To Forever Inhabit this Earth

""An essential contribution to the work of forging the ethics we need to face the global environmental crisis.""—Karenna Gore, executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary ""Her Bible-based argument for taking care of the natural world is powerful and convincing."" —Reverend Sally Bingham, founder and president of Regeneration Project ""Guidance for how to grapple with our greatest environmental challenges."" —Dr. Jeremy Benstein, author of The Way into Judaism and the Environment ""Whether you are more familiar with Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, and Aldo Leopold, or Ben Zoma, Nachman of Bratslav, and Rav Kook, you will be surprised, challenged, and inspired by this passionate call to engage in the sacred task of repairing and maintaining a habitable world."" —Dr. Mirelle B. Goldsmith, co-founder of Jewish Earth Alliance ""This book is a treasure . . . Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin's depth of knowledge, and her capacity to pull from a vast catalog of sources—nimbly quoting a sixteenth-century sage on one page and the creator of Calvin and Hobbes on another—brings forth a rich tableau, layered in story and midrash and little know esoterica . . . This belongs on a shelf with the classic tomes--alongside Rachel Carson's and others."" —Barbara Mahany, author of The Book of Nature: The Astonishing Beauty of God's First Sacred Text. ""At this time of climate destruction, when it can feel overwhelming to even know where to begin, To Forever Inhabit This Earth offers deep Jewish grounding for how to face the climate crisis, firmly rooted in our values."" —Rabbi Jeni Rosenn, founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action ""Rabbi Cardin has gifted us with a deeply beautiful, accessible, and relatable framing for understanding and enacting Judaism as guidance toward earthly stewardship as both an inherited responsibility, and a path to Divine meaning in our time."" —Rabbi Andrue Kahn, editor of The Sacred Earth: Jewish Perspectives on Our Planet ""Jewish traditions can help readers reimagine their relationship with the Earth amid the threat of climate change, according to this innovative treatise from Rabbi Cardin (Tears of Sorrow, Seed of Hope). Drawing from such biblical stories as the creation narrative of Genesis 2, in which God instructs Adam and Eve to tend to the garden of Eden (an ""eco-driven,"" nature-centered narrative that reverses the ""ego-driven"" story of Genesis 1, which presents nature as a wild resource to be ""used and subdued""), she outlines an ethic of sustainability wherein humans ""tend to the world's potential, serving the needs of all."" Later chapters explore how to ""renew, preserve, and reuse earth's resources"" via personal and political efforts, with suggestions for blending environmental and spiritual practices with traditions like the Tu BiShevat seder, a festive meal held on the new year of trees that's been revived in recent years to reflect environmental concerns. Cardin expertly uses ancient Jewish ethics to add moral depth and clarity to pressing discussions of climate collapse and proffers a communal model of aid that reflects the interconnection of humans with nature and one another. Wise and empathetic, this inspires."" —Publishers Weekly