Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD and the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, asks Jewcology's Question of the Week.
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD and the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, asks Jewcology's Question of the Week.
7 Responses
My favorite “environmental” Mitzvah is: Love Your Friend as You Love Yourself. What greater way to be nice to my friends than to do what I can to make sure they live in a clean, pristine, healthy, uplifting world?
nishmartem v’nafshotechem – guarding your health.
תדיר ושאינו תדיר, תדיר קודם “tadir v’she’ayno tadir, tadir kodem”
My take: Everyday habits matter more than things we do once in a while.
Lifnei iyver lo titeyn mikshol-before a blind person don’t put a stumbling block. i.e., if someone is obese don’t put chocolate cake in front of them; if someone has poor sexual boundaries don’t wear a revealing outfit; if someone has no eyesight don’t put things down in their home where they wouldn’t expect them, etc.
Lo tachmod, “do not covet” (Ex. 20 / Dt. 5, to answer my own question!) — the world can sustain infinite spiritual & communal & personal growth, but not so growth in GNP and in ‘stuff’ — being happy with what we already have is a key eco-mitzvah.
Shabbat!
At Adamah Adventures, we love teaching our campers “With your gear you shall have a spike, and when you have squatted you shall dig a hole with it and cover up your poop.” (Deut. 23.14) Jews have been practicing LNT for thousands of years!