Divrei Torah and Teachings
The previous generations mastered the keys to unlock all the gates of the worlds above. But the time has come to smash the locks!
Blessing from the first published Tu Bish'vat Seder
From the 16/17th century seder manual, P'ri Eitz Hadar, based on the Kabbalah of the four worlds. The original seder calls on us to bring blessing to all creation.Shechitah notes
"This one that didn’t sin was slaughtered..."Eco-Torah on Sukkot
Teachings about Sukkot exploring the symbolism of the lulav species, the meaning of the Hoshanot prayers, the Tishrei cycle, the rules about s'khakh, and the waving of the lulav, in the light of ecology and the climate crisis.Hayom Harat Olam: Rosh Hashanah and Our Planet
A unique reading of the words we say when we hear the shofar on Rosh Hashanah.Clouds, Yom Kippur, and Climate Change: In the Balance
Are our environmental "sins" are like an 'av, a thick cloud that will storm us, or like an 'anan, a cloud that ultimately will pass on?Who says, I will sin and then atone...
One who says, I will sin and I will return, I will sin and I will returnthere is not enough in his hand to do t'shuvah...
Ramak: "Love your fellow species like yourself"
Moshe Cordovero on the need to extend human ethical principles to animals and other lviing creatures.God's "body"
Heikhalot Rabbati on seeing the cosmos as the body of God.The Torah's Only "Inalienable Right": for the Land
Reb Duvid's Tikkun article on the intersection of human rights and ecology. How can human rights become part of ecology? "Human Rights and Ecology" breaks new theological ground, and includes a section on the Bedouin.Liberation and the Land
"An Earth Covenant Perspective on Human Rights" taught at the first Rabbis for Human Rights Conference in NYC.Vashti is Shekhinah
The Izhbitzer rebbe on Vashti the queen.Longer meditations on Pri Etz Hadar
Imagine a Jewish practice which has the purpose of restoring all the species and creatures, and all the sparks they contain, to the fullness of blessing.Chanukah v. Purim: Awakening from Above
The dreidel v. the grogger.The Existential Dreidel
Rebbe Nachman's explanation for why we spin the Dreidel. Those letters on the Dreidel mean something completely different than you thought. Mind-blowing...Redemption In Darkness
Some reflections on the meaning of Chanukah.Rambam and the Earth
Maimonides' Guide is the foundation for any Jewish ecotheology.from The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature