by Rabbi Ariel Wolpe Midrash Tanhuma teaches that when the Holy One began to create the world, the Holy One did so as a child grows within the mother. Just as an embryo begins as a small cell and then expands in all directions, so too the world was created
Jewish Quotations About Animals and How Animals Are Treated Today A. Attitude Toward Animals 1. “A righteous person regards the life of his or her animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” ~Proverbs 12:10 2. The Lord is good to all and His tender mercies
And that which is left thereof [from the meal-offering] shall Aaron and his sons eat; it shall be eaten without leaven in a holy place; in the tent of meeting they shall eat it. . . . it is most holy as the sin-offering and the guilt-offering. Leviticus 6:9.10 When
Relating Biblical Teachings to Current Environmental Threats Eco Bible: Volume 1: An Ecological Commentary on Genesis and Exodus Editors and lead contributors: Rabbi Yonatan Neril and Rabbi Leo Dee Publisher: The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development No price indicate As one who has long
B”H Shalom I want to invite you to: The FIRST EVER BELOVED SHABBATON: A Shabbaton Experience: Celebrating SHABBAT & Commitment to the World! Environmentally Friendly : Vegan : Wholesome : Halachic Fresh Farm to Table an Enchanting Shabbaton to reconnect to our Beloved. a celebration of Eco Torah natural living,
by Rabbi David Seidenberg~ Every year before Rosh Hashanah we read the ultimate Torah portion about t’shuvah, returning to God, called parshat Nitzavim. Every year we are reminded that if we turn toward God, then God will circumcise our hearts. And every year, in a section of Nitzavim that Reform congregations also read on Rosh
by Rabbi Moshe Givental~ Over a decade ago now, I was sitting in a Parshah HaShavua (weekly Torah Portion) class and my teacher asked the following question: Why are human beings called ADAM in our holy Torah? ADAMAH, after all, is our Hebrew word for the Earth. So ADAM would
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
Here are some of the important lessons on activism that I learned from the first two chapters of Genesis: 1. From Genesis 2:15, “the human being was put into the Garden of Eden to work the land and to guard (preserve) it,” I learned that I should be an environmental
If you come across a bird’s nest on any tree or on the ground, and it contains baby birds or eggs, then, if the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with her young. You must first chase away the mother, and
This post originally appeared on Neesh Noosh: A Jewish Woman’s Year Long Journey to Find Faith in Food. In Vayetzei, we read that Jacob leaves Beer-sheva at sunset to travel to Laban’s house. Jacob is at Laban’s house for 20 years, during which time he faces many challenges and uncertainties
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen Connections. Everything is about connections. Connections across space. Connections across time. Connections in thought and spirit. Connections between. Connections among. Just connections, nothing else. That’s what prayer is about. That is what faith is about. That is what life is about. In this week’s parashah, Chayyei
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen My first seeds from the Seed Library arrived in the mail today, part of a gift membership that I had given to myself. Gift packets to my two sons arrived in their mail as well. The packet is artistic, aesthetic, and pleasing not only to
You don’t need to unfurl the Torah scroll too much, or turn too many pages in your Bible, to find the foundational verses of religion-based vegetarianism. It’s right there in the opening chapter of Genesis. Discovering this changed The Beet-Eating Heeb’s life and the life of Wife of BEH, too.
Winter is around the corner. Along with it comes the relatively colder air (we are in Beersheba), and relative rain (again, Beersheba). Nonetheless, the winter plantings have begun. It is a fantastic time of year where the Earth somehow can tell; you are really craving a warm bowl of veggie
Personal ethics in the face of climate change by Susie Davidson In his master work "Walden," Henry David Thoreau wrote, "We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us." Thoreau, who is largely credited as a forefather of the environmental movement, was issuing a dire warning that progress
The tenth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Water: Appreciating a Limited Resource, has just been released! Human beings depend on a sufficient supply of high quality fresh water for their survival. Because of this essential dependence, Jewish sources equate water with life. By recognizing our
This week's Torah portion, Pinchas, contains instructions about how the Israelites are to divide up of the land once they arrive: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Divide the land among the tribes, as an inheritance according to the number of the names: with larger groups increase the share, with
The fifth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Shabbat and Environmental Awareness, has just been released! Today we live in a society which is constantly doing without sufficient regard to being, and at the same time, transforming the natural world without taking time to reflect on
The fourth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Sustainability in the Land of Israel, has just been released! Rabbinic teachings on Yishuv Eretz Yisrael (settling the land of Israel) highlight the common Jewish duty to live sustainably. Our Sages made short-term sacrifices in order to preserve
