Multimedia

Spotlights, 4.15, Climate Chaplaincy
Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2024

This episode of Spotlights features Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner, Reconstructionist rabbi and interdenominational climate change chaplain based in New Haven, Connecticut. As a rabbi, meditation teacher, climate change chaplain, and educator, she founded Exploring Apocalypse to extend her pastoral care work to help individuals and groups navigate the challenges of living in a time of climate emergency. We talk about her work, the emotional and spiritual impacts of climate change, intergenerational trauma, the intertwinement of climate change with social, cultural, and political issues, paths toward hope, and more. You can learn more about her work from the website for Exploring Apocalypse: https://www.exploringapocalypse.com
Posted 3/11/2024

Spiritual Environmentalism–Connecting Religion and Ecology
Rabbi Yonatan Neril, Yehonatan Kirsh
Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development
2023

In this interactive session, Rabbi Yonatan Neril and Yehonatan Kirsh engage in conversation about religion and ecology. Here’s what in this video: Introduction; Guest Background vis-a-vis Ecological Sustainability; What Judaism has to say about the environment; What’s the greater purpose of animals if not for human consumption? Why does God allow suffering of humans and animals? How to get society to consume less or no meat? The ethics of slaughtering Tension b/w Pro-Environment stance and Politically Conservative stance? Uniquely Jewish Leadership in Ecological Movement How to re-sensitize to environmental degradation How to Fight Anti-Human Sentiment; Spiritual hope & how to approach problem-solving in environmentalism How to make the world more religious, and thoughts on religious pluralism 28:22 “Shepherd consciousness” 31:27? Who are the “predators” of human society, and what's their function? Yonatan’s story vis-a-vis becoming religious “Mana” and food portion size; Torah commandment not to waste food; Torah commandment not to idol (anything other than God) worship; ‘Eye for an Eye’ mistake in environmentalism; How do we atone for our carbon sin; Noticing the state of the world; What are atheists missing? What are the consequences of not valuing monotheism? Closing story and blessing for the world; Jam session! This session took place Jun 30, 2023.

JPAC Capitol Summit 2023 | PANEL: The Jewish Case for Climate Action
Ben Allen, Rebecca Joy Fletcher, Julie Saxe-Taller, Joel Simonds
Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California
2023

Featuring Senator Ben Allen, Coastal Roots Farm’s Director of Jewish Life Cantor Rebecca Joy Fletcher, and CA Religious Action Center’s Lead Organizer Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller. Moderated by Jewish Center for Justice’s Founding Executive Director Rabbi Joel Simonds. Panel Convened at JPAC Capitol Summit 2023 which took place May 09, 2023 to May 10, 2023.

Jewish Community Farming and the Climate Crisis
Adrienne Krone
Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies
2023
In this David Lipson Memorial Lecture, Adrienne Krone discussed the contemporary Jewish Community Farming movement, which began with the founding of Adamah in 2004 and now consists of about twenty innovative and pluralistic organizations spread throughout the United States and Canada. Organizations like Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs in Toronto use their land, resources, and networks to mitigate climate change through diverse methods, including ecological restoration and reforestation, pollinator repopulation, seed development, and political advocacy. Adrienne Krone is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Sustainability and Religious Studies at Allegheny College. She has a Ph.D. in American Religion from Duke University and her research focuses on religious food justice movements in North America. Her current research project is an ethnographic and historical study of the Jewish community farming movement. This event took place on January 23, 2023.
Spotlights Clips 2.40, Shomreh Adamah (Keepers of the Earth)
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2022

This clip is an excerpt of the Spotlights episode featuring Rabbi Ellen Bernstein. In this clip, she discusses her work with Shomrei Adamah (Keepers of the Earth), the first national Jewish environmental organization, which she founded in 1988. While Shomrei Adamah, the organization, closed in 1996, it touched the hearts and minds of tens of thousands of people, and its message continues to reverberate through its books and educational materials, and through the work of a new generation of Jewish educators, naturalists, environmentalists, farmers and artists. The Shomrei Adamah leadership believed that holiday celebrations, and in particular, Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish New Year for the trees, could provide opportunities for educating and organizing masses of people to care for the earth. More information about Shomrei Adamah can be found hereDetails for the full episode are available hereThis episode was posted 06/27/2022.

