Torah of the Earth: Exploring 4,000 Years of Ecology in Jewish Thought, Vol. 1

From Publishers Weekly
The relationship between Judaism and concern for the environment is exhaustively examined in this comprehensive two-volume anthology. Editor Waskow brings together 39 articles written by 32 scholars and experts. The first volume deals with "Biblical Israel and Rabbinic Judaism" while the second is devoted to "Zionism and Eco-Judaism." The editor, a founder of the Jewish renewal movement, was an anti-Vietnam war activist in the 1960s who "came alive to Judaism" at the age of 34. Twenty-seven years later, in 1995, a committee of rabbis from the Hassidic, Reform and Conservative movements and a feminist theologian who is not a rabbi gave him rabbinical ordination. He has published several books, beginning with The Freedom Seder in 1969. However, his editorial skills leave much to be desired, as evidenced by the irritating repetitions that mar this collection. Its better-known contributors include Norman Lamm (president of Yeshiva University), Abraham Joshua Heschel and Erich Fromm. The names of the other writers are less familiar, but some also make useful contributions to elucidating "Eco-Judaism." Six essays focus on ecological issues in Israel, emphasizing the shared stake of Palestinians and Israelis in environmental protection. The essays examine contradictions in Judaism and Zionism regarding beliefs and behavior affecting nature and the environment. These two volumes probe the roots of the environmental crisis as a looming catastrophe, especially in Israel, and point to a sustainable future path that requires spiritual healing. (June) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Mitchell must by now be accounted one of our generation!s heroic translators, having taken on the Book of Job, the Tao te Ching, and Genesis and done so much to popularize Rilke in English. Now he applies his considerable skill and sympathy to one of the most noted sacred texts of Asia, the Bhagavad Gita, and the results are very happy. He works in free-verse quatrains of about three beats per line, and his language flows with great naturalness. Inevitably, this text will remain both ancient and foreign to many modern readers, but Mitchell!s work goes a long way to making these words...[drive] away your ignorance and delusion. Highly recommended.- away your ignorance and delusion. Highly recommended. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Dean, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, University of Jerusalem
"In an age where Jews and Christians are re-awakening to the miracle of creation, Torah of the Earth is a great blessing.... This book is a treasure!"


Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College
"A fine, challenging collection.... Judaism comes alive with new intellectual and spiritual vigor in these wonderful essays."


Adam Werbach, Host of The Thin Green Line on the Outdoor Life Network, and former Sierra Club President
"The premier text for the burgeoning re-awakening of Jewish activism on behalf of the environment."


Book Description
Human responses to the natural world stretching back through the last 4,000 years come to life in this major new resource providing a diverse group of ecological and religious voices. It gives us an invaluable key to understanding the intersection of ecology and Judaism, and offers the wisdom of Judaism in dealing with the present environmental crisis. Both intelligent and accessible, Torah of the Earth is an essential resource and a reminder to us that humans and the earth are intertwined. More than 30 leading scholars and experts enlighten, provoke, and provide a guided tour of ecological thought from four major Jewish viewpoints.


From the Inside Flap
Perhaps the most profound Jewish statement about the relationship between human beings and the earth is bound up in two words of Hebrew - two words that do not even need a sentence to connect them: Adam. Adamah. The first means "human being"; the second, "earth." The two words intertwine to teach us that that the human and the earth are intertwined. In Hebrew no one is able to say the name of the earth or of humanity without hearing an echo of the other. -from the Introduction


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The relationship between Judaism and concern for the environment is exhaustively examined in this comprehensive two-volume anthology. Editor Waskow brings together 39 articles written by 32 scholars and experts. The first volume deals with "Biblical Israel and Rabbinic Judaism" while the second is devoted to "Zionism and Eco-Judaism." The editor, a founder of the Jewish renewal movement, was an anti-Vietnam war activist in the 1960s who "came alive to Judaism" at the age of 34. Twenty-seven years later, in 1995, a committee of rabbis from the Hassidic, Reform and Conservative movements and a feminist theologian who is not a rabbi gave him rabbinical ordination. He has published several books, beginning with The Freedom Seder in 1969. However, his editorial skills leave much to be desired, as evidenced by the irritating repetitions that mar this collection. Its better-known contributors include Norman Lamm (president of Yeshiva University), Abraham Joshua Heschel and Erich Fromm. The names of the other writers are less familiar, but some also make useful contributions to elucidating "Eco-Judaism." Six essays focus on ecological issues in Israel, emphasizing the shared stake of Palestinians and Israelis in environmental protection. The essays examine contradictions in Judaism and Zionism regarding beliefs and behavior affecting nature and the environment. These two volumes probe the roots of the environmental crisis as a looming catastrophe, especially in Israel, and point to a sustainable future path that requires spiritual healing. (June) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|


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