Trees and Torah Study

In this week's episode of Ḥoni's Circle, we we juxtapose two texts from Pirkei Avot and the Zohar about trees and Torah study. We discuss how these texts see the relationship between Torah study and appreciation of the natural world. Are they antagonistic, hierarchically ranked, or can we hold them both as a holistic system informing each other?  We also discuss the Mishnaic times as being a period of existential threat to Jewish culture, and the parallels we can draw about how we relate to our current existential threat of species extinction. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/452321

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.