Wake Up Call
With all the headaches and pain, the loss of life and livelihoods, and the sheer destruction over the last few months due to environmental disasters, one may actually begin to glean some hope that perhaps now the time has come for us all as Jews and citizens of the world to awaken and realize our immediate actions are needed to improve the state of the global environment, not only for ourselves, but for our future generations. We must ask ourselves, “What kind of future do we want for our children and grandchildren?” We must also ask ourselves,“What kind of world do we want to live in now?” This year even before we hear the shofar blasts, there is a ringing down from the heavens that clearly calls to us to change our ways of living this minute: disastrous oil spills, gigantic deadly floods, tremendous forest fires, remarkable loss of glaciers and habitat, widespread droughts, and the highest global temperatures ever in planetary history are shouting out their voices. This should be our wake up call. This should be the time we, the Jewish people – the chosen people – seek Tikkun Olam, the correction of the world, for ourselves and for our children.
The coming High Holy Days provide time for reflection of who we are, what we have done in our lives, how we treat others, and a means to seek forgiveness for our actions. Perhaps this year we will also consider our impact on the well-being of the planet in our personal deliberations to be forgiven and inscribed in the book of life. Perhaps this year we will also consider how we will provide a safe, healthy environment for our families and the future generations. Perhaps this year the shofar will indeed wake us from our slumber so that we, the Jewish people, may embody the task given us by God to be the light unto nations.
Let’s Start Here
Rabbis Across Spectrum Energize Communities Environmentally for High Holy Days. On August 9th, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) convened a national conversation involving rabbis from five Jewish religious streams – Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Reform, and Renewal – discussing Jewish environmental resources and sermon materials for the High Holy Days and parshat Noach. COEJL has created a collection of resources from the call for distribution to all rabbinic leaders and communities as part of its broader Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign (www.coejl.org/covenant). The full resource sheet is available at: http://www.coejl.org/TISHREI_5771.pdf. Go to www.coejl.org for more information and resources.
‘Big-Picture Eco-Judiasm’ – or, ‘What I Did on (One Day of) Summer Vacation’
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb delivered a beautiful and uplifting dvar at a recent COEJL Governance meeting, on August 11th, 2010. Below is an excerpt. Click here for the full text.
“Sunrise is always a ‘spiritual’ moment. It is somewhat richer since I have the liturgical language of the “Yotzeir Ohr” blessing for it – but “wow,” or for that matter awed silence, also [does] the trick quite well. (It happens that even my experience of “wow” is deeper since I have A.J. Heschel’s language of “radical amazement” for it, though the experience itself remains more powerful even than his rich description of it). Many folks in my orbit know “Yotzeir Ohr”; many don’t. Yet all know “wow,” all know stunned stillness. In our Jewish environmental and educational efforts, we must do more to touch the folks who don’t know from Yotzeir or from Heschel, but do know from some aspect of our wide-ranging Jewish civilization”…
“…What we too often fall back on — a few texts shared around an indoor table with folks from the vaunted minority which is already plugged into some facet of our work and our network – may be helpful and even uplifting, but it won’t break us out. Our recent past has been spent in a relative cloister, mostly within established institution, reaching “institutionalized Jews.” But the whole Jewish world (kol ha’olam kulo, the whole world, actually) needs what we of COEJL have to offer. And we are uniquely positioned to bring it not only to the decision-makers within the organized Jewish community, but also to the many influential Jews outside of the ‘four cubits’ of the agency world.”
Help for Pakistan
One fifth of the entire land mass of Pakistan is under water, which according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, (UN.org) comprises at least 160,000 square kilometers and is an area larger than more than half the countries of the world. According to government estimates, 15.4 million people are affected, with at least 6 million in need of food, shelter, clean water and health care and 1,600 confirmed dead. Secretary-General Ban has stated, “That is more than the entire population hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Kashmir earthquake, Cyclone Nargis and the earthquake in Haiti, combined.” Climatologists are now openly saying that this devastating flooding is likely the worst natural disaster to date attributable to climate change. Express your Jewish voice on climate change by joining COEJL’s Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign www.coejl.org/covenant , and by contributing relief support for Pakistani flood victims via the websites of the American Jewish World Service and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
BP Gulf Disaster – Day 128
Debate continues over a controversial government report regarding the long-term effects of the BP Gulf Disaster and how much oil is still in the ocean. The report claimed that 3/4 of the oil “evaporated or dissolved” but other scientific research teams claim that the numbers were greatly exaggerated. (NY Times) Just last week, Representative Ed Markey (MA) held a rare August recess hearing about the report. Bill Lehr, a top NOAA scientist, said the report was not peer-reviewed and that in fact about 3/4 of the oil is still in the environment. (Mother Jones) Charles Hopkinson, Director of Georgia Sea Grant, said “One major misconception is that oil (that) has dissolved into water is gone, and therefore, harmless. The oil is still out there, and it will likely take years to completely degrade.” (Politico) An oceanographer from Florida State University used satellite imagery to measure oil slicks and found that only 10% of the oil has actually been removed from the ocean. (Wall Street Journal) Meanwhile, new evidence shows that a 22-mile-long (35-kilometer-long), 650-foot-high (200-meter-high) pocket of oil has persisted for months at depths of 3,600 feet (1,100 meters), according to a team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts. (National Geographic) For the latest on the BP claims process, click here: MSNBC
1Sky Open Policy Letter
On August 6th, “The Skywriter” 1Sky.org’s blog posted “An open letter to all people and organizations working to combat global warming.” It is an open policy letter that explains where we are as an environmental movement, why we have not been able to succeed according to our goals thus far, and what we need to do to move forward towards success. http://www.1sky.org/openletter
Green Israel Summit 4: Green Renewal Shabbat!
(Green Zionism)
When: Shabbat Noach, Oct. 8 — 10, 2010
Where: Eden Village Camp, just north of New York City
Who: Young Jewish environmentalists, ages 18-40 *
As we read about the Biblical flood and the renewal of the earth on Shabbat Noach, we will learn how to renew ourselves and the environment. Celebrate Shabbat Noach with stories, lectures and discussions in a welcoming, pluralistic setting. Explore the Jewish back-to-the-land movement and what Zionism means today. Learn about energy conservation, population growth, suburban sprawl, Negev preservation, and environmentalism during a time of war. Meet other young Jewish environmentalists from across North America. Green Israel Summit (GIS) 4 is run by the Green Zionist Alliance and co-sponsored by COEJL, the American Zionist Movement and Hazon.
Hazon Bike Ride
Hazon is hosting the 10th Annual New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride on Labor Day Weekend, September 3-6, 2010. The NY Ride Jewish Environmental Bike Ride is more than a ride on a bike – it is a four-day event that includes a Shabbat retreat at Workmen’s Circle’s Camp Kinder Ring, a trip to Camp Eden Village, the new Jewish environmental summer camp is also included. More importantly, the event raises money for cutting-edge Jewish environmental projects in the United States and Israel. Learn more here. (Hazon)
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies “With Earth and Each Other: A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East,”
On November 14th, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies based at Kibbutz Ketura (www.arava.org) is hosting “With Earth and Each Other: A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East,” with top speakers and performers, celebrating AIES’s groundbreaking work and its larger commitment to both ecological and communal coexistence. Visit www.withearthandeachother.org for more information.
