In the Parashah of Toldot we come across the first mention crops being planted. At the beginning of the Torah, in Bereishit, Adam and Eve were foragers who ate whatever they found in the garden of Eden. Later on we read about Abraham and his flocks of livestock. His son Isaac, in Toldot, planted crops,… Continue reading Toldot and Good Conservation Practice
As with most of the Parshiot (weekly readings ) in the first book of the Torah, Chayei Sarah is full of great stories, and at least two are about cherishing the natural world. I was tempted to focus on the story of the camels, and how Abraham’s servant knew that Rebeccah would be a worthy… Continue reading Chayei Sarah – taking time to notice
As Avraham embarks on his journey to the place that God promised him, I continue on my personal journey to find a message about environmental sustainability in every Parshah in the Torah. There were so many different angles I could have taken in Bereishit and Noach but Lech Lecha, I have to admit, has proven… Continue reading Lech Lecha – and watch your footprint
When it became known to Noah that a catastrophic weather event was to destroy every living thing on Earth he did as instructed and embarked on the ultimate adaptation plan by building an ark for himself, his family and enough animals to ensure the survival of every species. He accepted the word of a higher… Continue reading Noah – a Story of Climate Adaptation
When researching a good sustainability angle to the story of creation, I found this piece by Melissa Lane on behalf of the food rescue organisation Leket Israel, written in 2013. The original blog can be found here http://www.leket.org/en/parashat-bereishit/ Leket Israel and Parashat Bereishit A core theme of this week’s parsha is sustainability. Trees are created… Continue reading Bereishit – the Story of Creation
It’s been far too long since I last blogged at the CommonTree. So long in fact that I have considered stopping altogether and accepting this is just another blog that ended before reaching it’s potential. However, I found renewed inspiration today during the festival of Simchat Torah, at the end of the period of New… Continue reading My New Year Challenge
As some people love to tour chocolate factories, I love to tour recycling facilities, and recently I enjoyed a tour of the Veolia Organics Recovery Facility in Bulla, courtesy of Melbourne University. I could write pages and pages about the fascinating chemistry and logistics of large-scale composting, but instead I will attempt to limit this… Continue reading Smelly but true
I knew it was a bad idea to press the button, but I just couldn’t help myself. I had just finished booking flights to the UK and was excited by the prospect of visiting my family whilst trying to convince myself that air travel was irrelevant to climate change. The “Calculate your carbon emissions” button that appeared… Continue reading Offsetting my guilt
Tomorrow (Shabbat 11th February) we celebrate Tu Bishvat, the Jewish New Year for trees. It is a time when we celebrate the natural world, when we take time to contemplate all that God has provided for us – the trees, flowers, fruit, rivers, seas. But in such times of celebration we must also spare a thought for… Continue reading Towards an all-inclusive Tu Bishvat
This is my New Year blog post in which I declare my New Year’s resolutions and proclaim my enthusiasm for launching another productive year of climate activism. This is where I explain how the restful holiday period has reinvigorated my passion for saving the planet and how I vow to try ever harder to make a difference. Only, something… Continue reading We can resolve this
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