Introduction: something’s burning The time is urgent. As our ancestors put it in that ancient compendium of ethical sound bites called Pirke Avot, רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן אוֹמֵר, הַיּוֹם קָצָר וְהַמְּלָאכָה מְרֻבָּה, וְהַפּוֹעֲלִים עֲצֵלִים, וְהַשָּׂכָר הַרְבֵּה, וּבַעַל הַבַּיִת דּוֹחֵק Rabbi Tarfon said: The day is short and the work is much, and the workers are lazy, andContinue reading “Yom Kippur 5784: Ethics of the Apocalypse”
Tag Archives: climate emergency
Shabbat No’akh: There’s Still Time
What caused the destruction of all that lived upon the earth? The Torah describes the divine thought process: וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לִפְנֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ חָמָֽס׃ The earth became corrupt before G*d; the earth was filled with lawlessness. וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְהִנֵּ֣ה נִשְׁחָ֑תָה כִּֽי־הִשְׁחִ֧ית כׇּל־בָּשָׂ֛ר אֶת־דַּרְכּ֖וֹ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ When G*d saw how corrupt the earth was, forContinue reading “Shabbat No’akh: There’s Still Time”
Shabbat Hazon: What We Have Done, and What We Must Learn
It is not up to you to finish the work, but you are not excused from your part in it – Pirke Avot We begin our immersion into the Book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, this week. The first parashah of this book is always the prescribed learning for the Shabbat immediately preceding Tisha B’Av. Tisha B’Av,Continue reading “Shabbat Hazon: What We Have Done, and What We Must Learn”
Rosh HaShanah 5780 – The Akedah: Stop Killing the Future
Rosh HaShanah 5780 Akedah D’var Torah: Stop Killing the Future Have you seen the Greta Thunburg helpline? It’s “for adults angry at a child.” The video I saw begins with a middle-aged white man who calls the helpline and confesses that he’s been screaming at the image of Greta addressing the U.N. Climate Summit.Continue reading “Rosh HaShanah 5780 – The Akedah: Stop Killing the Future”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 