408 results for tag: Climate Change

Can Someone PLEASE Explain How President-Elect Trump and Other Republican Politicians can Be In Such Denial About Climate Change

A question that has been bothering me for a long time and that I would love to get a meaningful answer to is: how can the vast number of Republican politicians, now including President-elect Donald Trump, be in such denial about climate change, in view of the following: * ALL of the 195 nations at the December 2015 Paris climate change conference agreed, based on the recommendations of their science advisors, that immediate steps must be taken to combat climate change, and almost all of these nations set up national plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Trump will be the only national leader who is in denial bout climate change, ...

An Existential Threat to Israel, the U.S., and the World

While climate change is an existential threat to Israel, the United States, and, indeed, the entire world, there has not been sufficient attention to it by most people. It was not discussed at all during the recent presidential debates, and was not a major campaign issue. Unfortunately, “denial is not just a river in Egypt,” and most people today are, in effect rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, as we head toward a giant iceberg. Here are ten important reasons we all should be very concerned about climate change: 1. Science academies worldwide, 97% of climate scientists, and 99.9% of peer-reviewed papers on the issue in respected ...

Three Simple Steps Toward Going Green

If you are someone who cares about protecting the environment, you may find yourself frustrated at times because you are not doing as much as you could to change your lifestyle.  While caring for God’s creation and reducing waste (baal tashchit) are important principles in Judaism,   you don’t have to do it all to make a difference.  Here are a few simple suggestions to get you going on the right path.  Start slow and keep it going:  As with anything in life, creating eco-friendly change is more likely to succeed if you take it one small step at a time.  Don’t try to change too much, too fast. For example, as you run out of conventi...

“Noah, Superman, and Global Warming,” a Brilliant Article by a Rosh Yeshiva That Can Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet

A Message from the Rosh HaYeshiva Rabbi Dov Linzer Norman and Tova Bulow Rosh HaYeshiva Chair Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School A Thought on the Parasha Feel free to download and print the Parashat Noach sheet and share it with your friends and family. Noah, Superman and Global Warming God creates a perfect, self-sustaining planet, teaming with life. God places human beings in it and gives them seemingly divine powers: rule over all living things, and the ability to build, create, transform, and take mastery over the entire planet (Breishit 1:28-29). God demands from them only that they accept some limits and understand that ...

Who Stole My Religion?

For many years I have believed that my religion, Judaism, has been stolen. Why? Because Judaism is a radical religion, with powerful messages on peace, justice, compassion, sharing, and environmental sustainability that can help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path. Yet, most Orthodox Jews are in denial about climate change and other environmental threats and are increasingly supporting politicians who promote benefits for the wealthiest Americans and highly profitable corporations, at the expense of average Americans. I have been a member of a modern Orthodox synagogue for 48 years, prior to moving to Israel on August 3, 2016. I have ...

Review of My Book, “Who Stole My Religion?” by the Midwest Book Review

Wisconsin Bookwatch: October 2016
/James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief 
Midwest Book Review 
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575 The Judaic Studies Shelf Who Stole My Religion? 
Richard H. Schwartz 
Urim Publications 
c/o Lambda Publishers 
527 Empire Boulevard, Brooklyn, New York 11225 
www.UrimPublications.com
 9789655242348, $28.95, HC, 302pp, www.amazon.com "Who Stole My Religion?: Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet" by Richard H. Schwartz (President of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians and President Emeritus of Jewish Vegetarians of North America) was specifically ...

Latest Review of “Who Stole My Religion?”

THE ARK, publication of “The Catholic Concern for Animas” AUTUMN/WINTER 2016 BOOK REVIEW WHO STOLE MY RELIGION? by Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D. Although this book has been written to ‘revitalize Judaism and apply Jewish values to help heal our imperiled planet,' the references used from the Old Testament, apply as much to Christians as they do to Jews. Therefore, I felt it useful to review this book for The Ark. Schwartz takes a good look at the world today including it politics, economic systems and foreign policies, as well as the environment and our treatment of animals. Actually, only two out of sixteen chapters deal with animal ...

