The Way into Judaism and the Environment , livre ebook

The Way Into
Judaism and the Environment
Jeremy Benstein, PhD

JEWISH LIGHTS Publishing
Woodstock, Vermont
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For Noam and Yonah, and the alma de atei , the world-that-is-coming, their world.
About The Way Into
The Way Into is a major series that provides an accessible and highly usable guided tour of the Jewish faith and people, its history and beliefs-in total, a basic introduction to Judaism for adults that will enable them to understand and interact with sacred texts.
The Authors
Each book in the series is written by a leading contemporary teacher and thinker. While each of the authors brings his or her own individual style of teaching to the series, every volume s approach is the same: to help you to learn, in a life-affecting way, about important concepts in Judaism.
The Concepts
Each volume in The Way Into series explores one important concept in Judaism, including its history, its basic vocabulary, and what it means to Judaism and to us. In the Jewish tradition of study, the reader is helped to interact directly with sacred texts.
The topics to be covered in The Way Into series:
Torah
Jewish Prayer
Encountering God in Judaism
Jewish Mystical Tradition
Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World)
Judaism and the Environment
The Varieties of Jewishness
Covenant and Commandment
Holiness and Chosenness ( Kedushah )
Time
Zion
Money and Ownership
Women and Men
The Relationship between Jews and Non-Jews
Contents
About The Way Into
Acknowledgments
Torat Chayim: Books and Our Lives
A Bridge in Two Directions
On Relevance and Authenticity
Midrash and Halacha, Sources as Resources
Reading This Book
Concluding Reflection
A Note on the Translation
1. Emet Ve emunot: Environmentalism, Religion, and the Environmental Crisis in Context
Nature, the Environment, and Sustainability
Crises and Opportunities, Nightmares and Dreams
Religion as Problem: Lynn White Throws Down the Gauntlet
Re-evaluating Religion in Light of Environmental Concerns
The Humble Ruler and the Stuff of Nature
Religion and Environmentalism: Common Ground and Unique Messages
Unnatural Judaism: From Alienation to Reconnection
2. Bereishit Bara : Creator, Creating, Creation, Creatures, and Us
Biblical Beginnings: Readers, Reading, Readings, How to Read-and Us
Stories of Creations: Biblical Cubism
Genesis 1 and 2: Comparative Readings
Genesis 1: Master and Rule-The Demands of Dominion
Genesis 2: Serve and Preserve-The Stipulations of Stewardship
Between Apes and Angels: On Being a Part of, and Apart From
The Rest of the Story: Where Does Creation Stop and History Begin
Concluding Thoughts: On Goodness, Settlement, and Chaos
3. Lishmor La asot U lekayem: Traditional Sources and Resources
Nature: Is It and Does It Matter (I)-Heaven v. Earth
Nature: Is It and Does It Matter (II)-Torah v. Teva (Nature)
More on the Nature of Nature
Wind, Rain, Mountains, and Fields
Bein Adam Le olam? Jewish Legal and Moral Categories Regarding Nature
Bal Tashchit I: From Battlefield Forestry to Environmental Values
Bal Taschchit II: Negotiating Needs and Wants
Empathy and Ethics: The Pain of Living Things
Tikkun and Partnership, Flax and Foreskins
4. Olam Umelo o: Contemporary Topics and Issues
Multiply and Fill Up the Earth: Are We There Yet?
Eat and Be Satisfied: How Much Is Enough?
Of Pits and Piety, or Torah and Toxics
Tzedek and the City: Justice, Land Use, and Urban Life
Wilderness and Worship
Melo Kol Ha aretz Kevodo -The Fullness of the Earth Is God s Glory
Mazon Ve chazon -Food and Vision, or the Duties of the Diet
Sustainability and Sustenance: How to Keep on Keepin On
5. Chagim Uzmanim: Cycles in Time, Sacraments in Life
Lu ach ve Ru ach -Of Calendars and Culture, Nature and History
Yamim Tovim -Good Days: The High Holidays and Pilgrimage Festivals
The Nature of Hanukkah
The Four Faces of Tu B Shvat-A New Year of the Trees
Shabbat-A Day of Worldly Rest
Shmitah -The Radical Social-Environmental Vision of a Yearlong Sabbath
Blessings and Worship: From Appraising to Praising
6. Ha am Ve Ha aretz: The Land of Israel and a Jewish Sense of Place
Bein Adam LaMakom -On the Importance of Place
On Wandering and Return: The Jew as Native
The Cultural Contradictions of Israeli Environmentalism
Back to Bridge-Building: The Environment as Deep Common Concern
Talmud VeMa aseh: Where to Go from Here-Suggestions for Further Study
Notes
Glossary
Index
About the Author
Copyright
Also Available
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Acknowledgments
Although written over the course of a year, this book is the product of more than two decades of study, teaching, reflection, and activism, and a life that goes back much further. The memory and writings of my grandfather, Rabbi Morris Adler, zatzal , who was tragically killed when I was a boy, and my grandmother Goldie have always inspired me to be who I am and do what I do. Their daughter, Shulamith, my late mother, and my father Eli, and now my stepmother Fagie have been and continue to be sources of love and support that have known no bounds. Siblings Judy, Joel, and Miriam have contributed in their own ways more than they know.
