I was honored to participate in a multi-faith program at the Connecticut State Capitol on Wednesday, Earth Day, which included ten faith leaders and Governor Lamont. Thanks so much to Terri Eickel of the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network for providing the recording and putting together the fantastic event. My small portion of it is above (apologies for the diminished quality of that clip) and about ten minutes in on the full video below.
The program:
Prayer for Faithful Caretaking
From the very first sunset on their very first night, as darkness enveloped Adam and Eve, they experienced the first pangs of Jewish guilt in recorded history. They sensed that they had somehow let God down, that this darkness thing was somehow their fault, that they had already messed up the marvelous gift that they had been given.
The Talmud elaborates - God leads them around the Garden of Eden, and says, “Look at My works. See how beautiful they are, how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil or destroy My world—for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you.”
Oh God, this is what you told Adam and Eve when giving the world’s first garden tour, and this is your warning to us: This is a beautiful world. And if we mess it up, there could come a time when that sun will not rise at the end of a cold, dark night. And if that happens, it will not be my fault, God says, it will be yours.
Please O God, continue to entrust us with stewardship over this precious planet, this pristine blue marble in the blackness of space. We pledge to be worthy of that trust.
We are aware of the great symbols of your love; the fresh buds of spring, the rising sun and the waxing moon, and the rainbow that became the symbol of your covenant with Noah and humanity. With that sign, you pledged never again to bring about the kind of massive natural disaster that could destroy humanity. But we know that we possess the power to do just that.
Give us the strength and courage to care for our earth, to love it, and through our love for our world, to love one another as well.
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
Some Earth Day thoughts - Love Poems for the Land
We need to remind ourselves that this sacred, beautiful and tragic Land is holy to Israelis and Palestinians - and to cranes and sunflowers too.
Earth Day reminds us of our custodianship of the planet and our escalating obligations. For when, God willing, the current fighting finally ends for real, we will still be left with a planet that just completed its hottest year by far.
Yes, we need to remind ourselves that this sacred, beautiful and tragic Land is not only holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians - but to cranes and sunflowers too.
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