Eco Bible

Praise for Eco Bible

an "insightful analysis," which "will inspire contemplation on how to live in harmony with nature and the power of conservation. ecologically

minded readers interested in the hebrew bible will love this." - Publishers Weekly

"this is a must-have volume for clergy, preachers, bible-study leaders, and anyone of faith looking for scriptural insights on the 'why' of earth

stewardship from a faith perspective. the authors have given us a tremendous gift with the Eco Bible. The work they have done to curate the

ecological knowledge contained in the talmud, midrash, and mishnah is nothing short of heroic."- rev. dr. leah jacobs schade, assistant professor, lexington theological seminary, kentucky

"Eco Bible offers a rich repository of insights, drawing from both ancient rabbinic commentary and current ecological insights, for people of faith

to move forward with wisdom, inspiration, and hope, all for the sake of god's good creation." - prof. bill brown, professor of old testament,

columbia theological seminary

"a wonderful tool for garnering new insights into the hebrew bible and to increasingly sensitize us to a broader message that the hebrew bible

can deliver, concerning human responsibility, stewardship, and unity with all of creation. well done!" - rabbi dr. alon goshen-gottstein, director,

the elijah interfaith institute

"the current ecological disasters cause us to return to our roots to revive the ancient truths of our faith that have been hidden by modern consumerist society. what a gift to be able to delve into the hebrew bible guided by thousands of years of wisdom of jewish rabbis and explore

anew the roots of our faith." - rev. dr. rachel mash, environmental coordinator, anglican church of southern africa

"Eco Bible provides us with an invaluable resource and inspiration drawn from a vast cross-section of Jewish sources and commentaries to enable us to live up to the biblical mandate to love the Creator and His creation." - Rabbi David Rosen KSG CBE, AJC International Director of Interreligious Affairs

"grounded equally in religious thought and environmental science, Eco Bible provides inspiration and guidance on how we can and must repair

our world in these urgent times. it offers powerful fodder for personal reflection and group discussion. it serves as an unparalleled resource

guide for all who feel a spiritual responsibility for our irreplaceable planet and its life-sustaining biodiversity." - jessica sachs, author of Good Germs, Bad Germs

"a great preaching resource! i was hoping to find a commentary that would give me some good starting places for preaching and leading bible

studies. the Eco Bible is really a helpful co...

Rabbi Yonatan Neril founded and directs The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD) and its Jewish Eco Seminars branch. ICSD reveals the connection between religion and ecology and mobilizes faith communities to act. Raised in California, Yonatan completed an M.A. and B.A. from Stanford University with a focus on global environmental issues, and received rabbinical ordination in Israel. He has spoken internationally on religion and the environment, including at the UN Environment Assembly, the Fez Climate Conscience Summit, the Parliament of World Religions, and the Pontifical Urban University. He co-organized twelve interfaith environmental conferences in Jerusalem, New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. As part of ICSD's Faith Inspired Renewable Energy Project in Africa, he has been involved in facilitating the development of a commercial scale solar field on church lands in Africa. He is the lead author and general editor of two books on Jewish environmental ethics including Uplifting People and Planet: 18 Essential Jewish Teachings on the Environment. Yonatan also co-authored three ICSD reports on faith and ecology courses in seminary education in Israel, North America, and Rome. He is currently working on publishing the first-ever ecological commentary on the Hebrew Bible. He is a member of the United Nations Environment Program's Faith-based Advisory Council, and of the Pontifical Universities' Alliance for Laudato Si' Advisory Council. He was a Dorot Fellow, PresenTense Fellow, and Haas Koshland Award recipient. He lives with his wife, Shana and their two children in Jerusalem. He enjoys hiking and being in nature. Leo received a Master's in Engineering from Cambridge University, a Master's in Public Health from Hebrew University, and rabbinical ordination in Israel. However, it was a trip around the least affluent countries in Asia and South America that woke him up to the tremendous poverty that exists in the world. Encountering people who owned not much more than the clothes on their back, he began to understand the huge impact of lack of food, water and power suffered by half of humanity. So, following six years as a community Rabbi in the United Kingdom, he moved to Israel where he has developed a passion for changing hearts and minds in order to encourage sustainable development - initially among the Israeli financial community, and then within the field of Responsible Investment. He served as director of programs at The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. He lives near Jerusalem with his wife, Lucy, and their five children.

Eco Bible Volume 2 Table of Contents

praise for eco bible iii

acknowledgments xiii

biographical details of jewish scholars and teachers throughout

the ages noted in this work xv

glossary of terms xxiii

introduction xxv

Book of Leviticus

1:14: sacrificing birds 3

2:1: appreciating trees 3

4:3: drilling on our common ship 5

5:14-16: sacrifice and sustainability 6

5:17: the guilt offering and the climate 7

6:2: when eating meat was a sacrifice 9

6:14: holy air quality 10

7:1: repentance, animals, and nature 12

7:26: slaughtering vs. hunting animals 12

10:3: the importance of silence 14

11:3: feeding cars, cattle, and people 15

11:9: fishing sustainably 16

11:13-18: don't eat eagles 18

11:23: no bees, no honey (or many other foods) 20

13:2: human-caused skin afflictions 21

13:5: expanding our vision 22

13:47-50: clothing and spirituality 23

14:4: natural healing 26

14:5-6 and 14:8-9: the cleansing power of water 27

14:34: improving our buildings 27

14:53: wild birds 28

16:24: conflicts of interest 30

16:29: cleansing our sins and the air 31

19:9-10: god's land 33

19:14: stumbling blocks 34

19:18: being a good neighbor 35

19:19: mixing species 36

19:23: planting trees 37

19:24-25: fruits of a young tree 38

19:35: morality in small drops 39

20:10: the earth becomes invigorated 39

22:28: safeguarding biodiversity 41

23:12-13: a breath of fresh air 43

23:22: helping the world's poor 44

23:42: green housing 45

25:4: let the land rest 46

25:23, 25, 28-29: whose land is it? 48

25:34: open space around cities 50

26:4: the blessing of rain 52

26:16: who eats our crops? 54

26:19-20: earth like copper 55

26:26: wood for baking 56

26:34: rest and rehabilitation for the land 57

26:39: dissolving sin and co2 58

27:3: valuing life 59

27:30: trees are key 60

Book of Numbers

1:1: desert and spiritual inspiration 65

1:1: the wilderness comes alive 66

1:46: population and ecology 67

2:2: indigenous to the land 68

5:2: restricting invasive species 70

6:1-2: learning from our mistakes 71

6:2-3: alcohol and ecology 73

7:2-3: six carts and suvs 74

7:7-9: sustainable transport 75

8:2: renewable fuel 76

11:4: craving vs. satisfaction 77

11:21-22: sick of a good thing 78

11:31: birds and the ocean 79

13:4-12: the faithful dog 81

13:20: rich soil 83

13:20: tree diversity 84

13:22-23: grapes, figs, and pomegranates 85

13:32: the land devours its inhabitants 87

14:7: an exceedingly good land 88

14:22: breaking the camel's back 89...