By Yonatan Neril
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Praying for rain is a key part of the spiritual life of a Jew. For almost half of the year, our daily prayers include praise of G-d as the One who “makes the wind blow and the rain descend” and a request that G-d will “give dew and rain for a blessing on the face of the earth."[1] A special blessing for rain appears in the liturgy of the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, at the beginning of Israel's rainy season. We pray that the Divine bring beneficial rain, which ...
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By Evonne Marzouk
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In the Torah portion of Naso, we learn of the treatment of the Sotah, a wife who is suspected of adultery. Because her guilt cannot be proven by witnesses, but her husband suspects her and cannot forgive her without proof of her innocence, a miraculous test determines her innocence or guilt. The woman is forced to drink “bitter waters that cause curse”[1], formed of water, the dirt of the sanctuary, and the ink of an erased curse. If the woman is guilty, she will die; if ...
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By Dr. Jon Greenberg
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This week's Torah portion begins on a positive, confident note. Moshe (Moses) is commanded to transmit the Divine instructions for lighting the oil-lamp menorah to Aharon (Aaron), and to dedicate the tribe of Levi to the service of the mishkan (Tabernacle). The instructions are clear, simple, and direct, and the imagery is positive—light, bathing, cleanliness, consecration.
Yet, by the end of the parshah, the Jewish nation has degenerated ...
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By Miriam and John Schlackman
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Our world abounds with mistreatment of the earth. From climate change and ozone layer depletion to urban sprawl and water pollution, our misuse of resources is stunning. But should we be surprised, when ‘Western’ culture seems so heavily invested in the delusion that personal fulfillment can come from just one more wide-screen TV or SUV?
The good news is that the portion of Shelakh not only gives us the deepest of ...
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By Rabbi Yehudah Levi
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The portion of Korach is named for the rebellious Levite Korach who started a dispute over the issue of kedushah. The concept of kedushah is central in Judaism, and its meaning can have profound impact on the environment today. Kedushah or the corresponding adjective, kadosh, are usually translated obscurely as "sanctity" or "holy"; its real meaning is: devotion to a sublime ideal.[2]
...
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By Yonatan Neril
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This week's Torah portion, Chukat, can be viewed as a narrative about the Jewish people and water. Mayim (water in Hebrew) is mentioned twenty-two times. The portion begins with G-d’s command to mix water with the ashes of a red cow for purification. Next, Miriam dies, and the well which provided the Israelites with water (based on Miriam’s merit) disappears.[1] The Jewish people quarrel with Moses, kvetching, “There ...
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By Yonatan Neril
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This week’s Torah portion, Mattot, conveys a profound message about the ways in which we struggle to balance material and spiritual aspirations. With the Jewish people poised on the east bank of the Jordan River in what is now modern-day Jordan, the tribes of Reuven and Gad make a strange request of Moses. They ask his allowance to settle where they are rather than receiving their portion in the Land of Israel ...
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By Dr. Jon Greenberg
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In this week's Torah portion, G-d tells Moses:"Command the Children of Israel that they shall give to the Levites, from the heritage of their possession, cities for dwelling; and open space all around the cities shall you give to the Levites. The cities shall be theirs for dwelling, and their open space shall be for their animals, for their possessions, and for all the amenities of ...
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By Matthew Mausner
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“…You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.Turn and journey, and come to the mountain of the Amorites and to all its neighboring places, in the plain, on the mountain, and in the lowland, and in the south and by the seashore, the land of the Canaanites, and the Lebanon, until the great river, the Euphrates River. See, I have set the land before you; come and possess ...
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By Akiva Gersh
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There is a well-known Midrash [1] (an originally oral teaching that comes to explain the written Torah)that tells of G-d taking Adam on a tour of the world shortly after his creation. At the end of the tour, G-d says to Adam, “Now, make sure you don’t destroy this world, for there will be no one after you to come and fix it.”
We can still hear G-d speaking these words today if we listen carefully enough. Woven into the fabric of our tradition, an ...
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By Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum
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The Land of Israel is described as “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey."[1][2] These seven species were the staple foods consumed by the Jewish people in the Land of Israel during biblical times. They contain special holiness, as reflected by the unique blessing recited after ...
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By Rabbi Dr Norman Lamm
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Reprinted and adapted by Canfei Nesharim with permission from the chapter “Ecology in Jewish Law and Theology” in Faith and Doubt, © Norman Lamm, 2006, KTAV Publishing House: Jersey City, N.J. The original passage contains extensive bibliographic material and comments.
...
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By Leiba Chaya David
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The Land of Israel has been conquered and divided, and Jewish farmers have settled into the yearly cycle of growth and harvest. Now they are given a special commandment, one applying only in the Land: they must take their first fruits to the Temple to express their gratitude to G-d. The first verses ...
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By Rabbi Yuval Cherlow
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“Give ear, O Heavens, and I will speak,
and may the Earth hear the words of my mouth"[1]
The Heavens do not know how to listen, and the Earth cannot hear that which the Creator has spoken. So how are we to understand Moses’ call to the cosmos, “Give ear, O Heavens, and I will speak, and may the Earth hear the words of my mouth” at the beginning of the Torah portion Haazinu?
Some commentaries interpret the call to Heaven ...
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COEJL Director Sybil Sanchez hosted the webinar and began with a brief explanation about COEJL and how the organization is focused on moving the Jewish community forward on energy and environmental policy, networking with other Jewish environmental organizations, and promoting a religious understanding of our responsibilities as Jews towards our world.
The Panel:
Rabbi Saul J. Berman, Stern College Professor and Orthodox rabbi, began with a D’var Torah on the Jewish sources and content directly relating to environmental issues with specific references to ...
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During this time of pivotal global environmental challenge, we have a unique opportunity to work together toward a better future on the common ground of a healthy environment, green jobs, and a secure energy future. Our actions include living more sustainably, leaving a smaller carbon footprint, and repairing God's Creation by seeking to share inspiration in the cause rather than facing the struggle alone. By signing this Covenant, I commit, through a campaign facilitated by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, to join hands with a broad community of ...
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This is a segement of a larger documentary on Jewish environmental and animal rights values. This section gives a very good overview of the environmental situation in Israel for all audiences.
Time: 12:18
Audiences: Ages 12 and up
Film: Excerpt from A Sacred Duty
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CLIMATE CHANGE
Excerpt:
Adopted by the 116th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis
Houston, TX
March, 2005
Background
...The following Jewish and secular moral principles serve as the foundation for the Conference's position on the development of agreements and policies to address climate change:
Responsibilities to Future Generations: "Therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live." (Deuteronomy 30:20) Humankind has a solemn obligation to improve the world for future generations. Minimizing ...
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NEW NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY STRATEGY
Excerpt:
Adopted at the 61st General Assembly
November, 1991
Baltimore, MD
BACKGROUND
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" reminds us that we are only stewards of nature, obliged to cherish and preserve it. Jewish tradition is emphatic that human dominion over nature does not include a license to abuse the environment.
...During the last ten years, reliance on imported oil increased from less than 30% in 1980 to nearly 50% in 1990. During the same period numerous ...
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