Reading & Discussion Series: Jewish Environmental Wisdom

What We’ll Explore

This reading series will be guided by the following central question: What wisdom might Jewish traditions offer for our current environmental crises? Philosophy, as the love of wisdom, should be open to wisdom wherever it embeds itself. The Tanakh, the textual source of Judaism, arose from within a largely agrarian society with deep connections to particular lands and places. It seems reasonable, then, to start with the assumption that the traditions of thought and practice that have grown out of the Hebrew Bible (and inspired it!) might offer environmental wisdom for our pressing times. 

The French and Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, had something similar in mind for his own philosophical project, which has been described as an attempt to translate Hebrew into Greek—that is, to express a Hebraic way of thinking within a Greek, or philosophic, context. Following in Levinas’s tracks here, we will also consider larger, contextualizing questions about the possibility of “translating” non-philosophical ideas into philosophical terms.

Together, over 4 every-other-Wednesday sessions, we will closely read and discuss the contemporary import of essays from a variety of Jewish authors including Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jacob Howland, Daniel Delgado, James Hatley, and others.  Sessions will be discussion-based, facilitated by Kaleb Cohen and Mitchell Conway, with one additional guest facilitator joining along the way.

While each session will be self-contained (such that you can attend a stand-alone session and still benefit), participating in as many sessions as possible will allow more time to make and experience larger connections between readings, ideas, and questions explored.

FREE & open to the public. Donations appreciated.

When

Every Other Wednesday from September 18th – October 30th from 7pm-8:30pm

Where

Reeder’s Alley Conference Center (101 Reeder’s Alley)

RSVP

Sign up here!  (Seats limited)

Other

Readings will be e-mailed upon sign-up

Cost

FREE (Donations appreciated)

Session Readings & Focus Questions

9/18 — Judaism, Philosophy, and Translation

• Readings:  Jacob Howland, “Plato and the Talmud”
• Core questions:  How might Hebraic ideas inform philosophy? Are they philosophical or solely religious ideas? Can those ideas have any meaning outside of their cultural context?

10/2 — Between Home and Exile 

• Readings:  Daniel Delgado, “You are but Tenants and Settlers” (supplemental/optional: Susannah Heschel, “An Exile of the Soul”)
• Core question:  What role might the Jewish notion of exile hold for an environmental ethic?

10/16 — Jewishness and Montana: Bison and the Soul (with guest scholar James Hatley)

• Readings:  James Hatley, “Living with Ghosts”
• Core question:  In Montana, how ought we respond to a history of violence against buffalo and Indigenous peoples and what could Jewish traditions teach us about these responses?

10/30 — Shabbat and Sh’mitah: Rest, Release, and the Land

• Readings:  Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Architecture of Time” and Nigel Savage, “Resetting the Planet through Sh’mitah”
• Core Question:  What is the meaning of rest in an age of industrialization and unrelenting resource extraction?

Series Facilitators

Kaleb Cohen’s work sits at the intersection of philosophy, environmental studies, and critical theory. He has presented and published papers on various topics, including the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, settler colonialism and environmental responsibility, and the importance of oral traditions. He holds an MA in Environmental Philosophy from the University of Montana. His graduate work culminated in developing a distinctly Jewish and anti-colonial relationship with land. He also has a background in farming, gardening, ecological restoration, and conservation. Kaleb lives in Missoula, where he teaches for the Wild Rockies Field Institute, makes bread, and hibernates during the winter.

Mitchell Conway is a Community Philosopher at Merlin CCC, an adjunct philosophy instructor at Carroll College, and serves on the Academic Advisory Board & Questions? Journal for The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization. A student of philosophy, a theater maker, and a teacher who cares ardently about empowering young learners, his work has often been an interweaving of education, story, and inquiry.  He also relishes walking in the forest.  Mitchell has a Bachelor’s degree in Theater from Skidmore College and a Master’s degree in Philosophy & Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

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Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community.  While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more!  If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here.  For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.