Earth Etude for Elul 8: Counting the Months: A Reflection on Rosh Hodesh Elul

by Emily Nadel

The skies these nights are dark & bright 

the moon collecting herself

the stars are 

Expansive. 

Elul. [Elul.]

Elul: the month of return. 

Elul: when the goldenrod covers the fields and tall, thin purple flowers line 

                the roads and highways. A couple maples have shown some color — 

                not many, and among all the green the color is calling to those 

                who are listening. 

Elul: A call to see the turning trees. To feel the cooling air, the shorter 

                days. 

Elul, and the New Year is just around the corner, 

and the call of the shofar calls me home

leads me home

builds a home.

We began this time of isolation during the celebration of planting. 

Nissan:     the beginning of longer days and warmer air, 

Pesach:     a new year grounded in home, a holiday for the home, celebrated 

                    in a home I had not left for weeks before, and would not leave 

                    for months after.  In these weeks of isolation, 

Counting the Omer brought meaning to monotonous days, guided me to look 

                    around - to watch the seasons, watch myself, watch our 

                    world change… culminating in 

Shavuout:    a day of revelation. This day of revelation, days after the murder 

                    of George Floyd. This Shvuous, I understood our task to be 

                    hearing the call for justice, and knowing that the call the need - 

                    for justice comes from a place of hurt, hurt with history. 

So the summer months: Sivan, Tammuz, & Av are concerned with history. with hurt. with holding loss & holding love. 

Adina Allen writes [in the Adamah Guide to Jewish Time], “Our task during this month of Elul then is to cultivate light even in the places that feel dark. In so doing we allow for something new to burst forth, a light whose brilliance we have not yet known.” 

This Elul, most places feel dark. 

Interconnected darkness; darkness that feels impenetrable and pervasive. 

Still, we cultivate light. 

We cultivate light - we must - with resiliency, 

       with tenderness, 

       with practices learned and ones developed new for 

                               these times. 

[Elul. Elul. Elul.]

This Elul, I am grateful for my friends the goldenrod and the shofar - 

        grateful for all that is grounding and familiar 

grateful for the call to return, 

    to see ourselves as beloved,

            and to cultivate light amidst all this darkness. 

Emily Nadel is fascinated by human impact and the ways human history is visible in our landscapes and cities. Since graduating from Macalester College with a focus in Jewish history, Emily has canvassed for Planned Parenthood, led the 9th grade unit at Ramah in the Rockies, studied at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and worked as a Teva Educator. You can find Emily exploring a new habitat, reading about eco-Judaism, and seeing what's new in her garden!

Earth Etude for Elul 7 - Tiers of Love

by Rabbi Suri Krieger

Ordained from the pluralistic Academy for Jewish Religion, Suri studied with Reb Zalman  Schachter-Shalomi in the early days of Jewish Renewal. Adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University for 8 years, Suri is currently Spiritual leader of B'nai Or: Jewish Renewal of Greater Boston.

 

Earth Etude for Elul 6 - As Above, So Below

by Deb Nam-Krane

What is the difference between dry, grey soil that’s one step up from clay, not too far removed from dirt, and dark, rich soil that you could grow almost anything in?

The answer, of course, is biodiversity. As above, so below, as they say. The more diverse the plants above ground, the richer the microbial life and the amazing mycorrhizal network (think “plant internet”) that nutrients travel through. Strong networks and vibrant micro-organisms in turn lead to stronger individual plants that are able to, almost miraculously, fight off the pests so many of us dump poisons on, with diminishing returns. (I promise you, this is true, but you have to try it yourself to believe it.)

But...how much biodiversity? Dr. Christine Jones, the eminent Australian soil scientist, has answered this question.Shorter answer: the more, the better. A plot with five species can still fail to thrive, but at twenty-seven you see the kinds of aggregated, chocolate cake-like soil all farmers (and gardeners) dream of. It would seem that the minimum amount of diversity the soil needs is about a dozen species.

As we begin another cycle of demanding equity in this country, I cannot help but be struck by the parallels between ourselves and our plant kingdom cousins. We thrive in diversity along every measure as much as they do, and when we lack it, we are in as much danger of withering away as they are. For us, applications of biocides are the equivalent of racist or otherwise prejudiced policies that artificially prop up some segment of us at the exclusion of all others, including discriminatory lending, race-based exclusion from government programs like the GI bill, or using race and/or socioeconomic status as the primary determinants of what classroom a student is taught in. 

