Every Day Is (Jewish) Earth Day

By RABBI FRED SCHERLINDER DOBB

Denis Hayes and Isaac Luria were both onto something.

Hayes, who created the first Earth Day in 1970, noted that beyond April 22, many folks never thought about ecology. Thus the slogan, trite but true: "Every Day Is Earth Day."

Luria, the young kabbalist who died in Tzfat in 1572, gave us a famous creation myth: In the beginning God poured infinite energy into finite vessels, which exploded. Trapped inside the shards, which now comprise the material universe, are sparks of God. Luria (a.k.a. Ha-Ari, 'the lion') says it's our job to restore Divine unity by releasing these sparks–a process called "fixing the world", tikkun olam.

Shortly after Ha-Ari, an unnamed kabbalist wrote a pamphlet called Pri Etz Hadar (Fruit of the Goodly Tree, usually understood as etrog; Lev. 23:40), and combined tikkun olam, the template of the Passover Seder, and an obscure fruit-tithing day called Tu B'Shvat (the 15th of the winter month of Shvat). Thanks to him, we enjoy the Tu B'Shvat Seder.

Today the work of Hayes and Luria–along with Rachel Carson, Rav Kook, and so many others–comes together on Tu B'Shvat. Often called the Jewish Earth Day, Tu B'Shvat is a natural time to celebrate the world, and its Creator. Yet 15 Shvat, like 22 April, shouldn't be just once-a-year. Love for God and for God's Creation should be 24/7/365. Tu B'Shvat is the exception that proves the rule: "Every Day Is Earth Day."

A great one-volume reference for this holiday, and for Jewish environmental teachings in general, is Trees, Earth and Torah: A Tu B'Shvat Anthology. This work offers background on trees and ecology in our tradition, plus a model seder, and tons of supplementary ideas and materials. (Those who prefer Reform liturgy will also enjoy Adam Fisher's 1989 Seder Tu B'Shvat, the first Reform publication with a kabbalistic focus, and first to use gender-neutral language. Its sparse Hebrew and somewhat formulaic English will work for many, but not all.)

Less focused on the holiday, but even more comprehensive on Jewish environmentalism than Trees, Earth and Torah, is the two volume Torah of the Earth. This fantastic work brings together many of the most important voices in this growing field, and offers perspectives that will turn your head around. Forget Tu B'Shvat alone; this is year-round learning. Highlights include:

• Biblical laws prevent "the earth from being polluted"; the Noahide and many other laws "are meant to protect the earth," writes Tikva Frymer-Kensky.
• "What is needed today is a new, third category [of commandments, besides 'ethical' and 'ritual']: mitzvot bein adam le-olamo [between people and their world] which can inform and define our piece in the world, and our responsibility towards it," Jeremy Benstein argues.
• "Long-term deterioration of the environment cannot be limited by political boundaries; viruses do not distinguish between Arab and Jew," according to Robin Twite.
• "Telling the tale of Creation is itself a statement of love of the natural world. It needs to be accompanied by actions that bear witness to that love–without these it is false testimony," Arthur Green writes.

Needless to say, these snippets from each of the book's four thematic sections (Biblical, Rabbinic, Zionist, and Eco-Jewish) don't even scratch the surface. Already the standard college text on the subject, Torah of the Earth is also a pleasure to read on your own. Make it a Tu B'Shvat present to yourself!

Among Torah of the Earth's most interesting and unique features is a section on ecology in Israel–as imperiled as our diaspora lands, yet more glaringly so in its small space. Alon Tal, founder of advocacy group Adam Teva V'Din and of Kibbutz Ketura's Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, summarizes the challenges in his essay, "An Imperiled Promised Land." As Zionists, we must be passionate not only about the people of Israel, but about the land itself, and the health of the people and animals and plants who share that small stretch of sacred real estate.

That passion should inform our advocacy, and our tourism: witness Michal Strutin's Discovering Natural Israel. A clear, comprehensive, well-illustrated field guide to Israel's natural sights, this is the most unique among Israel's many new travel guides.

Strutin's entry on "Canyon of the Woolen Mills" explains that "Safed [Tzfat] is inextricably tied to Nahal Ammud, a stream that has cut a lovely canyon through the hills south of Safed." Her history explains the ruins of the wool mills that lined Nahal Ammud; she reminds us that "many of Safed's kabbalists became master woolmakers, including Ha-Ari."

So we come full circle. Great Jewish minds of every generation have connected with the Earth, its creatures and produce. Since Amos and David, "in all the ancient Near East, only the Hebrew writers have dirt under their fingernails." Rashi, the 11th-century French commentator, cultivated grapes. Labor Zionist pioneer A. D. Gordon (cited frequently in Torah of the Earth) said that only by working the sacred land of Israel can we bring redemption. And the Holy Ari stretched wool.

So may it be for us: as we study the texts that nourish us as Jews, may we also get our hands dirty in the rich soil of God's great Earth. And doing so, may we accept our responsibility as co-partners with God in preserving Creation. Tu B'Shvat sameach!

Reprinted with permission from the AVI CHAI Bookshelf, where birthright israel alumni can order free books and periodicals.