Why Jewish Environmental Education Matters

By Nili Simhai for Zeek

When we hear the words “Jewish environmental education,” we often only hear “environmental education” and not “Jewish education.” It’s easy—too easy—to think of environmental programs as a fun add-on, rather than core, to Jewish learning. That is a mistake. At a time when educators are rethinking the content, methodology and even purpose of Jewish education, Jewish environmental education has much to offer.

Here’s just one example. I was called into Manhattan one chilly fall day to do a training for congregational educators. As usual, I found myself in a roomful of skeptical middle-aged women. While everyone was very pleasant and polite, there was an undertone to the conversation which I am now very familiar with. The unspoken questions: How did I end up being in the group that has to shlep to Central Park instead of the one drinking coffee in a warm room? Is this really going to help me teach the Amidah / the aleph bet / my fourth grade chumash class?

We read a few lines from Bereshit that detail how God created the world, put on our coats and headed out. It was a gorgeous autumn day outside, with sunlight sparkling on leaves in changing colors. When we arrived at the park, there was one of those low, foot-high fences between us and the grassy area I wanted to use. So I asked them, are you ready to hop the fence? They looked at me with more skepticism, but then, with a little nervous laughter, they did it. The minute they got over the fence, it was as if they became different people. The change was incredible. One woman started picking up leaves and throwing them into the air; another scrambled up a tall rock; they all began smiling. It was as if the fence was a literal barrier between their “educator” selves and their more playful selves.

We did our project—a great exercise in nature art based on the work of Andy Goldsworthy—and closed with a discussion around how to create things in this world with more Godly intention. Both our experience and the text from Breishit fueled the discussion. When we went back inside, I couldn’t help asking these women: what happened when you went over the fence? Why did you change? They each had specific reasons, but the general answer was that they felt they were finally being given permission to do something different—given permission to be more expansive in their thinking, more playful, more spiritual.

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