humans to return to ourselves, our deep souls, so we recognize a bounty that lives within us. Could this lead to the feeling of fertility in the human spirit, we may extend the times of plenty. Answering this call is not easy. We cannot stop deadlines so we may each have the time return to ourselves as a form of resiliency. It’s a necessary evil to take this time. We may feel that we’re missing out on other activities, events, or conversatio...

Launch of Food Waste Action #4

Just before Tu b'Shevat, we launched our Year of Jewish Action on the Environment. Our goal is to empower the Jewish community to take action on energy conservation and reduce food waste this year. The program will continue through Tu B'Shvat 2014. Continuing with the Year of Action, we're now pleased to share the fourth action to reduce food waste! You can also see this action in the full list here. Food Waste Action #4: Put on My Plate ONLY What I will Eat. Eyes bigger than your stomach? Once that food is on your plate, it’s either going in your mouth or in the trash. Prevent food waste with these ...

RELATING TISHA B’AV TO TODAY’S ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES

Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) which we commemorate this year on July 15-16, reminds us that over 2,000 years ago Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, with the result that the first Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the first of many negative things that occurred on that day, including the destruction of the second Temple as well. Today there are many "Jeremiahs" warning us that now it is the entire world that is threatened by climate change and its effects, species extinction, soil erosion, destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats, and many other environmental threats. For example, as long ...

Eco-Friendly Laundry Tips

May and June are the months for spring cleaning. In the spirit of reducing waste (baal tashchit) and respecting and honoring God’s creation the Earth, here are a few simple tips to consider in the laundry room: Control the Temperature of Your Washing Machine: About 90 percent of the energy use associated with doing laundry involves just heating up the water. Turn the dial to cold and save a huge amount of energy in the process. Wash Full Loads: Even the most energy-efficient loads use 40 gallons of water. Reducing the number of loads you do each week will save water and money. If you find yourself doing eight or more ...

A Fictional Dialogue on Shavuot Night About Vegetarianism

Richard Schwartz For many years Danny Shapiro looked forward to staying up all night at his synagogue with his friends on the first night of Shavuot, hearing talks about and discussing Torah teachings. This year he especially anticipated this annual commemoration of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, because Rabbi Greenberg would be meeting with Danny and other college students for an hour at 3 AM to answer any questions on Judaism that they brought up. Danny had recently become a vegetarian and had done a lot of background reading on Jewish connections to vegetarianism and he wanted to find out what the rabbi thought ...

Shavuot and Vegetarianism

Shavuot and Vegetarianism By Richard H. Schwartz There are many connections between vegetarianism and the important Jewish festival of Shavuot: 1. Shavuot is described as "z'man matan Toratenu" (the season of the giving of our law (the Torah)). It is this Torah that has in its very first chapter God's original, strictly vegetarian, dietary regimen: "And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed - to you it shall be for food'" (Genesis 1:29). 2. To honor the Torah, many Jews stay up the entire first night of Shavuot to ...

Jewish Energy Guide: Thou Shalt Conserve Energy

By Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb Through the Talmud and other scholarly works, Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb examines the implication of bal taschit, “thou shalt not waste,” and how this commandment of conservation can be adhered to today. Thou shalt conserve energy” is not a biblical commandment, narrowly speaking, but it’s close. After all, the Torah’s 529th (530th by some counts) commandment, bal taschit, has long been commonly understood to mean “thou shalt not waste,” a principle that as far back as the Talmud specifically includes not wasting energy. Other laws and ideas point in this direction as ...

MIRACULOUSLY STRETCHING THE OIL: CHANUKAH AND VEGETARIANISM

The Jewish festival of Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day, but miraculously lasted for eight days in the liberated Temple in Jerusalem. Hence, this holiday is a good time to consider our own use of fuel and other resources. Like Chanukah’s miraculous extension of scarce resources, vegetarianism also allows the increasingly scarce resources of our contemporary world to go much further. This is no trivial matter, since it is expected that many future conflicts between nations will involve scarcities of oil, water and other resources. Seeing that the Hebrew words for bread (lechem) and war (milchamah) come ...

