In this week’s special Chanukah episode we study a text from the tractate Shabbat, noting how the Rabbis shift the narrative focus from military victory to the miracle of a single jar of oil lasting eight days. We explore the Menorah as a symbol of energy, drawing a parallel between the miracle of olive oil efficiency and modern technological miracles like LEDs that allow us to move away from fossil fuels. We discuss the difficulty of appreciating such slow developments, emphasizing the need to cultivate "thanksgiving" for slow technological progress. We conclude by celebrating the unnamed heroes—then and now—who take a leap of faith to act despite daunting circumstances, finding that hope is the necessary fuel to fight climate change. Follow along here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/694339.1

In this week’s episode we continue our Ten Plagues series with the plague of locusts. We observe the pivotal shift in Pharaoh’s courtiers, who finally use their proximity to power to lobby for a change in policy rather than clinging to the status quo. We analyze the unique threat of this plague—the total and permanent destruction of agriculture—and the terrifying imagery of locusts covering the ground, severing the connection between the people and the earth. This parallels the modern climate reality where the greatest driver of mass migration is not temporary disaster, but the permanent loss of arable land and sea level rise. We conclude by noting the inability to "shut the door" on a food supply crisis, while finding a glimmer of optimism in the courtiers' new-found courage to push back against Pharaoh and the resilience of nature between plagues. Follow along with the source sheet here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/692164

In this week’s episode we continue our Ten Plagues series with the plague of hail. We look at the unprecedented nature of this weather event, noting how the language used in the Torah—that such hail had never occurred since Egypt became a nation—parallels modern climate news stories where extreme weather records are constantly being broken. We explore the critical role of trust during climate disasters, contrasting those who trusted the warning and took shelter with those who relied on Pharaoh’s official "line" and ignored the life-saving advice. This raises questions about how we receive information about climate disasters today, the necessity of cultivating trust in institutions, and the difficulty of imagining a reality that challenges our long-held worldviews. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/667758

In this week’s episode we continue our Ten Plagues series with the plagues of Livestock Disease and Boils. We think about how these plagues are similar to climate related “plagues” in the present (smoke from forest fires) and in the recent past (dust pneumonia in the Dust Bowl) and the theorized link between a rise in epidemics and a warming climate. We also talk about the governmental mechanisms responding to the escalation of the plagues that feel like modern times, including investigation without action and the weakening ability of propaganda to make the plagues seem less severe. We conclude with the hope that we are responding better to our current situation than Pharaoh did. Follow along here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/667757

In this week’s episode we continue our Ten Plagues series with the plagues of lice and “arov”. We first address the ambiguity of the plague of arov, most commonly being understood as a plague of wild animals but translated by Rashi as a plague of swarms of insects. We see in arov the first time that the land of Goshen (the dwelling place of the children of Israel) was exempted from the plague. We look at these two plagues from two angles which make them similar to Climate change: climate denial even when experts affirm that it is happening, and geographical differences in how humanity feels the brunt of climate change effects. Follow along here: http://www.sefaria.org/sheets/642212

In this week’s Shemini Atzeret replay episode of Honi's Circle we study the Prayer for Rain, Geshem, and a supplemental piyyut (liturgical poem) by Ruth Gan Kagan that adds Miriam to the list of ancestors whose merit we call upon to be given rain for a blessing. We talk about how this ancient prayer points to the fact that humans have always understood that water is a powerful force on which our lives depend, and in the times of floods, droughts, forest fires and hurricanes, having this prayer as an elevated part of our liturgy can be an inspiration to work on issues contributing to this change in our climate. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/521685

In this week’s Sukkot replay episode of Honi's Circle we read a section from Nehemiah about the Jewish people returning from Babylon and celebrating their first Sukkot, according to the text, in centuries. We talk about the value of tying new rituals back to old traditions, Sukkot as a holiday that connects us to the nature around us, and needing diversity in both our ecosystems and the people that are part of the climate movement. Follow along with the source sheet here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/518541

In this week’s pre-Yom Kippur replay episode of Honi’s Circle we study the book of Jonah, 3:6-4:4, where Jonah goes to Nineveh to proclaim the city’s destruction if they don’t repent, the city repents and is not destroyed, and Jonah gets mad. We discuss Nineveh’s amazing turnaround and what we might implement in our own lives to be able to change our own community’s habits and practices that contribute to climate change. We also discuss Jonah’s inability to forgive and how that reflects on our own ability to accept back into the fold entities that have in the past contributed to climate change, but now want to fight against it. Follow along with the source sheet here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/518540

In this week’s special Elul episode, we study a text from Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah on Repentance that explores the shofar’s role as a spiritual wake-up call. We discuss how the shofar calls us to set aside our normal preoccupations with vanities and focus on what is most important in life. We see a powerful parallel in the moments of clarity within the climate movement—often sparked by climate disasters—that serve as clarion calls for us to focus on the big picture and take meaningful action.

