- Judaism and environmentalism
Judaism intersects with environmentalism on many levels. This article addresses how the natural world plays a central role in
Jewish law , literature, andliturgical and other practices. Moreover, within the diverse arena of Jewish thought, beliefs vary widely about the human relation to the environment. In addition, the article looks at the history of Jewish environmental thought and activism.Jewish law and the environment
In Jewish law ("
halakhah "), ecological concerns are reflected in Biblical protection forfruit tree s, rules in theMishnah against harming thepublic domain ,Talmud ic debate over noise and smoke damages, and contemporaryresponsa on agricultural pollution. InConservative Judaism , a new initiative has adoptedecokashrut ideas begun in the 1970s. In addition, Jewish activists have recruited principles of "halakhah" for environmental purposes, such as the injunction against unnecessary destruction, known asbal tashkhit . The rule of "tzaar baalei hayim" is a restriction on cruelty to animals.Other Jewish beliefs about the environment
Generally speaking, the Biblical and
rabbinic tradition has put Judaism primarily on an anthropocentric trajectory. For example, in the account ofcreation in theTorah , each dayGod declares that the created world is good, yet concluding that the created human is "very good." InGenesis , too, God instructs humanity to hold dominion over nature, though this may be interpreted in terms ofstewardship as well.Jewish practices and nature
In contemporary Jewish liturgy, ecological concerns have been promoted by adapting a kabbalistic
ritual for the holiday of trees,Tu B'shvat .Fact|date=December 2007 Biblical and rabbinic texts have been enlisted for prayers about the environment, especially inReform Judaism andJewish Renewal movements.History of Jewish environmentalism
In the U.S., a coalition of Jewish
environmentalist s (COEJL ) undertakes both educational and policy advocacy on such issues asbiodiversity andglobal warming . [Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, New York.] Jewish environmentalists are drawn from all branches of religious life, ranging from RabbiArthur Waskow to a growing Orthodox non-profit. [ [http://canfeinesharim.org/who_we_are/in_news.php?page=13141 Canfei Nesharim] ] In Israel,secular Jews have formed numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations to protect nature and reduce pollution.Fact|date=December 2007 While Israeli organizations make limited use of Jewish religious teachings, a few do approach Israel's environmental problems from a Jewish standpoint, including an environmental center named afterAbraham Joshua Heschel .ee also
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Environmental issues Bibliography
*Alexander Barzel. "Matsaʻ u-matsav: ʻiyunim bi-tefisat ha-ṭevaʻ ba-maḥashavah ha-Yehudit" Sifriyat "Helal Ben-Ḥayim". Tel-Aviv: Ha-Ḳibuts Ha-Meʼuḥad, 2004.
*Jeremy Benstein. "The way into Judaism and the environment" Woodstock, Vt.: Jewish Lights Pub., 2006. ISBN 158023268X; 9781580232685.
*Anita Bernstein. "Formed by Thalidomide: Mass Torts as a False Cure For Toxic Exposure" Columbia Law Review, November, 1997
*Ellen Bernstein. "The splendor of creation: a biblical ecology." Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2005. ISBN 082981664X.
*Ellen Bernstein. "Ecology & the Jewish spirit: where nature and the sacred meet" Woodstock, Vt.: Jewish Lights Pub., 1998. ISBN 1879045885.
*Ellen Bernstein and Dan Fink. "Let the earth teach you Torah : a guide to teaching Jewish ecological wisdom" Wyncote, PA: Shomrei Adamah, 1992. ISBN 0963284819.
*Matt Biers-Ariel, Deborah Newbrun and Michal Fox Smart. "Spirit in nature : teaching Judaism and ecology on the trail" Springfield, NJ: Behrman House, 2000. ISBN 0874416868.
*J. J. Boersema. "Thora en stoa over mens en natuur : een bijdrage aan het milieudebat over duurzaamheid en kwaliteit" Baarn: Callenbach, 1997. ISBN 9026609019.
*Chaya M. Burstein. The kids' catalog of animals and the earth. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2006. ISBN 0827607857.
*Molly Cone and Roy Doty. "Listen to the trees : Jews and the earth" New York: UAHC Press, 1995. ISBN 0807405361.
*Ari Elon, Naomi M. Hyman and
Arthur Ocean Waskow . Trees, earth, and Torah: aTu b'Shvat anthology. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2000. ISBN 0827606656.*Manfred Gerstenfeld. "Judaism, environmentalism, and the environment : mapping and analysis" Jerusalem: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies : Rubin Mass, 1998.
