Righteous Indignation, Ch. 8 (p 60-66)

Righteous Indignation, Ch. 8 (p 60-66)
Jewish Textual Practice and Sustainable Culture -- Rabbi Natan Margalit, PhD

(1) "As my wife nurses our infant, I wonder about the reports that a mother's milk may contain dangerous levels of pesticides--one small example, but perhaps no better symbol, of how the sacred circle of life that connects us all has been badly damaged. Largely due to human intervention, the earth is out of balance" (p 60).

What other examples of our damaged connections are most meaningful to you? When did you first realize the interconnectedness of life?

(2) "...we will need more than technical solutions to solve this crisis" (p 60). The rest of the paragraph develops this idea.

I have met some resistance to this idea when talking with people, even environmentally conscious ones. There is this idea that we don't need to change our lifestyles and ways of thinking, only our light bulbs and sources of electricity. That is, new technology will discover ways for the American way of life to continue without disruption. We don't need to travel less; we just need electric cars with more nuclear generators. We don't need to break the consumption addiction; we just need to buy organic and recyclable merchandise.

What do you think? Will technology mean that no deeper changes are needed? Many of us are driven to buy and consume--Shop worker killed in sale stampede. What drives this? What can change it/us?

(3) "In the modern world, we've broken that pattern of connection. We isolate, separate, and distance ourselves from one another, from the world, and even from our own being" (p 64).

Besides automatic garage door openers (and online book clubs), how do we distance ourselves from others? What impact does this have on our sense of fulfillment? In what ways do you work to connect with others, the world, and yourself?

(4) In describing the "gardener's ethic," Rabbi Margalit states that "our task is not to worship pristine wilderness, but to work the land with stewardship and caring" (p 65). He continues, "The good gardener knows that to vanquish nature would be self-defeating, as he ultimately depends on nature's bounty for the fertility of his garden. The gardener, the garden, and nature are actually all parts of a larger whole." "A Jewish eco-theology starts from this same sense of belonging to a larger whole."

What do you think of the "gardener's ethic" versus the "wilderness ethic"? How do you react to these paradigms? How can we apply the gardener's ethic to society--economies, food production, manufacturing, etc.? What does this look like compared with what is commonplace?

(5) "It is a spiritual practice to construct economic, agricultural, and social modes that work together in dynamic patterns. When we do this, the whole world will be as happy as a new creation and as sweet as new life" (p 66).

God bless your spiritual practice. May our hearts and minds be open to wisdom, change and new patterns. May we bring a little happiness and sweetness to those people, plants and animals in our sphere of influence.