The following overview of themes and programmatic suggestions, in conjunction with the Tu B'Shvat poster, provides educators of children and adults with the basic tools necessary for a program on Judaism and ecology.

Tu B'Shvat is a holiday with so many possibilities, and there are so many wonderful resources to help you program and teach its themes, that it's hard to decide where to begin. Nature activities, program ideas, multimedia presentations and speakers are all available -- and, so is text.

Throughout our history, we "People of the Book" have placed our sacred texts at the center of our lives. Many of these texts speak to our contemporary situation, including our connection with (and alienation from) the natural world. And a number of them are specific to trees, or are otherwise linked to Tu B'Shvat.

The Tu B'Shvat poster you received from COEJL has some two dozen such texts on it - everything you need for a successful Tu B'Shvat text program! Below are some ways of approaching and thinking about the quotations on the poster, along with specific program ideas for every age level. By reading the background on the texts and adapting one of these program ideas, you'll have a tailor-made, ready-to-go program in no time. We at COEJL hope that these materials are useful for you and would appreciate your feedback.

Ways to Approach the Text

Loosely speaking, the numerous texts you already have from the COEJL poster fall into three categories: warnings and laws about how we should live on the Earth; the interconnectedness of all life; and our awareness of God's eternal presence in the universe. Put even more clearly, the texts point us toward three realms of existence: human, global, and Divine.

Let's begin with the one source in which all three realms join: Genesis 2:15, on the bottom of the front side. In this famous verse, God bids the primordial person to take care of the archetypal ecosystem. We, as represented by Adam, have only two choices regarding the natural world, as represented by the Garden of Eden -- we can improve it (ovdah, serve/work/till) or we can maintain it (shomrah, guard/keep/tend). The implication is clear: though it's human nature to make changes in the natural world, those changes must be consonant with ovdah/shomrah.

Before we go any further, here's the first program idea: you can easily have a study session just on the first two chapters of Genesis. How are they the same, and how are they different? What does the relationship between humanity and nature look like in each story? Between humanity and God? Between humanity and God? Between God and nature? Before conceding the popular myth that Chapter 1 is anti-environment, look at a few key lines: 1:11 & 1:20, Earth as co-partner in creation; 1:22, God blesses animals; 1:29, "dominion" is tempered by vegetarianism; 1:31, the totality of creation is "very good." In short, if God thinks that the creation is very good, who are we to argue -- or to go around making devastating and unalterable changes in it?!?

The rest of the texts on the poster offer a well-rounded introduction to ecology in the Jewish tradition. To help locate the texts, I've used squares made by the poster's folds, numbered 1-8. Upper left is 1, upper right is 2, and so on.

Human Relations to the Natural World

The first category into which these texts might be placed is "human" -- warnings, laws, and suggestions about how we should live within God's creation. On the front of the poster, we have Midrash Tankhuma (Section 3-5- plant trees) and Isaiah (4-6- don't over-develop land_; on the back we have a longer excerpt from Midrash Tankhuma (7-8), laws about not wasting (5-6- Deuteronomy and S.R. Hirsch), the need for nature in our lives (6-8- Abraham ben Maimonides), and our responsibility for political and civic action (8- Shabbat).

Taken together, these texts teach us about the ecology of daily living. They show that both the societal and individual levels Judaism speaks clearly about ecology, including concern with urban planning, open spaces, civic engagement, preventing waste, planting trees, and human enjoyment of nature. Indeed, these sources demonstrate the time-honored wisdom of Judaism as a whole way of life, not just "something done in the synagogue." They show that our tradition speaks directly to even the most contemporary issues.

Additional texts: In your discussion of these sources and themes, you can also draw on countless other texts. A few choice follow-up quotations include:

On Trees: "Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai says: If you are holding a sapling in your hand, and someone says to you, 'here comes the Messiah!' -- come and plant the sapling, and afterwards go and welcome the Messiah" (Avot D'Rebbe Natan B 31).

On Land Use: "We keep carcasses and graves and tanneries 50 cubits away from the town. We only put a tannery to the east [downwind] of the town. Rabbi Akiva says in any direction except west; and distanced 50 cubits" (Bava Batra 2:9).

On Bal Tashchit (Do Not Waste): "Righteous people of good deeds...do not waste in this world even a mustard seed. They become sorrowful with every wasteful and destructive act that they see, and if they can, they use all their strength to save everything possible from destruction. But the wicked are not thus..." (Sefer Hasidim 530).

On Nature: Psalm 104, On Social Action: "Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself" (A.J. Heschel).

