Earth Day 2025

Written by Rabbi Elliott Karstadt — 26 April 2025

This week, many in the world will have observed Earth Day. Earth Day has been marked on 22 April every year since 1970 to raise awareness of the importance of environmental protection. This is to mark the first day of spring in the Northern hemisphere at least. Having marked our own Jewish spring festival of Pesach, it seems very appropriate now to have Earth Day – a worldwide festival that looks forward to a world of peace, and world in which we truly value the Earth on which we live.

It would be trite to go over again the threats posed by climate change. We know the threat we are faced with as a planet.

But it is important to say that at Alyth we are determined to do our bit. We have recently reconstituted our Green Team, a group in the community who are thinking through what we do as a community and how we can optimise our new building and our outside space to serve the environment; how we can educate our community about the Jewish values behind environmental protection; how we can encourage members to choose greener options when they are shopping or making lifestyle decisions. And if you are interested and want to contribute, please let us know.

Why is a synagogue involved in this? Because ensuring that the Earth is a viable home for future generations is a core Jewish value. Even in the ancient world, before climate change was a thing, Jewish sages were teaching of the importance of maintaining and protecting our natural environment.

There is the famous teaching of Honi the circle maker, who is walking along the road when he sees a man planting a carob tree. He is amazed that a person who be planting such a tree in the knowledge that he will very likely be dead by the time the tree bears any fruit. The man replies to Honi: ‘I came into a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants.’ (BT Taanit 23a).

But it is not just something we should do for future generations. In some ways at least, our climate future is already here. The extremes of weather that we are experiencing are only likely to get worse and more destructive. And our tradition reminds us of this imperative as well. Normally, we read the second paragraph of the Shema in silence, but it is worth spelling some of it out now:

וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁמֹ֤עַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֹתַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָֽנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם לְאַֽהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־יהו֚ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ וּלְעׇ֯בְד֔וֹ בְּכׇ֯ל־לְבַבְכֶ֖ם וּבְכׇ֯ל־נַפְשְׁכֶֽם: וְנָֽתַתִּ֧י מְטַֽר־אַרְצְכֶ֛ם בְּעִתּ֖וֹ יוֹרֶ֣ה וּמַלְק֑וֹשׁ וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֣ דְגָנֶ֔ךָ וְתִירֽשְׁךָ֖ וְיִצְהָרֶֽךָ: וְנָֽתַתִּ֛י עֵ֥שֶׂב בְּשָֽׂדְךָ֖ לִבְהֶמְתֶּ֑ךָ וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָֽעְתָּ: 

This will happen if you listen carefully to My commands which I give you today, to love and to serve the Eternal your God with all your heart and all your soul. I shall then give your land rain at the right time, the autumn rain and the spring rain, so that each one of you can harvest your own grain, wine and oil. I shall also give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.

This is a theology that I personally struggle with – the idea that life is a reward for good behaviour, and that death is a punishment for bad. When we know that good people die all the time; and bad people do not all ways get their comeuppance in this world. One traditional Jewish answer might be that those who seem to be good might in fact not be as good as they appear – they all do something to violate God’s commandments that justifies their suffering. I find this justification hard to accept. It is of a piece with having to examine all your mezuzot for blemishes, as though having an unkosher mezuzah might be a cause of cancer or depression.

But … if we think of this theological moral system of reward and punishment not on an individual level, but on a communal level, or a national level, or even a global level, I think it does begin to make more sense. Because, in aggregate, we do begin to see the truth of the claim that if we behave well in some particular ways, we will benefit much more from our planet. This doesn’t mean if all the Jews in the world have kosher mezuzot, or if everyone just kept Shabbat then everything would be fine. Rather, it means if we as humanity observe Jewish values like Bal Tashchit – not wantonly destroying creation.

As one humanity, the Earth is a sacred inheritance. We have a divine responsibility to ensure that it is here for the next generation. And it is our responsibility as humanity, no one else’s. We cannot expect God to step in a ensure that everything is ok. As the Psalmist teaches,

הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם שָׁ֭מַיִם לַיהוָ֑ה וְ֝הָאָ֗רֶץ נָתַ֥ן לִבְנֵי־אָדָֽם׃

The heavens are the heavens of the Eternal; and God gave the Earth to humanity (Psalm 115:16).

This line we just sang at Pesach as part of our Hallel – the verses of song that we sing at every festival. Every time of joy for us is a time also of being reminded of our custodianship of this part of creation – this little corner of the Universe that is ours.