Climate Change, COVID-19 and Racism: A Jewish Response

About this Episode

As far back as 1988, Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb was convinced that climate change presented the greatest threat to humanity’s and the earth’s health and survival. He was determined to do everything in his power to safeguard the planet for future generations. So why go into the rabbinate? In this interview, he explains how Jewish values and community have served as the underpinning for his environmentalism, and how many Jewish ideas promote the kind of long-term thinking that is needed right now. Though this interview was recorded before the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests that took place in all 50 states, he discusses racism and how climate change will continue to disproportionately affect poorer communities comprised of people of color – unless changes are made. He also explains how lessons learned during this pandemic might be applied to taking steps to lessen climate change. He offers an empowering and hopeful message about how the actions we take now can positively impact humanity and all life for generations to come.

Theme song, “Ilu Finu” by Rabbi Miriam Margles. Her album This is the Day is available for purchase at CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/miriammarglesandthehadarensemb

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Episode Links

• Covid-19 and Torah: Advice from the Sabbatical Year - eJewish Philanthropy — Can a rarely-practiced piece of Torah, dormant for most of the Common Era, help us weather the Novel Coronavirus crisis? Yes, Shmita can – and a fresh look at this biblical practice offers guidance for other challenges of our time, too
• The Jewish Basis for Environmentalism — Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb outlines the five pillars that serve as a base for the Jewish environmental movement: sufficiency (dayenu), resilience (kehillah), responsibility (akhrayut), justice (tzedek) and hope (tikvah).
• Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb Extended Interview | PBS — "If the environment is just one more important issue, “it won’t gain the traction that it needs. We need to redefine creation care as the underlying mitzvah or commandment or good deed.” Watch more of our interview with Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb of Congregation Adat Shalom in Maryland about what Jewish tradition says about the environment.
• Coalition On The Environment And Jewish Life — The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) deepens and broadens the Jewish community’s commitment to stewardship and protection of the Earth through outreach, activism, and Jewish learning. 
• Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
• Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)