Eco Bible: Vol. 1: An Ecological Commentary on Genesis and Exodus

In this insightful analysis, Rabbis Neril and Dee explore what the first two books of the Hebrew Bible say about “living in balance with God’s creation, through a lifestyle that is not only aware of but protects the natural world.” They combine their own insights with those of more than 100 rabbis and Jewish thinkers from a variety of time periods, such as Maimonides, Arthur Waskow, Jonathan Sacks, and Shlomo Riskin, to provide glosses on obvious passages, such as how Genesis 2:15 (“The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it”) illustrates humanity’s role as both the master and servant of nature. But they also find relevance in less-intuitive verses, such as Exodus 9:31–32, which they use to make the case for crop diversification. While some of the commentaries are superficial, such as a section on overpopulation in Exodus 1:7–9, for the most part the authors cite and analyze passages that will inspire contemplation on how to live in harmony with nature and the power of conservation. Ecologically minded readers interested in the Hebrew Bible will love this. [em](Nov.) [/em]