Talk by Steve Sorkin

One Word: Stewardship.  God’s Creation.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote,

The Sabbath is a day of peace with all things.  On this day humanity has no right to tamper with God’s world, to change the state of physical things.  A day in which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction.  A day for being with ourselves and stop worshipping the idols of technical civilization.  A day of armistice in the economic struggle with our fellow humans and the forces of nature. 

Is there in institution that holds out a greater hope for human’s progress than the Shabbat?

Review of why it’s a Jewish issue, as Jewish as Shabbat or kashrut or prayer!

1. Shabbat – celebrating Creation through cutting consumption
2. Bal Tashchit – a mitzvah to not waste (and Tzaar Ba’alei Chayim, be nice to animals)
3. Pikuach Nefesh – saving a human life, from global warming or urban air pollution
4. Seder Bereshit – the ‘orders of Creation’ – every species is Divine, and has its place
5. Chagim / Festivals – there’s a natural / agricultural basis behind every holiday
6. Tefillah / Prayer – finding God through nature (see Psalms, Yotzeir, Modim, etc)
7. Shomrei Adamah

From Rabbi Fred Dobb:
God’s circle of concern extends far beyond ‘us.’ It includes untold future generations of humans, who face a doubtful future due to our actions. It includes billions of God’s children, alive and suffering even today from poverty, injustice, environmental degradation, and other social ills. And it includes tens of millions of species, many under threat today, all of which are part of the intricate and sacred and “very good” (Gen. 1:31) web of Creation.
JEI’s Green Community Program is based on Jewish concepts combining common sense and compassion with a range of Jewish teachings that are incorporated into a set of simple, daily practices to properly respect the Earth, ourselves, and all life.  The goal is to enhance our living Jewishly through living sustainably, minimizing consumption while using renewable items and not using products or practices that harm or diminish the quality of life for current or future generations. 

JEI calls this Kehilah Shomeret Adamah—

Respecting nature; recognizing that we are all but stewards of the Earth; Knowing that we must live in harmony with plants and animals; reversing the actions of humankind that harm the air, land and water; practicing good environmental measure including reducing, reusing and recycling material; and realizing our responsibility to pass on a healthy planet to our children and future generations.

Rabbi Dobb says.
Synagogue life is about many things. We come to our batei knesset to create community, praise God, educate adults and children, celebrate simchas and mourn sorrows, heal ourselves, heal the world, connect with Israel and with Jews around the world, observe holidays, and much more (including the volunteer and financial infrastructure which enables all the rest to take place). Within that larger context, “the environment” may seem like one small piece of one piece.

But in fact, ecological concern is not something we can opt out of. Minimizing our environmental footprint is a communal, a Jewish, a civic, and a theological imperative. All streams of American Jewish religious life acknowledge this, through their involvement in COEJL.  As Martin Buber wrote (On Judaism, p. 209), “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.” And a popular new saying puts it succinctly: “no planet, no Torah.”
 
These are not just idealistic unattainable items.  Each one of these things have been done at congregations around the country and have been found to work and in many cases, to save money, sometimes after an initial investment.

There is an increasingly wide variety of environmentally responsible building products and supplies on the market.  Office supplies, appliances, HVAC systems, lawn care products, building materials, kitchen supplies, and cleaning products are all becoming more green.  Everything from pencils to light bulbs to kitchen cleansers to heat-recovering ventilation systems to carpeting and flooring to playground equipment.  JEI has a partial listing of products and suppliers that can help you get started. 

For example, at Temple Emanuel in suburban Washington, D.C., they adopted rather comprehensive environmental policy goals in 1992 and have been working to implement them ever since.  Many of the goals have been successfully achieved:

• Energy audit every five years
• Landscaping plan to use native plants, avoid use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and conserve water
• Build and plant a Bible-inspired garden using plants mentioned in the Bible and important to Jewish holidays
• Maximize recycling of office, classroom, and kitchen products.  Reduce use, and buy recycled products whenever possible.
• Use environmentally-friendly cleaning products
• Working with the Rabbi and the Green Shalom Committee, promote environmental awareness and education for all Temple members by:

• Conducting an annual Shabbat service with an environmental theme, and a Tu B'Shevat service with a focus on environmental appreciation and healthful foods.
• Arranging periodic service-related environmental readings at Shabbat services.
• Providing environmental study opportunities through adult education courses, coffeehouse programs, book reviews, speakers, etc.
• Incorporating the Jewish dimension of environmental stewardship into the religious school curricula, including lectures, field trips, readings, discussion, etc.
• Conducting a periodic workshop on Judaism and the environment for religious school teachers.
• Promoting carpooling and other transportation alternatives that improve air quality and reduce congestion and parking problems.
Working with the Rabbi and the Social Justice Task Force, pursue opportunities for environmental advocacy.

Among the policies deserving our most immediate commitment are:

• the pursuit of low environmental impact practices in our own households, workplaces, synagogues, and other Jewish institutions (e.g., reduce, reuse, recycle, conserve energy and water);
• the encouragement of sound and positive environmental business policies through our expenditures and our investments;
• the incorporation of environmental considerations, particularly the urgency of global warming and bio diversity loss, in the formulation of political, religious and cultural Jewish communal policies, and a heightened emphasis on environmental justice and wholeness in our public policy statements and activities;
• the integration of nature-oriented activities and Creation concerns in our observances of holy days, our Jewish education for children and adults, our liturgies, and our life-cycle ceremonies.

In addition, we take special note that for individuals, families, and congregations, Shabbat presents a weekly opportunity to reawaken our sense of wonder and to practice restraint. On Shabbat, we can connect with the wonder of Creation through liturgy, outdoor experience, and reflection. We can practice restraint by removing ourselves from the consumption economy for one day each week and by focusing instead on the interactions with family, friends, and community that give our lives richness and meaning.

DOZENS of the world’s cities, including London and New York, could be flooded by the end of the century, according to research which suggests that global warming will increase sea levels more rapidly than was previously thought.
The threat comes from melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, which scientists behind the research now believe are on track to release vast volumes of water significantly more quickly than older models have predicted.
Previous models of sea-level rise used to predict an increase of up to 3ft by 2100 may have significantly underestimated its ultimate extent, which could be as great as 20ft.
Such a rise would threaten cities such as London, New York, Bombay and Tokyo. Large parts of the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Florida would be inundated, and even smaller rises would flood extreme low-lying areas, such as several Pacific islands and [needless to say] New Orleans.

From the Rabbis Call to Environmental Action:
Let us rejoice that we, as children of God, have been endowed with the intelligence, reverence, scientific capacity, and faith to serve as the caretakers for such an extraordinary world! And when God declares to us — “Look at My works! See how beautiful they are — how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world, for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it” (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7: 13)

— let us respond, with unified voice: “We will do and we will hearken” (Exodus 24: 7).