ה׳ בורא השמים הוא האלוהים יוצר הארץ ועושה-הוא כוננה לא תוהו בראה לשבת יצרה
“The Creator of heaven who alone is God, who formed the earth and made it… did not create it a waste, but formed it for habitation.” (Isaiah 45:18)
According to the Sefer Hahinukh (a 13th century compilation and explanation of the 613 mitzvot arranged in their order of appearance in the Torah), the very first mitzvah, in both placement and primacy, is that of yishuv ha’olam, (יישוב העולם), the pursuit of a habitable world for all God’s creation. We are called to do all we can to preserve the well-being of this remarkable planet that we are uniquely blessed with inhabiting. All else depends on that.
In December 2019, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards unanimously adopted a teshuvah (a legal opinion of the Masorti movement) declaring such a pursuit of a healthy environment (yishuv ha’olam) as a foundational ethos of Masorti Judaism. In particular, the teshuvah urged that:
- Our actions match the urgency of the need.
- Our actions be compatible with the permanence of life.
- We seek to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and no later than 2050
- We turn society from a linear economy to a circular one.
- We do all this in ways that are aligned with justice and equity
During the past two decades, the RA has passed numerous resolutions on a wide variety of environmental issues. These resolutions have called upon colleagues to take action both at the national and local levels, including:
2020: Resolution on Living Sustainably
2019: Resolution on Climate Change and Environmental Concerns
2016: Resolution on Paris United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
2013: Resolution on Climate Change
2012: Resolution on Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States
2009: Resolution Supporting Environmental Concerns in Israel
2008: Resolution on the Environment: Green Covenant
2007: Resolution on the Environment
2005: Resolution on Global Warming and Endangered Species
2003: Resolution on the Environment and Human Health
2001: Resolution on Energy and the Environment
Here is a comprehensive summary of the environmental resolutions that the Rabbinical Assembly passed between 1991 and 2012.