CONTENTS

Biblical And Modern
Lessons Of Earth Day

ARTHUR WASKOW

W

hen the first Earth
Day came round, 20
years ago, religion
was one of the villains.
Biblical proof texts — in par-
ticular, "Be fruitful and
multiply, fill up the earth and
subdue it" (Genesis 1:28) —
were quoted to show that
Judaism and Christianity
were responsible for the rape
of the earth. At the time,
some members of the
religious communities beat
their breasts in confession of
sin.
But during the last two
decades, there has been time
for faithful Jews and Chris-
tians to reexamine their own
Scriptures and to realize that
whatever their failings in
practice may have been dur-
ing the modern age, their an-

The goals are
accomplished by
the direct action of
each family.

cient traditions are in fact fill-
ed with commands and pro-
grams for honoring and pro-
tecting the earth.
It is not surprising,
therefore, that many con-
gregations and denomina-
tions will be taking an active
part in Earth Day this spring
— and will stay active after
the day has departed.
The deeper question is
whether these ancient tradi-
tions can speak to our "post-
modern" situation in any way
that is more than vague en-
treaties. Can any biblical pro-
gram still teach us a direction
for our environmental action?
Perhaps the most in-
teresting biblical passage on
these questions is in Leviticus
25, on the rhythm of the sab-
batical and Jubilee years.
The Torah's "Jubilee pro-
gram" is rooted in a sense of
sacred time, sacred cycles of
work-time and rest-time that
are defined partly by the
earth and partly by society.
Every seventh year, all
debts are cancelled. The land
is not subjected to organized
cultivation or harvest;
whatever freely grows from it
may in that year be freely
gathered by any family, any
person, any wild or
domesticated beast, for its

Waskow is director of the
Shalom Center in
Philadelphia.

own food. And whatever has
been stored during the
harvest years before, is shared
now by the well-fed and the
hungry.
In the 50th years (the year
after the seventh seventh
year), the land rests again. No
debts remain to be annulled,
so the economic renewal goes
even deeper: every family
returns to the equal share of
productive land that it was
allotted when Israelite socie-
ty began. All indentured ser-
vants are released, even if
their contracts still have
years to fun. The poor become
equal, the rich give up the ex-
tra wealth they had
accumulated.
And all this is done not by
a central government's taxa-
tion or police power, but by
the direct action of each fami-
ly, each clan, each tribe in its
own region.
These seven-year cycles are
modeled on the Sabbath of
the seventh day, when the Bi-
ble provided that everyone in
society — citizen and
stranger, man and woman,
human and cattle — share in
the general rest, contempla-
tion, and celebration. And on
this Sabbath, no one went
hungry or naked or homeless.
Just so in the year-long
Sabbath.
What would it mean to
draw on this biblical teaching,
this almost-messianic vision,
to create a program that could
address in a serious way our
own society?
First, the Jubilee teaching
suggests that three issues
that we usually treat as
distinct are in fact intertwin-
ed; must indeed be dealt with
simultaneously. These are
what we would call the issues
of great disparities in political
and economic power, great
danger to the earth and air
and water, and deep malaise
in our face-to-face com-
munities of compassion —
families, neighborhoods,
workplaces.
Leviticus 25 is suggesting
that no one of these can be
dealt with alone.
To celebrants of Earth Day
it is saying: If you wish to
heal the earth from exhaus-
tion and over-exploitation,
then you must act to restore
a balance of power in society
and to restore a sense of
vitality to families and
neighborhoods.
To those who are deeply
concerned that our drug
epidemics stem from the col-
lapse of families and
Continued on Page 10

DETROIT

15

Moving Shop

SUSAN GRANT
NCJW will close in Detroit
and re-open in Berkley.

CLOSE-UP

Visiting Auschwitz

28

CARL SCHRAG
Jewish teens are seeking
history, roots and renewal.

41

INSIGHT

71

Star Renewed

ZE'EV CHAFETS
The Labor Party looks
to Rabin to bail it out.

FOCUS

Back To Bucharest

44

EVA PEEL
Romania's Jewish community
fears the post-revolt future.

71

ENTERTAINMENT

The Chosen

MARK FINN
Robert Grossman learned early
what career he would conquer.

89

EDUCATION

Lorax Lives

SUSAN GRANT
Tamarack uses Dr. Seuss
to teach the environment.

89

96

PROFILE

Marty's MADD

SUSAN WEINGARDEN
Krohner is fighting a war
against drunk driving.

DEPARTMENTS

35
49
50
56
80
82

Inside Washington
Community
Synagogues
Sports
Fine Arts
Cooking

94
98
102
104
106
134

Business
Engagements
Births
Single Life
Classified Ads
Obituaries

CANDLELIGHTING

96

Friday, April 20, 1990
Sabbath ends April 21

8:02 p.m.
9:07 p.m.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

7

reE

0PINION

