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Earth Etude for Elul 7 – Our Last Elul?
by Judith Felsen, Ph.D.
~If this were our last Elul
might we see a different world?
On the verge of our demise
would each spark of nature
sent by You remind us
of Your light we are?
In these days of hidden peace
do we know we are Your kin
together in the field?
In darkest times does not
the moon and sun still shine on us?
Today may elements of earth be manna,
all reminders of divine connection
and Your care through deserts now.
This Elul may we see You within all shadow
and not be blinded ...
Hurricane Harvey Should Be a Wake-up Call to the Urgency of Working to Avert a Climate Catastrophe
The catastrophic effects of Hurricane and now Tropical Storm Harvey should be the latest and strongest of wakeup-calls to the fact that the world is heading toward a climate catastrophe.
Of course there have always been severe storms, but we have now had three (Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey) in 13 years, whereas in the past they may have happened once in 100 years or more.
There are three important climate change factors that are making storms more severe, and they are all increasing:
1. Warmer air holds more moisture;
2. the seas have ...
Earth Etude for Elul 6 – Looking to the Sky, Remembering Our Ideals
by Rabbi Natan Margalit, Ph.D.
~Recently, I read an article in the New York Times Magazine that talked about the way that people do or say things, say, supporting a good cause or political opinion, not because they really believe in it, but because they want to signal to their social network that they are virtuous. Apparently, there is a popular new label for this behavior: “virtue signaling.” The author reports that this term is most often used by people on the right against people on the left (“Virtue Signaling Isn’t the Problem. Not Believing One Another ...
Earth Etude for Elul 5 – Where Are We Going?
by Thea Iberall, Ph.D.
~A while ago, I started writing a book that contained everything I had learned about love, life, Jewish ethics, and about making peace with the past. And I made up a science fiction world of bad things happening. And one day, my sister Norrie said, “You don’t have to make it up. There’s bad things happening already.” I asked what she meant. She sat me down in front of her computer screen and showed me some charts. How the carbon dioxide is rising and with it the temperature in the air and in the oceans. She showed me how the waters are ...
Earth Etude for Elul 4 – Saying Farewell with Each Breath, Starting Anew
by Rabbi Judy Kummer~
Towards end of the day, towards summer's end,
body and soul prepare for farewells.
Through piney woods I run,
gauntleted by trees whose dark limbs
reach up to breathe in fresh blue sky.
Dim path; the light can't reach down here.
Ahead, the river winks at me.
I thread my way out the wooded tunnel's end
and can feel the sky lift -- and
my mind lifts too.
Before me lies
still water
meandering between wooded banks.
Turning, I race the river. Feet pound
on hard sand paths,
...
Earth Etude for Elul 3 – One Natural World
by Rabbi Robin Damsky~
While I do a great deal of writing for In the Gardens – our nonprofit that brings organic edible gardens to greater Chicagoland, donates 80% of our produce to the hungry and teaches mindfulness practice – when thinking about Elul, I had to dig in, no pun intended, for what to say. Modafinil pill http://www.modafinilpill.net/buy-modafinil/
Because it’s not just about sharing the love of gardening or teaching about sustainable and healthy food. It’s about creation and our future. It’s about living on the earth as an interconnected whole. ...
Earth Etude for Elul 2 – From the Perspective of the 9th of Av, 5777
by Hazzan Shoshana Brown~
Writing on the mourning day of Tisha b’Av, I am inclined to think of this “etude” as rather more of a kinah (lament) for the magnificent temple of our Earth, third planet in our solar system. Not to say that Earth is a churban, a ruin like our ancient Temple in Jerusalem, but to say that like that once beating spiritual heart and ritual nerve-center of the nation of Israel, our planet is both magnificent and utterly vulnerable to the predations of human greed, violence, and recklessness.
And yet I have got the analogy turned inside-out ...
Earth Etude for Elul 1 Alarm Clock for the Soul
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen~
Today marks the beginning of the month of Elul, a period of self-reflection and the search for forgiveness. Each day during this month, you will find here an Earth Etude for Elul, a short reflection on teshuvah and Earth by a member or friend of Ma’yan Tikvah. We hope these Etudes will help you along the way on your journey.
It’s Elul.
Once again.
We’ll hear the shofar in the mornings,
trying to wake us up.
An alarm clock for our souls.
For every morning, the Sun rises.
Sometimes I’d like to hit snooze,
but Ruach ...
An Israeli Orthodox Rabbi’s Challenge to the Jewish Establishment
The Problem and Future of True Halachah
Part One of four parts, by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo.
Excerpts from Jewish Law as Rebellion: A Plea for Religious Authenticity and Halachic Courage. Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, Urim Publications, Jerusalem, New York, August 2017. {Soon to be published.]
The Problem
It is time to start thinking big about Halacha. Great opportunities are awaiting us and too much is at stake to let them pass by. For too long, Halacha has been jailed in compartmentalized and awkward boxes. It is time to liberate it.
Most religious Jews are not ...
A Forgotten Mitzvah: Tsa’ar Ba’alei Chaim
While tsa’ar ba’alei chaim (the Torah mandate to avoid causing “sorrow to living creatures”) is a Torah prohibition, most Jews, including 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 former modern Orthodox congregation was incredulous. “What? Jews should be concerned about animals?” she exclaimed.
