Jewish identity and ecological identity may seem like strange bed-fellows. Yet our identity is our sense of our self: who we are: what grounds us in our selves and the world. Knowing who we are implies knowing who we are relative to others. How we are different, and, just as importantly, how we are similar.

At times, some of us Jews are so fearful about preserving our people and our tradition that we think the way to do so is to hunker down and focus on our uniqueness as Jews, our difference, the things that set us apart-our laws, our texts, our Jewish institutions, our communal life. But the dark side of concentrating too much attention on our difference, our uniqueness, is the narrowing of our worldview and ourselves. We can develop a limited view of life and its possibilities, and unwittingly push away our young people and adults who are hungry to explore the wider world.

In their landmark book The Jew Within, in which they report on their intensive interviews of moderately affiliated American Jews between the ages of thirty and fifty, Steven Cohen and Arnie Eisen noted that the respondents exhibited a distaste for religious language that emphasized the differences between Jews and non-Jews and an attraction to language that was more universal.

The ways in which we are similar to other people-all of whom are made in the image of God-- is the flip side of what we usually think of as Jewish identity. But this dimension-our universality--seems to get short shrift in Jewish life and Jewish education.

Continue reading...

Earth Day is a Jewish holiday. Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but from the quantity of books that have been written on the intersecting subjects of Judaism and the environment, you'd think that Earth Day—coming up on April 22—appears on the Jewish calendar between Passover and Yom HaShoah. There are a lot of paths leading from Judaism to environmentalism and vice versa, and the following ten books offer gateways and guidance. Hopefully they're printed on recycled paper, too.

