Ecology & the Jewish spirit : where nature and the sacred meet

Description: What is nature's place in our spiritual lives? In today's modern culture, we've become separated from the sacredness of the natural world. This book offers a different, eye- and soul-opening way of viewing our religion: A perspective grounded in nature, and rich in insights for seekers of all faiths. Respect for the holiness of Creation, our duty to protect the natural world, reverence for the land...a focus on nature is part of the fabric of Jewish thought. Here, innovative contributors bring us a richer understanding of the long-neglected themes of nature that are woven through the biblical creation story, ancient texts, traditional law, the holiday cycles, prayer, mitzvot (good deeds), and community. Ecology & the Jewish Spirit explores the wisdom that the Jewish tradition has to offer all of us, to help nature become a sacred, spiritual part of our own lives. -- from back cover

Table of Contents: Introduction
PART ONE : SACRED PLACE
Adam, Adamah, and Adonai : the relationship between humans, nature, and God in the Bible / Jeff Sultar
Befriending the desert owl / Shamu Fenyvesi
(Mis)reading Genesis : a response to environmentalist critiques of Judaism / Neal Joseph Loevinger
Is there only one Holy Land? / Bradley Shavit Artson
How wilderness forms a Jew / Ellen Bernstein
A sentient universe / Everett Gendler
Practical Kabbalah : a family history / Charles Fenyvesi
Jewish perspectives on limiting consumption / Eliezer Diamond
New York is a girl / Robert Sand
PART TWO : SACRED TIME : Cycles of the Jewish year.
The sun, the moon, and the seasons : ecological implications of the Hebrew calendar / Debra J. Robbins
"In your goodness, you renew creation" : the creation cycles of the Jewish liturgy / Lawrence Troster
Shabbat and the sabbatical year / Dan Fink
The land of your soul / Marc Sirinsky. The holidays. Rain and the calendar / Ellen Cohn
Sukkot : holiday of joy / Ellen Bernstein
Sukkot : gathering the boughs / Dan Fink
A history of Tu B'Sh'vat ; The Tu B'Sh'vat seder / Ellen Bernstein
Purim rivers and revels / Dan Fink
The parsley versus the potato : a Passover reminiscence / Everett Gendler
Leaving Egypt / Dan Fink
Grow your own--barley, that is! / Eileen Abrams
Mountain paths / Dan Fink
In search of the Omer / Ellen Cohn
Of dust, ashes, comets, and a three-year-old / Dan Fink
PART THREE : SACRED COMMUNITY
Cosmos and chaos : biblical views of creation / Neil Gillman
Restoring a blessing / Shamu Fenyvesi
What is the common wealth? / David Ehrenfeld
Jewish agricultural law : ethical first principles and environmental justice / Victor Raboy
The blessings of holiness / Lawrence Troster
Nature, spirit, body / Shira Dicker
Judaism's environmental laws / Barry Freundel
Business and environment : a case study / Philip J. Bentley
Between dust and divinity : Maimonides and Jewish environmental ethics / Dan Fink
What does the hour demand? : environmentalism as self-realization / David Gedzelman
Living as if God mattered : Heschel's view of nature and humanity / Marc Swetlitz
How community forms a Jew / Ellen Bernstein

FY2005 /