Follow along with the source sheet here: http://www.sefaria.org/sheets/667761

In this week’s episode we are on plague number two of our Ten Plagues series with the plague of frogs. We talk about how the plague of frogs can be seen in the light of air pollution, since the smell of the frogs is specifically described. We talk about how involving a strong motivation like fear of disease (frogs everywhere including places involving preparing and consuming food, or air pollution causing asthma and heart disease) can be a strong motivator for change. We also talk about how climate change involves the extinction of many species and how amphibians are at a heightened risk, so in the modern era we are suffering the plague of no frogs. We end with an encouragement to seek out ecosystem restoration projects. 
Follow along with the source sheet here: http://sefaria.org/sheets/642211

In this week’s episode we kick off our Ten Plagues series with the first plague, the plague of blood, seeing how changing water availability (which climate change fundamentally does), has a cascading effect on ecosystems and agriculture. We also see the speed of human ingenuity and thus climate resilience as the Egyptians start to build wells and create our own midrash about Israelite cultural knowledge of well-building being shared in this difficult time. Follow along with the source sheet here: http://sefaria.org/sheets/642209

In this week’s episode we study another excerpt from Maasechet Taanit about Rav Hunah and how he would buy all the leftover vegetables from the farmer’s market on Friday afternoon and throw them in the river. This sparks a discussion about food waste, what methods we have on a large, medium, and personal scale to address food waste, including innovative selling of imperfect produce, donating food to food banks, buying only what we need, and composting and preserving. We also talk about the anxiety of not having enough food, wanting to treat food respectfully, and being aware of the food insecurity of others. Follow along with the source sheet here: http://sefaria.org/sheets/642200

In this week’s episode we look at an excerpt from Maasechet Taanit about Rav Hunah and how he would ride around in his golden carriage identifying walls that were in danger of falling, notifying the owners, and requiring the walls to be repaired, either with the owner’s money or Rav Hunah’s (if the owner couldn’t afford repairs). We talk about how this story shows an early rabbinical form of regulating buildings, but also incentivizing their upgrades, and how building weatherization and energy efficiency are two ways we can act to slow climate change. We also talk about getting into climate action in one’s middle age, giving charity in a way that also fights climate change, and the importance of imagination in environmentalism. Follow along with the source sheet here: http://sefaria.org/sheets/642199

In this week’s episode (third installment in the Shmita series with guest Avi) we study another text from Mishna Sheviit talking about how Shmita, an exemplar of a traditional Jewish attitude towards the land, is also a remittance of all loans. How does a respect for the autonomy and sacredness of the land interact with our economic system? We discuss land as collateral, conflicts between helping the poor and protecting the environment, and instituting our own personal and communal commitments to the environment during the Shmita year. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/615576

In this week’s special Shavuot episode of Honi’s Circle, we study a text from Leviticus and one from Ruth—first, in Leviticus, the commandment in the Torah to set aside a corner of your field for the poor to glean from; second, the story in Ruth, seeing gleaning in action. We speak about how Shavuot is a holiday of recommitment to the Torah, embodying loving-kindness and a system of laws that ask the community to sustain those without resources, and how developing a system to recommit to fighting climate change can keep us in action for years to come. Follow along with the source sheet here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/642207

In this week’s episode we study a text from Mishna Sheviit about how money functions differently in the Sabbatical year, ie. Shmita. After a conversation about the non-fungibility of money involved in the purchase of Shmita produce, we look at how both Shmita and working to prevent Climate Disaster requires significant change in our personal lives. We also see that to achieve a true Shmita, and to prevent Global Warming, we need involvement on a societal level. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/615587.1

In this week’s episode we study a text from Leviticus about the laws of the Sabbatical year, ie. Shmita. The section describes a special connection between the land and the divine, which points to a spiritual orientation of treating the land as an autonomous entity deserving of rest and respect. The text also talks about the anxiety of the sixth year; articulating the uncertainty of reorienting our economic and agricultural practices. Avi, our guest, also talks about the LA fires, and how a natural disaster can wake us up to the realization that nature is an independent force that needs to be respected. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/615585

In this week’s special Passover episode of Honi’s Circle we study a text from the Haggadah about the original move of Jacob and his family to Egypt. We have a saying “We were refugees too” because Jewish history is filled with a series of persecutions and expulsions, but what if we go back to our very first immigration as a family (ie. the family of Jacob) moving from the land of Canaan to Egypt because famine was “heavy in the land.”? Having as part of our identity a people formed by climate refuge seeking can help instill empathy and move us to action for the millions being caused to move by the climate making their homelands unlivable. Follow along with the source sheet here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/550019 

In this week’s episode we study a text from the Shulchan Aruch about ways to bring joy for a holiday, which includes meat and wine, toasted nuts and grains, and new clothes. We talk about the joy of getting new things, and how, often in our modern society, we buy so many new things that the joy diminishes. Some ideas we discuss are saving the joy of something special and new to coincide with a special event or a holiday and buying used clothes which can contain the extra joy of wearing something historical, unique, and the story of its previous wearer. Follow along here: www.sefaria.org/sheets/609796 .

In this week’s episode we study a section from Bereshit Rabah about how different aspects of the natural world were created by the divine for specific purposes. We discuss how this passage, about the creation of plants for the sake of pharmacology as well as the constellations controlling certain growth-phases of the plant, acknowledges the complex inter-relationships between different aspects of nature. We discuss how themes of humility, discernment, and awe can all play a part in the fight to maintain a livable climate. Follow along here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/603556.1?lang=en&with=all&lang2=en