לַה ' הָאָרֶץ וּמְלוֹאָהּ “ The Earth is God’s , & that which...

הארץ ' לה ומלואה

“The Earth is God’s, & that which fills it.”

Psalm 24:1

1. WHY Green Religion2. WHO is practicing it3. WHAT is Eco-Torah4. Inspiring Examples

(Adat Shalom & JRC)5. Tachlis / Next Steps

JRF & GreenFaith

R. Fred Scherlinder Dobb January 2012

I. Why Ecological Religion?

• A. God and the long term: Psalms • B. Uniquely effective use of voice• C. History shows…• D. Deepening of commitment• E. Pluralistic religiosity is key• F. “It’s in there” – authentic insight

A. The Experience of Divinity“Let the heavens declare God’s handiwork…” (19)

ל ים כבוד־ ספ ים מ אהש ר מ

“Let all that has breath/soul praise God…” (150)ה הללו־יה ל נשמה תה ל י ל ה כ

“[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(NobelPeace Pr.)

“I used to think the ‘big three’ were climate, biodiversity, & pollution, but after many years of work I now think pride, apathy, and greed are even bigger. We need cultural and spiritual transformation, and science doesn’t do that -- the church does that.”

Organizer of GreenBelt Movement --Planted over 40 million trees:

“All of us have a God in us, & that God is the spirit that unites all life, everything that is on this planet.”

C. History shows: Religion drives Social Change

Endangered Species Act (reauth.,1995-96)

In our own time, too --

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., asoutlined by Laurel Kearns (1996):

- Eco-Justice - Stewardship - Creation Spirituality

Here’s who deepensmy commitment!

Religion helps us thinkinter-generationally-- on theological (orat least geological) time scales, rather than quarterly or biannually

“Choose life, that you and your children may live” (Deut. 30:19)

ים אתה , למען תחיה- ובחרת בחי וזרעך

She also Deepens myCommitment –

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):

Tom Toles 3-21-11

Moreon the

substanceof GreenReligion

in a moment

-- But first,a sense

of just howbroad is theconsensus!

so, II: WHO / WHERE for Greening Religion? see

www.coejl.org (for instance)

orInterfaithPowerAndLight.org

www.interfaithpowerandlight.org

5,000+ Covenant Congregations10,000+ Congregations engaged

In 2011:36 states

Metro DC: www.gwipl.orgwww.theregenerationproject.org

US Catholic Conference of Bishops

www. nrpe. org

More Interfaith Eco Resources

www.WebOf Creation.Org

www.GreenFaith.org

NCRLC

הארץ ' לה ומלואה

“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:

www.baptistcreationcare.org

How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change an Episcopalian?

PROTESTANT:

• Vatican: world’s first carbon-neutral state; 2,400 solar modules

• Now, “environmental pollution”, doctrinally, is a true “social sin”

Now: 300 kw solar, cost 1.2m Euro; 225 tons CO2

Next: 740 acre solar farmnorth of Rome to power Vatican Radio and grid

Carbon offset: restored ancient forest in Hungary

CATHOLIC:

EVERY GREAT FAITH:

Buddhist Monks Ordaining Trees

…ANDJEWISH!

www.coejl.org

The Jewish Food move-ment has really taken off,

first with in CT,and then addingKayam In MD, the Jewish Farm School in NY, UrbanAdamah 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:

(for starters): -- תשחית-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)

Great, organizations like ; what about the teachings?!

III. WHAT’S IN THE GREEN TORAH

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

IN THE BEGINNING... בראשית

God took Adam, and placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, לעבדה-l’ovdah

[to work/serve/till it]-ולשמרה

u’l’sh-omrah [and to guard/

tend it].

(Gen. 2:15)

Shabbat: Limits to Consumerism

Judy Chicago, “Rainbow Shabbat”

‘Tending the Earth Together’

1 (Deut. 6:4)

Environmental Justice: A Religious Natural

Leviticus 19:16

Text Study – Green Torah

Later, RABBINIC 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 pushedBeyond probability to place consciousnessOn this cooling crust of burning rock. 

Oh praise the hand, mind, heart, soul, power or forceThat so enclosed, separated limited planets, trees, humansYet breaks all bounds and bordersTo 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’sMishnah Garden

* Organic * Local * Educational * Spiritual * Communal * Activist

Intergenerational, Too!

Donated to nearby low-income ‘fresh food desert’ – tikkun olam

ConnectionAwarenessPride & JoyKnowledgeExperienceSecurityEarthinessCluefulnessTradition

Members say the Mishnah Garden means:

From the Mishnah Garden, came Horseradish – for Passover! It’s the Real Thing…

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.orgInterfaithPowerAndLight.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/

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

http://StGabrielsParish.ca/who-we-are/green-church/

V. TACHLIS - NEXT STEPS* lower our carbon footprint,

together!

Bangladesh

India

Fiji New Orleans

A MORAL IMPERATIVE

any know thisto be an urgent, a moral, and areligious 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 BuberBorn in Austria in 1888Barely escaped Nazi

Germany in 1938Early advocate of bi-

national (Jewish & Arab) Palestine/Israel

Died in Jerusalem in 1965

God *is* Place

Buber: “love of the Creator and love of that which

God has created are finally one

and the same.”

God *is* Place – Place *is* God

Makom מקוםBioregionalism“a sense of Place”

Buber: “…real relationship to God cannot be achieved on earth if real relationships to the world and to [hu]man- kind 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... ”