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Earth Etude for Elul 19: A Tomato, A Single Tomato
by Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein
Six months
Inside, a cocoon
Finding my authentic self
Learning and relearning new skills
Baking challah
Chanting Torah
Painting seascapes
Planting
Herbs for more flavor
Cucumbers for pickles
And tomatoes
I’ve never done well at gardening
But this year
This year
Success!
There, right there
It is right there.
A tomato
A single tomato
Ripe
Ready for harvesting
Juicy,
Dew glistening on its fire engine red skin
One perfect tomato
Not like from the store
Not like ...
Earth Etude for Elul 18: Nature Meditation
by Rabbi Susan Elkodsi
At a retreat two years ago, I was inspired by Rabbi Katy Allen's "walking in nature" Shacharit meditation. I believe there's power in being in nature, as Rabbi Nachman said, but it has been difficult for many during this pandemic. These photos were all taken by me and bring me comfort when I look at them.
Rabbi Susan Elkodsi is the spiritual leader of the Malverne Jewish Center in Malverne, NY. She received ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY in May of 2015, and prior to that served student pulpits in New York, ...
Earth Etude for Elul 17: The Mask as Force for Life-Sustaining Vision
by Chaplain Rabbi Dr Leslie Schotz
On this journey of life our 2020 vision
Forced us to look above our reflections
And mask the face we present to the world. As walking treepeople of the earth we were called to acknowledge the microcosms of life and death and staring us into our focus upon breath.
Beyond our collective comprehension of 2019 the year 2020 brought a vision which called us to see a larger picture of collective responsibility. The world of people were unified in fear and longing for life. Yet we isolated our bodies and nurtured our ...
Earth Etude for Elul 16: Harmony of Colors
by Rabbi Robin Damsky
The fingertips of Hurricane Isaías brush the skylights of my sunroom and drench the woods around my house. Tomorrow the guts are expected to touch down a few hours from here. I expect we’ll see just his shoulder, nonetheless yielding flash floods, downing power lines and trees, with potential tornado winds. The house is well protected. I feel safe...
Yet I don’t feel safe in general. The world is reeling from an insidious disease completely preventable. As the icebergs in the polar caps melt, exposing bacteria frozen for hundreds of ...
Earth Etude for Elul 15: Reverse Tashlich
by Karen L. Grossman
Growing up near Pennsylvania woods and traveling to many beautiful national parks in this country and worldwide, I learned to appreciate nature. After my career as a helping professional, I delved deeper into fostering my love of environmental beauty and caring for people through a local park group and a watershed association.
With recent experiences, I’ve come to understand that just as there are natural connections among animals, trees and plants, a watershed connects communities from suburban to urban, wealthy to impoverished. ...
Earth Etude for Elul 14: Finding My Authentic Self
by Thea Iberall
I’m sure everyone’s going to write one of these. How hard life has become under a syndemic at the confluence of a fatal pandemic and a raging climate crisis, all of which has exposed centuries-long racial injustices and social disparities. Over 700,000 deaths have occurred due to Covid-19. The climate crisis is causing 150,000 deaths a year. Over 120,000 square kilometers of tropical rainforests are being lost every year. Wildlife populations have dropped by 60%. A majority of victims of police harm are people of color. One in every three black boys ...
Earth Etude for Elul 13–Next Time You Are Thirsty
by Rayna Carner
~ Plastic bottles between you and me
Drinken once and then thrown into the sea
Not directly- first they’re thrown in the trash
They travel to the landfill among other ash
Precipitation ensues, carrying empty bottles away
They float into oceans, breaking into micro-pieces for eternal stay
Marine life mistakes bright plastic for treat
Pollution-ridden homes, they decide to eat
Now, those plastic bottles that our oceans are so rich in
Will move from small fish to medium to seafood in our kitchen
~ So that water or soda ...
Earth Etude for Elul 12: Our Rabbis Teach
by Judith Black
Our rabbis teach us that:
What we feel is our business
What we say can help or hurt
But it is what we do that marks our lives on this earth.
Let us live lightly on this mother planet
Let us treat all living beings with dignity
Let us create nations that honor all their citizens' needs.
Judith Black is an internationally know storyteller and a climate activist. http://www.storiesalive.com
My articles on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot
This message contains the following articles:
1 Rosh Hashanah Message: Is God’s “Very Good” World Now Approaching An Unprecedented Catastrophe?
2 Rosh Hashanah and Veganism
3 Yom Kippur and Veganism
4 Why Perform a Rite That Kills Chickens as a Way to Seek God’s Compassion?
5 The Custom of Kapparot in the Jewish Tradition
6. Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah and Veganism
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1 Rosh Hashanah Message: Is God’s ‘Very Good’ World Approaching an Unprecedented ...
Earth Etude for Elul 11: Planting Hope
by Rabbi Judy Kummer
Hope is planting a tree, knowing that we will be feeding the worms under the tree’s ground before the tree yields fruit….Hope sees the rays of light in the depth of the dark night.Hope is an active act of faith, refusing to surrender. —Omid Safi
Early in the lockdown — that odd, isolating and scary time filled with unknowns and fears about survival, filled with daily tallies of diagnoses and deaths, filled with terrifying questions about one’s own ...
