Dear Friends:

Reb Zalman and Rebbitzin Eve recently returned from the trip to the UK. 

Before the trip, Reb Zalman wrote in the Rosh Hashanah Yesod Foundation Newsletter: 

“God willing, this November, Eve and I will be participating in a meeting convened by Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. It is to be a summit of religious leaders proposing ways in which the power and wisdom of our traditions can blend with the needs of the hour. Please keep this in mind during your High Holy Day prayers this year, and also pray for the grace to be able to shift our shared consciousness in the direction of our most harmonious integration, for the good of the life we share. All this can sweeten the good that is in store for us this coming year.” 

And here’s Eve’s report on the trip:

Report from Windsor
by Eve Ilsen

“For the first three days of November, Reb Zalman and I were privileged to participate in an event in the UK, hosted by ARC, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, aptly called “Many Heavens, One Earth”.

“Nine major religions were represented (Baha’ism, Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism and Sikhism), and many countries (Saudi Arabia, US, UK, Egypt, Russia, China, Kenya, South Africa, Israel, Tanzania, Cameroon, India, Cambodia, etc.).

“We heard from representatives of many organizations—World Wildlife Fund, Marine Stewardship Council, Compassion for Farm Animals; even the World Bank, who urged us to take seriously their desire to support eco-projects. 

“And we heard from distinguished individuals—the Archbishop of London; the Mufti of Cairo; Naomi Tsur, deputy mayor of Jerusalem; Olav Kjorven and Ban Ki-Moon of the UN; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and more. 

“Participants represented the religious and international rainbow:  South American Jesuit, Fransican, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Shinto, Sikh, Hindu, Moslems from the Middle East and from Indonesia, Hindus, Lutherans from Tanzania and Presbyterians from Ghana, even an American Evengelical, and more.

“The goal was to quickly reduce our energy footprints so that we can slow down the warming of our planet and to do so quickly.  We were focused on moving beyond mere discussion to get to the place where we would make a real difference.  Their intent in bringing us together was so that we could become resources supporting one another as we develop and implement serious seven-year plans within each faith community.

“The scientists who presented left no doubt as to the urgency of the need.

“The most striking realization, for me, was the extent to which the excesses of the “developed world” resulted directly in starvation and destruction for people on the other side of our planet.

“Reb Zalman had been urged to attend the ARC event by Nigel Savage of Hazon. 

“Well before the conference even started, Nigel had crafted a seven-year plan for the Jewish community so skillfully that the Sikhs who read it used it as a model for their own excellent proposal to their community, calling it “Eco-Sikh”.

“You can find Nigel’s thorough and useful document clicking here. 

“You can find information and photos of the ARC conference at www.windsor2009.org

“I know that most participants in Jewish Renewal are already on this bandwagon.  If anyone has already done effective work in their community or the Jewish community at large, please share the information with Aleph and with Hazon ; we will spread the word so that your good work can be adapted elsewhere.

“Many of us in Boulder participated in a program this year that Tuv Ha-Aretz, (associated with Hazon), organized:  a local organic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) invited members of the Jewish community to join for the season.  We paid our memberships in advance, providing seed money, and collected our abundant organic produce, harvested just that morning, on late Thursday afternoons.  Besides access to excellent food, the Thursday gatherings in the parking lot of Bonai Shalom Conservative Synagogue  served to build community across the various congregations.

“As well as implementing it ourselves, I am hoping that we can bring the excellent and urgently necessary seven-year plan of the Jewish Climate Campaign to the mainstream Jewish community—to the folks who don’t believe that this is real and serious, or who despair that we can make a difference.  (I’m thinking of my own relatives in Northeast Philadelphia, or in Tempe, Arizona, for example…)

“Perhaps the photo of the rabbis among the other distinguished religious leaders at Windsor castle may help.”
 

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am and is filed under Melech Haolam (Gaia). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.