Spotlights Clips 2.38, Ecology in Genesis 1
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2022

This clip is an excerpt of the Spotlights episode featuring Rabbi Ellen Bernstein. In this clip, she discusses her ecological interpretation of the Bible, specifically the ecological implications of the first chapter of the book of Genesis. She wrote a wonderful book on the topic, The Splendor of Creation: A Biblical Ecology (Pilgrim Press). Details for the full episode are available hereThis episode was posted 06/13/2022.

Spotlights 2.37, Ellen Bernstein: Rabbi, Author, and Ecotheologian
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2022

This week’s episode of Spotlights features Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, a leader and pioneer in the field of religion and ecology. She discusses her work with Shomrei Adamah, Keepers of the Earth, the first national Jewish environmental organization, which she founded in 1988. She also talks about some of her work as an author and ecotheologian, focusing on the intersection of Judaism, Bible and ecology, including her ecotheology of Genesis 1 in The Splendor of Creation (2006), her ecologically centered Passover Haggadah in The Promise of the Land (2019), her ecological interpretation of the idea of dominion, her ecological guide for the Jewish New Year of the Trees (Tu B’Shvat) (1988), and more. You can learn more about her work on her website. This episode was posted 06/06/2022.

The Ecology of Passover : A Conversation with Rabbi Ellen Bernstein
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein
Montana Jewish Project
2022

Rebecca Stanfel of the Montana Jewish Project interviews Rabbi Ellen Bernstein.

Climate Justice and the Jewish Community: A Call to Action Through Dialogue
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein, Kristy Drutman, Sophia Rich, Vicki Kaplan, Ariel Mayse
University of Michigan, School of Social Work
2022

This talk is entitled: Climate Justice and the Jewish Community: A Call to Action Through Dialogue, a facilitated panel discussion with a Q and A session where the speakers discuss the current action and movement within the Jewish community towards an environmentally-just future. The event features several panelists who offer various perspectives on what the next steps can be.

Speakers include Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, a pioneer in the field of religion and ecology and a eco-theologian, spiritual leader, writer and creative; Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein, a Black Jewish Rabbinic Scholar and Public Affairs Advisor at Jewish Federations of North America and leader of the JEDI (Jewish Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) and racial justice initiatives; Kristy Drutman, a Jewish-Filipina environmental media creator and founder of Brown Girl Green, a media platform exploring the intersections between media, diversity, and environmentalism; Sophia Rich, an Ann Arbor high school junior who is passionate about connecting Jewish principles and climate justice and a member of the National Leadership Board for the Jewish Youth Climate Movement; Vicki Kaplan, Director of Organizing at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, as well as an activist and campaigner committed to movement-building and anti-racism work; and Ariel Mayse, assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University and researcher on resources of Jewish thought and theology for constructing contemporary environmental ethics. This conversation was streamed live on 03/27/2022.

Judaism and Climate Change: Environmental Ethics and Social Activism
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson
Emory University
2022

Prof. Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Regents Professor, Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor of Modern Judaism, Professor of History, and the Director of Jewish Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. This talk was delivered on March 21, 2022. 

A Jewish Approach to Climate Change
Rabbi Yonatan Neril
Uri L’Tzedek
2021

Join Uri L'Tzedek and Rabbi Yonatan Neril for a Zoom webinar. A few weeks before the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, Rabbi Yonatan Neril explores Jewish teachings that relate to climate change and why it’s so critical that Jewish communities mobilize to address the climate crisis. This webinar took place on Oct 8, 2021. 

Spotlights Clips ~ Ep. 49, Animal Agency, and the Mouth of the Donkey
Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2021

This week’s episode of Spotlights is a short clip from our episode featuring Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan, PhD, Director of Inter-religious Studies and Professor of Jewish Studies at Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia, Canada. In this clip, Rabbi Laura talks about the symbolic meaning of donkeys in the Bible as well as the question of animal agency or personhood, reflecting on her book, Mouth of the Donkey: Re-imagining Biblical Animals (Wipf & Stock, 2021). Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/OCY5Tl7_EBE. You can learn more about her work here: https://vst.edu/people/laura-duhan-ka… You can find more information about the book on the publisher’s website: https://wipfandstock.com/978172525905… This episode was posted 08/23/2021.

