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Parshat Masei: Lessons for Regional Planning

By Dr. Jon Greenberg View a Printable Version l View a Source Sheet In this week's Torah portion, G-d tells Moses:"Command the Children of Israel that they shall give to the Levites, from the heritage of their possession, cities for dwelling; and open space all around the cities shall you give to the Levites. The cities shall be theirs for dwelling, and their open space shall be for their animals, for their possessions, and for all the amenities of life."[1] The subsequent ...

Parshat Devarim: Belonging To The Land

By Matthew Mausner View a Printable Version | View a Source Sheet “…You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.Turn and journey, and come to the mountain of the Amorites and to all its neighboring places, in the plain, on the mountain, and in the lowland, and in the south and by the seashore, the land of the Canaanites, and the Lebanon, until the great river, the Euphrates River. See, I have set the land before you; come and possess the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to ...

Parshat Vaetchanan: Guard Yourselves Very Well

By Akiva Gersh View a Printable Version | View a Source Sheet There is a well-known Midrash [1] (an originally oral teaching that comes to explain the written Torah)that tells of G-d taking Adam on a tour of the world shortly after his creation. At the end of the tour, G-d says to Adam, “Now, make sure you don’t destroy this world, for there will be no one after you to come and fix it.” We can still hear G-d speaking these words today if we listen carefully enough. Woven into the fabric of our tradition, an environmental ethic appears throughout the halachic (legal) and mystical teachings of ...

Parshat Eikev: The Seven Fruits of Israel

By Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum View a print version l View a source sheet The Land of Israel is described as “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey."[1][2] These seven species were the staple foods consumed by the Jewish people in the Land of Israel during biblical times. They contain special holiness, as reflected by the unique blessing recited after eating them, thanking G-d for the goodness of the land.[3] ...

Parshat Shoftim: Wasteful Destruction

By Rabbi Dr Norman Lamm View a Printable Version | View a Source Sheet Reprinted and adapted by Canfei Nesharim with permission from the chapter “Ecology in Jewish Law and Theology” in Faith and Doubt, © Norman Lamm, 2006, KTAV Publishing House: Jersey City, N.J. The original passage contains extensive bibliographic material and comments. The biblical norm which most directly addresses ...

Parshat Ki Tavo: First Fruits

By Leiba Chaya David View a Print Version l View a Source Sheet The Land of Israel has been conquered and divided, and Jewish farmers have settled into the yearly cycle of growth and harvest. Now they are given a special commandment, one applying only in the Land: they must take their first fruits to the Temple to express their gratitude to G-d. The first verses of this week’s Torah portion of Ki Tavo describe the ritual of bikurim ...

Parsha Haazinu: The Heavens and the Earth Bear Witness

By Rabbi Yuval Cherlow View a Printable Version | View a Source Sheet “Give ear, O Heavens, and I will speak, and may the Earth hear the words of my mouth"[1] The Heavens do not know how to listen, and the Earth cannot hear that which the Creator has spoken. So how are we to understand Moses’ call to the cosmos, “Give ear, O Heavens, and I will speak, and may the Earth hear the words of my mouth” at the beginning of the Torah portion Haazinu? Some commentaries interpret the call to Heaven and Earth as a call to become tools of the Creator for the realization His ...

COEJL’s Webinar on “The Story of Noah and its Relationship to Climate Change.”

COEJL Director Sybil Sanchez hosted the webinar and began with a brief explanation about COEJL and how the organization is focused on moving the Jewish community forward on energy and environmental policy, networking with other Jewish environmental organizations, and promoting a religious understanding of our responsibilities as Jews towards our world. The Panel: Rabbi Saul J. Berman, Stern College Professor and Orthodox rabbi, began with a D’var Torah on the Jewish sources and content directly relating to environmental issues with specific references to Bereshit (Genesis) and Parshat Noach (the story of Noah). Rabbi Berman explained ...

Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign

During this time of pivotal global environmental challenge, we have a unique opportunity to work together toward a better future on the common ground of a healthy environment, green jobs, and a secure energy future. Our actions include living more sustainably, leaving a smaller carbon footprint, and repairing God's Creation by seeking to share inspiration in the cause rather than facing the struggle alone. By signing this Covenant, I commit, through a campaign facilitated by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, to join hands with a broad community of Jews working to address this challenge together. Take the pledge and join ...

Overview Video of Israel’s Environmental Situation

This is a segement of a larger documentary on Jewish environmental and animal rights values. This section gives a very good overview of the environmental situation in Israel for all audiences. Time: 12:18 Audiences: Ages 12 and up Film: Excerpt from A Sacred Duty

Birkat HaHammah: Blessing the Sun

Birkat HaHammah Excerpt: On April 8, 2009, Jewish communities around the world will ...

