Kesher Programs

It's Not Easy Being Green, by Lisa Beltz

Tomorrow is Tu B'shevat, traditionally a day that brings focus to the environment and has in the USA been the rallying day for environmentally conscious Jews of all denominations.

I have the honor to speak today as a representative of the Social Action Committee?s Green Group, the group that is active in providing opportunities for Kesherites to involve themselves in environmental action and fun.

Let me first give a brief background on Tu?bishvat to set the stage for what I would like to talk about today.

Tu B'shevat is the new year of the trees. We have four new years, or four Rosh Hashanas, each designated for a different purpose.

1. Our best known, the First of Tishrei is the birthday of the world, the beginning of the Hebrew Calendar: the Shemitah (Sabbatical) Year and the Yovel (Jubilee) Year and a day we are Written into the Book of Life

2. the First of Nissan - This is the month about which Moshe was commanded in Egypt, ?as the First of the Months" And it reckons the years of reign of the Kings of Israel.

3. The First of Elul - is the "first" of the months regarding tithes, Once the Temple is rebuilt in Yerushalayim, this Rosh HaShanah will regain its significance.

4. the fourth is the Fifteenth of Shevat - "Tu B'Shevat"

The Rosh HaShanah for trees. Similar to the "First of Elul", the significance is primarily in connection with," tithing, or taking tenths.

But its more than that, it is the time in the year when the trees wake up from winter and begin to grow.

As such it is a day of judgement for the trees. G-d surveys their entire future, and it is the appropriate time to pray for them.

Yet, like the First of Tishrei, our Rosh Hashana, Tu B?shevat has a festive air:

Tachanun is not said. Eulogies are not delivered for the dead, and if it falls on Shabbat, Av Harachamim which recalls the souls of the dead, is not said.

It is a bit odd that we have a festive mood on Tu b?shevat, as it is in a way the ?Yom Kippur? for the trees. But on the 15^th of Shevat we recall the praise of the Land of Israel, for on this day the strength of the soil of the land is renewed.

The Torah praises the Land of Israel for what this soil brings forth:

"A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey" (Devarim 8).

We celebrate the produce of the land, we pray and we are optimistic, that the judgement will be a lenient one, and the land will prosper.

The Kabbalists introduced a seder for Tu B?shevat and please note, that we will have our second annual Tu B?shvat Kiddush today, with nuts and fruits, traditional foods eaten at these seders.

With this little background about Tu B?shevat, I hope I have set the stage for my drash.

I have titled this drash after a very famous quote from one of the great early childhood educators of our day, Kermit the Frog. In his words,

"It is not easy being green"

Kermit, spoke eloquently when he said:

"When green is all there is to be, It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why? Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, its beautiful! And I think it's what I want to be."

Kermit quite possibly a closet Jew, given his aversion to pig, could easily have said:

"it's not easy being an Observant Jew! I could make you wonder why, but why wonder why? Wonder, I am a servant of Hashem and it'll do fine And I think it's what I want to be."

I would like to speak to the Kehilla today about the reality that it is not easy being green,

but it is part and parcel of being an observant Jew, a servant of Hashem, being bound by the yoke of Torah and living our lives halachichly. No one ever said that it was either easy or inexpensive to be an observant Jew, but our priorities are clearly laid out for us, and with joy we spend 100 dollars on an Etrog, because it fulfills a higher purpose. We may complain about all the details it takes to keep Kosher, but they are mostly empty complaints and we take pride in the difficulties, rather than feel dejected.

Well, it is not easy being green. And it truly fulfills a higher purpose.

As a single woman, I often am often introduced to men by phone and the call always opens with the this-is-who-I-am sound byte. As usual mine includes something about my ?greeness? and one recent response from a-aint-mak?in-it-to-the-chuppa candidate, was rather standard and my inspiration for today?s drash:

"Oh,? says he, ?I am not really green. I mean I think its important, the environment, conservation, but with everything else, getting ready for Shabbat, guests, davening, shir, I don't have time. I hate recycling, it is such a bother, I know, I know there's a law here too, so if everyone else adheres to it... what does it matter if I don't, who will notice if my garbage isn?t separated??? Disposables are so convenient??

