Earth Etude for Elul 1 - Of Happenstance and Wondering

by Rabbi Katy Allen

By happenstance of geography,

Eden--

gathering the fruits of the land

borne by dint of natural ecosystems,

ever-changing as the seasons progress--

is just a distant prehistoric memory 

of Paradise.

From Eden straight into working the land we went--

by the sweat of your brow

you shall till the land.

No pauses with our new-found awareness

to experience

being fully integrated into the ecosystems

outside the gates of Gan Eden. 

No longer were we part and parcel of Creation,

now we had--

and have--

dominion;

now we reshape the landscape,

the ecosystems,

the water, the air, the flora and fauna.

By eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge,

we became like G!d,

attempting to rule the rest of the world

but without Divine wisdom 

or understanding.

Every seventh year, 

we endeavor to recapture a bit of Eden--

letting the land lie fallow,

depending once again-- 

ideally--

only upon the natural bounty

of the original ecosystems--

what remains of them

after achieving our fruit-eating-induced

relationship of power

over the land.

Why this seventh-year reverie?

Perhaps stored in our genes

we retain a memory of collapse--

agriculturally induced destruction of an ancient ecosystem,

decline in productivity,

engendering vulnerability at the hands of invaders,

or of climate-change stoked famine

that triggered collapse.

Or perhaps the Edenic understanding

that if G!d had not rested on the seventh day--

if neither we nor our beasts nor our servants 

nor the land

ever rested,

that this, too,

would inevitably 

lead to collapse.

All of this a happenstance of geography,

G!d having made the Divine Self known

in a specific and powerful way

in a cradle of civilization,

in a place where agriculture arose

so many millennia ago.

A wondering arises--

what might Yah have said to Adam and Eve

in different corporeal whereabouts,

in a land where no hoe or plow 

had ever struck the soil,

no animal 

had ever fallen under the yolk of Homo sapiens,

no collapse of civilization--

as a result of famine 

or agriculture-altered ecosystems--

had ever wreaked havoc

on the psyches and the historical memories

of the peoples,

in a land with ongoing experienced knowledge 

of gathering the fruits of the land

borne by dint of natural ecosystems,

ever changing as the seasons progress--

what might G!d have said?

A wondering arises,

how might history have progressed

if our tradition had truly kept alive

not just the memory,

but the non-agricultural knowledge and practice 

of how to live in Eden,

how to be an integral part 

of the native ecosystems--

and the critical importance thereof?

A wondering arises.

מקריות הגיאוגרפיה

למקריות הגיאוגרפיה,

גן עדן--

איסוף יבול הארץ

אשר נָבע באֶמצעות מערכות אקולוגיות טבעיות,

לעולם משתנה כשהעונות מתקדמות--

הוא רק זכרון רחוק פרה-היסטורי

של אוטופיה.

מגן עדן ישר לעבודת האדמה עברנו--

בזעת אפיך

תעבוד את האדמה.

ללא הפסקות עם גילוי מוּדעוּתינו החדשה

לַחֲוות

להתמזג לגמרי במערכות האקולוגיות

מחוץ לשערי גן עדן.

כבר לא היינו חלק אינטגרלי מהבריאה,

עכשיו היתה לנו--

ויש לנו--

שׁליטה;

כעת אנחנו משנים את צורת הנוף,

המערכות האקולוגיות,

המיים, האוויר, הצמחייה והחי.

באכילת פרי עץ הדעת,

הפכנו להיות כמו אלהים,

מנסים לשלוט בשאר העולם

אבל בלי החכמה 

או ההבנה האלוהית.

כל שנה שביעית

אנחנו מתאמצים להשיב לעצמנו מעט מגן עדן--

נותנים לאדמה לכרוב,

תלויים שוב--

בתכלית השלמות--

רק ביבול  הטבעי

מהמערכות האקולוגיות המקוריות --

מה שנשאר מהן

אחרי אכילתנו מהפרי

שעוררה בנו יחסים של כח

על האדמה.

מדוע ההזיה של שנה שביעית?

אולי מאוחסן בגנים שלנו 

אנחנו שומרים על זכר ההתמוטטות--

מושפעת מחקלאוּת שהחריבה את המערכת האקולוגית העתיקה

שקיעה ביצור,

גורמת לפגיעות על-ידיי פולשים,

או רעב שנגרם על-ידיי שינוי אקלים

שהביאו  להתמוטטות.

או אולי ההבנה האוטופית

שלולא נח אלהים ביום השביעי--

ולולא גם אנחנו ובהמותינו ועבדינו

והאדמה

אף פעם לא היינו נחים,

שגם זה 

היה בהכרח

מוביל להתמוטטות.

כל אלו הן מקריות הגיאוגרפיה

אלהים התודע בעצמאות האלוהית

בדרך מסוימת וחזקה

בערש ציביליזציה,

במקום בו החקלאות התחילה

לפני אלף אלפי שנים.