The Danger of Miracles: Thoughts on Chanukah and Oil

Post by Jewish Farm School Rabbinic Intern, Josh Boydstun - Reposted from Jewish Farmer's Almanac Chanukah—the Festival of Lights—offers us a joyous, eight-day respite from the cold, dark month of Kislev (November 14-December 13, 2012). Beginning on 25 Kislev (sundown on December 8), Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, following the successful Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE. (In Hebrew, “Chanukah” means “dedication, consecration.”) Perhaps the most notable Chanukah tradition is the lighting of a nine-branched menorah (candelabrum), ...

Israel Environment Tour

Baruch Sienna, a Jewish environmental educator, will be leading an amazing nature/environmental tour to Israel this Feb. 26-Mar. 7, 2013. We will be hiking, birdwatching, and visiting (and eating at) organic farms, learning from environmental organizations about water pollution/restoration, waste/recycling, and alternative energy initiatives in Israel. The places we are visiting are awesome. For a full itinerary, visit www.arzaworld.com, or call toll free: 1-888-811-2812 to register or for more information. Email: israel.naturally2013@gmail.com. ...

The Lawnmower

The Lawnmower by Rabbi Michael M. Cohen written for Vermont Public Radio October 2, 2012 But I can't feel smug about using my battery powered lawnmower, because I know I'm also polluting the earth. It takes roughly 10 cents of electricity to recharge the battery which helps to reduce my carbon footprint, thereby reducing one of the main sources of climate change. But the sources of that electricity are a combination of nuclear, wood, hydro, and wind. And those non gasoline sources of electricity all have their own impact on the environment. For rest of text go to: http://www.vpr.net/episode/54517/cohen-lawnmower/

Teach your kids about being “green” at every opportunity!

Cross posted from Environmental Tip of the Week, http://environmentaltip.blogspot.ca/2012/10/teach-your-kids-about-being-green-at.html Teach your kids about being "green" at every opportunity! For example, recently I made a bus out of Legos for my daughter. She loaded it up with little toy people, animals, and food. While she was pushing it around on the floor, I asked her if it was a solar-powered bus. She responded yes. I've explained to her in the past, but said again, why it's better for the environment to power things with energy from the sun. I told her that it doesn't put pollution into the air nor does it contribute to ...

New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!

The Twelfth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Genesis and Human Stewardship of the Earth, has just been released! In the first chapter of Genesis, twice in three verses, G-d speaks of humans ruling over other living beings. In the second instance, after creating Adam and Eve, G-d blesses them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." What does it mean for humans to subdue the earth and have dominion over other creatures? See all Genesis and Human ...

Earth Etude for 23 Elul

Returning from Forgetting by Alexander Volfson Elul, I’m told, is “a time to return to our best selves.” Upon reading these words this time, something struck me: what if we, every year, are perpetually returning from the same forgetting? We would do a greater justice to G-d and ourselves if we took the time to deeply understand why we turned away in the first place. The truth is that the most compelling explanation for why we turned “away” is that, in fact, we turned toward something else. In reflecting, then, let us first observe, carefully, not only what we’ve done (that we now regret), ...

A Very Green Rosh Hashanah

On Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate the New Year and give thanks for the creation of our world. We dedicate time to family and friends and we reflect on our past year and celebrate the start of the new year. It's the perfect time to make new goals for the year ahead and try to do better for yourself, your family, and our world. Shopping for the holidays Be eco-"logical" about planning your family gatherings right from the get-go. Shopping locally for an organic Rosh Hashanah meal, apples and honey will not only help support your neighbours and community, but you will also serve kind, chemical and pesticide-free food. And ...

New Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment Materials Released!

The tenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Water: Appreciating a Limited Resource, has just been released! Human beings depend on a sufficient supply of high quality fresh water for their survival. Because of this essential dependence, Jewish sources equate water with life. By recognizing our dependence on water, and ultimately our dependence on G-d, we can strengthen our appreciation and protection of our precious natural resources, and our relationship with the Creator of the world. See all Passing the Test of Water: Appreciating a Limited Resourse! Share Year of Jewish Learning Materials ...