Social Justice and Climate Change

Jewish Energy Guide: Policy for COEJL

By Rabbi Jill Jacobs

The rabbis of the Talmud ask the following question: When the people of a town decide to build or repair a guard wall, how much should each resident pay? Perhaps the wealthiest residents should pay

the most, as they can best afford to shoulder the burden. On the other hand, maybe the people who live closest to the wall should pay more as they will benefit most, since thieves or murderers who enter the town are likely to target the first houses they encounter. “But wait,” the residents of these wall-hugging homes may say, “we’d never have bought these homes if we could’ve afforded to live where it’s safe, in the middle of town.” “That’s true for some of you,” the wealthy residents may respond. “But some of you chose to live near the edge of the city just because you like it there.” Or: “We don’t even need the wall — we feel safe enough already.” While the Talmudic discussion (Bava Batra 7b) remains indecisive, most commentators conclude that the wealthiest residents should contribute the most, regardless of where they live. And only in the case in which two people have an identical household income should proximity to the walls be factored into the calculation of responsibility. (For example, see Rabbenu Tam, Maggid Mishnah on Rambam, Mishnah Torah Hilkhot Sh’khenim 6:4, and Joseph Caro, Beit Yosef Choshen Mishpat 163:3.) This Talmudic discussion comes to mind when I think about who bears the burden of our environmental choices. When we think about climate change, we often think in terms of dramatic shifts in the natural world: melting glaciers, heat waves, tornadoes and earthquakes. One might think that changes in nature affect us all equally. But in fact, poor and non-white populations — both in the United States and around the world — disproportionately pay the price for our overuse of natural resources. For example:

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Israel’s New Pioneers Work to Transform the Negev Through Farming

By Maayan Jaffe for JNS.org

In southern Israel, the next generation of Jewish pioneers is making the desert bloom.

A group of young, Zionist, idealistic adults are cultivating a previously uninhabited area in the northwest Negev on Israel’s borders with Egypt and Gaza – growing tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, cauliflower, pomegranates, olives, and more.

“I am there (in the Negev) because I can make a difference,” said Nava Uner, who lives in Bnei Netzarim, one of three Halutza (pioneer) communities in the Young Farmers Incubation Project.

The Jewish National Fund (JNF) established the project shortly after the 2005 unilateral disengagement from Gaza, one of the most polarizing events in Israel’s history. The Halutza planned communities are part of JNF’s Blueprint Negev campaign, which is aimed at developing southern Israel through infrastructure and jobs. The Negev comprises about 60 percent of Israel’s land, but only eight percent of Israeli citizens live there. But in recent years, the Negev has rapidly evolved into a hub of activity, with a new cyber-security park, an expanded Israel Defense Forces presence, and the growth of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

The Young Farmers Incubator Project – co-sponsored by the Ness Foundation, Karen Ferber, and Ellen Aschendorf – is part of the area’s innovative spirit, aiming to encourage young entrepreneurs who are looking to make a future working the land to stay and invest in their own farms in the Negev.Continue reading.

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Make Your Thanksgiving Celebration Eco-Friendly

From Jewcology.org

Thanksgiving, while an ecumenical holiday, is a great time to consider the Jewish principle of baal tashchit (do not waste).  There are many things you can do to make your celebration of this holiday more earth friendly.

Reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible:  Try to buy only as much food as you need and look for food that either has no container or that has a container that can be recycled.  Plan to compost any non-meat food items that can’t be eaten (such as carrot peel) or that have to be thrown out after the meal.  Also plan to use reusable cloth napkins instead of disposable paper ones.

Use local and organic products for your feast:  Most Thanksgiving meals focus on food that is in season.  Use organic and locally grown pumpkin for your pie.  Locally grown vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash taste great and are plentiful this time of year.  Buying locally means that your food is not flown miles away wasting fossil fuels as it travels from across the country or another continent.  Eating organic food means that what goes on your plate will not contain traces of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.  If you plan to make a traditional turkey for the holiday, buy one that is from a family farm that does not use antibiotics or artificial hormones.

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Out of the ark and into the garden: The story of Noah in the Sabbatical year

Rabbi David Seidenberg for Jewcology.org

There are three places in the Torah which talk about human beings and the animals – including wild animals – sharing one food supply. In Eden, in the ark during the flood, and in the Sabbatical year or Shmita. There’s a lot more to these stories, but you don’t really need to know much more to understand the basic message of the Torah.

We lived with the wild animals once, rather than carving out separate spaces for us and our domesticated fellow travelers. According to the Torah, that is the real truth, and all the owning and property and buying and selling is an illusion. We can return to that truth during Shmita, when we get to root ourselves in a real way in the land – not by owning it by being with it. Not by fencing it but by taking down fences. Not by hoarding but by sharing everything, with all the creatures.

Here are the relevant verses about eating:

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