How can we address the current environmental crisis from a Jewish perspective? Lawrence Troster argues that when we take the tradition Eitz Chaim (Torah as a tree of life), and combine it with the wisdom of science, we create Green Torah wisdom. Troster asserts that enacting Green Torah requires three things: emet (truth), tzedek (justice), and bal tashhit (not wasting creation). Troster demonstrates that when we stop wasting resources and learn scientific facts about the environment, we are able to become better environmental advocates for a more sustainable future.
Rabbi Lawrence Troster is Rabbi of Kesher Israel Congregation in West Chester, PA and one of the country’s leading Jewish eco-theologians and religious environmental leaders. He is also the Rabbi-in-Residence at the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona College. Rabbi Troster has published numerous articles, is a contributer to the Huffington Post, and has lectured widely on eco-theology, bio-ethics, and Judaism and modern science. He received his BA from the University of Toronto, and his MA and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is the author of Mekor Hayyim: A Source Book on Water and Judaism (United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, 2012)
