Torah For Today: Extreme weather
Rabbi Garry Wayland looks at a topical issue and delves into Jewish texts for a response
Heatwaves and floods have dominated Europe’s weather in recent weeks – and at times to devastating effect. What does the Torah say about extreme weather?
“God smelled the appeasing fragrance, and God said to Himself, ‘Never again will I curse the soil because of man, for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.
“I will never again strike down all life as I have just done. As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night, shall never again cease [to exist].”
Thus promises God after the deluge: up until that point, the fate of earth was intrinsically linked with the spiritual standing of humankind; it rained when Adam prayed, it gave forth thorns when he sinned.
After the generation of Noah, however, this was no longer tenable: man was to be part of the ecosystem, not above it; a servant, not its master.
The pulse of the Jewish year was always the seasons: Pesach linked with the ripened barley; Shavuot with the first fruits. Jews in Israel knew precisely the dates by which they should expect rain; the sages instituted a series of precisely calibrated fasts lest, God forbid, the rains did not come in their proper time.
God gave two sets of commandments to Adam: “Fill the earth and conquer it” and “guard and work [the Garden of Eden]”.
The era of modernity has certainly led to mankind filling the first command: we had, it seems, managed to fill the earth and conquer it, becoming masters of the soil and the sky; every creature from the largest beast to viruses subdued for our needs; our physical bodies becoming mere conduits for technology.
Nature, at last, may be fighting back. Extreme weather is becoming more frequent, while horrific diseases are emerging from our encroaching of ecosystems to which we do not belong.
In the words of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik: “As long as man lives within the bounds set by his Creator he remains the son of Mother Earth and may claim asylum in her lap… she is kind to herself, to her son who is an integral part of her.”
Hope, in the words of the late Rabbi Lord Sacks, is an active virtue, and building a future in which we can live in partnership with nature will take patience, sacrifice and hope.
- Rabbi Garry Wayland is a teacher and educator for US Living and Learning
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
