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January 19, 2024, (10 Sh'vat 5784) Parasha Bo- Happy New Year, Trees!
Dear Friends, I hope this correspondence finds you well and in good health. We look forward to you joining us this Saturday morning for Shabbat services at 10:00 am. This week, we celebrate the B’nei Mitzvah of Jacob and Rachelle Fradkin. We are thrilled to call them to the Bimah to mark their Simcha (joyous event). We thank their proud parents, Vadim and Cecile, for sponsoring our Kiddush, and wish them and their extended family a hearty Mazal Tov! Next Shabbat, January 27th, we will have the second installment of our new series entitled, Young Voices: Today’s Topics and are pleased to welcome Shira Wallach, the Chief Leadership Officer at Israel on Campus Coalition. Shira provides resources and support to combat antisemitism on college campuses across the country. She has years of experience guiding people of all ages to embrace Israel as a core part of their identities and will give us the view from the frontlines of college campuses across the country. This upcoming week, we celebrate a minor festival called Tu Bishvat, commonly known as the New Year for the Trees. Many consider it to be the Jewish Arbor Day. Given that the holiday takes place during the North American winter, it always makes me think about special times I have enjoyed being in nature. Thirty years ago, I had the unique experience of joining three congregants, from my former Shul in Chicago, on a backpacking trip through a remote area of the Rocky Mountains. Jack was the quirky captain of our motley crew. A veteran backpacker, Jack provided a detailed packing list, food supplies, and an exercise schedule for our timely preparation. As an experienced runner, I was perplexed by the request to improve my cardio. Jack responded, “The air is thin up there. We will be at 13,000 feet, so keep running.” Steve, a dear friend and professor of law, and Rick, a computer analyst and expert violinist, rounded out our quartet of campers. After arriving in Denver, a two-hour van ride took us to the beginning of the trail. A few miles into the first day’s trek, we began ascending the side of a majestic mountain. From that point to the end of our week-long journey, we would encounter, at best, one other person each day. This trail was not for the faint of heart! Up in the mountains, radical amazement engulfed my soul as I looked out onto Hashem’s work, molded during His finest moments of creation. The air was crisp, clear, and clean. At night, the stars literally lit up both the sky and the mountain cliffs. Each sound of moving creatures was amplified by the nocturnal quietude. The vistas were breathtaking. The solitude and sanctity of being in nature could only be described as sacred. I recall meditating upon a biblical passage recited during Hallel: הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם שָׁ֭מַיִם לַיהֹוָ֑ה וְ֝הָאָ֗רֶץ נָתַ֥ן לִבְנֵי־אָדָֽם׃ The heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth belongs to humankind, to whom he bequeathed it. How lucky we are! Tu Bishvat has been coopted by contemporary Jews as a quasi-ecological Shabbat. In honor of the festival, and in recollection of my once-in-a-lifetime trip, allow me to share some thoughts connecting Judaism and environment. In Genesis, Adam is gifted the earth as a Divine gift and pointedly commanded לְעׇבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשׇׁמְרָֽהּ, "To till and to tend the garden," thus becoming the Earth's steward. In Isaiah 41:17-18, God promises, "I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places and fountains in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water." In other words, we were given our planet as a loan from God and we should work tirelessly to preserve it. In both the Mishna and the Gemara, Judaism emphasizes our need to preserve our natural resources and generate new ones for future generations. The Talmud tells the story of the sage Choni, who was walking along a road when he saw a man planting a carob tree. Choni asked, "How long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?" "Seventy years," the man replied. Choni then asked, "Are you so healthy that you expect to live that length of time and eat its fruit?" The man answered, "I found a fruitful world because my ancestors planted it for me. Likewise, I am planting for my children." In fact, tradition values this concept so much that the Rabbis teach that if a man is planting a tree and the Messiah appears, he should finish planting the tree before going to greet him (Avot d'Rebbe Natan 31b). As one of the most important natural resources to humanity's survival, water has a special place in Jewish tradition, playing a role in nearly every major story in the Bible. Isaac's wife was chosen for him at a well; the baby Moses was saved after floating down a river; the Israelites were freed when the red sea parted; and Miriam will forever be remembered by her gift of water to the Jewish people in the desert. Arguably, our clean, fresh water supplies and mineral resources are being exhausted by industrial and population growth, so it is vital that we lead in conservation while developing natural resources. A dear friend of mine, who is a successful businessman in the Midwest, commented to me this week that in the future, water will be more valuable than oil. Although a plethora of environmental concerns including deforestation, climate change, soil degradation, acid rain, and the state of the ozone layer, weigh heavily upon all of us, Hashem has imbued us with the wisdom to improve our tenuous condition. As we enter Shabbat, I am proud of my daughter Nava, who is an outspoken environmentalist and devout vegan and who always tries to raise the consciousness of others about the need to take care of the environment. I pray, with her in mind, that we do not take for granted Hashem’s gift of the world, on which we all depend. May our best efforts lead us to fulfill God’s first command of earthly guardianship, and may we indeed challenge ourselves, our politicians, and the world, to become even more attentive and responsible stewards of the land on which we live. Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eric L. Wasser, EdD, Hon.DM
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