His all too common attitude is a plague within the observant community. There are strong environmental movements in the liberal communities, but we lag far behind with very little presence and momentum.

So today lets look at some texts that support my assertion that appreciation of world?s magnificence, concern for it and action are our Torah responsibilities.

Lest start with a quote from our esteemed Rabbi:

"Traditional Judaism sees itself as a religion of laws. As such the legal framework of Judaism was meant to structure and direct one's life experiences and perceptions of the world giving them meaning, spirituality, and sanctity. Against that background, it is interesting to note how pervasive environmental legislation is in Jewish law with the consequence that one who follows Halachah, to the fullest, would, if only from repeated exposure, develop a highly refined environmental consciousness."

Rabbi Freundel has written and spoken at length about Judaism and I will share with you a few of the headings from his work on Ecology and Judaism: based on sacred texts,

·        Potential of Damaging our One and Only World

·        We all Share the Public Space

·        Biblical Sources of Environmental Concerns

·        Enhancing the Environment

·        Rationale for Jewish Environmental Concerns

·        Natural law-- Proper Balances

·        Preservation of Species

·        Covenant of Protection

·        Avoidance of Callousness and Cruelty

The Torah is rich in providing guidance concerning the environment, as is the Talmud and writings through out Jewish History.

The following verse from Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:28 is a rallying cry for green Jews

"At the time that the Holy One Blessed Be He, created the first man, He took him and had him pass before all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him, See my works, how fine and excellent they are! Now all that I created was created for you. Think about this and do not harm or desolate the world: for if you harm it, there will be none to fix it after you."

So how many of us are looking? Seeing? H-shem created the world and all its beauty for us to enjoy, "See my works, how fine and excellent they are!?

We should never forget that the pristine magnificence of this earth is a gift from H-shem to us. And as such we have a responsibility to appreciate it. To explore it, to value it.

I know most of you expected me to jump on the soap box, and make a plea for you to get out and recycle and send checks to green peace. But those are not the first steps. There are four types of prayer, we always begin with prayers of praise, then thanksgiving and finally, we make prayers of petition and confession. Since tomorrow will be a day of prayer and petitioning for trees and nature, I think it fits for us to start today with praise and thanksgiving.

Before we can truly pray heartfelt for something, and I would like to show that Tu B?shevat is a day we should do just that, we must appreciate and love it. Just as all our prayers on Yom Kippur are communal, how can we pray together and for each other if we don?t practice Ahavot Yisrael, love of a fellow Jew? We must actively love this world?s resources.

When the Green Group heads into the woods for our now infamous Kesher in the Wild Shabbatons, (not wild Kesher shabbatons as they have been mislabeled by the mischievous) we provide an opportunity to experience the splendors of a G-dly Gift and feel awe and appreciation of His handworks.

?the heavens tell of the glory of G-d and the firmament tells the works of His hands? Psalm 19:2

Think of the view from the top of Massada, looking out across blue cloudless skies into the valley of sculpted peaks in more colors of beige than you ever knew existed. Imagine the sun rising magenta over a dark ocean slowly turning the surf emerald green, the sky soft blue and the sand shear white. When we arrive in The World To Come and Hashem asks "did you enjoy all that was permitted to you in my world?"

Did you? Could you today answer yes? If your mother gave you a wrapped gift would you leave it in corner with the paper on?? Hashem wants us to explore and appreciate and love this world. That is the first step and the first lesson we should learn today. Enjoy, appreciate, experience and praise! This world is a gift from Hashem, it is an expression of His love and concern for us. Nature need not be beautiful or awe inspiring to us, but it is. It evokes spiritual feelings. And for some, in the complexities and balance and beauty of nature there is spiritual renewal. Even Mamonides said, to begin to know Hashem one should study science and the natural world [1] . In enjoying Hashem's handiwork I feel a closeness to Him, like it is a greeting card sent to me to get my attention. This is appreciation, it is the first responsibility I want to focus on. The second is contingent on a base of love, i.e. concern.

