Rabbi Ellen Bernstein: Baruch Eyl Rachamim v’Emet

by Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Dear friends,

We  are sorry and sad to carry the news that Rabbi Ellen Bernstein died last night. She was one of the most creative of eco-Jewish theologians, author of the first widely used Earth-oriented Haggadah for Tu B’Shvat and an Earth-focused Haggadah for Pesach, as well as several books of broader eco-theological outlook, and a former member of the Board of The Shalom Center.

She had a series of strokes two weeks ago. The doctors had determined that an inoperable cancer was the cause.

My first memory of her is in a boathouse on the edge of the Schuylkill River, where in the early 70s, she led that seder for Tu B’Shvat in a beautiful, lively, and transformative way. When she joined the Board of The Shalom Center, she warned me that her own way of action to protest and heal the earth was focused on its beauty, and that this might not fit well with the somewhat more activist bent of The Shalom Center. After a year, she told me she felt the fit was not right for her, and we parted from that role with loving care for each other’s pathway.

We will all miss her, and by “all” I mean Earth as well.
 
Plans for funeral and shiva have not yet been announced. We will let you know.
 
Shalom,

Arthur