Dear Friends,

With the imminent arrival of Earth Day on Monday, April 22, 2013, we have collected a sampling of BJPA holdings that reflect and enrich the contemporary Jewish discourse on the environment. Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970, is now a 43 year-old tradition. But as our writers point out, Jewish concerns for, and sense of sacredness for, the earth is a 4,000 year-old tradition, as old as Judaism itself. Significantly, the first line of the Torah reads, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
 
To be sure, the translation of the Hebrew of Genesis 1:1 is a matter of some dispute. But it is indisputable that as human beings we have a compelling interest in caring for the only earth we inhabit, and that as Jews we have contributed to compelling thinking about the environment, our responsibilities, and possibilities for action. A sampling of that thinking appears in this BJPA Reader's Guide to Environmental Issues, which we hope will promote this vital conversation.