Spotlights Clips ~ Ep. 48, Humans, Animals, and Creation
Laura Duhan Kaplan
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2021

This week’s episode of Spotlights is a short clip from our episode featuring Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan, PhD, Director of Inter-religious Studies and Professor of Jewish Studies at Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia, Canada. Reflecting on her book, Mouth of the Donkey: Re-imagining Biblical Animals (Wipf & Stock, 2021), she discusses questions of anthropocentrism, the ethical treatment of animals, and the order of creation. Watch the full episode here. You can learn more about her work hereYou can find more information about the book on the publisher’s websiteThis episode was posted 08/16/2021.

Spotlights ~ Ep. 47, Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan, Vancouver School of Theology
Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2021

This week’s episode of Spotlights features Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan, PhD, Director of Inter-religious Studies and Professor of Jewish Studies at Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia, Canada. She discusses her professional and personal engagement in the intersection of religion and ecology, with particular attention to her newly released book, Mouth of the Donkey: Re-imagining Biblical Animals (Wipf & Stock, 2021). She provides a fresh, insightful, and accessible interpretation of humans, sheep, corvids, locusts, donkeys, and many more animals in the Hebrew Bible. You can learn more about her work here. You can find more information about the book on the publisher’s website. Posted 08/09/2021.

Reading Jewish Texts in an Age of Climate Change: Grappling with Risk, Reimagining Hope
Julia Watts Belser
Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, University of Washington
2021

How can Jewish texts help us to think through the social politics of the contemporary climate crisis? Bringing feminist disability insights to ancient Jewish narratives, Julia Watts Belser argues that Jewish stories about the destruction of Jerusalem can be a powerful companion for thinking about climate disruption and the contemporary pandemic. This talk will grapple with the politics of risk, examining how race, class, gender, and disability intertwine to force certain bodies to bear the brunt of the storm. It will also explore how these stories invite us to reconsider the spiritual work of navigating tumultuous change so that we can reimagine hope from within the heart of crisis. This talk was given 05/25/2021.

A Passover Earth Seder for Everyone
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, Rabbi Cantor George Mordecai
EcoPeace Middle East
2021

This ecologically sensitive Passover Seder led by Rabbi Ellen Bernstein is based on Ellen's Passover haggadah, The Promise of the Land. The Seder illuminates the centrality of land/earth in Biblical and Jewish tradition. Ellen is joined by musician extraordinaire Rabbi Cantor George Mordecai, who performs Sephardic, Judeo-Arabic and Ladino versions of several traditional Passover songs. Many other musicians, performance artists, eco theologians from multiple traditions, Bible scholars, and leaders of interfaith and Jewish environmental organizations join Ellen and George to create an enchanting Passover Seder that everyone-regardless of religious background can enjoy. Participants include Victoria Hanna, Joy Ladin, Nigel Savage, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Rabbi Daniel Swartz, Rabbi Shefa Gold, Rebekka Goldsmith, Hazan Diana Brewer, Nili Simhai, Shamu Sadeh and many more. This Seder was a benefit for EcoPeace Middle East and took place on Apr 12, 2021.

2021 Jewish Science and Medical Group Conference, Session 3: Climate Change and Environmental Health
Bernice Reya Rosenzweig, Michael Kosoy, Rabbi Nancy Epstein
Arizona State University
2021

In a session of the 2021 Jewish Science and Medical Group Conference, three Jewish professionals—Bernice Reya Rosenzweig, PhD, Michael Kosoy, PhD, and Rabbi Nancy Epstein—present on climate change and environmental health. Specifically, their discussion touches upon climate change and cities; the inextricable connections between the health of animals, human beings, and our environments; and how public and environmental health relate to Judaism and the sacred. This talk took place on 2/28/2021.

Us and Us—Centering the Margins of Racial Identity in the Jewish Climate Movement
Kristy Drutman, Nate Looney, Yoshi Silverstein
Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest
2021
As Jews, when we discuss “environmental racism,” conversations and learning often fall into the paradigm of framing the conversation as “Us” (Jews) and “Them” (People of Color). When this framing occurs, even if subconsciously, what assumptions are being made about who Jews are and where do Jews of Color fit in? Join Kristy Drutman (Brown Girl Green), Nate Looney (Avodah), and Yoshi Silverstein (Mitsui Collective) for a conversation on our experiences as Jews of Color working at the intersections of nature connection, environmental activism, farming, service, and Jewish education; and on how the Jewish climate movement must evolve in its relationships and practices both external and internal to Jewish community in order to actualize a green and equitable future. This event was held Friday, January 29, 2021.
Confronting the Climate Crisis with Jewish Values and Spirit
Rabbi Dana Saroken, Rabbi Jennie Rosenn
Dayenu, Beth El Congregation
2021
During the virtual Tu B'Shevat Seder of Beth El Congregation of Baltimore, Rabbi Dana Saroken invited Rabbi Jennie Rosenn (Founder and CEO of Dayenu) to discuss how we can confront the climate crisis with Jewish values and spirit. This event was held on 01/27/2021.
Spotlights ~ Episode 2, Hava Tirosh Samuelson
Hava Tirosh Samuelson
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2020

