The Way Into Judaism and the Environment

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Jewish Lights Pub., 2006 - Law - 260 pages
At a time of growing concern about environmental issues, Dr. Jeremy Benstein, founder and associate director of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership, explores the relationship Jews have with the natural world, the ways in which Judaism contributes to contemporary social-environmental issues, the extent to which Judaism is part of the problem and how it can be part of the solution. Drawing from the Bible, rabbinic literature, midrash, the Jewish prayer book, and Jewish theology and philosophy, Benstein examines the dilemma of having dominion over the earth while serving and preserving it; what the Jewish calendar, including Shabbat and holidays, teaches us about our relationship with nature and the environment; and how contemporary environmental challenges present new and mind-opening opportunities for growth in Jewish thought and spiritual life.

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Contents

Environmentalism Religion
11
The Humble Ruler and the Stuff of Nature
20
Creator Creating Creation
33
Copyright

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About the author (2006)

Jeremy Benstein, PhD, a founder and associate director of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership, lectures frequently on environmental ethics, consumer culture and religion, and the environment. He has published numerous articles on Judaism, Israel and environmentalism, including regular contributions to the Jerusalem Report. He is the author of The Way Into Judaism and the Environment (Jewish Lights).

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