Share Jewish Environmental Ideas with COEJL
Would you like to share some ideas with COEJL? We are seeking Jewish environmental themed cartoons (New Yorker magazine style), Jewish environmental slogans, creative reduce/reuse/recycle tips, and reflective essays (350-400 words) on an inspiring outdoor experience when you connected Judaism and the environment. Please send to Barbara Lerman-Golomb, COEJL's communications director, and include your contact information.

Animal Rites vs. Animal Rights: An Eco-Kosher Alternative to Tradition
The day before Yom Kippur, Orthodox Jews perform kapores -- a ritual killing of a chicken to remind people of their sins against God. Some Jews say the act is barbaric and inhumane, and goes against a law in the Torah, tzaar baalei chayim, which says one is not supposed to cause pain to a living creature. Rabbis say that when a chicken is not available, it's acceptable to find a substitute, such as a live fish or money. Visit the Jews of the Earth web site to read more about an eco-kosher alternative to kapores.

Caring for Creation: A Jewish Response to Preserving Biodiversity
In the Noah story (Genesis 6:9), God instructs Noah to preserve all the creatures of the world, not only those obviously useful to humankind. The rabbis understood that we do not know God's purpose for every creature and that we should not regard any of them as superfluous. "Our Rabbis said: Even those things that you may regard as completely superfluous to Creation -- such as fleas, gnats and flies -- even they were included in Creation; and God's purpose is carried through everything -- even through a snake, a scorpion, a gnat, a frog" (Breishit Rabbah 10:7). In environmental terms, every species has an inherent value beyond its instrumental or useful value to human beings.

There are 1.8 million known species of animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and other kinds of life and perhaps from four to forty million species yet to be discovered. The current extinction rate is at least 1,000 species per year, almost all as a result of human activity. The earth is experiencing a loss of biodiversity that has not been seen since the disappearance of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Read more of Rabbi Lawrence Troster's Jewish response to biodiversity.

Tofu BBQ
If you're a vegetarian, do the dog days of summer get your goat when you're at a barbeque? Don't have a cow and settle for Tofu Pups or Gardenburgers when you can be a regular, guilt-free gourmet.

BBQ tofu recipes Vegetarian BBQ ideas

Many Jewish environmentalists consider becoming vegetarian or vegan for health, moral, or environmental reasons. Learn more at: the EcoKosher Network, at Jewish Vegetarians of North America, or sign up for the VeggieJews listserv. Remember, when your diet is meat-free, be sure to stock up on protein, iron, and B-vitamins commonly found in meat. Be creative with your choices of soy products, beans, and greens.

Israel: A Biodiversity Hotspot
Despite its small size (about the same as New Jersey), Israel is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. Over 700 animal species and almost 3,000 plant species make their home in Israel, from the Red Sea coral reefs to the oak forests on Mt. Meron, from Mediterranean sand dunes to tropical oases abutting the Dead Sea. The intensity and scale of human impact in recent years now threaten Israel's biodiversity. To learn more about the environmental challenges in Israel, click here for an article by Daniel Orenstein of Brown University's Center for Environmental Studies, or visit the Jewish Global Environmental Network (JGEN) web site. And please join JGEN's email list.

Eco Dance Performance Inspires COEJL Led Panel Discussion on Creative Jewish Responses to the Environment
The Jerusalem-based Vertigo Dance Group performed the U.S. premiere of Birth of the Phoenix in Riverside Park, New York City, July 26-28. The dance is about the relationship between humans and the natural environment and is performed outside on loose soil within an open geodesic dome made from sustainable or recycled material. Like the mythological Phoenix rising from the ashes, the entire setting disappears after each performance and is renewed at its next location, making no permanent impact on the physical space. Being outdoors "exposes the audience and performers to the beautiful and at times challenging visual, auditory, and sensory stimuli of the surrounding environment." On July 27, the evening kicked off with a picnic sponsored by Hazon and was followed by a lively panel discussion on Creative Jewish Responses to the Environment: Jerusalem and NY. The panel included Vertigo choreographer Noah Wertheim, Nigel Savage of Hazon, and Noam Dolgin of Teva Learning Center and the Green Zionist Alliance. COEJL's Barbara Lerman-Golomb moderated the session and emphasized that our creative Jewish responses should focus on connecting to the environment, as well as protecting it.