An accessible introduction to the Jewish understanding of the natural world and the key concepts central to Jewish environmentalism.

At a time of growing concern about environmental issues, this book explores the relationship Jews have with the natural world and the ways in which Judaism contributes to contemporary social/environmental issues. It also shows readers the extent to which Judaism is part of the problem and how it can be part of the solution.

Offering both an environmental interpretation of Judaism and a Jewish approach to environmentalism, this book examines: What environmentalism is. What the creation stories can teach us about who we are and what nature is. The relevance of Torah and traditional sources.

At a time of growing concern about environmental issues, Dr. Jeremy Benstein, founder and associate director of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership, explores the relationship Jews have with the natural world, the ways in which Judaism contributes to contemporary social-environmental issues, the extent to which Judaism is part of the problem and how it can be part of the solution. Drawing from the Bible, rabbinic literature, midrash, the Jewish prayer book, and Jewish theology and philosophy, Benstein examines the dilemma of having dominion over the earth while serving and preserving it; what the Jewish calendar, including Shabbat and holidays, teaches us about our relationship with nature and the environment; and how contemporary environmental challenges present new and mind-opening opportunities for growth in Jewish thought and spiritual life.

Martin D. Yaffe's Judaism and Environmental Ethics: A Reader is a well-conceived exploration of three interrelated questions: Does the Hebrew Bible, or subsequent Jewish tradition, teach environmental responsibility or not? What Jewish teachings, if any, appropriately address today's environmental crisis? Do ecology, Judaism, and philosophy work together, or are they at odds with each other in confronting the current crisis? Yaffe's extensive introduction analyzes and appraises the anthologized essays, each of which serves to deepen and enrich our understanding of current reflection on Judaism and environmental ethics. Brought together in one volume for the first time, the most important scholars in the field touch on diverse disciplines including deep ecology, political philosophy, and biblical hermeneutics. This ambitious book illustrates precisely because of its interdisciplinary focus how longstanding disagreements and controversies may spark further interchange among ecologists, Jews, and philosophers. Both accessible and thoroughly scholarly, this dialogue will benefit anyone interested in ethical and religious considerations of contemporary ecology."