Jewish Thought

The ancient rabbinic sages did not see degradation of the natural environment as a systemic problem: but we can learn from their legislation addressing the more local environmental issues of which they were aware.

Why don't we say a blessing before we do a good deed?

The biblical shemitah represents an alternative to the consumer society.

Aware as we may be of the importance of visiting and assisting people who are ill, we still have to overcome our fears and hesitations in order to perform this mitzvah.

A Talmudic legal parable illustrates that, although they may have improved the natural world, humans do not own it. We may transcend nature, but we are also part of it.

To the Israelite prophets, humans are central to the relationship of God and the created world...

Powerful passages in the Book of Job teach that the world, and the animals in particular, must not be abused or exploited by human beings.

A Bible scholar takes issue with those who blame the Book of Genesis for Western culture's exploitative disregard for nature.

When we perceive, at rare moments, that behind the natural world is a realm of the unknown and inexplicable, we attain awareness of holiness

The rabbis of the talmudic era were more interested in the human response to suffering than in finding theological justifications for its existence.

The design of the Levites’ urban settlements featured open spaces and regional integration.

A talmudic metaphor teaches that human beings are responsible for ensuring that the world achieves global environmental sustainability.