In this week’s episode we discuss the section in Bamidbar about the spies who were sent by Moshe to observe the land of Canaan before the Israelites go in to inhabit it. We talk about how the report they bring back emphasizes both the impossibly large fruit but also the seeming impossible task of confronting the giants who live there, and how the negative narrative proves the much stronger message. We talk about how this negativity bias remains in human society today, and how revisiting this story can help us remember to believe in the strength and ingenuity of human communities to fight climate change. Follow along here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/576004

In this week’s episode we discuss a verse from Genesis (and Friday night Kiddush) and commentary on it from Bereshit Rabbah which asks the question of why the extra word of “La’asot” sometimes translated as “(that G-d) had done” is included in the verse. Bereshit Rabbah states that everything G-d created in the six days of creation still “requires some action.“ We discuss how humans now have a never ending to-do list to maintain nature, and in the face of climate change this sometimes poses challenges to halacha when more drastic actions might be required such as interbreeding of wild animals or genetic modifications, but that we must always keep humility about the consequences of our actions at the front of mind. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/549941

In this week’s episode of Honi’s Circle we study a verse from Leviticus (19:19) about not interbreeding cattle, mixing seed in a field, and not mixing textiles and Ramban's deeper read of this verse as being about not diminishing creation by trying to be a Creator oneself. This verse brings up mixed feelings about Halacha's role in hampering Jews from engaging in vital work of ecological farming or other "creative" processes to fight climate change, but also an admiration for the humility that this commandment implies. Follow along with the source sheet here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/549938

In this week’s episode of Honi’s Circle we study a text from Vayikra Rabbah, that features a parable told by R’ Shimon bar Yochai about a sailor drilling a hole in a boat, and being challenged by his friends. The parable goes to show the effect that our actions have on the whole community. We discuss what can contribute to self- and environment-sabotaging behaviors, and how we might better persuade others to join the fight to slow climate change. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/541905

In this week’s episode of Honi’s Circle we study texts from Likutei Moharan and Kohelet Rabbah that speak about how, when we feel ownership over creation, we are called to protect it, educate ourselves about it, and improve its condition. We talk about one way of improving the environment, which is aligning our diets to reduce our ecological impact, including exploring a plant-based diet, and/or eating regeneratively produced food. Thank you to SHAMAYIM: Jewish Animal Advocacy for the vegan grant to Congregation Beth Shalom and for the texts in this episode. Follow along with the source sheet here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/541909

In this week’s episode of Honi’s Circle we study a text from tractate Taanit, in which Rav Nachman asks for a blessing from Rav Yitzchak, and Rav Yitzchak blesses him by saying he should be like a tree, which is close to perfect. However, the one thing the tree can use good wishes for is that the its offspring should be like it. We discuss the myriad climate benefits of planting trees, as well as Judaism’s historical relationship towards non-human beings, and how, in the era of knowing how closely our survival is tied to the surrounding eco-system, these attitudes might change. Follow along on the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/541044?lang=bi

In this week’s special Passover episode of Honi’s Circle we study a text from the Haggadah about the original move of Jacob and his family to Egypt. We have a saying “We were refugees too” because Jewish history is filled with a series of persecutions and expulsions, but what if we go back to our very first immigration as a family (ie. the family of Jacob) moving from the land of Canaan to Egypt because famine was “heavy in the land.”? Having as part of our identity a people formed by climate refuge seeking can help instill empathy and move us to action for the millions being caused to move by the climate making their homelands unlivable. Follow along with the source sheet here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/550019

In this week’s episode of Honi’s Circle we study a text from tractate Taanit, in which Rabbi Berekhya says that in the book of Hoshea the Jews asked for a divine relationship akin to rain, and G-d retorts that what they actually want is one like dew. We use this text as a way of looking at how a fear of imperfection and unintended consequences can paralyze us in inaction, but that the way that G-d gently corrects the Jewish people can serve as a model for motivation to pursue imperfect solutions (instead of none at all). Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/541043?lang=bi