Let’s learn not just from plants and microbes, but from soil. If we want to thrive, we need to bring in as much diversity as we can, both into our communities and into our lives.

Deb Nam-Krane has been an urban gardener and compost enthusiast for over a decade and an activist for over three (somewhere there's WBZ footage of her from 1989 protesting against fur). She is deeply concerned with the connections between climate change, food injustice, and human rights abuses. Deb leads JCAN-MA's Land Use/Soil Carbon team with the goal of educating people about the connections between agriculture and climate change and what they can do right now to help. Since the team’s inception in March of 2020, they have hosted four webinars, a film series on land use solutions, and a class on Trees (two more to come on August 26 and September 2!). She’s excited about the upcoming three-part book discussion series, as well as JCAN-MA’s upcoming Spring 2021 conference. A homeschooling mother of four, she genuinely enjoys working with youth and is constantly looking for ways to authentically bring them into decision-making and leadership roles. Please email deborahnamkrane@gmail.com to find out more.

Earth Etude for Elul 5: Aleinu to Jews: Have Faith in the Future

by Mirele B. Goldsmith

As we strive to heal the earth and reverse the damage caused by climate change, I find hope in recognizing that we are part of the greatest movement in human history.  This movement crosses all borders and includes people of every nationality, race, and religion. Forced to confront a global challenge, we have come together.

During the COVID 19 pandemic, I’ve been praying more than ever before, and I have been inspired by the words of the Aleinu.  In the words of Rav Tiferet Berenbaum, Aleinu is a “pep rally” to get us motivated to go out into the world and do God’s will.  Originally composed for musaf  on Rosh Hashanah, its message of hope and confidence in the future was deemed so important that it was made the conclusion of every service. 

Aleinu starts with a reminder that God is yotzer breishit, creator of the world with which we are entrusted. It goes on to say that it is our role l’taken olam b’malchut Shaddai, to act with Godly purpose to repair the world.  And it reminds us that we have our unique role as Jews to play in this universal quest.  Finally, the Aleinu concludes with the promise that one day all people will come together in “sacred unity” - we will be united in our understanding that we are creatures who share one earth and whose destinies are interdependent. Bayom hahu, on that day, when we accept and behave in accordance with this immutable truth, we will live in peace with each other and in harmony with nature. Our great movement can bring about that day.

Mirele B. Goldsmith is co-chairperson of Jewish Earth Alliance, a national coalition empowering Jews to raise a moral voice for action on climate change to the US Congress.

Earth Etude for Elul 4 - Coming Home

 by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

1. Tekia! (One long blast)

My toddler cuddles in my lap, shy in the backyard of new friends.

“Look Abraham!” I say. “Look, who is this tree?”

He peeks out and his face breaks into a smile.“Ah-buh-VI-tay!” 

“And who is this, with the sharp needles?”

“Spooce!” he says.

Shyness forgotten under the branches of old friends, 

Abraham squirms off my lap and explores the sandbox.

2. T’ru’ah! (Three wailing blasts)

When I commit myself fully to the personhood all around me -

the agency and the uniqueness of trees, especially -

a pervasive loneliness lifts, and I am folded back into Her

with a welcome as warm as sunlight in July.

So I encourage my son’s love of trees and we learn their names

like kids learn the names of trucks or dinosaurs

because I believe it will save his soul - and mine.

To crawl out of the loneliness of humans-are-the-only-people 

takes intention. 

It takes tolerating the heartbreak

of what is happening to other kinds of people.

It takes bearing the ecstatic joy of belonging again.

3. Sh’evarim! (nine staccato blasts)

I leave behind the pronoun it and never give the burden to my son,

instead massaging English into a new grammar that I hope will be his native tongue.

She has grown new buds. He is giving us shade. Who smells so good in the garden?

We leave it behind in the wreckage of the industrial age

And pick up she, he, they, someone, and who like smooth stones 

To hold in our pockets on the long hike towards a new paradigm.

4. Tekia G’dola! (One very long blast)

In Hebrew the word for God is used as a noun

But is really a verb that means is, was and will be all at once.

In Potawatomi there is a unique verb that means to be a tree

And another verb like it for every natural thing

Because we are not things but beings,

conjugations of a living God.

5.  A Still, Small Voice

“Mama, what dis tree called?”

Abraham reaches for the beech’s branch on our walk.

