Far away: The Amazon
- Heart-breaking scenes of devastation
- Nearly 74,000 man-made fires detected since January - increase of 83% over same time last year
- 10,000 sprang up in period of 48 hours
- 20% of Amazon has been already lost
- If another 5% is lost, it will have irreversible effect on climate change.
- 1,000,000 hectares lost in Bolivia fires in the Robore region
Not very far away: The Channel - the "Big Swim"
- Lewis Pugh is British-South African endurance swimmeer aged 49.
- In Summer 2018, Lewis Pugh took on a huge challenge by swimming the length of the Channel - around 330 miles (530km) - from Cornwall to Dover. It took him 49 days.
- "I have also seen plastic on every beach I've visited from Cornwall to Kent. We have taken the fish out of the ocean and replaced them with plastic"
- In his blog, the word "plastic" appears 38 times
See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: (27) blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you this day; (28) and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn away from the path that I command you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced.
We all have choices as to the make up of society that we are a part of. The gods in the Torah are not necessarily worshipped today, but the decision as to how we act - and the consequences we encounter in return stand as true today as they did 3,331 years ago.
The environmental gifts that we obtain from the Amazon and the seas are the blessings that we have been bestowed by the Master of the Universe.
(ג) אֲנִ֤י לְדוֹדִי֙ וְדוֹדִ֣י לִ֔י הָרֹעֶ֖ה בַּשׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים׃ (ס)
Gd, the bridegroom is calling out to us, His bride. We love each other and we need to demonstrate our mutual love by showing each other the fundamental cornerstone of every relationship- respect.
Elul is a wake- up call to remind us of our blessings since the previous Rosh Hashanah. It also asks us to remember where we have gone wrong. It is the time to also ponder the future, once Rosh Hashanah is upon us. It is a time to demonstrate our respect for the blessings that Gd has bestowed upon this earth.
What are WE going to do to help the Amazon?
What can we do?
Is it about educating ourselves as to protesting more about the deforestation, the inequality in Brazil between the rich and poor. Maybe we need to write to our MP and ask them to raise this issue in Parliament. There is a world outside Brexit!
- How, in the next 30 days, can we do our bit to use less plastic, recycle more?
- Ensure that our plastic bag or straw doesn't end up inside a turtle or on a beach?
Elul challenges us to think about these questions. The Amazon might seem a long way from here, but Dover isn't.
On a positive note, we couldn't be situated at a more opportune time of the year. Although the "UK Government has a strategic ambition to '…work towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.' we can also do our bit to help, both from a literal point of view and a spiritual angle.
Let us focus our thoughts over the next month to re-establishing our marriage vows with Gd, asking him to improve our environment and provide the conditions to help us along the way - whether through providing more rain and cooler summers so that the earth has a chance to recover from our actions over the decades.
Maybe, we will be able to make 5780 the year that the earth returned, even slightly towards being the planet that we grew up in.
I am my beloved' and my beloved is mine.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, chodesh tov and meaningful, fruitful and productive Ellul.