A Green Passover

Passover is the perfect holiday for going green.

Rabbi Waskow of Baltimore sees connections between the history of Passover and today's modern environmental movement.

In 2008, Rabbi Waskow wrote for The Washington Post saying, "If in our generation we were to broaden Passover to celebrate its earthiness, we would be renewing some of its most ancient meanings — even before the Exodus. For close reading of the Bible (especially Lev. 23: 4-8 and Num. 28: 16-17) makes clear that there were originally two earthy festivals at the full moon of spring: One was the shepherds’ festival involving the sacrificial broiling of newborn lambs and a shepherds’ skipping, stumbling dance called ‘pesach — skip-over’ that imitates the skipping, stumbling newborn lambs. The other was the farmers’ festival of the spring barley harvest, celebrated by baking the simplest, most primordial of all breads, the unleavened matzot of flour, water, fire — scouring out all yeast, all rising from their homes."

So why not take an opportunity to green your Pesach?

Wine
Four Gates Wine - Organic, Kosher for Passover, California-based

Yarden Chardonay - Organic, Kosher for Passover, great with fish and poultry

Herzog Wine Cellars - Sells some wines that are Kosher for Passover, not certified organic but many of the grapes they use are sustainably grown

You might also be able to find some local Kosher wines. Check with your local stores to see what they offer.

Matzah
Writing this is making me hungry for my dad's matzah brei. I love it just a little sweet with some real maple syrup. I'm noticing that organic matzah is plentiful these days. Just visit your local Whole Foods Market and there are plenty of options for organic matzah.

I've also looked into recipes for making matzah from scratch. I found a few matzah recipes, but unfortunately, the right flour (approved by Jewish law - kosher for Passover) is next to impossible to find. It might be worth bookmarking the recipe, though, if you'd like to try making homemade matzah another time. I hear it's way better than the stuff you buy premade!

The Meals
Look for as many local products as you can. It's still early for some local produce, but you still might be able to find some greenhouse grown goodies. And stock up on apples to make charoset!

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Green Passover: Taking Responsibility for People and Planet

by Rabbi Edward Bernstein

 "[God said], 'For the Land is Mine. You are but strangers and sojourners with Me" (Leviticus 25: 23).
"In every generation, each person is obligated to see him or herself as having gone out from Mitzraim (Egypt) [from slavery to freedom]." These words are central to the liturgy of the Passover seder, observed this year on the evenings of April 18 and 19. They are intended to invoke the central historical narrative of Passover, the Exodus, and its moral, eternal message that all human beings are created in the image of God and are all of equal dignity. While the Exodus narrative plays a central role in the Jewish observance of Passover, it doesn't tell the whole story.

The major Jewish festivals all have historical reasons for their celebration: Passover commemorates the Exodus; Shavuot, the revelation of God at Mt. Sinai; Sukkot, the booths in which the Israelites dwelt in the wilderness. At the same time, the Bible itself portrays the festivals as rooted in the agricultural cycle of the year. As Passover approaches, it's worthy to examine this nexus between the historical and agricultural origins of the holiday. I believe that their convergence speaks to our generation in a fresh, meaningful way with respect to our stewardship of the environment. Our physical and spiritual freedom today depends on our society rediscovering and appreciating the earth as a web of life of which humanity is a part.

The Hebrew Bible presents a deep connection between the spring time reawakening of the earth from its winter slumber and ancient Israelite rituals to mark the change of seasons. The festival takes place in the month of Aviv (spring), so the rituals associated with the festival are richly connected to the seasonal cycle of the year. The Biblical text describes the Lord's Passover that takes place at dusk on the 14th day of the first month at which time the Paschal lamb was sacrificed. The next day, the 15th of the month, is the Festival of Matzot/Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-6). It has been suggested by Biblical scholars that the Passover offering was an ancient Near Eastern spring time festival among shepherds offering thanks to a divinity for sustaining their flocks and allowing them to reproduce. The Festival of Matzot was a spring time observance marking the beginning of the grain harvest. The ancient Israelites took these disparate rites of spring and imbued them with greater significance as part of the annual commemoration of the Exodus. (See also My Jewish Learning on Passover origins).

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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

 By Eric H. Yoffie

For the sake of our health, and the Earth's, let's make a Jewish decision about what we put on our plates-curtailing red meat by 20% or more.

Abraham is sitting at the entrance to his tent. Only three days before, at age 99, he has been circumcised. What is his very first act as a Jew? He invites wayfarers to a meal.

Remember: Abraham is an old man, sick, in pain. But he does not give in to illness, the desert heat, or limitations of age. Instead, he offers his guests the finest foods, and presides himself over the serving.

