ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL JUSTICE
Judaism As An Earth-Centered Belief System
whom they imagined was essential for survival. These were the realities faced by a union of Semitic tribes in an area known geographically as the Near East 3500 years ago. Their agriculture, science, language, deity and writings have become the basis of a current group of people known as Jews. Their continued existence remains unique among the other contemporary nations 3,000 years ago that have long since vanished. Their astronomers made solar corrections for their holidays to remain in the proper sea- sonal rhythm, and are still celebrated in that context. Put simply, the roots of Jewish spiritual life are tied to seasonal cycles. Spring marks the birth of lambs and the harvest of barley, the ear- liest grain. Forty-nine days later is the harvest of wheat and early fruit. Midsummer brings the fear of drought and destruction. Then comes the fall harvest of olives, dates, grapes, and a time of celebra- tion, thanksgiving, fasting and prayer for their worthiness for the next yearly cycle. The current Jewish holidays cele- brated include: PASSOVER – Barley harvest and lamb - ing SHAVUOT – First fruits and wheat har - vest TISHA B’AV – The fear of drought and loss of rain or dew
BY MICHAEL TABOR; EDITED BY DANA BEYER
It was 1965 and my former wife and I were on a honeymoon of sorts in California. Trying to catch the fading days of the beat generation poets before the time of the emergence of the New Age, we headed south from San Francisco. After immersing ourselves in Buckminster Fuller’s hot springs in Big Sur, we headed to the Zen Mountain Center Buddhist retreat deep in the Los Padres National Forest. During our stay, I joined monks at 4:00am each morning for Zazen supplication before the Buddha, but in my head, Charlton Heston’s voice from The Ten Commandments , said, “You shall not bow before graven idols!” I confessed my distraction to the Zen Master Suzuki Roshi, a stone mason, next to the perfect wall he was building. He replied, “Michael, you must go deeper into your Jewish origins — not the rituals your
family or temples taught, but deeper.” And so, I took his insight seriously and began a 58-year journey of spiritual in - trospection through my lens as a Jew- ish man, social justice advocate, and as a farmer. Judaism’s Agrarian Roots The concept of being a “practicing Jew”, or not, as a way to identify one’s Jewishness has always intrigued me. I’m further intrigued by the intersec - tion of religion and farming, as both have been central to my life. To under- stand the rhythms of the agriculture cycle and how they played a significant role in tribal beliefs and practices helps better define one’s understanding of the Jewish people. The Israelites were always a “tribe” with its own practices and beliefs. In ancient times, initially, one was consid- ered a member of the tribe through the father, and later, better known through
SUKKOT – Thanksgiving harvest and living in temporary field booths; then the replanting of barley and wheat HANUKKAH – Winter Solstice (the loss of daylight) and the return of the sun TU B’SHVAT – Sap rising in fruit trees PURIM – Return of spring and festival time Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were originally minor holidays not di- rectly connected to agriculture. It was a time of prayer and fasting, supplication
the mother. So, regardless of whether one practiced any of the rituals or holidays, there was no escape from that heritage. Today, the Re - form movement, for example, now says that if one’s father is Jewish, that person is considered Jewish as well. And individuals who are will- ing to study, pray and cleanse can become a Jew. Much of what America knows today about Judaism through the world of writing and television is of a supreme being who governs by mysterious laws and dictates. Comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and the Mrs. Maisel character use self-deprecating humor and occasional Yid - dishisms to amuse a mostly gentile (i.e., non-Jewish) audience. The dreary world of memorization with meaningless dates and texts from Hebrew School still haunts the minds of young people. However, if one views the world through the eyes of a farmer, like I do, a whole different reality becomes evident. In ancient times nomad - ic shepherds needed rain, green pastures and a healthy crop of lambs. When nomads eventually became pastoral and started to grow grains, their worry shifted to seasonal disease, locusts and a clean water supply during the growing season. Furthermore, the Israelite tribes needed protection from both marauding nomads and civilizations that sought more land to expand their power and wealth. During this time, the Israelites created the concept of a single deity, and that devotion to
and hope for a good year. Then, there’s the problem of keeping those holidays in proper calendar sequence — but that’s a history lesson for another time. So, against all odds and the destruction of their capital — Jeru- salem in 70 CE, which was the central space for sacrifice and wor - ship — the people survived. The yearly agricultural rituals were still observed, but they shifted to decentralized deity-focused synagogue observances. It was at the new academy of Yavneh, 2,000 years ago where “new rules” were developed to replace the centrality of the Je- rusalem temple, and in many ways, it evolved into a new religion. What the Israelites did 3,000 years or so ago — and what Chris - tianity and Islam did not do — was to preserve the link to their cal- endars and its agricultural festivals. The Greco-Roman solstice fes - tival, Natilis Solis Invicti (the rebirth of the invincible sun) under the Roman Emperor Constantine, shifted the worship of the Sun God Apollo to Christ after the battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD and then renamed the cultic solstice festival in honor of their now true Son of God Jesus Christ at the Council of Nicaea (325 AD). Christianity later renamed the original Jewish agricultural festi-
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PATHWAYS—Summer 22—11
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