By Rabbi Yonatan Neril, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development
“Rabbi Amorai asked: ‘Where is the Garden of Eden?' He replied: ‘It is on earth.'”
Two recent hurricanes— Helene and Milton—impacted millions of people, animals, trees, and insects in the South. Hurricane Helene preceded Rosh Hashana, and Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida before Yom Kippur, as the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico. At a time when Jews engage in spiritual introspection, these hurricanes can serve as a wake up call for the ecological crises that we are collectively responsible for.
I appreciated speaking recently at Congregations Darkhei Noam and Ramath Orah during NYC climate week. As the founder and director of the Jerusalem-based Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, I’m working to unleash the power of clergy and faith communities as change agents for climate action. The faith community is a sleeping giant in regards to climate action. There exists a significant need to engage religious communities on climate change. A widespread view among religious adherents is that religion is separate from ecology and climate change. Most Torah, Bible and Koran study, teaching and preaching occur without relation to the greatest crisis facing humanity today—the climate crisis.
Jewish tradition contains several core values that relate deeply to addressing the climate crisis.
First, Jewish teachings emphasize consuming in moderation since people find true satisfaction in spirituality, community, and family. Spiritual living should bring consciousness to our consumption. To rise to this ultimate challenge for human civilization, we have to raise our spiritual awareness and maturity. A person can exist at varying levels of soul awareness, but a sustainable planet will require that we learn to live and thrive at higher levels of spiritual consciousness.
Second, Jewish wisdom highlights the importance of foresight and long-term thinking. About 1,500 years ago, the rabbis of the Talmud taught: “Who is the wise person? The person who can see the effect of their actions.” We can prioritize the future of our children and grandchildren above our own standard of living. Spiritual awareness can help us recognize the link between our actions and the larger problem, while cultivating foresight, concern, and change.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Jewish tradition embodies hope. Some people—out of terror, anger, or depression—despair of our ever returning to personal and planetary balance and sustainability. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory wrote, “Hope is a human virtue, but one with religious underpinnings. At its ultimate it is the belief ... [that God] is mindful of our aspirations, with us in our fumbling efforts, that He has given us the means to save us from ourselves; that we are not wrong to dream, wish and work for a better world. Hope is the knowledge that we can choose; that we can learn from our mistakes and act differently next time.”
Many people fear that humans have irrevocably destroyed the ecology of “Eden” on earth. But God created the world out of love for life on earth. We can find in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition deep inspiration for fulfilling the blessing of all life, for changing course to preserve God’s creation, and for sustaining human life in harmony with nature and all of God’s creatures. Jewish teaching can reveal a spiritually grounded vision for both long-term sustainability and immediate environmental mindfulness and action.
Some people believe religion is separate and distinct from ecology or care for God’s creation. Most Hebrew Bible study, teaching, and preaching occur without addressing the ecological crisis, the greatest crisis facing humanity. An ancient Jewish commentary on the Hebrew Bible, the Midrash, teaches that "God gazed into the Hebrew Bible and created the world." The Divine teaching is a blueprint for all of creation and instructs us about living sustainably in the world God created.
Applying Jewish teachings to stewardship of God’s creation is not just an idea for today, but essential for a future in which we achieve a balanced, worldwide ecosystem and thrive on a planet viable for all life. Jewish wisdom can provide important messages for striving to find balance, and relate to a range of critical, contemporary ecological challenges, such as preserving animal and plant biodiversity, ensuring clean air, land, and water, and showing compassion to both domestic and wild animals. Each of us can take many different kinds of actions that sustain the world and sustain our souls. “Study is not the most important thing, but action,” Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says. For practical steps you can take for a more sustainable planet, click here.