Study
A Summary of the Torah
A description of the highlights of the Torah, according to the divisions of the weekly portions.
Ecological Concerns in Rabbinic Literature
The ancient rabbinic sages did not see degradation of the natural environment as a systemic problem: but we can learn from their legislation addressing the more local environmental issues of which they were aware.
Stop the Machine! — The Sabbatical Year Principle
The biblical shemitah represents an alternative to the consumer society.
Visiting the Sick in Judaism
Aware as we may be of the importance of visiting and assisting people who are ill, we still have to overcome our fears and hesitations in order to perform this mitzvah.
Humans as Co-creators: Co-owners as Well?
A Talmudic legal parable illustrates that, although they may have improved the natural world, humans do not own it. We may transcend nature, but we are also part of it.
Nature and Holiness in the Writings of Priests and Prophets
To the Israelite prophets, humans are central to the relationship of God and the created world...
Jewish Printing
The social and intellectual changes brought about by the advent of the printing press.
In the Theocentric Universe, Human Beings Are Not Masters
Powerful passages in the Book of Job teach that the world, and the animals in particular, must not be abused or exploited by human beings.
The Genesis Creation Story: Permission to Despoil?
A Bible scholar takes issue with those who blame the Book of Genesis for Western culture's exploitative disregard for nature.
The Natural World and our Need for Wonder
When we perceive, at rare moments, that behind the natural world is a realm of the unknown and inexplicable, we attain awareness of holiness