Rabbi Yehudah Prero [2] writing on Tu B?shevat brings to light a very interesting correlation between our responsibility to be concerned about the environment and the Pasuk in Vayikra, (13:45) which deals with one afflicted by Leprosy:

"And the leper, upon whom the affliction is, his clothes should be torn, his head should be unkempt, and he should be veiled down until his upper lip, and the words 'Impure, impure' he should cry." [3]

What is the point of the leper crying out the words "Impure, impure?" Rashi explains that the leper is alerting all those near him that he is impure, so they can stay away from him and not become impure themselves. But the Gemora in Shabbos (67a) gives another reason why the leper shouts "Impure, impure". The Gemora tells us that when people hear the leper's cry, they will understand that he is in pain. Once the masses hear that the leper is in pain and is suffering from his affliction, they will pray for his cure. Therefore his announcement that he is impure is a plea for his brothers and sisters to pray for him, and that he expects that they will comply, the prayers will be answered and he will recover.

So what is the connection with conservation, trees and Tu B' Shevat? The Gemora in Shabbos goes on to make the connection for us. The Gemora explains that the behavior we see by the leper is also the explanation for another practice discussed in the Gemora.

"a tree that loses its fruits before they ripen should be dyed with a red paint." Shabbos (67a)

Nu, why red paint? Will that make the fruit ripen better? Any gardeners here ever try this trick??? The Gemora explains that painting the tree red is for the same reason as the leper calling out "impure, Impure!" Passing people will see this red tree, know that the fruit is not ripening and pray for a cure to its affliction. The Gemora does not say it is praiseworthy to pray for the welfare of trees. It does not say that praying for the health of trees is a preferred practice. It just simply says that the red paint is there so that people will see the tree and will pray for the tree. It presumes that people will pray for the tree the same way people will pray for one of their brethren who is a leper. The health of our trees is vital, and the Gemora lets us know how vital: and it gives us the responsibility to take active measures to assure that people will be aware of the predicament of the tree and pray for it!

This Gemara amazed me in two ways. One that it puts a responsibility on us to advertise and disseminate information about something that is not right in our environment, and its simple assumption that the Jewish people will act once they are aware that something is not right in nature. In fact it brings a correlation between how naturally it should be for us to pray for one of our fellow yids in dire straits and pray for the natural resources bestowed upon us from Hashem.

This Gemara assumes that at one time people had enough concern for natural resources, that when they saw something that wasn't quite right they would stop in their tracks and spontaneously break out into a prayer that it should be made right again!!! If our generation could have even one, one thousandths of that sensitivity the Green Group would dissolve into obscurity. But it is one of the responsibilities we feel, that it is important to have a force in the community that can provide access to congregants to learn more about the issues the environment faces and ways to act and we provide that for you, so I urge you all to join our e-mail group.

Love, concern, prayer, now lets discuss, behavior, action. Judaism is a religion with an emphasis on what we do, belief is important but secondary. The action will transform us.

?Hashem took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and to guard it.? [4]

The purpose of Original Man in the Garden was "to work it and to guard it," meaning to exercise his uniquely human capabilities; in particular, his intelligence, to develop Nature; but to do so in a way that would not harm it. Thus, G-d, the Creator of Nature, was the First Environmentalist.

Lets go back to the second half of our earlier quote from Ecclastises Rabbah

?Now all that I created was created for you. Think about this and do not harm or desolate the world: for if you harm it, there will be none to fix it after you." [5]

There are many quotes in the Tanach that relate wisdom, tsadikim and just every day joe blow to trees. Man is like a tree in the field, Tehillim tells us "He shall be like a tree deeply rooted, [6]

"A righteous person will flourish like a date palm?