2. Some years ago, I was at a Sukkot gathering at which ...
Update on the Major Effort to Restore and Transform the Ancient New Year for Animals
In an effort to restore the ancient New Year for Animals and to transform it into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Judaism's teachings on compassion to animals and how far current realities are from these teachings, the message below has been sent to many rabbis and other influential Jews. please help by sharing the message widely. Many thanks.
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Dear Rabbi,
Please let us know if you are willing to sign the message below that encourages the restoration of the ancient New Year for Animals and its transformation into a day devoted to increasing ...
An Audacious Initiative to Restore the Ancient New Year for Animals
The conditions under which animals are raised for food today are completely contrary to Jewish teachings about compassion to animals:
While Judaism teaches that “God’s compassion is over all His works” (Psalms 145:9), egg laying hens are kept in cages so small that they can’t raise even one wing and they are debeaked without anesthetic to prevent them from harming other birds due to pecking from frustration in their very unnatural conditions. Male chicks fare even worse as they are killed almost immediately after birth, since they can’t lay eggs ...
Ten Reasons for Restoring and Transforming the Ancient New Year for Animals
A coalition of Jewish groups (list in formation at the end of this article) have supported efforts to restore and transform the ancient and largely forgotten Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana L’Ma’aser BeHeima (New Year's Day for Tithing Animals) into a day devoted to considering how to improve our relationships with animals. The holiday occurs on the first day of the month of Elul and was initially devoted to counting domesticated animals intended for sacrificial offerings (Mishna, Seder Moed, Tractate Rosh Hashana 1:1).
Below are ten reasons why renewing this holiday ...
What People Are Saying About “A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal the World,” a Powerful One-Hour Documentary on Jewish Teachings on the Environment and Vegetarianism
What People Are Saying about A Sacred Duty
"We at CLAL believe that if Judaism is going to be taken seriously by American Jews and for that matter by all Americans, Jewish wisdom needs to contribute to and to add value to the debates at the center of our culture and politics. This documentary - whether or not one agrees with every detail - is an important contribution to one of the critical public policy conversations facing this country and a serious example of taking Jewish wisdom public. Produced at a high quality, this documentary reminds us that ...
Links to the video of the Jerusalem inter-religious forum on climate change, and related material
Below are Links to various aspects related to a July 26 inter-religious climate change forum/press conference at the Jerusalem Press Club on July 26, 2017.
Video of the complete event
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbMJM6aTWts&feature=youtu.be
2. Statement on climate change and the list of 37 Israeli Orthodox rabbis who signed it
http://www.jewishecoseminars.com/statement-by-israel-orthodox-rabbis-on-the-climate-crisis/
3. Articles about the climate change forum and press conference, with some discussion or mention of the statement signed by the rabbis
Jerusalem ...
Aytzim (Ecological Judaism) is Back—Let’s reconnect!
It’s a mystery — we lost our Aytzim facebook page and all our facebook friends. So we will be sending out new invites to like our page. In case you have forgotten, we are all about the environment — saving our world. And these days, it has become more important than ever.
Aytzim is the umbrella organization of: Green Zionist Alliance, Jewcology.org, EcoJews, and Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth.
Aytzim means “trees” and here’s a little about the other organizations in our product grove:
Green Zionist Alliance—Since its founding in 2001, ...
A Tisha B’Av Message: Will We Again Fail To Heed the Warnings?
Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) which we commemorate this year (2017) on July 31 - August 1, reminds us that over 2,000 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, the first of many negative things that occurred on that day, including the destruction of the second Temple as well.
Today there are no prophets like Jeremiah to issue warnings, but we are getting increasingly dire warnings from climate scientists that now it is not ...
Statement I Drafted on Climate Change Threats and the List of 37 Israeli Orthodox Rabbis Who Signed It
STATEMENT BY ISRAELI ORTHODOX RABBIS ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS
“In the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, created the first man, he took him and let him pass before all the trees in the Garden of Eden and said to him: "See my works, how fine and excellent they are. Now all that I created I created for your benefit. Think upon this and do not corrupt or destroy my world. For if you destroy it, there is no one to restore it after you.” (Midrash: Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:28)
Today, 97% of climate scientists and all the major science academies worldwide-- an ...
Working With Israeli Orthodox Rabbis To Reduce Climate Threats
Working with Israeli Orthodox Rabbi Yonatan Neril. founder and director of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, I have put together a statement on climate change (below) that urges Israel and Israelis to become more actively involved in reducing climate threats. The names and affiliations of the 23 rabbis who already signed the statement are also below, as is a press release for a major interfaith climate forum that is taking place at the Jerusalem Press Club on July 26, in conjunction with the release of the rabbinic statement and signatures.
We hope to ...
Tisha B’Av and Vegetarianism
There are many connections between vegetarianism and the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av:
1. Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem. Today the entire world is threatened by climate change, and modern intensive livestock agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
2. In Megilat Eichah (Lamentations), which is read on Tisha B'Av, the prophet Jeremiah warned the Jewish people of the need to change their unjust ways in order to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem. Today, ...