Earth Etude for Elul 10: The Dream
by Nyanna Susan Tobin
The past few years, I have been inspired by Rabbi Katy to write my Elul reflections. This year I find that I am looking backward rather than forward into my future. As I age, memories seem more in focus than the daily details. I remember as a young woman, I wanted to be a forest ranger. I wanted to care for and protect trees with a passion. My parents and teachers advised me that girls could not be forest rangers. An older relative named Bud told me that Jews could not be forest rangers. My struggles with chemistry led me to believe that I ...
Earth Etude for Elul 9: Fear God, Love Earth
by Andy Oram
The terrifying spread of COVID-19 has also led to a spike in gun sales in the United States, causing an estimated increase of anywhere from 70 percent to 501 percent in different areas. Less notice has been given to bicycle sales, but demand here has also accelerated somewhere between 121 and 700 percent.
A bicycle is an optimistic approach to the pandemic. Perhaps buyers recognize that public transportation is risky and either don't own a car or don't want to burden the streets with one. They may have more leisure time for touring, or may be ...
Earth Etude for Elul 8: Counting the Months: A Reflection on Rosh Hodesh Elul
by Emily Nadel
The skies these nights are dark & bright
the moon collecting herself
the stars are
Expansive.
Elul. [Elul.]
Elul: the month of return.
Elul: when the goldenrod covers the fields and tall, thin purple flowers line the roads and highways.
A couple maples have shown some color — not many, and among all the green the color is calling to those who are listening.
Elul: A call to see the turning ...
Earth Etude for Elul 7: Tiers of Love
by Rabbi Suri Krieger
Watch and listen to this meaningful etude performed by Rabbi Suri and her daughter Ariel…
Ordained from the pluralistic Academy for Jewish Religion, Suri studied with Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi in the early days of Jewish Renewal. Adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University for 8 years, Suri is currently Spiritual leader of B'nai Or: Jewish Renewal of Greater Boston.
Earth Etude for Elul 6: As Above, So Below
by Deb Nam-Krane
What is the difference between dry, grey soil that’s one step up from clay, not too far removed from dirt, and dark, rich soil that you could grow almost anything in?
The answer, of course, is biodiversity. As above, so below, as they say. The more diverse the plants above ground, the richer the microbial life and the amazing mycorrhizal network (think “plant internet”) that nutrients travel through. Strong networks and vibrant micro-organisms in turn lead to stronger individual plants that are able to, almost miraculously, fight off the pests ...
Earth Etudes for Elul 5, Aleinu to Jews: Have Faith in the Future
by Mirele B. Goldsmith
As we strive to heal the earth and reverse the damage caused by climate change, I find hope in recognizing that we are part of the greatest movement in human history. This movement crosses all borders and includes people of every nationality, race, and religion. Forced to confront a global challenge, we have come together.
During the COVID 19 pandemic, I’ve been praying more than ever before, and I have been inspired by the words of the Aleinu. In the words of Rav Tiferet Berenbaum, Aleinu is a “pep rally” to ...
Earth Etude for Elul 4 – Coming Home
by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman
1.Tekia! (One long blast)
My toddler cuddles in my lap, shy in the backyard of new friends.
“Look Abraham!” I say. “Look, who is this tree?”
He peeks out and his face breaks into a smile.“Ah-buh-VI-tay!”
“And who is this, with the sharp needles?”
“Spooce!” he says.
Shyness forgotten under the branches of old friends,
Abraham squirms off my lap and explores the sandbox.
2. T’ru’ah! (Three wailing blasts)
When I commit myself fully to the personhood all around me ...
Earth Etude for Elul 3: This Elul
by Judith Felsen, Ph.D.
This Elul
I will meet You in our fields
of shattered dreams
desires not sustained
supplications unrequited
Earth in hovering between
pending diagnosis, treatment,
and precarious recovery
Our state and fate, of You
I bring our ailments
sown in self and soil
to be plowed
to wisdom’s strengths
through ceasing, owning, pausing,
clearing, tilling, working in
Tikkun Olam with You
© J.Felsen, Ph.D. 7/29/20
Judith Felsen, Ph.D. is ...
Earth Etude for Elul 2: Reflections on The Challenges of Living with Fear and Hope
by Maxine Lyons
I find new signs of hope and gratitude for the changes that I feel are beginning to surface despite the anxieties and sadness I feel for the families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, and for the heightened consciousness of racism. We are living through a time when many forces are coming together with the potential to change our daily lives, setting in motion systemic reforms to our institutions that could dismantle systemic racism. I feel fearful that social upheaval or outright rebellion could de-stabilize us as a country or alternatively, could ...
Earth Etude for Elul 1: Elul is here
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen
I turned inward with the lockdown. I didn't want to go anywhere.
My garden saved me. I worked outside almost every day.
In early summer, I started again to lead outdoor services with small groups. But no walks on my own, in nature.
After the depths of despair of Tisha B'Av, as the weeks of consolation began, knowing Elul was approaching, I started to turn outward.
I spent a week of early mornings in a little-traveled conservation area, before the heat settled in.
Reveling in the blooming flowers
...