The summer of 2024 was the hottest in the world since records began. Reduced crop yields, heat waves and the current floods are once again clearly demonstrating the effects of climate change in Germany this year. Global warming is making once-in-a-century floods like those we are currently seeing in Poland and Austria more and more common.
As a Jewish community, we are obliged to take responsibility individually and collectively in this crisis. The Midrash Kohelet Rabba states: “Everything I have created, I have created for you. Be careful not to spoil and destroy my world, for if you spoil it, no one will restore it after you.” In view of the climate crisis, this also means taking active steps against the destruction of creation.
The climate crisis is also a question of social justice.
At the same time, the climate crisis is also a question of social justice. Those who have contributed least to its causes are often the most affected by its consequences – especially the poorer segments of society. Our tradition emphasizes the duty to support the needy and the weak out of charity (gemilut chassadim), to heal the world (tikkun olam) and promote justice (tzedek).
In addition to tackling climate change, it is therefore also up to us to mitigate its impacts on the communities most affected and build their resilience.
None of us will be able to save the climate alone, but we are all called upon to do our best in our daily lives, in our work and in our communities. Or, as Rabbi Tarfon is quoted in the Mishnah: “It is not your task to complete the work, but you are not free to evade it either.”
The author is the founder of the environmental NGO »re:net« and was included in the »30 under 30« list by »Forbes« in 2023.
