Rabbi's Blog

Dear Haverim,

In recent years, in some ecologically conscious congregations, a new dimension has been added to the heartbreaking holiday of Tisha B’Av/the Ninth Day of the Hebrew month of Av, which we will observe this Friday evening.

 

Traditionally, Tisha B’Av recalls tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history – the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE and 70 CE, the Crusades, the  Expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 and even the beginning of World War I, which was a tragedy for the whole world.

 

Holidays and rituals always evolve in Judaism, bridging the past, present, and future.  Since Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, which usually comes in April, has now become the most powerful day of mourning in Judaism, Tisha B’Av, for some contemporary Jews, has become both particularistic and universalistic, linking the burning of the Jerusalem Temple to the burning of our environment, a new “Churban”/Destruction.

 

The Biblical Book of Lamentations, Eicha, that describes the destruction of Jerusalem, begins:

 

“How deserted lies the city, once so full of people!  How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations!  She, who was queen among the provinces, has become a slave.  Bitterly, she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks.”

 

Applying the powerful and tragic poetic style of Eicha to a “Lament For The Earth” for Tisha B’Av, Tamara Cohen has written:

 

“Eicha: Alas, she sits in danger.

Earth, home to multitudes,

like a beloved, deep in distress.

 

Blue ocean, source of life –

Endangered and imprisoned.

 

Bitterly she weeps in the night

Her shorelines wet with tears.

Of all her friends, none to comfort her;

All her allies have betrayed her.

 

Checkerspot butterflies

flee their homes;

Polar bears

can find no rest.

Because our greed has heated Earth.

 

Whole communities destroyed

To pursue off-shore oil.

Lives and dreams have been narrowed.

 

Coastlines mourn for families,

lost homes and livelihoods.

Barrier islands lament, desolate.

 

Wetlands sigh without their song birds.

Estuaries grieve; the sea is embittered.

 

Earth’s children – now her enemies;

Despite destruction, we sleep at ease.

The Breath of Life grieves

our abundant transgressions.

Infants of every species,

captive to our conceit…

 

What gluttons we have become.

Will we heed this warning, we who live as if unscathed –

Will we truly look and know this agony as our own?

 

We are afflicted by angry consequence,

The elements push back against their abuse.

 

Forest fires reach down and spread like fury.

Sprawl and refuse trap our spirits.

Great storms hurl lives backwards, upside down

survivors are left forlorn, in constant misery.

 

For these things do we weep

Our eyes flow with tears.

How far from us is any comfort,

the possibility of change that might revive our Earth?

The children are forlorn for their future is bleak

Unless we act with speed and wisdom.

 

Lead us, lead us, on a new path to Eden,

Teach us self-restraint in the very midst of abundance.

Breathe us into a new path –

Help us, Help us,

Help us turn to a new way of living

Make new, Make new,

Our world of life intertwining –

Splendor, beauty, joy in our love for each life-form.”

 

These are powerful pleas to all of us to take “climate change” seriously.  It’s not just a present-day political issue, but one of the most important values and causes for the future survival of our families and our planet.

 

As Gavin Schmidt, the Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and so many other scientists have recently declared:

 

“We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world – the heat waves that we are seeing in the United States and Europe and in China are demolishing records left, right and center.  This June was the warmest June on record….and July is likely to be the warmest absolute month on record.”

 

So, please be with us this Friday evening at Shabbat services at 7:00 p.m. when I will dialogue with University Synagogue member and Chapman University Professor Fred Smoller about the challenges humanity faces, and what we can do to make Orange County “the sustainability capital of the world.”  (Click here to RSVP for our in-person services.)

 

Join us when Professor Smoller describes how we can mitigate climate change through learning and activism.  California leads the nation in solar installations, the state’s legislature has passed ambitious climate change legislation, and governors of both parties have made tackling climate change a priority.  To be successful, the public must be engaged and leading-edge solutions need to be available.  A $5 million grant from the state legislature will bring the inaugural Sustainability Decathlon to Orange County from Oct. 5-16.  The event’s goal is to “motivate and empower California’s best and brightest to lead the state’s transition to 100 percent renewables.”

 

Prof. Smoller specializes in local politics and is the author of From Kleptocracy to Democracy: How Citizens Can Take Back Local Government. Frequently cited in the press, Dr. Smoller was instrumental in bringing the U.S. Solar Decathlon to the Great Park in Irvine in 2013 and 2015.

 

Let’s face this monumental challenge together.  It’s not an easy subject, but in being able to observe Tisha B’Av and celebrate Shabbat at the same time – the bitter and the sweet – we know that we are strong enough to confront our present reality with wisdom, activism, and hope.

 

Shavua Tov/Have An Environmentally Conscious Week,

 

Rabbi Arnie Rachlis