Jewish Women in Environmental Activism

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"As long as the days of the earth endure,
seed-time and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night shall not cease."
—Genesis 8:22

As early as the Book of Genesis—beginning with the commandment for Adam and Eve to protect the Garden of Eden—Jewish tradition teaches that sustaining the health of the earth and all of its living things is a moral imperative. The winter celebration of Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for trees, has become a reminder of Judaism's longstanding commitment to environmental preservation.

The past two decades have seen a flurry of creative initiatives to deepen connections between Jewish life and environmental activism. Synagogues are "going green," and environmentally-oriented haggadot have made their way to the Passover Seder. Organizations such as the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), the Teva Learning Center, Hazon, and the Jewish Climate Initiative have taken innovative steps to educate the Jewish community about environmental degradation, energy depletion, pollution, climate change, and other issues that threaten the natural world. Acting individually and collectively, Jewish women have pioneered their own environmental activist efforts. For example:

Arlene Blum, PhD, is a biophysical chemist, author, mountaineer, and founder of the Green Science Policy Institute. Best known as a pioneer in women's mountaineering, Blum was awarded the 2008 Purpose Prize for people over the age of 60 who are taking on society's biggest challenges. The author of the award-winning memoir Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life, she is developing environmental policies to eliminate the use of Tris and other flame retardant toxins found in everyday household items. Learn more about Arlene Blum at Jewesses With Attitude.

Betsy Shure Gross is an environmentalist and community preservationist who advocates for the preservation of open spaces, historic sites, and affordable housing. She is a 2001 Women Who Dared honoree.

Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD, is an author, educator, midrashist, myth-weaver, and ritualist. She is the founding director of Tel Shemesh, a website and community celebrating and creating Jewish earth-based traditions. She also co-directs Kohenet: The Hebrew Priestess Institute, an embodied Jewish spiritual leadership program with an earth-honoring, feminist orientation. A poet and essayist whose work has been published in many journals and anthologies including Lilith, Bridges, Natural Bridge, Zeek, and the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Hammer is the author of The Jewish Book of Days, a compendium of Jewish legends for every day of the year expressed in a nature-centered Hebrew calendar, and Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women.

Leah Koenig is a blogger, writer, and Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning blog, The Jew and the Carrot. She writes about food justice, sustainable agriculture, religion, and environmental philosophy.

Shelley Morhaim is a filmmaker and environmental activist who founded Earthome Productions, a film company that promotes sustainable relationships between people and the natural world. She is a 2002 Women Who Dared honoree.

Jill Stein is a physician and founder of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, a non-profit organization that helps inform and empower citizens to build healthy communities, sustainable economies, and democratic institutions. The Green-Rainbow Party nominee for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and a candidate for the state legislature in 2004, Stein ran for Secretary of State in March 2006.

We welcome your comments, stories, and links about these women and other Jewish women environmental activists. Please share them below.