Joyful Compassionate Abundance
Ecology is a “study of interactions among organisms and their environment.” It is about relationships, and one thing I was pretty sure I’d find as I worked my way through the Torah text this time is that Torah is a study of relationships in a system.
Torah focuses on relationships between G-d, humans, non-human animals, the earth, and the heavens. These are relationships within a system, a cosmos, so I called my project “Torah Ecology”.
While my focus is particularly on the G-d/human/non-human animal relationships, touching on other aspects of the biblical cosmos, earth and heavens, may give a more complete picture of how the parts come together in a whole. Explore with me, and let’s see where this leads. I appreciate comments.
Tetzaveh (Ex 27:20-28:43) continues the narrative that began in Yitro describing the structure of a local community, Israel, and relationships within it and with other “domains,” transcendence and creation. As in Terumah, which describes construction of the Tabernacle and Tent of Meeting, Terumah
Terumah (Ex 25:1-27:19) relates G-d’s instructions to the Israelites for building the Tabernacle, the portable structure that serves as G-d’s “home” during the desert wandering. I’m going to include the rest of chapter 27 (Ex 27:20-21) in my discussion since it relates
If the first three chapters of Genesis outline the relationships between G-d, creation and human beings, Yitro repeats that equation in the section on the 10 “Words” but with the significant additional element of a particular society (Israel, signified by “neighbor”). Mishpatim (Ex 21:1
Yitro (Ex 18:1-24:18) begins with a story of working out the relationship between Moses and the Israelites and ends with a story of working out the relationship between the Israelites, G-d and the natural world. Choreography mediates these negotiations, which seem to suggest
INTRODUCTION The first three chapters of Genesis tell us the entire story of the Torah. As one of my teachers used to say about Jewish ritual, it’s the “microcosm of the macrocosm.” If I am actually able to work through a year
INTRODUCTION Today I begin a new project of looking at the weekly Torah portions, searching for insights on food, “animal rights,” agriculture and ecology. Immediately a difficulty presented itself. My approach to the text doesn’t always fit neatly with the portions. This week,