Jewish texts refer to nature in the feminine, with nurturing connotations, and we often recognize the ?mother natureness? of how much the earth gives to us, but we don?t usually think about the balance, our filial responsibility, honor your father and your mother, they care for you, but you have responsibility in return. Trees and humans are viewed throughout Tanach with both a spiritual and physical interdependence

This is very evident today, where science has shown that our rain forests produce a major component of the world?s Oxygen, our essential, life-giving resource. Just as fruit trees may have been critical in Biblical times, the global atmosphere is key to each of us today. As we sit by and watch the massive destruction of the worlds Rainforests our global filtration system, are we truly guarding and protecting our natural environment? If we do not, we will slowly, but surely, suffocate ourselves.

Bal tashchit - not to destroy, without purpose, any object from which someone might derive pleasure [7] . Is an important commandment and a base to our safeguarding needless destruction and waste in this world.

"The holy one did not create a single thing without purpose, thus He created the snail as a remedy for the scab, the fly as an antidote for the hornets sting...etc.etc...(Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 77b}

We are all familiar with the Torah prohibition against cutting down fruit trees during war.

The point is made that if we have to take into account environmental concerns at a time, such as war, a time of great emergency, when lives themselves are at stake, then in times of relative peace and prosperity, we must as well.

When we are living our comfortable isolated lives in cities of cryptic sanitation, when we flush a toilet and never think about it again, or pour nail polish, Drano and cleaning fluids down the drain and poof, it becomes someone else's problem. Trash is collected and the dump is in someone else?s backyard. We throw poisonous batteries in the trash without even an after thought and let them corrode someone else's ground water, ours is treated.

Some of you know that I spent many years living in Kenya, where there were no magical disappearing acts like in Washington. You faced your garbage every day and the children who sorted for recycling and small cash, you boiled your water because you knew what went down the drains and where it ended up and you saw with a different reality the importance of the Halachich imperatives to ensure that Jerusalem and other cities were not smitten by air, noise and water pollution. As ordinary American Jews, apparently, unaffected by burning rainforests, tainted ground water and polluted skies we distance ourselves from our responsibility as Observant Jews.

Our Green Torah responsibilities include to appreciate, to pray, to safeguard today and to safeguard our future.

Lets end with this week?s reading, Shabbat Shira, and as we the Jewish people head through the Reed Sea, we are preparing to enter the land of Israel.

"In Vayikra 19:23 it tells us "And when you will come into the land and (you will) plant any tree for food...(for) three years it (the fruit) shall be restricted to you, it shall not be eaten.? This verse describes the commandment known as "Orla," which forbids the consumption of a tree's fruits during its first three years. The Yalkut Shimoni explains that this verse is teaching us a lesson about responsibility and concern for the future.

G-d was telling the nation of Israel "You will arrive at the land of Israel. You will find it filled with beautiful fruits and abundant crops - all of the best. You should not be satisfied with this. You can not just sit back and enjoy what others have done in the past. Just as others have toiled in the past so that you can presently enjoy the fruits of their labor, you must in turn plant for the future, for your children and generations to come."

G-d was concerned that the nation might be swayed by a sense of egotism: "I have what I need, so why should I work on that which only others will benefit from?" The planting of trees is a perfect antidote to egotism. Planting trees is an investment for the future. IT is a selfless act for the Jews that come after us to the land. It is a tradition to plant trees on Tu B?shevat, Whether we do or not, we should on this day, remember that we are responsible for both our generation, and the future of the next generation.

I will end with one last thought from this week?s Torah reading, when the Jews came to the Reed Sea, the water did not split for them, it wasn?t until one lone Jew, Nachshon, jumped in and was up to his neck in water before the Sea complied, the midrash said the rest of the Jews lost a great opportunity when they help back in fear,

Well let us not fall to apathy and inaction, but like Nachshon, I encourage us all to take a courageous plunge, and change our actions, and ourselves.

Shabbat Shalom.