Climate
On Sept 23, the UN convenes its historic Climate Summit in NYC. On Sept 245, of course, we gather and pray. But first, on Sun Sept 21, we gather and march! Nearly 100 Jewish groups, including COEJL and the JCPA, are among the sponsors of the People's Climate March. This is to make sure you realize Know that climate change will be in the news just as Rosh Hashanah rolls around. Kavanot: At Slichot (Havdalah) we will go'separate' from mavdil tonight between apathy and move toand action, as the Jewish community mobilizes on climate; at Slichot and YK (Vidui) we acknowledge how we have failed the Earth through multiple sins/avonot against Creation, against the poor who are most vulnerable, against dorot ha'ba'ot, and thus against the One. At Yotzer, we celebrate the Divine as m'chadesh ma'aseh bereshit, and are obliged to serve as God's hands in this effort. At RH Musaf, Hayom Harat Olam is a call to see how the Earth is doing compared to last or next birthday, and thus a call to action, as is the shofar. At YK Torah reading (in congregations reading Dt 30:19), uvacharta ba'chayim is davka l'ma'an tichyeh not just ata, but zarecha, and we must choose life for our descendants by taking climate change seriously. At Sukkot, a holiday which revolves around water (arba minim, simchat bet sho'e'vah, "on sukkot the world is judged for water", etc), we note how climate change drives extreme weather including too little (drought) and too much (hurricane/flood) water at once.
Shmita
The biblical count continues, as we enter the shmita year with Rosh Hashanah -- the time of release; of letting land and people and animals rest.; W eof annulling debts and promoteing equality; weof developing our communal and personal resilience; weof intertwineing our economic and social and spiritual/religious ideals. The wonderful website of Jewcology gives examples of this. Though few argue for a complete cessation of agriculture today, an incredible movement, housed by our friends at Hazon, is seeking to reclaim its core values, and engender a global Jewish conversation about them. Kavanot: At Erev RH, we welcome to the shmita year, name its core values, and delve into those values.any one of them. InAt Avinu Malkeinu, shmita puts the "chadesh" in "chadesh aleinu shanah tovah" this shanah. At Malkhuyot, shmita is an example of how we bend our will and desire in the face of divine sovereignty, and of values larger than our short-term self-interest. At Shabbat Shuva, shmita is tshuvah on a grand global scale, a re-orienting of social priorities in directions that matter. At Kol Nidrei, we acknowledge our own imperfections and those of our efforts and initiatives, with shmita as an example of something to be imperfectly but continually applied. At YK Haftarah, Isaiah 57-58 is all about aligning our ritual life with our ethical life, which shmita does so well.
Israel
We are all still touched and scarred by the events of the summer, and our connection with Israel will be lifted up in a host of ways. Even as we are drawn inexorably to political and military realities, the social and spiritual life of Israel continues (The Israel Action Network -JFNA's and JCPA's project is one important resource here). Our ahavat Yisrael includes love for the land itself, and all its inhabitants. We note the important Bagatz ruling just last week against fracking in the Emek Ha'Elah, and the national conversation now unfolding about shmita and its implications. Kavanot: At Erev RH (or throughout the holiday) note the implications of Shmita on Israeli life at the shuk or makolet, but also the Knesset-level and social efforts to raise 'shmita-consciousness' during 5775. In the At Yotzer (Or Hadash al Tzion ta'ir), Israel is a 'light' by being a leader in sustainable light via solar technology [link if we can find one-Yossi Abramowitz should get us there]. In theAt RH1 Torah reading, environmental issues in general and water (a key shmita theme) in particular are a big part of what still unites the cousins whose separation is told in Gen. 21. In theAt RH2 Torah reading (v'shavu vanim ligvulam), the restoration of our people goes with the restoration of the land, and those in Israel (e.g. the Heschel Center working on that need our support. At YK PM, the Jonah haftarah speaks to the need for Israel, and Jews, to work for justice and sustainability even as far afield as Tarshish.
Justice
Many in the Jewish community have long embraced social justice work, but are newer to environmental efforts. Our own kehillot, like the JCPA (for whom the Confronting Poverty Initiative is a priority right alongside COEJL), remain places of concern and involvement on a host of issues, and it's best when these issues are seen in their larger systemic context. Green angles abound throughout our vital social justice agenda. Kavanot: At Selichot or YK (Vidui), a host of "modern Al Het" readings ask why we've not done more for others and for the Earth, modeling that conjoined agenda. At RH, we hail the dawning shmita as tradition's clearest integration of ecology (land and animals rest) with social justice (the poor are released, debt annulment). Unetaneh Tokef describes cosmic implications (ba'shofar gadol yitaka, v'kol d'mama daka) of personal and interpersonal reckoning, then celebrates tzedakah / righteous action for lessening the decree's severity. At Shabbat Shuvah (or any tshuvah teaching), cite the mishnah about YK atoning for sins bein adam la'Makom but not l'chavero, then ask what happens when the chaverim against whom we sin are billions of global poor, and billions of future inhabitants of a planet denuded by our actions. At the piyut L'El Orech Din, reflect on how law and priority-setting among issues looks from on high; how large might the degradation of the Earth's vital systems loom, from the Divine bench? In Sukkot (including Hoshana Rabba when nature figures prominently), our vulnerability is both to the elements (whose potential threat we exacerbate via climate change) and to the injustices and dangers posed by those around us; the chag draws us toward conjoined social and environmental concern.
COEJL
COEJL, a project of the JCPA, representing the broadest swath of American Judaism, is hard at work behind the scenes, providing a Jewish communal voice on environmental issues, and helping to effect greater awareness within our community about the urgency of Creation Care. For updates on our Climate Action Campaign efforts in five major cities so far with more to come, and much more, click here. Donations of course are always welcome too. Above all, we seek and welcome the steps you take toward sustainability -- do let us know about your best initiatives on carbon reduction, eco-education, advocacy, best green practices, and more; we'll highlight them, and help encourage others to follow suit.
