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God led Adam around the Garden of Eden and said, "Look at My works. See how beautiful they are, how excellent. See to it that you do not spoil or destroy My world – for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you." |
From Genesis we learn that God deliberately places Adam in Gan Eden – the Garden of Eden:
"God took Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to preserve it."
--Genesis 2:15
God then bestows upon Adam two holy responsibilities. Often these are translated as "to till and to tend" the land. More accurately, one might choose to read these words as "to serve and to preserve" the land. Our invitation from this text is not to use and abuse the land, rather to be partners with the Divine in being guardians of the earth.
This section provides resources that invite us all to approach our Jewish lives mindfully from the angle of being conscientious "servers and preservers" of the earth.
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A Prayer for Creation | Prayer
By Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg
Appropriate at all times and particularly suitable during the week that the chapter of Noah is the Torah portion
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Pillars of Jewish Environmental Awareness | Article
By Dr. Gabe Goldman
The eight fundamental beliefs underpinning Jewish environmental responsibility
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Southern Journey | Poem
By Ruth F. Brin, z”l
For guidance and in praise of creation
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My Thoughts Awaken Me to See You | Poem
By Rabbi Moses ibn Ezra
Appreciation of the sun's creation by the 11th-century poet and philosopher
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Greening Your Simchah | Document
From the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation
Guidelines developed by the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Illinois, the first (and only) house of worship in the world to receive Platinum-Level certification from the US Green Building Council
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Lo-Watt Shabbat | Article
Adapted from COEJL
Tips on how to prepare for reduced energy consumption on Shabbat, some of which can be extended into daily life
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The Fifteenth of Shevat | Poem
By Shin Shalom
An Israeli poet looks to spring, imagining a heavenly ledger filled with Earth's beauty
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Blessing of the Animals | Complete Ceremony
By Joshua Snyder
A Hillula for Rav Kook celebrating the role of animals in our lives
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One for Each Night: A Chanukah Study Guide for a Brighter Future | Ritual Component
Project of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light in cooperation with Congregation Bet Haverim
A ritual for installing a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) each night of Chanukah; blessings that can be used on numerous other occasions
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Greening Purim | Article
Compiled by Kolot
Tips for eco-friendly actions
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Dipping Parsley into Waters of Tears: The Earth Cries Out to Us | Reading
By Rabbi Warren Stone
Accompaniment to dipping the greens
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Lamentations for the New Millennia | Poem
By Ann Metlay
Mourning the deterioration of natural resources
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Tisha B'Av: The Temple of the Earth | Article
From a Jewish Prayer Group
An environmentally minded ritual
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Hardened Hearts | Complete Ceremony
By Ellen Dannin
A ritual to recognize and cast away the hardness we have allowed to exist in our hearts.
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A Prayer for the Sea | Prayer
By Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg
For Rainbow Day (when Noah and company left the ark and received the rainbow covenant) and everyday while oil gushes into the Gulf of Mexico
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