There is a message here. Jewish history begins with a Jew-a new Jew, the first Jew-saying to others: "Come, eat with me." And ever since this first Jewish meal, Jews have believed that eating matters.

We know, of course, that eating is a biological necessity; but, beginning with Abraham, Jews have seen eating as more than a mechanical act. We are heirs of a tradition that makes a distinction between food and nourishment, between refueling the body and replenishing body and soul. We understand the physicality of eating, but, at the same time, we work very hard to transcend and transform it.

Rabbenu Bahya b. Asher reminds us that people who eat indiscriminately are no better than animals. My mother, when I was a child-and later as well-put it this way: "Don't eat like a pig." She was trying to civilize me, but-more importantly-to make me a Jew.

One might think that, 3,500 years after Abraham, we would be making progress in this area, yet the opposite seems to be true. The North American way of eating has become "gobble, gulp, and go." We shovel food in. We consume a fifth of our meals in cars. One-third of our children eat in a fast-food outlet every day, and the average McDonald's meal is 11 minutes long.

We Jews have a response to this animal-like eating: Our sources tell us to linger over our meals (Berachot 55a). And this above all: Jews invite God in.

The emergence of food and drink from the earth is a wonder and a mystery; therefore, we stand in awe before the work of God's hands. Knowing that the Divine Presence lives in the texture of our everyday acts, and that even the most mundane task can be sanctified, we elevate the act of eating by reciting blessings prior to and after every meal.

Beyond this, two practices strike me as essential.

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Connecting the Profound: Jewish Passover and the Environment

An interview with Rabbi Yehudah Leo Levi, a physicist, rabbi and author who lives in Jerusalem on the green connection to Judaism’s Passover and the environment.
Q: How is Passover connected to the environment?

A: The connection between Passover and the environment is somewhat indirect, but extremely profound. According to the Torah (Jewish tradition), one central purpose of the creation of the human being was to complete the development the world God had created in His wisdom.

The human being was put into the wonderful Garden of Eden, not, primarily, to enjoy its delicious fruits, but rather “to serve it and guard it” (Genesis 2:15). Or, in the words of the Midrash: “When God created Adam, he took him to survey all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: ‘See My works, how pleasant and praiseworthy they are… be careful not to spoil and ruin My world. For, if you spoil, there is no one to repair after you” (Qoheleth Rabba 7:13).

In other words, the human being is to be a caretaker, not owner, of the world.

Subsequently mankind forgot this message and turned to paganism, serving the powers of nature instead of their Creator. Thus they travelled on a path of self-destruction. To save humanity, God chose Abraham to become the progenitor of a nation which was to bring God’s message to humanity. That nation was formed on the night of the first Passover for the explicit purpose of teaching mankind what God wants of them, which is primarily the development of the world, physically, socially, and spiritually. Thus, in a sense, Passover commemorates the creation of the mentors, who were to make mankind aware of their duty to care for their environment.

Q: What is the spiritual message of Passover

A: Because of His concern for a faltering humanity, God “created”, on Passover night, a new nation (Israel) to become a “lighthouse” to humanity.

Q: What are some Jewish traditions in general that show the faith is concerned with protecting the environment

A: Judaism commands the preservation of the environment by prohibiting its wasteful utilization.

Even during war, which may occasionally be forced on the Jewish people, they are forbidden to cut down fruit trees – even their enemies’ (Deuteronomy 20:19).

Jewish tradition expands this to forbid unnecessary destruction of all elements of the environment (Maimonides, Melakhim 6:10); even wasteful use of fuel is explicitly forbidden (Babyl. Talmud, Shabbath 67b).

Another interesting example is the concern lest discomfort be caused to the neighbor. Especially sources of excessive smoke, unpleasant odors, dust, and vibrations are forbidden, without the permission of the neighbors (Shulchan ‘Arukh, Choshen Mishpat 155:36). The reader will find there over a hundred paragraphs listing such prohibitions.

A third illustration is the Torah’s concern for proper city-planning. It demands a “green belt,” about a kilometer wide around each city, a belt which may not be used for building. If you need more housing, start a new city. (Cf. Numbers 35 & Rabbi S.R. Hirsch’s commentary to Leviticus 25:34, at length.)


Rabbi Levi’s bio: I grew up in New York. There I got my academic degrees: B.E.E., M.Sc., Ph.D. (Physics), my Rabbinic ordination and a professorship at City College. In 1970 I moved to Israel to set up the Physics/Electro-Optics Dept. at the Jerusalem College of Technology – the second such department in the world. (I had to write the text-book myself; it was eventually published by Wiley in N.Y.)

Ten years later, I was appointed Rector there. Since my retirement in 1991, I am continuing bi-weekly lectures there, primarily in Judaism. I also give a weekly lecture at the Jerusalem Academy of Jewish Studies.