Green Passover: Taking Responsibility for People and Planet

"[God said], 'For the Land is Mine. You are but strangers and sojourners with Me" (Leviticus 25: 23).

"In every generation, each person is obligated to see him or herself as having gone out from Mitzraim (Egypt) [from slavery to freedom]." These words are central to the liturgy of the Passover seder, observed this year on the evenings of April 18 and 19. They are intended to invoke the central historical narrative of Passover, the Exodus, and its moral, eternal message that all human beings are created in the image of God and are all of equal dignity. While the Exodus narrative plays a central role in the Jewish observance of Passover, it doesn't tell the whole story.

The major Jewish festivals all have historical reasons for their celebration: Passover commemorates the Exodus; Shavuot, the revelation of God at Mt. Sinai; Sukkot, the booths in which the Israelites dwelt in the wilderness. At the same time, the Bible itself portrays the festivals as rooted in the agricultural cycle of the year. As Passover approaches, it's worthy to examine this nexus between the historical and agricultural origins of the holiday. I believe that their convergence speaks to our generation in a fresh, meaningful way with respect to our stewardship of the environment. Our physical and spiritual freedom today depends on our society rediscovering and appreciating the earth as a web of life of which humanity is a part.

The Hebrew Bible presents a deep connection between the spring time reawakening of the earth from its winter slumber and ancient Israelite rituals to mark the change of seasons. The festival takes place in the month of Aviv (spring), so the rituals associated with the festival are richly connected to the seasonal cycle of the year. The Biblical text describes the Lord's Passover that takes place at dusk on the 14th day of the first month at which time the Paschal lamb was sacrificed. The next day, the 15th of the month, is the Festival of Matzot/Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-6). It has been suggested by Biblical scholars that the Passover offering was an ancient Near Eastern spring time festival among shepherds offering thanks to a divinity for sustaining their flocks and allowing them to reproduce. The Festival of Matzot was a spring time observance marking the beginning of the grain harvest. The ancient Israelites took these disparate rites of spring and imbued them with greater significance as part of the annual commemoration of the Exodus. (See also My Jewish Learning on Passover origins).

As Judaism has evolved over the ages and as Jews in the modern world have adopted multiple levels of observance, Passover continues to capture the collective Jewish imagination and the Jewish communal yearning for freedom and respect for human dignity throughout society. At the same time, the rituals of the holiday are connected so deeply to the earth and its seasons. It is as if the earth is listening to our celebration of freedom and crying out, "Me too!"

When the liturgy of the seder calls on us to travel back in time to experience the transformation from slavery to freedom, we can also imagine a time when human beings were more at one with the land, the seasons and the entire natural world. If we take the wisdom of the ancient Israelites back into our own day, we might discover our society's collective transformation to a culture of consumption that is destroying our planet and destroying our souls from within. In upcoming postings of this blog, I hope to explore more in depth specific areas of concern in which the earth and human society are suffering as a result of human exploitation of the earth and ways in which contemporary readings of classical Jewish sources can enhance our communal conversation on creating more sustainable lifestyles.

Regarding Passover, let me conclude with some practical tips to create a more eco-friendly Passover:

• Donate to food pantries. In the season of spring cleaning, many Jewish households take seriously the observance ridding the home of chametz, leavened, grain-based food products. Don't waste it. Pass it on to those in need.
• Buy local, in-season, produce where possible. Minimize your carbon footprint and support farmers near your home community.
• Avoid disposable plates and cutlery. This environmentally unfriendly practice has crept into many traditional homes where year-round utensils are not used for the chametz-free holiday. This Passover, let's reduce waste while eliminating chametz. Consult a rabbi or published guides for kashering (making fit) utensils for Passover use, and/or consider purchasing Passover-only utensils.

Humanity is intended to be a guardian of the earth, not a plunderer of its resources that will enslave future generations to greed, consumption and waste. Passover calls on us to act sustainably toward each other and toward the earth. I look forward to our further explorations of Judaism and environmental stewardship.

 

Follow Rabbi Edward Bernstein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rabbiecb

Comments

[Tom Sharon]

02:00 PM on 04/13/2011

You give an accurate historical accounting of the events of Pesach, but your over-all tone suggests that the entire festival and celebration as we know it today has somehow evolved as a human undertaking. That is as far from the truth as one could get. G-d commanded us to celebrate Passover starting with the Korbon Pesach on the eve of the first day after getting rid of all chometz. This marked the beginning of a process to bring us from the decadent world of Egypt to the holiest world of serving HaShem. There had to be a complete break with the past and a nullification of one's ego to prepare to receive the Divine revelation and the Torah, which is G-d's Will and Wisdom. The Matzo represents humility as there is no puffing up process before baking. G-d made for us a time of introspective cleansing. Everything we do is an action that represents a concerted effort toward self improvement. Every Jew is a work in progress. A happy and kosher passover to all!

[Dave24]

04:21 AM on 04/11/2011

What arrogance: to believe we're responsible for the well being of a planet and its creatures. We are not the pinnacle of Creation; we are but one species among many millions that have emerged naturally over billions of years.

The environment doesn't need protecting.
It needs protection *from us.*

[Rasputin66]

02:53 PM on 04/11/2011

Nice satire! Nailed it! Haha!

[erikakdavis]

11:24 AM on 04/10/2011

Thanks for the tip about paper products! It makes my ears ring when I hear people using that option rather than googling how to make existing utensils kosher! I thought I'd have to run out and purchase a bunch of new items (which I will to accomadate my guests). After a few clicks on various websites, I'm relieved to find out that most of my existing items can be used.

Erika
www.blackgayjewish.com

[Cynthia Rays]

11:32 PM on 04/09/2011

"Donate to food pantries"
Please do. There are so many families in need with many homeless. Give money to your local food bank or donate goods: especially rice, pasta, beans, peanut butter. cereal, or canned tuna.