by Rabbi David Seidenberg The book of Numbers begins, “YHVH spoke to Moshe in the Sinai wilderness.” The midrash asks, why does it specify “in the Sinai wilderness”? Because the wilderness is ready to receive all people and belongs to no one. Just so, the Torah receives all people and
by Rabbi David Seidenberg As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we are also fast approaching the next Shmita year, when all the land in Israel was supposed to rest, all debts were supposed to be canceled, and all food was to be shared, even with the wild animals. Just like Elul
Celebrate Rainbow Day and the Rainbow Covenant with all Life! The first covenant in the Torah, when Noah leaves the ark, is a covenant with all creatures, and a covenant with the Earth itself, not just with humanity. There are so many ways you can teach about this covenant, the rainbow
Celebrate Rainbow Day and the Rainbow Covenant with all Life! The first covenant in the Torah, when Noah leaves the ark, is a covenant with all creatures, and a covenant with the Earth itself, not just with humanity. There are so many ways you can teach about this covenant, the rainbow
The loss of Eden near the beginning of Genesis sets in motion the entire saga of the Torah. In fact, the Torah can be read as one long quest to regain Eden. But what does a restored Eden look like? One of Eden’s characteristics was that none of the animals
Millennia before Kermit sang about the Rainbow Connection, the very first Rainbow Day marked the connection between God and all animals. The biblical flood began on the 17th of the second month, exactly one lunar year and 10 days (= one solar year) before Noah, his family, and all the
There are three places in the Torah which talk about human beings and the animals – including wild animals – sharing one food supply. In Eden, in the ark during the flood, and in the Sabbatical year or Shmita. There’s a lot more to these stories, but you don’t really
SUKKOT AND SHMITA RESOURCES AND EVENTS for 2014-15 contributed by all the organizations and initiatives on “the Map” http://jewcology.org/map-of-initiatives/ Here’s a quick bit of Sukkot Torah to start us off: “The four species of the lulav represent the four types of ecosystems in the land of Israel: desert (date palm),
As we approached Rosh Hashanah last week, we read the double Torah portion called Nitzavim–Vayelekh, which includes the verse, “Life and death I set before you, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, in order that you and your seed will live!” (Deut. 30:19) The next day, four hundred thousand people,
Here are three very simple things you can do for Shabbat Noach to honor God’s covenant with all life: 1) Learn and teach the rainbow blessing: “Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha`olam ZOKHER ET HABRIT — Blessed be You, Hashem…who remembers the covenant!” And — you can remember that the
I’m so excited to let people know about Rainbow Day – the 27th of Iyyar, and the 42nd day of the Omer. For a few years now I’ve been working to make Rainbow Day a reality in the Jewish world. Rabbi Arthur Waskow first came up with the idea of
