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Judaism intersects with environmentalism on many levels. This article addresses how the natural world plays a central role in Jewish law, literature, and liturgical 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.
In Jewish law (halakhah), ecological concerns are reflected in Biblical protection for fruit trees, rules in the Mishnah against harming the public domain, Talmudic debate over noise and smoke damages, and contemporary responsa on agricultural pollution. In Conservative Judaism, a new initiative has adopted ecokashrut 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 as bal tashkhit. The rule of tza'ar ba'alei hayyim is a restriction on cruelty to animals.
Generally speaking, the Bible and rabbinic tradition has put Judaism primarily on an anthropocentric trajectory. For example, in the account of creation in the Torah, each day God declares that the created world is good, yet concluding that the created human is "very good." In Genesis, too, God instructs humanity to hold dominion over nature, though this may be interpreted in terms of stewardship as well.
In contemporary Jewish liturgy, ecological concerns have been promoted by adapting a kabbalistic ritual for the holiday of trees, Tu Bishvat. Biblical and rabbinic texts have been enlisted for prayers about the environment, especially in Reform Judaism and Jewish Renewal movements.
In the U.S., a coalition of Jewish Abraham Joshua Heschel. Many religious (Orthodox) Israeli environmental organizations encouraged environmental activism through the study of the intersection between Halacha and environmentalism. Sviva Israel together with Orthodox rabbinic scholars produced four journals on the topic of the Environment in Jewish Thought and Law that were sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of the Environment and the Municipality of Jerusalem.
In 2001, the Green Zionist Alliance seeks to bridge the differences between and within religions and people — helping to build a peaceful and sustainable future for Israel and the Middle East.[3]
Hebrew language, Judaism, Jewish philosophy, Rabbinic literature, Jerusalem
Torah, Kabbalah, Israel, Hebrew language, Mishnah
Quran, Old City (Jerusalem), State of Palestine, Islam, Jordan
Judaism, Jerusalem, Orthodox Judaism, Halakha, Kabbalah
Judaism, New Testament, Jesus, Trinity, Christianity
Judaism, Vegetarianism, Jerusalem, Kashrut, Messianic Judaism
Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Talmud, Maimonides, Mishnah
Hebrew language, Sukkot, Shevat, Judaism, Hebrew calendar
Judaism, Jerusalem, Messianic Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Religious Zionism