Transcript ָארץ ֶ ָ ַלה' ה ּומְ לֹואָ ּה “The Earth is God’s, & that which fills it.” Psalm 24:1 R.

‫ָארץ‬
ֶ ָ‫ַלה' ה‬
‫ּומְ לֹואָ ּה‬
“The Earth is God’s,
& that which fills it.”
Psalm 24:1
R. Fred Scherlinder Dobb
January 2012
1. WHY Green Religion
2. WHO is practicing it
3. WHAT is Eco-Torah
4. Inspiring Examples
(Adat Shalom & JRC)
5. Tachlis / Next Steps
I. Why Ecological Religion?
• A.
• B.
• C.
• D.
• E.
• F.
God and the long term: Psalms
Uniquely effective use of voice
History shows…
Deepening of commitment
Pluralistic religiosity is key
“It’s in there” – authentic insight
A. The Experience of Divinity
“Let the heavens declare God’s handiwork…” (19)
‫ְֹֽוד־אל‬
ֵ֑ ‫ַהשָּׁ ַ֗ ַמיִם ְּמ ְַֽספְּ ִ ִ֥רים ְּכב‬
“Let all that has breath/soul praise God…” (150)
‫ֹּ֣כל ַ֭ ַהנְשָ מָ ה תְ ַה ֵּ֥לל ָָ֗יּה ַה ַֽלְ לּו־יָ ַּֽה‬
“[God] sends springs into the valleys... they water
all the animals of the field; the thirst of the wild
asses is ended. The birds of the sky dwell by
them; they sing out from among the branches...
the Earth Is satisfied by the fruit of Your works ...
the trees of God are satisfied; the cedars of
Lebanon, which God has planted - there birds
make their nests; the house of the stork is in the
fir trees. The high hills are for the wild goats; the
rocks are a hiding-place for the badgers...” (104)
B. Effective Use of Religious
Voice:
Gus Speth
Wangari
(Yale)
Matthai z”l
“I used to think the ‘big
(Nobel
three’ were climate,
biodiversity, & pollution,
Peace Pr.)
.
but after many years of
Organizer of GreenBelt Movement -- work I now think pride,
apathy, and greed are
Planted over 40 million trees:
even bigger. We need
“All of us have a God in us, & that cultural and spiritual
God is the spirit that unites all life, transformation, and
science
doesn’t
do
that
everything that is on this planet.”
-- the church does that.”
C. History shows: Religion drives Social Change
In our own time, too --
Endangered Species
Act (reauth.,1995-96)
Evangelical Biologist,
Dr. Cal Dewitt
D. Rel. Ecology Deepens Green
Commitments -- and vice-versa
(all varieties of eco-theology)
Main Traditions in the U.S., as
outlined by Laurel Kearns (1996):
- Eco-Justice
- Stewardship
- Creation Spirituality
Here’s who deepens
my commitment!
Religion helps us think
inter-generationally
-- on theological (or
at least geological)
time scales, rather than
quarterly or biannually
“Choose life, that you and your
children may live” (Deut. 30:19)
ַ ‫ ל‬- ‫ָּׁח ְּרתָּׁ ַב ַחיִים‬
ַ ‫ּוב‬
‫ ַאתָּׁ ה ו ְּ ַז ְּרעָך‬,‫ְּמ ַען ִתחְּ יה‬
She also
Deepens my
Commitment –
This is our
Synagogue’s
New Composter’s
Dedication (on
Tu B’Shvat)!
E. Pluralistic Religion is Key (for Human Survival!)
And (F) “it’s in there” – like Religion =
Long-Term (vs. prevailing ‘secular’ ethos):
More
on the
substance
of Green
Religion
in a
moment
-But first,
a sense
of just how
broad is the
consensus!
