The Colors of the Wind

By Ayal Prouser
Clark University

The Jewish homeland, Israel, embodies a number of fundamental Jewish values. These range from pidyon shvuyim (redemption of captives) -- extremely relevant given the prisoner trade made during hol hamoed Sukkot -- to hakhnasat orhim: the obligation to host guests. Anyone who has spent time in Israel knows you can’t go anywhere without being invited to someone’s house for Shabbat. A critical Jewish value is our deep connection to the environment, and Israel has been in the forefront of environmental efforts for many years.

The Jewish connection and duty to the environment is given to us in the Torah’s account of creation. Genesis 2:5 states "no bush of the field was yet on earth, no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for YHWH, God had not yet made it rain upon earth and there was no human to till the soil". We can learn from this that in God’s eyes it is our duty to care for the land, and its foliage: "to till it and to tend it" (Genesis 2:15). Israel and its supporting organizations have not only taken care of its foliage but have spread it as well. According to JNF, Israel is one of only two countries to enter into the 21st century with a net growth of trees. Not only does Israel impress the international community with its expanding forestry, but

It also sets the standard as a leader in solar energy. According to Clean Technica, 90% of so Israeli homes have doodim, or rooftop water heaters. The list can go on and on about how Israel is an environmental leader, but I think to have a real understanding of the importance of their work we must take a close look into environmentalism and Judaism.

The connection is not only biblical, but liturgical as well. There are many prayers that are reminiscent of Pocahontas’s "Colors of the Wind." We have a liturgical system in place to make us aware of the beauty of the environment, to help us paint with the colors of the wind. There is a prayer "Blessed are you YHWH Ruler of the universe who has such creations in His world." This is to be said whenever you see something majestic or beautiful within nature. It gets more specific: there is a blessing when you see a rainbow and one for when you hear thunder. We pray for rain, which gives us a great appreciation for when it does rain, and so on and so forth. There are even blessings for astronomical beauty and cosmic phenomena. With these blessings we can "sing with all the voices of the mountains."

One Jewish value which we could also learn from "Colors of the Wind" is the principle of bal tashhit, the Torah’s prohibition against wanton destruction of natural resources. Israel is great at this, not only with its widespread solar energy, but also with the Jewish State’s careful attention to water conservation. The Israeli government reports that Israel is making major improvements in the desalination process and by 2013 should reach the ability to desalinate 6 billion cubic meters a year. Long before Pocahontas, Jews, too, wanted to know the answer to "How high will the sycamore grow?"

Ayal Prouser is a freshman at Clark University in Massachusetts. He spent the last year on Nativ in Israel.

[Posted 10/28/11]