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Tithe it All, Yes All
By Barak Gale
(An adaptation of Deuteronomy 14:22-23, the basis for the Talmudic designation of Tu B'Shvat as the New Year of the Trees.)
"You are to tithe, yes, tithe, all the produce of your seed-sowing, of what comes forth from the field, year after year ..."
Tithe all the fruit of your labors, income, energies, skills, knowledge.
Tithe for My orphaned species whose mother-forests have been chopped down, the isolated stands of Dogwood, the ancient Redwood.
Tithe for My widowed sea bird who can no longer find her nest.
Tithe for My impoverished earth--poisoned, stripped, scarred, dishonored.
Tithe for My impoverished children suffering with asthma who are forced to breathe foul air.
Tithe for the sake of My future tenants.
Tithe it all, yes all, to preserve the field from which it came.
Tithe by working your compost pile, and then watch My amazing worms squiggle in action.
Tithe it by surprising Me with yet greater mileage in your vehicles, that I may kvell in your ingenuity.
Tithe by bicycling or taking the train to work, and then notice My trees swaying in the wind.
Tithe it by bragging about the post consumer content of your paper, rather than its cranberry or pumpkin color.
Tithe by using less, by doing with less.
Tithe it all, "in order that you may learn to hold the Eternal, your God, in awe, all the days."
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