"And all of this I have created for you; therefore take great care that you do not damage and destroy My world, for if you do there is no one else to put right what you have destroyed." -Kohelet Rabbah 7:13
Dear JCOGS family,
Happy Earth Day to you all! I had planned today to write about our natural human connection to the earth. About our tradition’s view of land as holy. About our JCOGS Green Team’s amazing work in creating our first ever Mitzvah Garden. About our Jewish commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
Then, Tuesday night, Alison and I were visibly moved while sitting at our kitchen table after the kids were asleep. We were listening to the family of George Floyd share their bittersweet reflections after the jury’s conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. And, too, the reality that more Black men were killed even as the trial wore on.
Yet while the double scourge of racism and the climate crisis each deserve their due, they are far from separate issues. Not in lived reality: Black and Brown people across this sacred globe have and will feel the effects of climate change more than most others, in large part because of industrial nations’ overuse of earth’s resources. But also, these issues are one in the same, in the eyes of our tradition:
וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃ YHVH G-d formed Adam from the dust of the earth/Adamah. G-d blew into the nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
Created in G-d’s image, the first human being was fashioned from earth itself. Medieval commentator Rashi says that G-d collected the dust from the four corners of the earth, so that no one can say that their humanity—wherever they live—precedes or is superior to another.
G-d gave Adam the gift of the breath of life, and there, lying on G-d’s earth for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, Georgle Floyd said “I can’t breathe” 30 times in his final moments.
All of G-d’s creations are holy—every living thing growing on the ground or born in the animal kingdom or human womb. Each of us is a world unto ourselves. None of us are disposable. Nor our planet.
We are each responsible to make sure that our tradition’s teachings become a lived reality. Here are some ways you can get involved:
The same day our Green Team will begin building our Mitzvah Garden at JCOGS, the Vermont Jewish community hosts a virtual kick-off and call to action event this Sunday, April 25 at 7pm to explore Shmita, the Torah’s concept of one year of release and renewal.
There will be a three part Shmita educational series with renown teachers to learn and act together about issues of climate, economic, and racial justice, Mondays at 7pm:
May 3: Climate Justice with special guest Rabbi Natan Margalit (one of my rabbis from Boston)
May 10: Racial Justice with special guest Rabbi Binyamin Murray
May 24: Economic Justice with special guests Rabbi Jan Salzman and Shana Ratner
