EARTH DAY

בס"ד
23 Nisan


Tomorrow is the one day set aside each year to stop how we normally live & to give some thought to how we could be living. The one day some of us remember that we & the Earth & the animals & the plants & the air & the water are in fact all in the same canoe, as some of our First Nations hosts say, & that whatever we do to harm them ultimately returns to bite us in the end. Pun intended.

Earth Day.

I look around myself to see the tremendous speed at which many of us live our lives today, chasing the almighty buck, consuming whatever looks shiny & bouncey, distracted from our true environment: food, family, water, air. & encourage you to take the environmental footprint quiz found at the Earth Day link above & pay attention to how you could make it even a teensy bit smaller. You might also want to have a look at Adam Va-Adamah's site . Vancouver's Jewish environmental society has much good to share with people of all beliefs.

I have been inspired today to read Qohelet, the Book of Ecclesiastes, as well as some commentary on it. It's quite sobering. Not in a fire & brimstone way, just in a transparent way. The kind of transparency you find when your heart recognises the truth. It resonates, because it already dwells within your soul.

For example, Qohelet Rabbah 4:6 states: "Look at my creations, see how beautiful they are, how excellent. Make sure you do not ruin or destroy My world, for if you do there will be no one to repair it after you."

& much as some people see environmentalism to be inconvenient to humans because it somehow demands that we "put the Earth before our needs", don't forget that living with integrity on the Earth also means treating ourselves & other people with integrity.

Something that the Federal & Ontatio Provincial authorities are not doing right now. I'm deeply disappointed that a paper considered legally invalid by the courts is being used to rationalize the mistreatment of the Six Nations People, their supporters & their land. This is unacceptable. What's going on in southern Ontario right now brings tears to the eyes of this not-quite-white Jewish woman in Vancouver. Have we learned nothing from Ipperwash?

To the peaceful protesters I wish to give encouragement from what I have learned today, from words traditionally attributed to King David:
Qohelet/Ecclesiastes 5:7
ז  אִם-עֹשֶׁק רָשׁ וְגֵזֶל מִשְׁפָּט וָצֶדֶק, תִּרְאֶה בַמְּדִינָה--אַל-תִּתְמַהּ, עַל-הַחֵפֶץ:  כִּי גָבֹהַּ מֵעַל גָּבֹהַּ, שֹׁמֵר, וּגְבֹהִים, עֲלֵיהֶם
If you see oppression of the poor, & violent perversion of justice & righteousness in the state, wonder not at the matter; for One higher than the high is watching, & is higher than they.
&
Qohelet/Ecclesiastes 10:4
ד  אִם-רוּחַ הַמּוֹשֵׁל תַּעֲלֶה עָלֶיךָ, מְקוֹמְךָ אַל-תַּנַּח:  כִּי מַרְפֵּא, יַנִּיחַ חֲטָאִים גְּדוֹלִים
If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, stay in your place; for gentleness can allay great offences.

So bravely continue your peaceful, unarmed protest & wear your integrity as a shield until justice is done, either, G@d willing, by the government, or failing that by G@d.

Shabbat shalom.




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