You can also listen to an audio podcast of this episode here.
Scholar Hava Tirosh Samuelson, of Arizona State University, speaks about her work and the intersection of Judaism and ecology in our second episode of FORE Spotlights. This episode was posted 09/28/2020.

Ellen Bernstein on the Climate Emergency
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein
Temple of Understanding
2020

Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, founder of the first national Jewish environmental organization (Shomrei Adamah), discusses her career of thinking about Judaism, the Bible, and ecology. This interview is conducted as part of Temple of Understanding’s Ecojustice for All interview series, which features perspectives on the climate emergency from international movers and shakers. This interview was held on 09/11/2020.

If Not Now, Then What? The Present and Future of Climate Change
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Cassandra Carmichael, Nigel Savage, Joelle Novey
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
2020

Peer-reviewed science offers a clear consensus: that climate change, caused by humans, is an existential threat, and the defining issue of our time. How can the Jewish community–from JCRCs to synagogues to national agencies–step up to meet this challenge? In this session at the JCPA2020 Workshop, top Jewish and interfaith experts offer concrete suggestions on why, how, and with whom to prioritize climate change as a core Jewish communal concern. They discuss the coalitional value of Jewish visibility, especially around environmental justice; the multi-faith promise of a growing response, linking Jewish communities deeply with our Christian, Muslim, and other counterparts; and the intergenerational urgency of staying relevant, as young people around the world lead the charge to address the climate crisis. Moderator: Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Speakers: Cassandra Carmichael, National Religious Partnership for the Environment(NRPE); Nigel Savage, Hazon; Joelle Novey, Interfaith Power and Light for MD-DC-NoVA. This event was held at the JCPA2020 National Conference, held from February 8-11, 2020 in Washington, D.C.

The Jewish Roots of Environmental Justice
Rabbi Arthur Waskow
TorahTrek: The Center for Jewish Wilderness Spirituality eJournal
2018

Rabbi Arthur Waskow teaches about the organic connection between humanity and the earth in Judaism, and the Jewish roots of environmental justice.
Follow link to view video

Climate Change and Ecojustice
Rabbi Lawrence Troster
TorahTrek: The Center for Jewish Wilderness Spirituality eJournal
2018
Rabbi Lawrence Troster, one of the leading thinkers on Judaism and the environment, speaks about climate change as a moral challenge and explores the Jewish duty to work for eco-justice.
Follow link to view video
Climate Change and Ecojustice: Video Interview
Rabbi Lawrence Troster
TorahTrek: The Center for Jewish Wilderness Spirituality eJournal
2018
Rabbi Lawrence Troster, one of the leading thinkers on Judaism and the environment, speaks about climate change as a moral challenge and explores the Jewish duty to work for eco-justice.

Follow link to view video.

Tu B'Shvat Matters: Celebrating Trees and Nature
Ellen Bernstein
Shomrei Adamah
2018

This Tu B’Sh'vat seder takes place annually at Hampshire College and is a new version of Ellen Bernstein's original seder (Philadelphia, 1988), which was the catalyst for Shomrei Adamah, the first national Jewish environmental organization. Tu B’Shvat is the new year for the trees according to Jewish tradition. In the 1600’s the Jewish mystics, the Kabbalists, who lived in Sefad, created a ritual—a seder—for Tu B’Shvat. The Kabbalists had a 4-dimensional view of life. They imagined that the cosmos operated according to 4 worlds: action, emotion, thought and spirit. For their seder they ate many kinds of fruits, drank concoctions of wine, made blessings, and read spiritual texts about nature. This seder that you are about to view is rooted in the four worlds of the kabbalistic seder. Here, action corresponds to earth, emotion corresponds to water, air corresponds to thought, and spirit corresponds to fire. You can think of the seder as a 4-course fruit feast. Each course is composed of readings from spiritual and contemporary sources, music, fruits, wine, and blessings. Four puppets signify the four different elements/worlds.

