SUKKOT:

Sukkot and Ecology:
Harvesting Food for Healthy People and a Healthy Planet

The centrality of Sukkot was recognized in antiquity, when it was called "Ha-Chag," the festival. Sukkot both reminds us of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness of Sinai and serves as a symbol for our vision of Eden, a world of plenty in which the bounty of the earth flourishes around us.

The inwardness of the High Holy Days gives way to turning outward to gather the harvest and our community around us.

There is no more appropriate time than Sukkot for us as Jews to consider the consequences of what we eat and how we grow our food for our own health and the health of our planet.

We are all familiar with the saying "We are what we eat." This is not just a catchy motto, but the truth of how our bodies work. The food we eat supports all our activity and can affect our health dramatically in both positive and negative ways.

Unfortunately, most of the food we eat is grown with many chemicals, particularly pesticides, which can be harmful both to human health and wildlife. Though pesticides are much better regulated today than they were 30 or 40 years ago, there is continuing evidence that pesticides continue to harm humans, particularly children and farm workers. Children eat more food and drink more water per pound of body weight than adults. And there is mounting evidence that exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals in utero may be responsible for increasing rates of certain childhood cancers and birth defects.

Sukkot is an opportunity to begin to take responsibility for protecting our health, the health of farm workers, and the health of the environment.

Sukkot and Ecology: Text study

Sukkot and Ecology: Actions for the Home

Sukkot and Ecology: Program Suggestions for Synagogues and Schools