Ḥoni's Circle

In this week’s episode we talk about a text from Bereshit Rabah that discusses the trees conversing with each other and with human beings, and then humans talking with each other and praying about the land and the temple. We talk about how now we know that trees do communicate with each other, but that there has always been an idea that nature is trying to communicate to us, and how this can lead to both conserving ecosystems and sustainable resource extraction. We also talk about how, if we miss the opportunity to hear the messages of nature, and we miss the opportunity to talk about nature and ameliorate our harm of it, we will reach the stage of only having prayers left. The book mentioned in the episode that details the means of tree to tree communication is: The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.  Follow along with the source sheet here: http://www.sefaria.org/sheets/576005                  

What is Ḥoni's Circle?

Ḥoni's Circle is a climate chevruta (partner text study), In which Rabbi Paula Rose and Tamar Libicki explore Jewish texts from the Torah, the Talmud, and Commentaries to grapple with climate change. Rabbi Paula Rose is the associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle, Washington. This Podcast is a project of Congregation Beth Shalom and Ahavat V'Avodat HaAdama, our community's environmental group.