Yesterday we heard from Rabbi Katy Allen,
Today I want to include the Earth Etude I wrote this year. It is about trees. Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav said that we should spend an hour outside in nature, pouring our souls out to G-d.
Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav said that we should spend an hour every day outside amongst the trees
“Grant me the ability to be alone; may it be my custom to go outdoors each day among the trees and grass – among all growing things and there may I be alone, and enter into prayer, to talk with the One to whom I belong. May I express there everything in my heart, and may all the foliage of the field – all grasses, trees, and plants – awake at my coming, to send the powers of their life into the words of my prayer so that my prayer and speech are made whole through the life and spirit of all growing things, which are made as one by their transcendent Source. May I then pour out the words of my heart before your Presence like water, O L-rd, and lift up my hands to You in worship, on my behalf, and that of my children!”
Debbie Friedman set it to music:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEH9hipVb8w
Here is what my Earth Etude said, published on Jewcology:
https://jewcology.org/2024/09/earth-etude-for-elul-21-2/
Here it is:
“Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall…”
Trees are like friends. Torah is a Tree of Life, so says Proverbs. We sing this as part of the Torah service. “It is a tree of life to them that hold fast to it and all its paths are peace.”
. Each day when I go out for a walk, I say hello to these very trees. Winter, spring, summer and fall. They keep me grounded. Quite literally.
But imagine a world without trees. Without seasons. As our continues to heat up, it could happen. Research has shown that this summer, now drawing to an end, was the hottest recorded.
But there may be hope. Those trees may actually be trees of life. In Chelsea, MA two years ago I heard news that there was a pilot project, a test site if you will, to plant trees.
What they found was that planting trees could dramatically cool an area and was a long-term investment.
“So, the white roof and new pavement could help cool the area more quickly, however, the trees are a longer-term investment in shade. Chelsea’s Cool Block will be loaded with pretty much every intervention to control heat, while other cities are trying one intervention at a time. Ariane Middel, who studies heat and urban design at Arizona State University in Phoenix, says, “It makes sense to concentrate cooling in rising hot spots.”
Listen to NPR’s All Things Considered on how a test site can cool cities in the summer!
This summer, I heard a similar story. As reported in the New York Post:
“Urban tree canopies and green spaces are our most potent weapons against the collision of the UHIE (Urban Heat Island Effect) and climate change. Unlike air conditioning, which often cuts out when everyone cranks up their units — exactly when it is needed to save lives — vegetation’s cooling effect grows the hotter an area gets. Large plants like trees and shrubs not only shade our homes on the days when the sun is most powerful, but they also cool our environment through evapotranspiration. [Evapotranspiration is when water evaporated from the soil surface into the atmosphere through the leaves of plants. – Ed.] Even a young tree has a net cooling effect equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating for 20 hours a day. Within 15 years, the effect doubles.”
Now, like with Jews, where you get two Jews and three opinions, a google search will quickly tell you there is a range of opinions on this. Will trees help reduce climate change? I don’t know for sure. But I figure it can’t hurt. And it will add to the world’s beauty and keep us rooted. Just what I need spiritually before Rosh Hashanah. As the old Talmudic story goes, “Just as my ancestors planted for me, so I will plant for my children and grandchildren.”
Join me in planting a tree.