This week on FaithHacker we're excited to welcome guest blogger Getzel Davis.  Getzel is, among other things, an environmental rock star, a former ADAMAH fellow, and pretty much the nicest guy I know.  To start things off I sent him some tough questions, and to no one's surprised, he totally rocked them. -TF

What kind of work are you doing now, and how does it fit into your spiritual journey?

I work for the Teva Learning Center as a Jewish environmental educator. Every week I get a new batch of 6th grade day school students to try to inspire. We go off into the woods every day and practice feeling radical amazement in nature. After a week of group bonding and ecology lessons, I get to sit down with each child and school to help them brainstorm ways to make the world a healthier and happier place.

What's your favorite spiritual practice? Why?

My favorite spiritual practice at the moment is mikvah. It sounds a hokey, but time I get out of a mikvah, I physically feel spiritually cleansed (even if I am covered in muck from the lake). This year, to prepare for Yom Kippur, I dunked forty-nine times for the forty nine levels of spiritual impurity that people of capable of. When I got out, it felt like I was already at Neilah, the last service of Yom Kippur, when we are finally forgiven of our sins. I went through all the motions of Yom Kippur already knowing that I had been forgiven. It was incredibly powerful.

What's a Jewish ritual that really doesn't speak to you? Why?

Stoning gay people. I can’t imagine a compassionate G!d really wanted us to stone two consenting adults who love each other.

What's your favorite Jewish text to study and why?

My favorite text is the Mei Hashiloach by the Izbitzer Rebbe. Despite the fact that the Izbitzer was a leader of a chassidic ultra-orthodox Jews, half of his discourses are about the flawed nature of Jewish law. His radical theology allows for certain people at certain times to do perform acts contrary to normative Jewish law. This book is a great tool for anyone struggling personally with questions of halachic obligation.

What's a social justice issue that's really important to you and why?

I believe that the greatest issue facing humanity is global warming. Rising oceans and desertification of the land scare the shit of me. The solutions are not going to be easy things like recycling or buying hybrid cars (although both are great). The only way humanity will be able to avoid an incredibly ominous future is by radically changing how we consume things. We need to start holding producers responsible not only for the safety of a product while we own it, but also the impacts of its creation what happens to it after it has been thrown “away.”

What is most frustrating to you about the Jewish community?

Our constant obsessive fear of Jewish continuity makes me crazy. I love Judaism and wouldn’t dream about marrying a non-Jew. It’s not because I have some deep commitment to the continuity of an ancient system or believe intermarriage a sin. I wouldn’t marry a non-Jew because then I would be married to someone who couldn’t participate in a spiritual system that whispers so deeply to my soul. If being Jewish isn’t serving someone, then they should go and find a community that does (Jewish or not). A defunct system should not be maintained for the sake of maintaining itself. Instead, we need to think good and hard about what wisdom and which traditions Judaism has to contribute to Jews today. Most mainstream synagogues try to guilt people into being Jewish. People shouldn’t learn Torah to honor those that died in the crematoriums; rather they should learn it because it is the best wisdom that our bubbies and zeidies had to pass down to us. We shouldn’t pray three times a day to appease our Jewish mothers, but instead because its our personal chance to talk to G!d.

What's your favorite act of rebellion?

Right now I am feeling empowered by my ability to vote with my wallet. I can make the world better by simply being selective in the products I spend my dollars on. Buying local and organic encourage more farmers to stop using pesticides and wasting so much fuel. Eating fair trade chocolate ensures that workers in Africa and South America earn enough money to feed and clothe their children. Buying green cleaning detergents keeps our streams and rivers cleaner. Divesting from certain companies actually helps to exert pressure on the Sudanese government to end genocide. It’s awesome; instead of only voting one day in November, I get to vote every time I open my wallet.