Tom Toles 3-21-11
so, II: WHO / WHERE for
Greening Religion? see
www.coejl.org (for instance)
or
InterfaithPowerAndLight.org
www.interfaithpowerandlight.org
Metro DC: www.gwipl.org
www.theregenerationproject.org
In 2011:
36 states
5,000+ Covenant Congregations
10,000+ Congregations engaged
www.
nrpe.
org
US Catholic Conference of Bishops
More Interfaith Eco Resources
www.Green
Faith.org


www.WebOf
Creation.Org
NCRLC
‫ָארץ‬
ֶ ָ‫ַלה' ה‬
‫ּומְ לֹואָ ּה‬
“The Earth is God’s,
& that which fills it.”
Psalm 24:1
Rooted in this sacred and
shared commitment,
consider a few great
green-religious efforts:
PROTESTANT:
www.baptistcreationcare.org
How Many
Lightbulbs
Does it Take
to Change an
Episcopalian?
CATHOLIC:
Now: 300 kw solar, cost
1.2m Euro; 225 tons CO2
Next: 740 acre solar farm
north of Rome to power
Vatican Radio and grid
• Vatican: world’s first
carbon-neutral state;
2,400 solar modules
• Now, “environmental
pollution”, doctrinally,
is a true “social sin”
Carbon offset:
restored ancient
forest in Hungary
EVERY GREAT FAITH:
Buddhist Monks Ordaining Trees
…AND
JEWISH!
www.coejl.org
The Jewish Food movement has really taken off,
first with
in CT,
and then
adding
Kayam In MD, the Jewish
Farm School in NY, Urban
Adamah in CA, and more,
all with help from Hazon
(these photos via Adamah
at Isabella Friedman)
And Torah-focused (www.CanfeiNesharim.org),
Israeli (e.g. www.http://www.heschel.org.il/en),
and progressive (www.shalomctr.org) resources:
Great, organizations like
; what about the teachings?!
III. WHAT’S IN THE GREEN TORAH
(for starters):
--
‫ ַתשְּ ִחית‬-‫לא‬
Righteous people of good deeds ... do not waste in
this world even a mustard seed. They become
sorrowful with every wasteful and destructive act
that they see, and if they can, they use all their
strength to save everything possible from
destruction. But the wicked are not thus; they are
like demons. They rejoice in the destruction of the
world, just as they destroy themselves....
(Sefer HaChinuch 529; 13th century)
Text Study – Green
Torah
In our tradition, it goes back to BIBLICAL religion:
(assembled by JRF Rabbis Shawn Israel Zevit & Fred Scherlinder Dobb)
• “The Eternal God formed the human (adam) from the
dust of the Earth (adamah). God blew into its nostrils
the breath of life, and the human became a living
being… The Eternal God took and placed the human
being in the Garden of Eden, (l’ovdah ul’shomrah) to
till / serve it and to guard / tend it.”
– Gen. 2:7, 2:15
• “The land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the
land is Mine; you are but strangers/wayfarers, resident
with Me.”
– Leviticus 25:23
• “The Earth is the Eternal’s, and all that it holds; the
world, and its inhabitants.”
– Psalm 24:1
God took Adam, and placed Adam in the
Garden of Eden, ‫לְּעָּׁ בְּדָּׁ ּה‬-l’ovdah
[to work/serve/till it]
‫ּולְּשָּׁ מְּ ָּׁרּה‬ִ ‫בְּר‬
IN THE BEGINNING... ‫אשית‬
u’l’shomrah
[and to
guard/
tend it].
(Gen. 2:15)
Shabbat: Limits
to Consumerism
Judy Chicago, “Rainbow Shabbat”
‘Tending the Earth Together’
(Deut. 6:4)
Environmental Justice:
A Religious Natural
Leviticus 19:16
Text Study – Green
Later, RABBINIC
Torah
literature is full of green sensitivity:
(assembled by JRF Rabbis Shawn Israel Zevit & Fred Scherlinder Dobb)
• “God led Adam around the Garden of Eden and said: 'Look at My
works. See how beautiful they are, how excellent. See to it that you
do not spoil or destroy My world – for if you do, there will be no one to
repair it after you."
– Midrash Qohelet Rabbah 7:13
• “Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai ... used to say, “If you have a sapling in
your hand, and someone should say to you that the Messiah has
come, stay and complete the planting, and then go to greet the
Messiah.”
