With appreciation to our Green Team, we will be celebrating our TST Earth Day at tonight’s Shabbat service. Our own member, Jeff Tannenbaum, will be speaking. He is founder of Titan Grove, which is focused on businesses that promote sustainable, healthy, and just capitalism. His talk will reflect Jewish values and ways that we can make an impact in our own homes.

This is about what Judaism values. The Hebrew Bible’s book of Psalms teaches, “The earth is God’s and all that it contains, the world and all that live there.” (24.1), and in saying so, offers an important insight into our relationship with the universe. That is, whatever we think we own is but on loan to us from God.

This verse came to mind, believe it or not, when my wife and I sat down to close on the purchase of our first home. I know it may sound odd to think of the Hebrew Bible teachings as the lawyers went over papers and closing costs, line-by-line. Nevertheless, it occurred to me as we signed again and again, that the land we thought we were buying really belongs to God, and God lends it to us to live on, for as long as we are there. Regardless of what any deeds, mortgage papers, or title insurance state, as our old Union Prayer Book said, “We are tenants in the house of life.”

Now I don’t mean to depress you with this thought, that we are merely stewards, not owners, of what we think we possess. But the reality is that our world is on loan to us for as long as each of us lives on it, and it is our responsibility to care for this earth as long as we are here. I hope you can join us tonight!

Shabbat Shalom!