Central Conference of American Rabbis Resolution: Climate Change (2005)

CLIMATE CHANGE Excerpt: Adopted by the 116th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis Houston, TX March, 2005 Background ...The following Jewish and secular moral principles serve as the foundation for the Conference's position on the development of agreements and policies to address climate change: Responsibilities to Future Generations: "Therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live." (Deuteronomy 30:20) Humankind has a solemn obligation to improve the world for future generations. Minimizing climate change requires us to learn how to live within the ecological limits of ...

URJ Resolution: Energy (1991)

NEW NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY STRATEGY Excerpt: Adopted at the 61st General Assembly November, 1991 Baltimore, MD BACKGROUND "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" reminds us that we are only stewards of nature, obliged to cherish and preserve it. Jewish tradition is emphatic that human dominion over nature does not include a license to abuse the environment. ...During the last ten years, reliance on imported oil increased from less than 30% in 1980 to nearly 50% in 1990. During the same period numerous successful programs that would have reduced our use of oil and energy were ...

URJ Resolution: Environment (1991)

THE ENVIRONMENT Excerpt: Adopted at the 61st General Assembly November, 1991 Baltimore, MD BACKGROUND The Jewish community's mandate to cultivate, protect, and nurture the environment is deeply rooted in our tradition. The commandment "Bal Taschit" enjoins "Do not destroy things from which humanity may benefit" (Deuteronomy, 20). The warning against idolatry founded in Deuteronomy reminds us that if we abuse the environment, displaying contempt for the integrity of God's creation, purse rain will cease to fall and the ground will cease to yield its produce. ...As we continue to ...

URJ Resolution: Climate Change and Energy (2009)

Climate Change and Energy Exceprt: Submitted by the Commission on Social Action to the Union for Reform Judaism’s 70th General Assembly ...For more than forty years the Reform Movement has advocated in defense of our environment and all those species — from the smallest creatures to humankind itself — that rely on our shared natural habitat and resources for survival. ...We now face the unprecedented challenge of climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions, and the need for serious and urgent action on this issue has never been clearer. This growing threat, along with our rapidly ...

Guardians of the Earth

Summary: This Rosh Hashanah sermon was presented by Rabbi Rabbi Mark Kaiserman of Temple Emanu-El of West Essex, Livingston, New Jersey. Learn more at http://rac.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=2215&pge_prg_id=12704&pge_id=2403.

Reform Jewish Movement and the Environment

Reform Jewish Movement and the Environment Exceprt: As heirs to a tradition of stewardship that goes back to Genesis and teaches us to be partners in the ongoing work of Creation, we cannot accept the escalating destruction of our environment and its effect on human health and livelihood. It is our sacred duty to alleviate environmental degradation and the human suffering it causes instead of despoiling our air, land, and water. For more than 40 years, the Reform Movement has been committed to protecting the environment. Relevant Resolutions include: ...

Environmental Justice

Overview "Environmental justice" has entered the lexicon as the term of choice for describing the intersection of environmental and economic justice concerns, in particular, the impact of environmental degradation on the health and welfare of people of color, and low income and minority populations, both across national boundaries and within societies. Across the world, poor people are affected disproportionately by environmental degradation. Two-thirds of lower-income urban dwellers across the globe breathe air that contains dangerously high levels of sulfur; 10 million poor children, according to the World Health Organization, ...

JCPA on Sustainable Economies

The JCPA supports: substantial foreign aid and technical assistance to developing nations for environmental protection, sustainable economic development and family planning; U.S. ratification of international environmental treaties and provisions in trade agreements to protect the environment; efforts to address environmental degradation and resource shortages in regions where such developments might lead to either mass migration or armed conflict; incentives for the revitalization of cities through environmentally responsible "Brownfields" programs; policies based on pricing, taxation, and other incentives that lead to the reduction of ...

JCPA on Agriculture

Agriculture COEJL and the JCPA (Jewish Council for Public Affairs) support comprehensive testing of all genetically engineered products for their capacity both to disrupt ecosystems and to cause illness. COEJL supports policies which promote sustainable agricultural practices — including soil conservation, minimized use of pesticides and fertilizers, and maintenance of the genetic diversity of food crops (JCPA Agenda for Public Affairs 2000-2001). In addition, governments should protect agricultural lands and public health through programs to safeguard groundwater, regulate chemical and animal waste runoff from farms and livestock ...