As the calendar ticks through the month of Shevat this year, both Tu B’Shevat and Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday happen to fall on the very same day. It is the nature of the relationship between the Hebrew and secular calendars that this is actually a relatively rare occurrence! But, the confluence of Judaism’s day for nature, and America’s day to remember ongoing challenges of civil rights, provides us the opportunity to explore the notion of climate justice. This term raises to consciousness the idea that climate change will have a disparate effect on people of different socio-economic, geopolitical, geographic, and racial characteristics. Depending on who you are and where you live, your experience of climate change can be very different.
Throughout the prophetic works of the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites and Jews are called upon to be acutely aware of the impacts of poverty on basic human needs. The Torah tells us to remember the poor, the widow, and the orphan repeatedly. These individuals are the powerless of society and as a revolutionary document dedicated to the betterment of the human condition, the Bible called on its audience (and us today) to recognize that there are those whose very life conditions require an additional measure of support.
One of my favorite passages is Deuteronomy 15 that commands the Israelites: “There shall be no needy among you!” That is, meet the needs of those who cry out. The text continues: “do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman….give to him readily and have no regrets when you do.” (See the whole text here.)
In our efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, the Jewish value of concern for the poor and disenfranchised compels us to open our eyes and hearts to those who are most affected, and seek the safety and wellbeing of all humanity.
— Rabbi Ron Stern