פליאה מתעוררת--

מה היה יה אומר לאדם וחוה

במקום גשמי אחר

בארץ שבה אף מכוש או מחרשה

מעולם לא נגעו באדמה,

אף חיה 

מעולם לא נפלה תחת העול של Homo sapiens

אף התמוטטות של ציביליזציה--

כתוצאה מרעב

או מערכות אקולוגיות שהשתנו בגלל החקלאות--

מעולם לא  המיטה הרס

על הנשמות והזכרונות ההסטוריים

של העמים,

בארץ שבה היה ידע וניסיון מתמשכים

באיסוף פרי האדמה

נשאו בכח מערכות אקולוגיות טבעיות,

משתנות ללא הרף כשהעונות מתחלפות--

מה היה אלהים אומר?

פליאה מתעוררת--

איך היתה ההיסטוריה מתקדמת

לו באמת מסורתנו נשמרה בחיים

לא רק הזכרון,

אלא גם הידע והנסיון הלא-חקלאיים

איך לחיות בגן עדן,

איך להיות חלק אחיד

של המערכות האקולוגיות המקומיות--

והחשיבות המכרעת בזה?

פליאה מתעוררת.

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long, and the co-founder and President pro-tem of Jewish Climate Action Network-MA. She is a board certified chaplain and a former hospital and hospice chaplain and now considers herself an eco-chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY in 2005 and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.

Re-Turning, Turning Around, Turning Toward: What Does it Take?

by Rabbi Katy Allen

The Jewish month of Elul is almost here. It's meant as a beginning of our process of turning and re-turning and returning to G!d as we prepare for the most holy day of the year, Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. It is a time to turn away from that which is not good for us, others, and the world, and to turn toward healing, wisdom, blessing, and all that is good for us, others, and the world.

Common wisdom reminds us that it requires 21 days - three weeks - of doing something in order to change. Elul has 29 days. And then there are 10 more days till we get to Yom Kippur. It should be plenty of time, right?

It seems to take a lifetime to learn how to live. My mother used to quote Rabbi Manfred Swarensky, z'l, long-time rabbi in Madison, WI, and a Holocaust survivor, as saying that we need to live twice, the first time to learn how, and the second time to do it all correctly.

Our reality is that we have only one life. But every year at this time, Jewish tradition reminds us that we can do better, and gives us tools and encouragement to do so.

The Earth Etudes for Elul, reflections on t'shuvah and Earth, will begin this Saturday evening, with the beginning of Elul. They are here to help each of us along the road of return, in particular in our connection to the Earth. During the month of Elul you will receive daily reflections from rabbis, priestesses, environmentalists, musicians, poets, and more, with thoughts about how to renew our connection to Earth and to G!d. May you  find in these etudes wisdom, support, and food for thought.

Many blessings on your journey.

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long, and the co-founder and President pro-tem of Jewish Climate Action Network-MA. She is a board certified chaplain and a former hospital and hospice chaplain and now considers herself an eco-chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY in 2005 and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.

Tu B'Av and Love

by Rabbi Katy Allen

As the afternoon wanes and Shabbat approaches, the less-than-familiar-for-most-of-us holiday of TuB'Av, the 15th of the month of Av, also nears it's end.

There were no days of joy in Israel greater than the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur. On these days the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed white garments in order not to shame any one who had none...The daughters of Jerusalem come out and dance in the vineyards. What would they say? Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself. Do not set your eyes on beauty but set your eyes on the family.  --Mishnah Ta'anit 4:8

For centuries, this holiday was marked only by the absence of penitential prayers during the morning service. But it modern-day Israel, it is becoming a holiday of LOVE. A little like Valentine's Day here.

As a species, what love is more fundamental to our physical and spiritual well-being than our love of the Earth?

We need the Earth. Our very existence is dependent upon it being a reliable source of food, air, water, and shelter. But if we only take, as with the human loved ones in our lives, the relationship is doomed to failure.

And so, on this day of love, let us remember to give.

When we prepare to make a purchase, let us ask, Is this action good for Earth and it's inhabitants?  If the answer is "yes," then go for it. If the answer is "no," let us consider an alternative action.

When we prepare to vote, locally and on up, let us ask, Is this vote good for the Earth and it's inhabitants?  If the answer is "yes," then go for it. If the answer is "no," let us consider an alternative vote.

When we prepare to travel, let us ask, Is this trip good for the Earth and it's inhabitants?  If the answer is "yes," then go for it. If the answer is "no," let us consider how to repair our action.

When we prepare to do anything, from morning until evening, let us ask, Is this action good for Earth and it's inhabitants?  If the answer is "yes," then go for it. If the answer is "no," let us consider an alternative action.

Let us bring this question into our lives as though it were a blessing, as though it were a prayer, and let us answer it with all honesty. Let us bring love for the Earth into every action we take. It deserves it.

Tu B'Av sameach! Happy 15th of Av.

Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long, and the co-founder and President pro-tem of the Jewish Climate Action Network-MA. She is a board certified chaplain and a former hospital and hospice chaplain and now considers herself an eco-chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY in 2005 and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.