After parents and home, the formative experiences in my life occurred in Gar in Pardes, the group with whom I made aliyah to Israel, and at Kibbutz Ketura, the place where I have spent more of my life than any other. It was there in the desert of the Southern Arava and in the educational work of Keren Kolot that I first began to think seriously about Judaism and the natural world. Part of me will remain there forever.
The inspiring and indefatigable Alon Tal, along with the good people at Ketura, later founded the Arava Institute, where many of the ideas for this book were tried out on unsuspecting students, and of which I continue to be a proud affiliate.
My college roommate, (now Rabbi) Brad Artson, has been a soul mate and, despite the geographical distance, has intellectually inspired and spiritually nourished me and my work over the years.
Likewise, I express gratitude to the wonderful Jewish community of the Tivon Havura, and in particular Zev and Edna Gorny-Labinger, each with their own perfect synthesis of art and environment, nature and culture.
Other people whom I have learned with and from, in friendship and in myriad important ways, include: Gil Troy, Noah Efron, Noam Zion, Alon Tal, Nigel Savage, Dan and Kay Ehrenkrantz, Ayalon Edelstein, Orit and Yehonadav Perlman, Miriam Sivan, Matthew Sigman, Melila Helner-Eshed, David Seidenberg, Joshua Yarden, Golan Ben Horin, Samuel Chain, and Avner de Shalit.
My first forays into writing on these topics were enabled and encouraged by Gershom Gorenberg, and they were improved by his editorial talents at the Jerusalem Report. I am grateful as well to the good people at Jewish Lights-publisher Stuart M. Matlins, editorial vice president Emily Wichland, and my always gracious editor, Alys Yablon Wylen-for inviting me to attempt this work and for their patience in my bringing it to completion.
When all is said and done, my professional, intellectual, spiritual, and personal sides meet at one place: the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership in Tel Aviv. I am proud to have been there since its inception, and to be part of the Israeli environmental movement, working for a just and sustainable Israel. Special thanks to the members of that movement, especially the growing family of staff and the environmental fellows at the Center, and in particular Lia Ettinger, my awe-inspiring professional partner for the better part of a decade.
None of this would have occurred at all were it not for Eilon Schwartz. From the gar in , through the kibbutz, and now at the Heschel Center: for the past twenty-five years ours has been a shared adventure. Eilon is a personal example, an intellectual powerhouse, a moral role model, and a fellow traveler. His thoughts and our relationship are present on every page of this book, not just the ones where I ve actually taken the trouble to quote him.
Acharona chaviva , my bride and life partner, Elisheva: for your love and patience, and for the values that we share. And for the fruit of our love, Noam Shlomi and Yonah Mishael, to whom this book is dedicated.
Jeremy Benstein Kiryat Tivon, Israel
Torat Chayim
Books and Our Lives
A Bridge in Two Directions
The engagement of Judaism-Jewish texts, values, traditions-with environmental issues is not simple or straightforward. Although the challenges and opportunities raised are compelling both for Jewish life and for environmental thought, there are several possible ways to understand the application of biblical, Talmudic, or medieval categories and values to our contemporary problems.
One approach maintains that there is nothing new under the sun (Eccles. 1:4-11), and therefore chazal , the early rabbinic sages, knew all that is necessary to deal successfully with global warming and other modern threats. According to this view, all the questions and answers have been revealed, and the process of applying ancient texts to modern problems is relatively uncomplicated, done by a