Retrospective and Prospective: Abrahamic Traditions
John Grim, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Heather Eaton, Mohammed Rustom
Harvard Divinity School
2016

Welcome by Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Director, Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University; Overview by John Grim & Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University; Judaism: Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Arizona State University Christianity: Heather Eaton, St. Paul’s University, Ottawa Islam: Mohammed Rustom, Carleton University Moderator: Francis X. Clooney, S.J. “Religion, Ecology, and Our Planetary Future” advances the work of understanding and transforming the discourse of religions and ecology for the twenty-first century. The conference marks the twentieth anniversary of the Religions of the World and Ecology Conference series and subsequent book series. This event took place on October 14, 2016.

Green Torah Wisdom: Becoming a Jewish Environmentalist
Rabbi Lawrence Troster
ELI Talks
2014

The global environmental crisis is real and, posits Rabbi Lawrence Troster, Judaism holds the key to living a life in balance with the natural world. His concept of “Green Torah Wisdom,” outlined in this talk, combines environmental and social responsibility with core elements of Jewish tradition, bringing a deeper consciousness to our everyday lives.

Judaism and Ecology
Rabbi Lawrence Troster
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2013

Lawrence Troster discusses Judaism and Ecology with Mary Evelyn Tucker.  “Judaism and Ecology” is part of the larger “Conversations on World Religions and Ecology” project. Watch the whole “Conversations on World Religions and Ecology” series on the Forum on Religion and Ecology YouTube Channel.

The Abrahamic Response to Journey of the Universe
Rabbi Lawrence Troster, Heather Eaton, Safei Eldin Hamed
Chautauqua Institution
2013

Rabbi Lawrence Troster, Dr. Heather Eaton, and Dr. Safei Eldin Hamed offer responses from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions to Journey of the Universe. Rabbi Troster, a late Jewish environmental activist, draws from the Books of Genesis and Isaiah to suggest that the science of the universe story is offering people a vision of a new heaven and a new Earth. Dr. Heather Eaton, a theologian at Saint Paul University, highlights the need for Christians to retrieve its focus on creation, to reinterpret justice as ecojustice, and to reconstruct theologies of incarnation to encompass the entire Earth community. Dr. Safei Eldin Hamed, a scholar of environmental planning at Chatham University, interprets the Quran to suggest that there is equality between all creatures and that Islam can offer a holistic and functional cosmology for our contemporary world. This event took place at the Journey of the Universe and Our Elegant Universe Symposium on 06/26/2013.

The Spiritual Roots of the Environmental Crisis
Rabbi Ronen Lubitch
Jewcology
2012

In this video, Rabbi Ronen Lubitch discusses the spiritual roots of the environmental crisis. These materials are posted as part of Jewcology's “Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment,” in partnership with www.canfeinesharim.com. Rabbi Ronen Lubitch is Rabbi of Nir Etzion and a lecturer at Shaanan Religious Teachers College and at Haifa University. Learn more at http://www.jewcology.com. This talk occurred at the Interfaith Climate and Energy Conference, held by the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung at the Mishkenot Sha’ananim Conference Center in Jerusalem on March 19th, 2012.

Jewish Environmentalism: Bridging Scholarship, Faith, and Activism
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson
Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought, "Jewish Thought and Jewish Belief" International Conference
2011

In this presentation at the “Jewish Thought and Jewish Belief International Conference,” Hava Tirosh-Samuelson considers Jewish environmentalism and the intersection of scholarship, faith, and activism. She gives a brief overview of the Jewish environmental movement in America and offers a portrait of Jewish environmental organizations with some comparisons to the Jewish environmental movement in Israel. She then considers Jewish ecotheology and reflects on the claim that it reflects the reemergence of paganism. She ends by clarifying some challenges that confront Jewish environmentalism and suggests how to address them.

A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal The World
Lionel Friedberg
Jewish Vegetarians of North America
2007

A Major Documentary on Current Environmental Threats and How Jewish Teachings Can Be Applied in Responding to These Threats. Produced by Emmy-Award-winning producer, director, writer, and cinematographer Lionel Friedberg, A SACRED DUTY will take its place alongside Al Gore's AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH and Leonardo di Caprio's THE ELEVENTH HOUR as another powerful expose of the dangers of global warming. However, it goes beyond the latter two films, by showing how religious responses can make a major difference and why a shift toward plant-based diets is an essential part of efforts to reduce global climate change and other environmental threats.