Earth Etudes for Elul: A Collection of Meaningful Ways to Enrich Our Lives

by Susan Levine ~ It’s not too late to read the thought-provoking Earth Etudes for the month of Elul. Now is a good time to think about our lives and what matters: our family, our friends, this Earth we call our home and all the other people and animals who share it with us. How can we take care of our health and work towards a peaceful and sustainable future for our children? A special thank you to Rabbi Katy Z. Allen for organizing this project and to our contributing writers with their meaningful essays, poems and thoughts. You can read them here whenever you’d like as a reminder of why we are here. Etude Elul 1 by Andy Oram: Save ...

Major Interview of Richard Schwartz in a Spanish Publication (Translation Follows Link)

.H.: http://www.anda.jor.br/05/10/2016/devemos-procurar-transcender-nossas-diferencas-e-nos-unirmos-pelos-animais Richard Schwartz was interviewed by Arquivo Pessoal of ANDA (News Agency of Animal Rights). The translation of the interview follows: ANDA: Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the author of: Judaism and Vegetarianism; Judaism and Global Survival; Who Stole My Religion?; Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal our Imperiled Planet; Mathematics and Global Survival, and over 200 articles and 25 podcasts at JewishVeg.com/schwartz. He is President Emeritus of Jewish Veg, formerly Jewish Vegetarians of North America ...

Yom Kippur and Vegetarianism

Yom Kippur, the culmination of the Aseret Y’mei Teshuva (the Ten Days of Penitence) that begins on Rosh Hashanah, is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. On this day, Jews refrain completely from consuming food and water and spend many hours in synagogues, examining their deeds, vowing to repent of past transgressions, and seeking God’s blessings for a coming year of good health and positive outcomes. Yet, after Yom Kippur, most Jews return to animal-based diets that are arguably inconsistent with the values of Yom Kippur and Judaism in general. Please consider: 1.  On Yom Kippur, Jews pray to the "Living God," the "King Who delights in ...

Our Earth Etudes for Elul: Thank you to our contributors!

By Susan Levine A special thank you to Rabbi Katy Z. Allen for organizing this project and to our contributing writers with their meaningful essays, poems and thoughts. Elul is the month that leads up to Rosh Hashanah, but these Earth Etudes are insightful windows into the meaning of life and the interconnection between our lives, our Earth and our spiritual existence at any time.  ~ Etude Elul 1 by Andy Oram: Save the Earth to Save Our children. Read more... ~ Etude Elul 2 by Rabbi Robin Damsky: Oh Deer What Can the Matter Be? Read more… ~ Etude Elul 3 by Moshe Givental: G-d’s Might, Detroit, and coming back to Life. R...

Earth Etude for Elul 28: Our Repentance, Prayer, and Deeds of Righteous Action Will Stop Climate Change

by Dr. Mirele B. Goldsmith ~ This year, as the sun sets on Yom Kippur, our prayers will reach a pinnacle of intensity as we recite the UnetanehTokef prayer:  “On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.  How many shall leave this world, and how many shall be born; who shall live and who shall die, who in the fullness of years and who before; who shall perish by fire and who by water, who by sword and who by a wild beast; who by famine and who by thirst…   But repentance, prayer, and deeds of righteous action, can remove the severity of the decree.” The Unetaneh Tokef was written ages ago, perhaps as early as the ...

May it bee a sweet new year

"May you bee inscribed and sealed in the book of life for a good and sweet new year.  May all your offspring survive to see adulthood and may you successfully pollinate our crops so that we will have sufficient to eat." It's not that I'm actually suggesting this prayer is added to our Rosh HaShanah prayer books - heaven know the services last long enough already - but the words did spring to mind now that we are surrounded by pictures of fluffy cute bumblebees in the run up to the Jewish New Year. These yellow and black critters have become as much symbols of the coming festival as are Shofars and pomegranates, due to the slightly tenuous link ...

