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.
It’s hard not to notice that the last chapter in the portion that precedes this week, Kedoshim, concerns a stoning and the last chapter in this week’s portion, Emor, does as well. This signals me to an organizational scheme that doesn’t quite
If the first three chapters of Genesis set out the framework for the Torah project, Leviticus 16 forms its narrative heart. Positioned between the Purity Code and the Holiness Code, it ties together two parts of a central Torah concept in a
For those of you who follow my blogĀ and who are puzzled with my Torah Ecology posts or find them unreadable…I would like to explain. In a few words, my blog is about religion and food and the intersection between them. This has
Once upon a time I had a teacher who assigned me to read and report on a book titled Nizzahon Vetus, more fully titled, THE JEWISH-CHRISTIAN DEBATE IN THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: A CRITICAL EDITION OF THE NIZĢ£ZĢ£AHĢ£ON VETUS. The book is
A Tale of Two TreesĀ (Gen 2:4-3:24) Relationship, as psychologists tell us, depends as much on separation between entities as it does on connection. The Torah is aĀ story of two trees and three domains. Through the symbolism of the two trees, itĀ tells us
“And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste–it is the LORD’S passover” (×Ö°×Öø×Öø×, ×ŖÖ¹Ö¼××Ö°××Ö¼ ×Ö¹×Ŗ×Ö¹–×Öø×ŖÖ°× Öµ××Ö¶× ×Ö²×Ö»×ØÖ“××, × Ö·×¢Ö²×Öµ××Ö¶× ×Ö°Ö¼×ØÖ·×Ö°×Öµ××Ö¶× ×Ö¼×ַקֶּ×Ö°×Ö¶× ×Ö°Ö¼×Ö¶×Ö°×Ö¶×; ×Ö·×Ö²×Ö·×Ö°×ŖÖ¶Ö¼× ×Ö¹×Ŗ×Ö¹
Tzav continues the story of love, betrayal, jealousy and restorationĀ begun in Ki Tissa, the Golden Calf episode. Ki Tissa was a remarkable accountĀ ofĀ “the deep wound in G-d that results from Israelite infidelity, a statement of the profound interdependence of the Israelites not
WHAT CREATION HAS TO DO WITH LEVITICUS The first chapters of Genesis tell a story about the creation of the world. Ā It’s easy to read the story as a fanciful tale of a world without death, a world in which allĀ of nature
Sometimes it’s more aboutĀ what’s not said than what is. That is the case in the comingĀ week’s Torah portion, a double, Vayahkel-Pekudei. AARON’S FALL FROM GRACE If the first half of Tetzaveh represented the apex of Aaron’s power and authority as high priest,
Ki Tissa, “When you take a sum…,” is filled with things to contemplate! It fascinates me that these stories consistently reveal narrative structures, a scaffolding of sorts, that supports meaning. I’m not always sure what the meaning is — that might be