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Hadassah and Shomrei Adamah. "Judaism and ecology: a Hadassah study guide in cooperation with Shomrei Adamah, Keepers of the Earth" New York, NY: Dept. of Jewish Education, Hadassah, 1993.*Daniel Hillel. "The natural history of the
Bible : an environmental exploration of the Hebrew scriptures" New York: Columbia University Press, 2006. ISBN 0231133626.*Aloys Hüttermann. "The ecological message of the Torah : knowledge, concepts, and laws which made survival in a land of "milk and honey" possible" South Florida studies in the history of Judaism. 199, Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1999. ISBN 0788505807.
*Ronald H. Isaacs. "The Jewish sourcebook on the environment and ecology" Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1998. ISBN 0765799790.
*Merkaz ha-Yerushalmi le-ʻinyene tsibur u-medinah and Center for Jewish Community Studies. "Jewish environmental perspectives" Philadelphia, PA: Center for Jewish Community Studies, 2001.
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Naḥum Raḳover. Environmental protection: a Jewish perspective. Policy study. 4, Jerusalem: Institute of theWorld Jewish Congress , 1996.*Aubrey Rose. "Judaism and ecology. World religions and ecology" London, England ; New York, NY, USA: Cassell, 1992. ISBN 0304323780.
*Or N. Rose, Jo Ellen Green Kaiser and Margie Klein. "Righteous indignation: a Jewish call for justice" Woodstock, Vt.: Jewish Lights Pub., 2007. ISBN 9781580233361; 1580233368.
*Lillian Ross. "The Judaic roots of ecology" Miami, Fla. 4200 Biscayne Blvd., Miami 33137: Central Agency for Jewish Education, 1983.
*Yiśraʼel Rozenson. Ṿe-Hineh ṭov Meʼod. ha-Sidrah ha-yeruḳah. 2, Yerushalayim: Yeshivat "Bet Orot", 2001.
*Daṿid Salomon and Meʼir Zikhl. Ekhut ha-sevivah (eḳologyah) bi-meḳorot ha-Yahadut. Ramat-Gan: Proyeḳṭ ha-sh. u-t. be-Universiṭat Bar-Ilan, 1989.
*Earl Schwartz, Barry D. Cytron. "Who renews creation. (Meḥadesh be-khol yom tamid maʻaśeh ve-reshit)" New York, N.Y.: National Youth Commission, United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism , 1993.*Tsevi Shinover and Yitsḥaḳ Goldberg. Ekhut ha-ḥayim ṿeha-sevivah bi-meḳorot ha-Yahadut. Neḥalim: Hotsaʼat "Mofet", 1993.
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Nosson Slifkin . Seasons of life: the reflection of the Jewish year in the natural world. Torah universe. Southfield, MI; Nanuet, NY: Targum Press in conjunction with Mishnas Rishonim; Distributed by Feldheim, 1998. ISBN 1568711107.* Ora R. Sheinson. "Lessons from the Jewish Law of Property Rights for the Modern American Takings Debate" Columbia Journal of Environmental Law Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, 2001
* Ruth Sonshine, Jonathan Reiss, Daniel Pollack, Karen R. Cavanaugh. "Liability For Environmental Damage : An American And Jewish Legal Perspective," "Temple Environmental Law & Technology", Fall, 2000
*David E. Stein. "A Garden of choice fruit: 200 classic Jewish quotes on human beings and the environment" Wyncote, Pa.: Shomrei Adamah, 1991. ISBN 0963284800.
*Hava Tirosh-Samuelson. Judaism and ecology: created world and revealed word. Religions of the world and ecology. Cambridge, Mass: Center for the Study of World Religions,
Harvard Divinity School , 2002. ISBN 094545435X; 0945454368.*Albert Vorspan and
David Saperstein . "Jewish dimensions of social justice : tough moral choices of our time" New York, NY.: UAHC Press, 1998. ISBN 0807406503.*
Arthur Ocean Waskow . "Torah of the earth: exploring 4,000 years of ecology in Jewish thought" Two volumes. Woodstock, Vt.: Jewish Lights Pub., 2000. ISBN 1580230865; 1580230873.*Martin D. Yaffe. "Judaism and environmental ethics: a reader" Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2001. ISBN 073910117X; 0739101188.
References
External links
* [http://www.biggreenjewish.org/index.php Resources on Judaism and the environment]
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