	God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors, by Rabbi Jamie Korngold: "Balancing an in-depth knowledge of scripture with a wry sense of humor and a compassion for nature, Korngold reminds us of the nooks and crannies of the natural world and says that we must seek them out, soak them in and care for them. The variety of personal stories, tales of travel with various Adventure Rabbi groups and contemporary alternative biblical outcomes—what if Moses had been too busy texting to notice the burning bush?—make for a book that is easily digestible but at the same time worth savoring. Purposely sized to fit easily into a backpack or pocket, the call to return to the wild—or at least your local city park—is ever present."
	A Wild Faith: Jewish Ways into Wilderness, Wilderness Ways into Judaism, by Rabbi Mike Comins: "As the subtitle indicates, Comins asserts that the relationship between Torah and nature is a two-way trail: wilderness is the best place to work out a personal, unscripted, fresh relationship with divinity, and Judaism offers a vocabulary and practice to translate the experience of wilderness into a life of purpose and meaning. For those who love nature and know little about Judaism, and those who love Judaism but know little about wilderness, Comins's message is clear: one need not choose between the two to find potential, promise and fulfillment."
	The Way into Judaism and the Environment, by Dr. Jeremy Benstein: "For everyone who wants to understand how Jews view the natural world and the responsibilities of environmental stewardship, this book provides the way into an essential aspect of Judaism and allows you to interact directly with the sacred texts of the Jewish tradition. At a time of growing concern about environmental issues, Jeremy Benstein, PhD--a founder and associate director of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership--explores the relationship Jews have with the natural world and the ways in which Judaism contributes to contemporary social-environmental issues. He also shows us the extent to which Judaism is part of the problem and how it can be part of the solution."
	Ecology and the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature and the Sacred Meet, by Ellen Bernstein: "In today's modern culture, we've become separated from the spiritual possibilities of the natural world. "Modern" religion often overlooks nature, focusing instead on history and human drama. This book offers an alternative...a different, eye-and-soul-opening way of viewing religion: a perspective grounded in nature, and rich in insights for people of all faiths. Here, innovators in Judaism and ecology lead us on an exploration of the concepts of sacred space, sacred time, and community."
	Trees, Earth, and Torah, edited by Ari Elon, Naomi Mara Hyman, Arthur Waskow: "This exhaustive and exhausting collection of essays, biblical passages, poems, songs and recipes scrutinizes Tu B'Shvat, a minor Jewish festival that occurs on the 15th day (tu Equals number 15 in Hebrew) of Shvat, the fifth month of the Jewish year (it usually falls between mid-January and mid-February). Known as the New Year of the Tree, Jewish Arbor Day or Tree-Planting Day, Tu B'Shvat began as a tax day for calculating which fruit would be included in the tithe brought to the Temple. More recently, Tu B'Shvat has become a day for planting trees in Israel and for celebrating ecological concerns."
	Spirit in Nature: Teaching Judaism and Ecology on the Trail, by Matt Biers-Ariel, Deborah Newbrun, Michal Fox Smart: "This pioneering guide book awakens hikers of all ages to the miracles of God's creations along the trail. Each discovery revealed through the book's 27 engaging activities becomes an adventure of the senses and the spirit as hikers recite blessings over natural phenomena, "build a tree" with their bodies, and recreate the rainbow of colors that adorn fields and trees and stones. A special index highlights the connection between key Jewish values and the wonder of nature. Spirit in Nature will guide camp directors, counselors, teachers, religious leaders, parents, and youth group leaders in nourishing the spiritual lives of hikers exploring the natural world."
	Splendor of Creation: A Biblical Ecology, by Ellen Bernstein: "Many people see the environmental crisis as a spiritual one, but author Ellen Bernstein sees the Book of Genesis as a guide to living peaceably with the Earth. The creation story, according to Bernstein, invites a deep appreciation of nature and may be the perfect muse for a world that is hungry for an integrated ecological vision. This message, however, is a hidden one. Thus the importance of The Splendor of Creation. Written from a Jewish perspective, this book is both accessible and compelling to a broad audience, as it explores Genesis 1, verse by verse, reflecting on the language that contributes to a holistic ecological vision."
	Judaism and Environmental Ethics: A Reader, edited by Martin D. Yaffe: "Brought together in one volume for the first time, the most important scholars in the field touch on diverse disciplines including deep ecology, political philosophy, and biblical hermeneutics. This ambitious book illustrates - precisely because of its interdisciplinary focus - how longstanding disagreements and controversies may spark further interchange among ecologists, Jews, and philosophers. Both accessible and thoroughly scholarly, this dialogue will benefit anyone interested in ethical and religious considerations of contemporary ecology."
	Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed Word, by Hava Tirosh-Samuelson and twenty others: "This volume intends to contribute to the nascent discourse on Judaism and ecology by clarifying diverse conceptions of nature in Jewish thought and by using the insights of Judaism to formulate a constructive Jewish theology of nature. The twenty-one contributors consider the Bible and rabbinic literature, examine the relationship between the doctrine of creation and the doctrine of revelation in the context of natural law, and wrestle with questions of nature and morality. They look at nature in the Jewish mystical tradition, and they face the challenges to Jewish environmental activism caused by the tension between the secular nature of the environmental discourse and Jewish religious commitments."
	Pollution in a Promised Land: An Environmental History of Israel, by Alon Tal: Virtually undeveloped one hundred years ago, Israel, the promised "land of milk and honey," is in ecological disarray. In this gripping book, Alon Tal provides - for the first time ever - a history of environmentalism in Israel, interviewing hundreds of experts and activists who have made it their mission to keep the country's remarkable development sustainable amid a century of political and cultural turmoil. The modern Zionist vision began as a quest to redeem a land that bore the cumulative effects of two thousand years of foreign domination and neglect. Since then, Israel has suffered from its success. A tenfold increase in population and standard of living has polluted the air. The deserts have bloomed but groundwater has become contaminated. Urban sprawl threatens to pave over much of the country's breathtaking landscape. Yet there is hope. Tal's account considers the ecological and tactical lessons that emerge from dozens of cases of environmental mishaps, from habitat loss to river reclamation. Pollution in a Promised Land argues that the priorities and strategies of Israeli environmental advocates must address issues beyond traditional green agendas."

Jerusalem of Green: Bustan Brody community garden Downtown Jerusalem is cluttered enough at any time of year, but rarely more so than this past week. Posters for cleaning services and chametz sales imploring people to burn, sell, or otherwise dispose of their leavened bread in preparation for Pesach were pasted on lampposts and notice-boards on every street. Jews are generally partial to consuming food rather than throwing it away, but this time of year is the exception to the rule.

Only a few minutes from my apartment is another exception to the rule: A place where Jerusalemites come each week to throw away their leftovers, no matter the season. Down at Bustan Brody, part of a city-wide network of community gardens, ecologically-minded Israelis bring their unwanted food to dump on the compost heap. The volunteer-run garden is a green oasis in the midst of five-story apartment buildings—an area which was once slated for development during Ehud Olmert’s stint as Jerusalem Mayor, in a bid to reduce the city’s budget deficit by selling off public plots of land for construction.

“We took responsibility for our own backyard, that’s a revolutionary concept,” says Abba Zavidov, one of the founders of the Bustan, which lies within easy walking distance from the Prime Minister’s official residence. “If we’re going to talk about sustainability then we need to prove it can be done. People bringing their kitchen waste to compost at the garden is a great way of showing how."