The Interconnectedness of all Life

The second level is "global," concerning the interconnectedness of everything on Earth. On the front of the poster these quotes are from Midrash Psalms (4- the world rejoices), S. R. Hirsch (4- all life is united), ibn Gabirol (5- the world is a tree), Ecclesiastes (4-6- cycles in nature), and Reb Nachman (6- every blade of grass sings praise to God); on the back we have Nachmanides (5- we must not cause species extinction) and Job 12 (5- we learn from animals and Earth).

These texts illustrate the beauty, value, and unity of all God's creation. Furthermore, many of them imply that all creatures have their own consciousness and their own right to exist, independent of humanity. Through these sources we see that everything has its rightful place in God's universe, and thus that our role as 'enlightened stewards' of creation involves protecting all of God's works.

Additional texts:

All of these texts are in some way rooted in the book of Psalms where every created thing, both animate and inanimate, is an independent actor which rejoices, feels, aids, and sustains. Psalms 104 and 148 are perhaps the best examples, but they abound throughout the book.

Also: "even things you see as superfluous in this world -- like flies, fleas, and mosquitoes -- they are still part of the greater scheme of the creation of the world" (Exodus Rabbah 10:1). And, "it should not be believed that all beings exist for the sake of humanity's existence...[rather] all the other beings, too, have been intended for their own sakes..." (Maimonides, Guide 3:13).

Divine Presence in Creation

The final level is our awareness of, and gratitude for, the Divine presence in the world. On the front of the poster, attesting to this presence, we have quotations from Shacharit (2- God renews creation), Deuteronomy (5- praise God for food and land), and the Siddur (4-6- blessed is the maker of creation); on the back (1) are Rosh Hashanah (God is always Ruler of the world), Psalm 24 (The Earth is God's), and Leviticus 25 (we are temporary tenants on God's land).

In this last set of texts we address the question of ownership. If everything in the world truly belongs to God, how can we use or enjoy anything? Berakhot 35a-b answers that permission is given only when we give thanks to God, which we do through prayer: "Whoever enjoys something from this world without [saying] a blessing -- it's like stealing from God's stores, since 'The Earth is God's.'" The first step is awareness of the beauty and bounty around us; from there, we move to gratitude and acknowledgement; and hopefully, the last step is toward protection of that for which we are aware and thankful. In our day and age, that final step is one of action.

Additional texts: Deuteronomy 11:13-17, which is traditionally recited daily as the second paragraph of the Sh'ma, is a classical ecological text. No other biblical passage so clearly reminds us that our enjoyment of nature's goodness is contingent on our ethical and religious behavior. Only by loving God, and by following God's laws, will we deserve to enjoy God's creation. Since this idea appears in our liturgy, it is a possible link between regular prayer services and special Tu b'Shvat programs (other such prayers include Ma'ariv Aravim / Yotzeir Or, Hashkiveinu, Psukei D'zimrah, and the Modim prayer in the Amidah).

"The Task"

Finally, a one-liner buried in the section on "Forests at Risk" deserves special mention, since it is a text which answers some of our gravest concerns about environmental action. Aren't the problems too great, too overwhelming? What can I, as one person, really accomplish? Is there any hope for the future? Pirkei Avot 2:21 affirms that each of us has a unique role that we can play -- we must play -- in our collective effort l'taken olam b'malkhut Shaddai, to repair the world under God's dominion. "It is not upon you to complete the task -- but neither are you free to desist from it."

Specific Program Suggestions

For Young 'uns:

1. Put the poster up at a distance from the children, and have them try to find all the quotations 'hidden' in the picture. As they find each text, the teacher reads and briefly explains it. Discussion can follow. Specifically, this can be a lesson in camouflage, and a starting point to discuss the wonders and intricacies of nature.
   
2. Address the three themes/levels, rather than each individual text. Even younger children can answer questions like, "How do you feel when you spend time outside, in nature?", or How do we say 'thank you' to God?"
   
3. Focus on particular texts that can be acted out, and make them come alive -- have the students be grasses praising God, or a glorious chain of love, or streams flowing into the sea, or ...
   

For Middle-Graders:

1. After going through the whole poster, have each student pick their favorite text, and say why. Vote on the top three texts. Stage a 'congressional/parliamentary/Knesset debate' over which text is the most important or most representative.
   
2. Without giving any introduction, or suggesting any groupings or themes within the texts, have the students pore over the poster. Let them identify the texts, and then link similar ones together. What groupings emerge? Can they identify key themes among these sources? How similar are their divisions to the one suggested above?
   
3. After reading the poster and the texts, focus on the "Forests at Risk." What forests and other ecosystems near you are at risk? What can the students do to help? What is our role in the destruction of forests elsewhere in the country? In the world?
   
4. Having studied the poster and discussed the three themes or realms, divide the participants up into three groups, one for each level. Have them defend their realm -- why is the human sphere most important for us to think about? Why the global? Why the divine?
   
