The Gluttonous American Child
Monday January 28, 2008
Categories: Jewish Holidays
This past I week I attended a Tu B’Shevat environmental sedar/symposium led by my friend, Rabbi Charlie Buckholtz, at The Samuel Bronfman Foundation. Charlie suggested that more than anything else our treatment toward the environment stems from a certain attitude...
Filed Under: Carbon Offset, Conservation, Earth, Environment, Green, Interdependence, Obese, Trees, Tu B'Shevat
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This blog is no longer updated and is closed for comments. We welcome your comments about Judaism in our Judaism forums.
Brad Hirschfield currently blogs on Windows and Doors.
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism. Listed as one of the nation’s 50 most influential rabbis in Newsweek, and a regular commentator on Court TV, he is the creator of the popular series, Building Bridges, airing on Bridges TV, and the co-host of the weekly radio show, Hirschfield and Kula.
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1/ Who is this Mother Earth? I've looked throughout Jewish sources and can't find her. Maybe the rabbi is referring to some pagan sources.
2/ Humankind has dominion over the Earth granted by G-d. That means what we do to Earth is as if G-d did it.
3/ America is perhaps the first society in history where an obese person is more likely to be a poor person than a rich one. This is a positive accomplishment.
4/ There is a growing problem in the Jewish community with alcoholism which was never this large before. This is what rabbis should attend to instead of adopting pagan views of nature.
5/ G-d sustains the Jewish people, not rocks and dirt.
6/ If Americans are all the things he says, perhaps he should visit India and China right now.
There is nothing pagan about the idea that we are to be stewards of God's creations. It is the duty not just of every Jew but of every Human to watch over the earth and sea and sky, to protect them for future generations. Due you want your grandchildren to have mercury poisoning from eating fish and skin cancer from a depleted ozone? Did you know there is a worldwide decrease in the amount of sperm produced by men due to pollution, and that scientists have stated we could become EXTINCT within 200-300 years if the damage to the environment is not cleaned up? There are chemicals in our air and water that are causing cancer, sterility, and autism. If you value human life, you must take the environment seriously regardless of what your faith is...
1/ Tsk, tsk, tsk. Its not 'steward'. Its 'flight attendant'.
2/ I look over the 613 mitzvot and watching over the earth, sea, and sky is just not there.
3/ Human beings are not going to become extinct, at least not before Moshiach comes.
"Mother Earth", the Rabbi is refering to the earth itself. The son will die and return to the earth. We do not kill or stone people for such abuse of their bodies in this day in age but attempt to help them change. Gluttony, a sin, which we all must repent for is not only alcoholism, but overeating or over indulgence in anything, such as gambling, working, etc. We must take care of ourselves before we can take care of other people. We realize that children live and learn and hopefully they will not make horrible mistakes and end up in prison for killing someone with drunk driving or manslaughter. We hope and pray that we can guide our children into becoming responsible adults who will not over induldge but practice good health habits. We must do this by example not just lip service.
1/ 'Mother Earth' is a pagan term. 'Earth' is the simple non-religious term.
2/ 'The son will die and return to the earth' sounds specifically Christian to me.
3/ People who consider gluttony slone as such a sin should look at quite a few very Orthodox Jews I've seen.
"2/ 'The son will die and return to the earth' sounds specifically Christian to me."
Huhh?
Please explain.
Man is greedy. Yes, there are many Jews and other people that are over weight and gluttons. We must all be concerned about our health and our environment. Our bodies are made up of the earths elements and we take from the earth to nourish our bodies. We put back what we take from the earth and should not be so greedy. We are only here a short time and must prepare for future generations.
Perhaps the Rabbi's interpretation when referring to "Mother Earth" is refering to Pagan concepts or Christian concepts? Who knows what his/her thoughts are? Is the Rabbi a Mesianic Jew? Stoning is certainly a pagan method of killing a person. However, if the son dies or his body is buried it will rot and become part of the earth.
If a body is in a vault, no matter how well it is sealed, eventually, the body will rot. The vault will become ruined and decay and return to the earth also over time. As Jews, we are often buried in a shrowd which should not be plastic and in a simple casket. Therefore, we give our bodies back to the earth. Laws state that a vault be made to surround the bodies in grave sites. The soul, if you believe, returns to a place where G-d deals with it sooner or later depending on what you believe and how you interpret the Torah.
The torah and the talmud has many interpretations and questions and Rabbi's spend much of their time discussing these and writing about them. It may be an insult to a Rabbi to imply that he/she is using pagan or Christian terms in trying to make a point. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist views may vary on these interpretations.
Did you understand the concepts?