In the original draft of my book, A Wild Faith: Jewish Ways into Wilderness, Wilderness Ways into Judaism (Jewish Lights Publishing), I didn’t pull any punches. Mainstream Jewish theology, in my view, does not serve Jews who feel most spiritual in wilderness. It champions a spirit/matter dichotomy that is often used to justify environmental irresponsibility, and it seriously distorts the biblical description of the divine/earth/human relationship. I tried to show how and why this occurred, and frame the rest of A Wild Faith as a response.

But in the end, I held back. I went for a “big tent” approach. I wanted A Wild Faith to promote the cause of Jewish environmentalism and serve any Jew who loves nature. I wanted a book that would unite rather than divide. So I edited out the sections that I knew would arouse resistance among traditionalists. I think it was the right decision, although I suspect I’ll never know. In any event, here is the chapter as originally written.

Walk in peace,
Rabbi Mike Comins
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Adapted by Laura Bellows of the Teva Learning Alliance from Spirit in Nature: Teaching Judaism and Ecology on the Trail by Matt Biers-Ariel, Deborah Newbrun, and Michal Fox Smart (Behrman House, 2000).
 
Ages: 6 and up
 
Setting: Outdoors, in a colorful, biodiverse natural area
 
Goals:

• To strengthen personal commitment to conservation and stewardship
• To increase awareness and observation skills
• To understand the rainbow in a Torah context: A sign of God’s promise never again to destroy the earth and a reflection of the beauty of creation
• To learn the traditional blessing for seeing a rainbow and/or share appreciation of this divine covenant
• To become familiar with appropriate care and collecting practices in nature (for example, not collecting poison ivy, not picking unless abundant)