Tisha B’Av Renewed for Temple Earth

by Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Dear friends,

To start with what is new yet ancient: The Shalom Center welcomes you to the sad obligation to mourn for the continuing destruction of our universal Temple Earth a few days before Tisha B’Av, and to bring active hope to protect and heal the universal Temple of all life on Earth.

We will gather by Zoom at 7:30pm ET (4:30pm PT) on Sunday, July 23, to hear chants in English, created as a “Lament for Earth” by Moving Tradition’s Rabbi Tamara Cohen, newly honored by the Covenant Foundation for her innovative work in Jewish education; suggestions for action to protect Temple Earth by The Shalom Center’s Rabbi Arthur Waskow; reflections on the unique role Jews have in showing up for climate justice by Jewish Youth Climate Movement’s Madeline Canfield; songs and teachings of hope and determination by Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)’s Joelle Novey; and a call for specific pre-Tisha B’Av actions by Jewish Earth Alliance’s Dr. Mirele Goldsmith.

Why now? For thousands of years, Jews have fasted and wept and read in mournful melody the book of Eicha — Lamentations — in grief for the destruction by the Babylonian and then the Roman empires of the Temples in Jerusalem.

The tradition grew up that those Temples were microcosms of Earth and the offerings were aspects of Earth — salt for all minerals; sheep, goats, and doves for all animals; grain, fruit, flour, and pancakes for all vegetation; the songs of Levites for all human creativity.

Now it is not a microcosm but the web of life on the great round Earth themself that is in danger and the Breath of life we encode as YHWH, Ruach ha’olam, that is choking in the over-production of CO2 that overheats and burns all Temple Earth.

There will be a small contribution for this webinar, to support The Shalom Center‘s work to protect and heal our wounded Temple Earth.

To register for the webinar, please visit: https://theshalomcenter.org/events/templeearth5783

We will record the webinar on July 23, and all registrants will receive a link to the recording. If you can’t make the live time, please register NOW and watch when you can.

I look forward to seeing many of you!  

With blessings of shalom

— Arthur

Rabbi Tamara Cohen is the Chief Program Officer at Moving Traditions, a national organization whose mission is to embolden Jewish to youth thrive through pursuit of shleimut/wholeness, hesed/caring connection and Tzedek/a Jewish and feminist vision of justice. Tamara is one of this year’s Covenant Award recipients for excellence, creativity and innovation in Jewish education. She wrote “Eicha for Earth,“ a Tisha B’Av lament, when she was the Barbara Bick intern at The Shalom Center.

Madeline Canfield, Jewish Youth Climate Movement’s Organizing Coordinator, joined Adamah after organizing with the Sunrise Movement, Houston Youth Climate Strike, the Youth Working Group for the City of Houston Climate Action Plan, and Zero Hour. She is currently an undergraduate at Brown University.

Mirele Goldsmith, Ph. D., is an environmental psychologist and activist. As co-chairperson of Jewish Earth Alliance she is dedicated to making it easy for Jews to raise a moral voice for climate solutions to the US Congress and Administration.

Joelle Novey is the director of Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA), which works with hundreds of congregations of many traditions across Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia to respond to climate change, speaks widely about the role of religious communities in the climate movement, and serves on the advisory board of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action. Joelle lives with her family in South Silver Spring, and attends Minyan Segulah.

Rabbi Arthur Waskow is founder/ director of The Shalom Center; author of the Freedom Seder, Seasons of Our Joy, Dancing in God's Earthquake, and 25 other books; pioneer in shaping theology, liturgy, daily practice, and political action for Eco-Judaism; and arrestee in 27 protests against racism, wars, inaction in the face of the existential climate crisis, and other forms of eco/ social injustice.