-- Avot de Rabbi Nathan, 31b
• Rav Zutra said, “one who covers an oil lamp or uncovers a naphtha
lamp [i.e. causes the fossil fuel to burn less efficiently than possible]
violates the law of bal tashchit / do not waste.” -- Talmud Shabbat 67b
Text Study – Green
Torah
Through MEDIEVAL /HASSIDIC times, too:
(assembled by JRF Rabbis Shawn Israel Zevit & Fred Scherlinder Dobb)
“Torah does not permit a killing that would uproot a species, even if it permitted the
killing [of individuals] in that species.” – Nachmanides (ca. 1270) on Deuteronomy 22:6
“It should not be believed that all the beings exist for the sake of the existence of
humanity. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own
sakes, and not for the sake of something else.” – Rambam (1190), Moreh Nevukhim 3:13
“Nature is of the very essence of Deity.” -- Baal Shem Tov (ca 1750), Shivkhe Ha-Besht, 329
“Master of the Universe, grant me the ability to be alone; may it be my custom to go
outdoors each day among the trees and grass and all growing things, and there may
I be alone, and enter into prayer.” -- R Nachman of Bratzlav (ca 1810), Maggid Sichot, 48
“Know that when a person prays in the field, then all of the grasses/plants together come
into the prayer, and they help him, and give him strength within his prayer.“
-- Rebbe Nachman of Brastlav (ca. 1810), Likutei Maharan 11
Text Study – Green
Torah
In the MODERN era Green Torah becomes clear:
(assembled by JRF Rabbis Shawn Israel Zevit & Fred Scherlinder Dobb)
“I can contemplate a tree. I can accept it as a picture... I can feel it as a
movement... I can assign it to a species and observe it as an instance... I
can overcome its uniqueness and form so rigorously that I can recognize it
only as an expression of law... I can dissolve it into a number, into a pure
relation between numbers, and externalize it. Throughout all of this the
tree, the tree remains my object and has its time span, its kind and
condition. But it can also happen, if will and grace are joined, that as I
contemplate the tree I am drawn into a relation, and the tree ceases to be
an It.”
-- Martin Buber, 1923, I and Thou, pp. 57-58
“Small is the world that most of us pay attention to, and limited is our
concern. What do we see when we see the world? There are three
aspects of nature that command our attention: its power, its beauty, and
its grandeur. Accordingly, there are three ways in which we may relate
ourselves to the world – we may exploit it, we may enjoy it, we may accept
it in awe.”
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (circa 1955)
Text Study – Green
Torah
And even in OUR OWN time, Green Torah expands:
(assembled by JRF Rabbis Shawn Israel Zevit & Fred Scherlinder Dobb)
“Bal tash’hit (Avoiding
waste): Material resources
are limited, and we have the
responsibility to guard against
overconsumption and
needless waste. No matter
how much we can afford to
buy, we should protect each
thing of worth to any person
or creature even if it has little
value to us directly. This
reflects gratitude for what we
have and appreciation for the
needs of all.”
– David A. Teutsch, 2008
A Guide to Jewish Practice: Introduction,
Attitudes, Values and Beliefs – Kashrut: The
Jewish Dietary Laws Second Edition
In Praise: Genesis 1,2
Hail the hand that scattered space with stars,
Wrapped whirling world in bright blue blanket, air,
Made worlds within worlds, elements in earth,
Souls within skins, every one a teeming universe,
Every tree a system of semantics, and pushed
Beyond probability to place consciousness
On this cooling crust of burning rock.
Oh praise the hand, mind, heart, soul, power or force
That so enclosed, separated limited planets, trees, humans
Yet breaks all bounds and borders
To lavish on us light, love, life
This trembling glory.
-- Ruth Brin, Kol Haneshamah Daily Prayer Book, p. 433
IV. INSPIRING EXAMPLES
Exhibit A, the community I know best:
Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
sustainable materials where possible; living wage always
EPA “Energy Star” Congregation, 2002
Adat Shalom Recon. Cong., Bethesda MD
.