“Mama, I wanna hold his hand.”

Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman is a mother, wife, daughter, sister and aunt. She serves as the Director of Professional Development at Hebrew College in Newton, MA. Find her blog, music and more at rabbishoshana.com.

Earth Etude for Elul 3 - This Elul

by Judith Felsen, Ph.D.

 

This Elul

I will meet You in our fields 

 of shattered dreams

desires not sustained

supplications unrequited

Earth in hovering between

  pending diagnosis, treatment,

 and precarious recovery

Our state and fate, of You

I bring our ailments 

  sown in self and soil

  to be plowed

  to wisdom’s strengths

through ceasing, owning, pausing,

clearing, tilling, working in

Tikkun Olam with You

© J.Felsen, Ph.D. 7/29/20

Judith Felsen, Ph.D. is a N.Y.S. Licensed Clinical Psychologist who resides in Bartlett, N.H. at the edge of the White Mt. National Forest. Judith is a lover of and advocate for nature and all life, a hiker, walker, dancer, meditator, poetess, volunteer, gardener, wife and dog mother of two rescue dogs. She offers consulting upon request and spends time practicing and studying various treatment and healing modalities. She is on the board of the Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation, the Mt. Washington Valley Havurah and Neskaya Center for Movement Arts. Since Covid-19 Judith and Jack, her husband, have lived in Long Beach, New York where she practices, walks the beach, boardwalk and delights in the garden Jack cultivated. Judith participates in virtual services and is active in the Jewish community of both New Hampshire and New York. This year, Judith and her husband were awarded the JFNH Shem Tov Award for work on Holocaust and Genocide Education, related studies and offerings to the public and other organizations and audiences. Judith and Jack are second generation survivors and work to enhance the end of genocide for all.

Earth Etude for Elul 2 - Reflections on The Challenges of Living With Fear and Hope

by Maxine Lyons

I find new signs of hope and gratitude for the changes that I feel are beginning to surface despite the anxieties and sadness I feel for the families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, and for the heightened consciousness of racism. We are living through a time when many forces are coming together with the potential to change our daily lives, setting in motion systemic reforms to our institutions that could dismantle systemic racism. I feel fearful that social upheaval or outright rebellion could de-stabilize us as a country or alternatively, could re-set the direction for substantive, positive changes. Here are a few themes describing how I am experiencing living through these challenging times of fear and possible hopeful change.

Change agents: I am heartened by the gatherings of protesters and social justice advocates who fill the streets, people of all races and ages who are "living into" the signs they carry, but are they going to carry on the messages of those signs in meaningful ways? How can we share the communal responsibilities that our practices teach — that we all are of equal worth and importance? I ponder how the tragic consequences and deaths from the virus and undoing of racist practices might serve as tipping points to move us so we can begin to enter a real paradigm shift. 

Heroic health professionals: I gain strength and hope from this inspired doctor, (Katherine Gergen Barnett from the Department of Family Medicine at Boston Medical Center) who, in an exquisitely sensitive voice, says: “In practicing medicine through the pandemic, I can no longer place my hands on the shoulder of a patient or give them a hug for comfort. But I can help guide their storytelling with some gentle questions, and I can listen. This telling and receiving of stories help my patients start to make sense of what is happening in their lives and what is born becomes a kind of control to regain their agency and begin to heal their traumas."

Naturalist perspective: At Walden Pond in Concord, Thoreau “sheltered in place” not because of a dangerous virus but believing that his cabin in the Concord woods was a place to pursue his total immersion into and appreciation of the natural world. As Cody O’Loughlin says (in Lessons in Constructive Solitude), (For Thoreau) “nature was a communicating consciousness and he wanted to make himself available to it.” Many of us have known in these past months the pleasures and relief in outdoor activities in natural places for their regenerative influences and healing.

Perennial questions to answer: What do I value most, where will I set new priorities, what really matters, after all? How can I meaningfully keep tikvah (hope) alive? My personal response is to love my close family and friends more fully with an open heart and mind. In this past year, I embrace my grandchildren and cherish their laughs and continual changes, as they crawl, begin to walk, and gain the confidence to stand bravely. Adults too have to stand up bravely against injustice, to stand in support as allies and anti-racists, and to be in good standing with the best intentions for the right transformative values.

