To Till and to Tend

This piece was written by Alan Elfanbaum, a longtime member of the Jewish Environmental Initiative, St. Louis.

Awaken, awaken to the sacred sounds of the Shofar, Oh Keepers of the Garden

It cries in mourning for the numberless creatures
of earth, sea and sky that are no more.
It cries for the great forests, meadows and
wetlands that are slowly dying.
It cries for the earth itself which has been
stripped and plundered beyond recognition
It cries for its Children who refuse to listen
as the sounds of life are slowly being stilled

Awaken, awaken, to the sacred sounds of the Shofar, Oh Keepers of the Garden

And ask forgiveness for what we have done.
For the sins that we have committed in spewing noxious
pollutants into the air that we breathe
that descend to the pristine lakes and forests beyond
that rise to the protective and nurturing layers far above.

And for the sins that we have committed in pouring poisonous
wastes into our clear streams and broad rivers
that flow into mighty seas and oceans beyond
that poison the deep waters where life first began.

For the sins that we have committed in burying the
earth under billions of tons of refuse and garbage
in destroying the living soil with herbicides and pesticides
in creating radioactive wastes that persist for millenniums.

And for the sins that we have committed in cutting down
the ancient forests, home to countless unnamed species
in culling the oceans empty of whales and dolphins
in hunting the earth barren of elephants and lions.

For the sins that we have committed in shackling
animals in fedid and overcrowded factory farms
in caging them for years in sterile laboratories
in displaying them in zoos for our amusement.

And for all of these, O God of forgiveness

Forgive us
Pardon us
Grant us atonement