Adat Shalom Recon. Cong., Bethesda MD
Many replicable innovations – see JRF’s sustainable syn. resources…
And, Adat Shalom just installed
44kW of solar panels on our roof!
Your community can too…
Not just physical plant, but PROGRAM counts too… Here’s
our Pre-Pesach Eco-Justice Boat Tour of the Lower Anacostia
– Adat Shalom, with Community Partners, 2010
In 2011, we went further in kayaks & canoes, on the upper
river, with friends from the Anacostia Watershed Society!
Adat Shalom’s
Mishnah Garden
* Organic
* Local
* Educational
* Spiritual
* Communal
* Activist
Intergenerational, Too!
Donated to nearby low-income ‘fresh food desert’ – tikkun olam
Members say the Mishnah Garden means:
Connection
Awareness
Pride & Joy
Knowledge
Experience
Security
Earthiness
Cluefulness
Tradition
From the Mishnah
Horseradish –
It’s the Real Thing…
Garden, came
for Passover!
And back to physical plant, where
we’ve happily been leapfrogged…
“don’t just build a
building; build a
just building”
-- Judith Helfand
Jewish Reconstructionist Cong., Evanston IL
JRC = LEED * Platinum * Building !!!
And awesome enviro policy, too, for what happens there
First Platinum House of Worship
Anywhere
-Ever !!!
E-tour: www.jrc-evanston.org
www.jrc-evanston.org
www.jrc-evanston.org
InterfaithPowerAndLight.org
More Inspiring Examples: Solar
at Sylvania (Ohio) UCC
UU Fellowship of Wayne County Wooster, OH
Nation’s First LEED Gold Certified House of Worship
Saint Gabriel’s Passionist Catholic Church, Toronto
First Canadian LEED Gold Congregation
http://stgabrielsparish.ca/who-we-are/green-church/
http://StGabrielsParish.ca/who-we-are/green-church/
Daylighting, solar siting, green grounds, and so much more..
St. Gabriel’s building embodies Thomas Berry’s cosmology…
Great resources online at the church’s own website:
http://stgabrielsparish.ca/who-we-are/green-church/
More is available via the remarkable architect
(also a theologian), Roberto Chiotti
V. TACHLIS NEXT STEPS
* lower our carbon footprint,
together!
A MORAL IMPERATIVE
Bangladesh
India
Fiji
New Orleans
any know this
to be an urgent,
a moral, and a
religious issue
"The climate
crisis is not a
political issue, it
is a moral and
spiritual
challenge to all of
humanity.
It is also our
greatest
opportunity to lift
global
consciousness to
a higher level."
- Al Gore, Nobel Peace
Prize Winner ‘07
Join ‘em! : Rabbi Ismar Schorch; Pope Benedict; Rick Warren. Patriarch
Bartholomew; H Holiness the Dalai Lama; Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori.
…and join these Green Muslims…
… and these Green Jews …
… and these Green Christians … and so many
more …
in Caring for Creation …
General: www.GreenFaith.org
Gen’l: www.InterfaithPowerAndLight.org
Jewish: www.COEJL.org
Recon.: http://jrf.org/Sustainable_
Synagogue_Resources
Go and Learn – and Do!
Martin Buber
Born in Austria in 1888
Barely escaped Nazi
Germany in 1938
Early advocate of binational (Jewish &
Arab) Palestine/Israel
Died in Jerusalem in 1965
God *is* Place
love of the Creator
and love of that which
God has created
are finally one
and the same.
Buber: “
”
God *is* Place – Place *is* God
Makom
‫מקום‬
Bioregionalism
“a sense of Place”
Buber: “…real relationship
to God cannot be achieved
on earth if real relationships
to the world and to [hu]mankind are lacking. Both love
of the Creator and love of
that which [God] has created
are finally one and the same. In
order to achieve this unity, man [sic]
must indeed accept creation from
God's hands, not in order to possess
it, but lovingly to take part in the still
uncompleted work of creation... ”