Earth, Wind and Fire: The Origins Of Jewish Environmental Ethics

As climate change continues its perilous advance, it’s imperative to return to the Bible — and the biblical call to care for people and the earth. Jewish texts can sharpen our focus and ground us in a tradition that is deeply tied to the natural environment around us.

In this timely online course, scholar Ana Levy-Lyons will explore the stories, commandments and traditions around ecological stewardship in the Torah. 

We will read primary Jewish texts (in English translation) that feature environmental themes, as well as rabbinic commentaries and modern interpretations. Students will gain an understanding of the origins of Jewish environmental ethics, the imperative of human humility and our obligation to care for the earth.

Topics will include:

• The creation story, and how it connects to issues of working the earth and climate change
• The rival agricultural views of Canaan and Egypt/Mesopotamia, and what lessons we can learn from them
• The 10 Commandments, seen through an environmental lens
• The shmita year
• Preserving “wildness,” from our harvest fields to the animals we live alongside