RESPECTING AND PROTECTING CREATION

A YEAR IN THEMATIC PROGRAMMING, WORSHIP, and EDUCATION AT BETH ISRAEL

וַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעׇבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשׇׁמְרָֽהּ

The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and to tend it.

Genesis 2:15

Jews are a people that value science and learning, but also as weighed against our time-honored traditions.  The charge to be stewards of the land did not end when we left the Garden.

Judaism was founded on the basis of an agrarian society.  Many of our holidays and festivals are rooted in agricultural celebrations.

Since the year 2000, the State of Israel and many Jewish groups in the United States have devoted incredible time and resources to try and address the challenges facing our future in a world with a changing climate.  We have a call not just to mind the science and the land, but to ensure that we pursue justice in our solutions and as we reconcile with the consequences.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Greener Kitchen

The Sisterhood and the JCEA proudly are hosting a “Greener Kitchen” event on September 18th at noon in the Epstein Room.

How can we save vegetables in the fridge without plastic bags?

How can we save an onion after it’s cut?

What’s the best way to keep herbs?

…and so much more.

The first 25 RSVPs will receive a “swag bag,” limited to one per household.

Respecting and Protecting the Environment: Scholar in Residence

After Sukkot, on October 20-23rd, 2022, Rabbi Justin Goldstein will be returning to CBI.

Friday night, there will be a post-dinner lecture and text study (6:30 p.m.).

• Spheres of Obligation, responsibility and influence
• Our responsibility to creation and the world
• How we gauge when our personal needs touch the world

Saturday – “From where does my strength come?” (12:15 p.m.)

Sunday Lecture/Workshop – Planning for 5789 – “Where do you see yourself?” (9:00 a.m.)

Please RSVP by October 6th by contacting the synagogue office.

PAST EVENTS

Before the Flood

Our first program starts in January.  Rabbi Justin Goldstein, who was our congregational rabbi from 2011 to 2013, will kick off our series with a Midrashic and Talmudic approach to climate change, commenting on the issues raised by the film Before the Flood, which will be shown immediately before his lecture.

Rabbi Goldstein started Yesod Farm+Kitchen in 2020 near Asheville, North Carolina, leaving the rabbinate to become a farmer.  This endeavor “seeks collective liberation with the land through Jewish agriculture, mutual aid, and growing relationships across difference.”  They offer free produce to people experiencing food insecurity.

Program Schedule:

January 13th, 6pm – Viewing of Before the Flood at Beth Israel and via Zoom.
January 13th, 8pm – Rabbi Goldstein’s Lecture, at Beth Israel and available on all our streaming platforms.

Before the Flood can be rented on YouTube prior to the event, and is also available for free to Disney Plus subscribers.
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohwU3Sfdckc

Making the Connection: Judaism, Food, Climate and You

Food is at the center of Jewish life and is also central to one of our most pressing existential concerns: climate change.  Although fossil fuels and carbon dioxide receive most of the attention in the fight to stop and reverse climate change, food waste and industrial animal agriculture are among the top contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.  Together, we can build a more just and environmentally resilient food system and we must start by connecting the dots.  Join us for some learning and discussion with Hazon’s Director of Food and Climate, Becky O’Brien, and leave with action steps that you—as individuals and as a community—can take immediately that are delicious, simple, save money, and help you walk (or should we say “eat”) the talk!

Program Schedule:

February 10th, 8pm

Introduction to MIT’s EN-ROADS Climate Simulator

The Climate Crisis dominates the news but most of us are unsure how to best move forward and how best to evaluate different climate policies.  Maine has a tiny portion of national carbon emissions, yet we Mainers are uniquely positioned to advocate for effective and equitable national climate policy as the only state with both of our SEnators on the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus.

Join Peter Dugas, EN-ROADS Climate Ambassador and Citizens Climate Lobby Liaison, for an introductory tour of MIT’s EN-ROADS Climate Simulator, and how it informs the search for effective and equitable climate policy on a local, national, and international level.

Peter Dugas is a certified EN-ROADS Climate Ambassador who currently serves as volunteer co-chair of the Portland, Maine chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby, lobbying and grassroots coordinator and liaison to Senator Angus King.  Peter earned a BS in physics and engineering from Brown University and is a veteran advocate for energy efficiency since retrofitting the historic building where he now lives with his wife and daughter.

March 10th, 7pm