In Jerusalem, organic refuse like kitchen scraps and garden clippings make up around 40% of the city’s solid waste. If not recycled via composting, it typically ends up contributing to more of the brown landfill mountains like those straddling the road from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, which trick you into thinking that you’re still in the Judean Hills instead of speeding across the (once flat) coastal plain.

And God Said, "Are You Gonna Eat That?': compost in the holy land But it’s not just the Festival of Matzo that inspires a frenzy of food disposal: Figures published last week reveal that folks in my native Britain throw out one-third of all food they buy each year, including over four million apples. And they don’t even have Pesach as an excuse. Waste on such a huge scale has been partly fueled by cheap food culture and marketing ploys like ‘two-for-one’ offers, which encourage over-consumption.

I hope that Rabbis in Israel and the Diaspora will be using their sermons during the Jewish festival of freedom as an opportunity to reflect on the merits of environmental responsibility in a world where not everyone can take their food for granted. In any case, composting can offer a green solution to the stale matzo and indigestion-cookies due to be littering kitchens across Israel next week.

The Vatican Runs On Solar Power: does your house of worship?This week the Vatican announced a list of new sins. Included in the corrupt collection are ominous warnings against polluting the earth and "causing environmental blight." These "ecological" offenses are listed alongside "New Forms of Social Sin," including excessive wealth, contributing to the growing gulf between the rich and the poor, and stem cell research.

At first glance this might look like a lame ploy by the Vatican to appeal to young people who are socially and environmentally conscious, but at least with the green initiatives, they’re backing up the rhetoric with real action.

Pope John Paul and successor Pope Benedict have made great strides in greening the Vatican: Vatican City has already teamed up with a Hungarian carbon offset company to plant the Vatican Climate Forest, which will cover 37 acres (Vatican City is only about .2 square miles, so it doesn’t take much to make it carbon neutral).

The papal audience hall is completely powered by solar panels installed in a rooftop garden. Planktos/KlimaFa--the carbon offset company working with the Vatican--has announced that it’s committed to helping them develop methods to calculate the carbon emissions of individual Catholic churches, and offer eco-restoration options to turn their carbon footprints green.

In his World Peace Day 2007 speech, Pope Benedict XVI said, “Disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence. There is an inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among men.”

It’s a fairly humble beginning, but if a billion Catholics follow the Pope’s example on this issue, the world would be in a much better ecological state. Likewise, it would be great to see any of the branches of Judaism pushing a green agenda as enthusiastically as the Vatican has. Thus far, the Reconstructionist movement seems to be doing the most, including building some great green synagogues.

Trees everywhere: need to be hugged.I really love Tu B'Shevat. All the things I want and appreciate in a holiday, it has. In years past, I've both attended and held gorgeous, meaningful sederim for the day and unfortunately have to report that I'm not going quite as all-out this year as I did last year. But, that's okay. (PS- Read Helen Jupiter's lovely post about Tu B'Shevat for inspiration.)

Of course, I'm still going to give tzedekah. In addition to the usual JNF Plant-a-Tree program that I often use, as most of us probably have (I do appreciate the environmental work JNF does, among other things) I've unearthed (no pun intended) a few other opportunities for you to love trees if you're thinking of adding another tree, in addition to perhaps an Israeli tree, to your tzedekah this week.

Continue reading...

If you’re not already very familiar with the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, please check out their amazing website now. It’s chock full of fantastic resources for making your synagogue and Jewish community more aware of environmental consequences, and ways to decrease your community’s environmental footprint.

But the big news over at COEJL is that they’ve started a new program called "Conservation Conversations: Invite Your Elected Official to Synagogue" to engage your elected officials in a dialogue about climate change policy and conservation. The program is being launched in partnership with the Relgious Action Center, and the RAC’s website is hosting a bunch of the materials that are relevant. They’ve got resources to help you find the best advocacy opportunities in your area, as well as tools to help you prepare for a political visitor. They even help you figure out how to use momentum from such an event to get things going further at your synagogue, minyan, or kehillah.
We supposed to be a light to the nations: Get it?
This is what I love about the RAC. They see an issue and they just attack it full on, disseminating information, helping with programming, morale, funding and other resources. Regardless of your level of observancy, you should check out the RAC’s homepage every once and a while just to see what kind of work they’re doing. Trust me when I say you’ll always be impressed.

Anyway, I hope you’ll check out the COEJL programming and take some time to get your representative or Senator to stop by your place of worship. And while those details are being worked out, go get yourself an energy efficient lightbulb to reduce greenhouse emissions. It’s easy, saves you money, and helps save the world. I’m pretty sure God would approve. For more info on COEJL’s How Many Jews Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb campaign, click here.