What's Jewish About Protecting the Environment?

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT IS A MITZVAH!

Protecting human health and the diversity of life is a value emphasized in Torah, Talmud, and rabbinic literature throughout the ages—beginning with the commandment in Genesis for Adam and Eve to serve and protect the Garden of Eden.

I’m Jewish—why haven’t I ever heard about a connection between Judaism and the environment?

Many Jews haven’t. Despite the richness of Jewish teachings related to our responsibility to protect the environment, few Jews have been introduced to them.

COEJL is changing that.

COEJL seeks to expand the contemporary understanding of such Jewish values as tikkun olam (repairing the world) and tzedek (justice) to include the protection of both people and other species from environmental degradation. COEJL seeks to extend such traditions as social action and g’milut hasadim (performing deeds of loving kindness) to environmental action and advocacy. And shalom (peace or wholeness), which is at the very core of Jewish aspirations, is in its full sense harmony in all creation.

This [the rainbow] is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations.
     Genesis 9:12

What do Jewish sources say about the environment?

Many mitzvot (commandments) found in the Bible and laws found in the Talmud instruct us to protect what the Jewish tradition views as “God’s creation”– the totality of the physical world in which we live. Bal tashchit (do not waste) teaches us to conserve resources. Shiluach ha-keyn (chasing away the mother bird) teaches us to safeguard all species. Shmita (sabbatical year) teaches us that economic justice and ecological sustainability are intimately related. And Shabbat reminds us that we are but one strand in the web of creation. When we consider the state of the environment today in light of these mitzvot and values, it is clear that we have an urgent Jewish mission to establish a more healthy and sustainable relationship between human beings and the rest of God’s creation.

Is there a connection between Jewish spirituality and nature?

“Finding God in nature” can be a deeply Jewish experience. This isn’t some “new age” fad. It’s an ancient Jewish practice. Jewish liturgy is infused with descriptions and images of nature as an expression and embodiment of the Divine. Yet for more than a thousand years, Jews—even Judaism itself—have been distant from nature. A reconciliation between Jews and nature is needed, and it can be encouraged by holding services outdoors, highlighting themes of nature in liturgy, and even organizing Shabbat programs in the wilderness. These experiences bring the diversity of life on Earth to Jewish liturgy and Jewish spirituality, and in turn bring Judaism to life.

In order to serve God, one needs access to the enjoyment of the beauties of nature, such as the contemplation of flower-decorated meadows, majestic mountains, flowing rivers… For all these are essential to the spiritual development of even the holiest people.
     Rabbi Abraham ben Moses (1186 – 1237)

 

Click here for the full Adobe .pdf file of COEJL's 10 Year Report, "What's Jewish About Protecting the Environment?"

To learn more about Judaism and the Environment, click here for our Learn section.