( - promoted by Sheila Webb-Halpern)
Rachel Cohen is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. This piece originally appeared in Ten Minutes of Torah. It is only a few days after Yom Kippur, and already another season is about to end. Not for us as Jews or North Americans, but for the earth. Today begins one of the most joyous weeks of the Jewish year as we celebrate the harvest, and mark the end of the agricultural season, with the festival of Sukkot. And just as Sukkot ends, on Shemini Atzeret, we pray for an abundant rainy season following the dry summer months and enjoy the gifts of the earth - fruit, grains, and water - with which we are blessed once again. We call ourselves the "People of the Book," yet our calendar and our celebrations remind us that we have always been a people of the land. Greeting cards and gifts aside, the most important holidays in traditional Judaism have always been the three harvest festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. These holidays each mark not only an historical event (the Exodus, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and the wandering of the Israelites through the desert) but also a pivotal point in the agricultural calendar (the beginning of spring, the new planting season, and the last harvest before the winter rains). Every year at these critical moments we stop to take stock of where we are - in relation to our earth above all else - give thanks for what we have, and carefully consider our next steps. |
For the next seven days we will throw ourselves back into the 'natural world' by eating, praying, and (for a brave few) sleeping in an outdoor hut shaded from the sun but exposed to the starlight, and the elements. We will revel in the sunshine and the simplicity of the Sukkah, and acknowledge the bounty and diversity of the natural world with prayers over the lulav, haddasim, arravot and etrog. Every aspect of the holiday serves as a powerful reminder of our intimate connection with and dependence on our natural resources - and how far so many of us have strayed from this connection. Like any beloved Jewish holiday, Sukkot is largely about food, and revolves around prayers that recognize and celebrate the sources of our sustenance. So how do we celebrate in a society where the vast majority of us are deeply disconnected from what is in our food and how it is produced? And as our climate changes - and rainfall and temperature patterns change as well - what sort of harvest will we and our children celebrate 10, 20, or 100 years from now? When our food system distances us - not always geographically, but psychologically - from the plants, animals, farmers and factories that make our food, it is no wonder that food safety remains a habitual problem, obesity is on the rise, and food waste overflows our landfills. We go to the supermarket regularly yet barely think about where the thousands of available products actually come from and what is actually in them. We genetically modify crops for the laudable goals of increasing yields and nutritional value, but the effects of GMO crops on the long-term health of the land and on global food prices often go unconsidered. We can enjoy corn products in infinite varieties, yet many of us go without fresh produce on a regular basis. Farmers' markets and organic alternatives may help some of us bridge the gap between our food and its origins, but these options remain geographically and economically inaccessible to millions of North Americans. From water and energy scarcity around the world to massive fish kills on our own coasts, we are not 'harvesting' in a sustainable way, and the disconnect between us as food consumers and our food supply enables and exemplifies this trend. As we acknowledge the bounty of our natural world on Sukkot, we also think about where we are taking too much - and what we can do about it. This begins with learning about where our food comes from and raising awareness of its ecological footprint; did you know, for example, that nearly 20% of our national energy consumption (and resulting greenhouse gas emissions) comes from growing, transporting, and storing our food; or that the average meal travels 1,500 miles from 'farm to fork' in the United States? As we start to think about the real costs of our food system (beyond the supermarket price stickers), we can begin to make food choices that are healthier for people and the planet. We cannot conquer any of the great challenges we face today - from health care to the energy crisis - without thinking seriously about what we eat and how it affects us and our environment. And Sukkot creates the time and space to step back and ask these questions. This year, let's begin to take the steps to ensure many successful - and sustainable - harvest seasons and celebrations to come. To learn more about the steps the Reform Movement is taking toward sustainability and how you can get involved, visit our new GreeningRJ online resource where you'll find everything from Jewish texts and teaching on the environment to room-by-room greening guides for your home and congregation. And as you prepare to join us in Toronto for the 2009 North American URJ Biennial, find out what we are doing to make this the greenest Biennial yet! |