My teshuvah, my personal turning: 

In these uncertain times, I am using my Jewish and Buddhist practices to find meaning in crisis, living the unknowns with no road map to show where this journey ends. I am focusing on enabling myself to become a more peaceful “warrior." We need to elect more courageous and humane leaders in our government as we also become the most holy versions of ourselves. My teshuvah means acquiring an ometz lev (a courageous heart) to work with ongoing dedication to integrate my thinking, studying and feeling so I am able to contribute my part to the radical changes that are needed.

Maxine Lyons enjoys sharing her annual submission to Etudes that starts her preparing for Rosh Hashanah. She continues to participate in multi-racial interfaith gatherings, and finds involvement in Zoom classes and joyful times with friends and family. She loves summer gardening and enjoys her indoor gardens and succulents throughout the seasons.

 

Earth Etude for Elul 1 - Elul Is Here

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

I turned inward with the lockdown. I didn't want to go anywhere.

My garden saved me. I worked outside almost every day.

In early summer, I started again to lead outdoor services with small groups. But no walks on my own, in nature.

After the depths of despair of Tisha B'Av, as the weeks of consolation began, knowing Elul was approaching, I started to turn outward.

I spent a week of early mornings in a little-traveled conservation area, before the heat settled in. 

Reveling in the blooming flowers

Wandering

Staying in the moment

Picking blackberries

Settling in beside a deer resting spot

Praying

Lying back, looking up

Letting the more-than-human world heal me

And strengthen me

And prepare me

To go out into the world

To do what must be done

Today

And tomorrow

To try to make the world a better place.

Join me in journeying through Elul.

Note: This is the first in a series of Earth Etudes for Elul that will appear here most days of Elul. The etudes are reflections on teshuvah and Earth during a pandemic when we are acknowledging more deeply that Black Lives Matter.

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.

Corona Poem 6 - ?

by Judith Felsen, Ph.D.

I burn brightly

In the night 

I am 

A compass

In the day a source 

Of life

I can’t be seen

But ever felt

A sense 

A call 

A memory

A prayer

I am in heart and mind

Of all

I never die

I am 

Hope.


Judith Felsen, Ph.D. is a poetess, Clinical Psychologist, coach, 2nd generation holocaust survivor, hiker, dancer, walker, volunteer, lover of nature, gardens, wilderness, beach, ocean and mountains. Her work addresses issues of recovery, 2nd generation survivors, the natural world, gardens and harvests, life cycle issues, spiritual questing, social issues, community issues and personal requests. Her poems have been published and widely distributed in national and specific publications. She is a New York native and resident of new Hampshire. She frequents Long Beach and lives with her husband and two large rescue dogs at their camp in the White Mountains of N.H. and house near the ocean in Long Beach. She actively studies the mystical and esoteric aspects of Judaism and is a member of the board of the Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation and the Chavurah of Mount Washington Valley. She writes often and offers consultation upon request.

Corona Poem 5 - Corona Love/Fear

By Judith Felsen, Ph.D.

Corona love woke me from a dream 

I dreamt a while ago

now becoming real

anticipation of a world to be

incapable of life

Corona love, a nightmare

prophesy, projection of our ills 

lover’s warning

of impending truth 

reminding that existence is of one

virus,  people

world, one life 

Corona intervention cries for

waking up, releasing, letting go

11th plague 

this scourge demands 

no lamb’s blood,

rather our compassion 

smeared on every heart

forgiveness, every mind

connection, every being

that our doorposts bear

the mark of our awakening…

we lost our senses

now returned

we enter Sinai with atonement’s gold

making our commitments new commandments 

quarantine well spent

saving lives 

not for another golden calf 

but global grace instead

Partnered with Corona, our conscious bringing lover

we are one planet now

awakened to our unity 

where all is love.


Judith Felsen, Ph.D. is a poetess, Clinical Psychologist, coach, 2nd generation holocaust survivor, hiker, dancer, walker, volunteer, lover of nature, gardens, wilderness, beach, ocean and mountains. Her work addresses issues of recovery, 2nd generation survivors, the natural world, gardens and harvests, life cycle issues, spiritual questing, social issues, community issues and personal requests. Her poems have been published and widely distributed in national and specific publications. She is a New York native and resident of new Hampshire. She frequents Long Beach and lives with her husband and two large rescue dogs at their camp in the White Mountains of N.H. and house near the ocean in Long Beach. She actively studies the mystical and esoteric aspects of Judaism and is a member of the board of the Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation and the Chavurah of Mount Washington Valley. She writes often and offers consultation upon request.