Who Speaks for the Trees?
The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and placed there the human being who had been formed. And from the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad. Genesis 2:8-9

Stories of trees, and the responsibility of human beings to care for them, make up a powerful and recurring theme in Jewish liturgy. We are responsible to care for trees as we would for own children. Like all living things, trees are part of the holiness of creation and must be treasured as such. Sadly, the Bush Administration recently announced its intention to roll back protections from more than 58 million acres of national forests in 39 states, potentially opening these public lands to logging and other destructive activities. The Administration is requiring state governors to petition to protect lands that until now had been under Federal protection. The U.S. Forest Service has already received more than 2.5 million comments on the Roadless Rule, 95 percent of which favor the strongest protections for national forests. But this has not deterred the Administration from trying to permit logging in these forests. Before the weakened rules can take effect, the Forest Service must invite a new round of public comments on its proposal. Please take this opportunity to declare your support for protecting our National Forests.

Remembering the Lessons of Tisha B'Av
Recently, we observed Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av. On this date, Jews recall the First Temple destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The day is observed by a 24-hour fast and by reading the book of Eicha (Lamentations) from the Bible and by chanting kinot (poems of lament) over the fallen Temples and the destruction of Jerusalem. Tisha B'Av is still relevant for us because it not only commemorates specific historical events but also reminds us that we live in an unredeemed world in which most evil is caused by human action. When war, injustice, and human greed bring about environmental degradation, we are forgetting the lessons of Tisha B'Av: that self-idolatry and baseless hatred for others not only destroys other people, it destroys creation itself. The rabbis once said that one who mourns for the destruction of the Temple will live to see its rebuilding.

Join in the Dawn Chorus
During the summer, when the sun rises early we are often woken by the singing of birds. Have you ever wondered why birds sing at sunrise? Ornithologists call the birds' singing the "Dawn Chorus." Among the explanations for this chorus is that the birds are proclaiming to the world that they survived the night, and that the branch they are on is still theirs. The chorus is like the prayers that we traditionally recite upon awaking from sleep in which we thank God for being alive and that our bodies continue to work in wondrous ways. The Psalmist saw the whole of life as a Creation Chorus that praises God through our very existence. In Psalm 148, every part of creation -- from the highest heavens and the landscape to all of human society -- is joined together to praise God. When we don't hear the music of creation, we have cut ourselves off from the basic roots of our spirituality and wonder. The chorus is diminished when a voice becomes extinct. Every year, more than 1,000 species of plant or animal life become extinct, largely due to human activity. Not since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million year ago have so many species gone silent. Humanity is not the only voice in creation that God cares for. We have an obligation to be stewards of the Earth and all its inhabitants. Let us fill our role so that we may awaken again every morning to the Dawn Chorus.

An Organic Prayer
Here is an "ecological kavannah" which can be read before eating organically-grown food:

For the sake of the earth, for the sake of generations to come, and for the sake of all the waters and creatures and plants,

For the sake of all who are hungry, for the sake of thankfulness, and for the sake of our own souls,

May we have the wisdom and courage to protect and restore, and not diminish, the integrity of creation.

May we always open our hearts and our hands to share the bounty of the Earth with all who are in need.

Take a moonlight cruise with COEJL Santa Cruz
On August 1, Santa Cruz COEJL hosted its 4th annual Tu B'Av Moonlight Kayaking trip through Elkhorn Slough, California. Jews consider Tu B'Av a Jewish Valentine's Day - a holiday of romance that recalls when the prohibition of marrying outside the tribe was lifted. In addition, COEJL Santa Cruz made the connection to resource conservation, and ultimately to hope.