5. Create a role play in which students use the texts, and their own thoughts and logic, to defend various positions in a given scenario. Examples: a local forest that may be torn down for a superstore or other development (roles include politicians, businesspeople, environmentalists, religious and civic leaders, unemployed locals, trees or animals personified, urbanites and suburbanites, etc.); land-use conflicts in the rain-forest; a synagogue considering a move, or an environmental audit, or doing budget allocations; and so on.
   
6. If the group has sufficient background or resources, try turning the poster into a history lesson. Have the students try to date or periodize the texts, from Bible to contemporary. Once a correct chronology is established, what trends emerge? What's similar and different between early and late texts?
   
7. Discussion starter on environmental justice: What do these texts say about our responsibility to other people, as well as to the Earth? How might we work with disenfranchised people who bear the brunt of pollution, to help clean up the environment?

For Older and Old-ish:

1. Adapt any of the above ideas -- they might work for high school, college, or adult education!
   
2. Critique the picture, understanding art as text. What message does the picture convey? Where and who are the people? Are the trees or houses more central? What about colors? How would your picture differ from this one? Etc...
   
3. Based on the two dozen or so sources here, try to define a comprehensive Jewish environmental ethic. What ideas, laws, images, or particular texts are central? What themes are missing from the limited number of quotations given here? What other texts that you know, which are not printed on this poster, might inform this effort?
   
4. Create your own text. Look at the style and content of a particular grouping of the texts in front of you -- by period, by topic, etc. -- and put yourself in the role of author, rabbi, decisor, and philosopher. How would your texts differ from the existing ones?
   
5. Study more text! Sources abound in Shomrei Adamah's Garden of Choice Fruit, and can be culled from COEJL's To Till and to Tend. Or find your own, since literally thousands of Jewish texts can be read, or re-read, through an ecological lens.

Two Stories for Teens and Adults

Two unique and powerful, though difficult, Talmudic stories follow. They both involve trees, and are therefore germane to Tu B'Shvat; they also both involve property rights and conflicts between the individual and the public good, which are hot topics in today's philosophical and political debates.

1. Bab Batra 23a: Rav Yosef had a grove of 'taali' palm trees, under which [artisans, cuppers, drainers of blood] would come and sit. But ravens came, ate the blood, and went up to the branches of the 'taali' palm trees, and ruined the dates. Rav Yosef said to them, "get these croakers [noisy birds] out of here for me!"

Abaye said to him, "but isn't this indirect causality" [i.e. you can't tell them what to do]? He said to him, "thus says Rav Tuvi bar Matanah: 'this says that [even] indirect causality of damage is forbidden.'"

But didn't Rav Yosef allow [them to work there]? Rav Nachman said in the name of Raba bar Abuha -- "there is no legal title to things which cause damage."

And hasn't it already been said about this, that Rav Mari said, "in the case of smoke," and Rav Zavid said, "in the case of a toilet?" [Rav Yosef said,] since I'm sensitive, these [noises/damages] are like smoke or a toilet to me.

From this ruling, the great codifier Maimonides (1135-1204; MT Hilchot Shechenim 11:5) derives that any work which attracts birds which distrub neighbors by their noise must be stopped or removed. Moreover, "an actual case of this sort came before Rabbi Yizchak bar Sheshet ('Ribash' -- one of the great halachic authorities in Spain ad later in North Africa in the early 14th century). He articulated an important principle, with great relevance to our present topic. That is, whatever the cost, 'a person is not permitted to save himself from injury by causing injury to his neighbor.'" (Ribash Resonsa 196, in A. Carmell, Challenge, 1976, pp. 503-4)]

II. Bava Metzia 107b-108a: Rav Yehuda said: [a width of] four cubits next to the canal belong to those who live by the canal; [four cubits] by the river belong to everyone. Rabbi Ammi announced: cute down [vegetation or trees] in the should-width of the barge-drawing animals, on both sides of the river...

Rabbah bar Rav Huna owned a forest on the banks of the river. They said to him, cut down [the trees within four cubits]. He said to them, "let those above and below me cut, and after that, I'll cute..." [for if they would not clear their paths, it would be useless for him to do so.]

Rabbah bar Rav Nachman was traveling in a boat. He saw this forest on the bank of the river. He said to them, "Whose is it?" They said to him, "It's Rabbah bar Rav Huna's." He said (Ezra 9:2): "And the hand of princes and rulers came first in this treachery." [it must be the next-door nobles fault!] He said to them, "cut it down, cut it down!"

Rabbah bar Rab Huna came and saw that it had been cut down. He said: Whoever cut down this forest, may their own branches be cut down."

It's said that in all the years of Rabbah bar Rav Huna, none of Rabba bar Rav Nachman's children lived.