Earth Etude for Elul 26: You Were Wrong

by Ben Weilerstein ~ I You were wrong about environmentalism, man, no that’s not what I think no, I’m not really an environmentalist because if I say I am you’ll say in your head I’m saying things you don’t think need to be said, out loud, at all so, no, I’m not an environmentalist and I don’t feel a rush of flight, of my heels lifting up off the ground when I recycle a plastic bottle not like I do when I recite over and over again until it doesn’t leave my head for years,  “stop! the! pipeline!” or something like that, y’know my voice woven into hundreds and thousands of others because dammit this isn’t about ...

Blurbs for “Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet”

  • What People Are Saying about "Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet" The many endorsements below show that it is not just the author, but also many other people – of various perspectives – who think their religion has been “stolen,” but who still believe that religious values have relevance to current issues. It is our hope that the voices of the people who submitted the statements below, as well as many more voices, will be raised to help revitalize Judaism and other religions and to apply religious values effectively in response to the many threats to ...

Earth Etude for Elul 23: Tandem

by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman               Biking home on Orchard Street With the wind behind me, and Jamaica Pond Wrinkled and clear beyond the houses, A peregrine falcon winged down A feathered grace, gliding on my right.   For a breath, two, we flew side by side.   My grief, of late, has become more precise. There are worlds Beyond worlds, the eons will stretch Over bedrock and magma, blue and green. There is life and Life and God unending No matter what we do, where we are. So I cry for us, for here, for what we know and ...

Earth Etude for Elul 20: An Old Problem

by Rabbi Jacob Siegel ~ I like to think of climate change as an old problem. True, human-made climate change and the potential it has to wreak disaster on our earth’s ecosystem are new and unprecedented. Every year extreme temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more common. These are challenges we have never faced. On the other hand, this is an old problem. We, as the Jewish people, know what it means to face a crisis of existence after a cataclysmic destructive act − the destruction of the Temple – which itself was destroyed because of a moral failure of society, sinat chinam, or baseless hatred. We also have a deep wisdom ...

Latest Book Review of “Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet”

  WHO STOLE MY RELIGION: Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet. By Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., With Rabbi Yonassan Gershom and Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz. BOOK REVIEW by Judy Carmen: Like some of the prophets of ancient times, Dr. Schwartz is courageously calling on the Jewish people to return to their core values and take up the challenge of healing the earth and bringing peace and justice to all living beings. This is no casual reprimand. Dr. Schwartz is warning his Jewish readers, as well as people of all faiths, that if we do not do our part to stop the relentless destruction of earth and ...

A Rosh Hashanah Message: Is God’s ‘Very Good’ World Approaching a Catastrophe?

Rosh Hashanah commemorates God's creation of the world. The “Ten Days of Repentance” from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is a period to evaluate our deeds and to do teshuvah (repentance) for cases where we have missed the mark. Sukkot, which starts a few days after Yom Kippur, is a holiday in which we leave our fine houses and live in temporary shelters (sukkahs) to commemorate our ancestors’ journey in the wilderness. Hence, the upcoming weeks provide an excellent time to consider the state of the planet's environment and what we might do to help shift the world onto a sustainable path. When God created the world, He was able to say, "It is tov ...

Tips for a Native Garden

~ Although late summer or early fall may seem like an odd time to begin a garden, it is a great time to plan the garden and get plants and flowers into the ground before cold weather hits. If you are thinking about planting a garden, consider creating a native garden as the best way to restore native ecosystems and be kind to the environment. What better way to follow the important goal that Judaism teaches to "till and tend God's creation, the Earth." Why Use Native Plants? Before planting a native garden, it is important to have a grasp of what native plants are. By definition, native plants are plants that have existed in a particular region for ...