A Tekhine to Honor Mother Earth

by Rabbah Gila Caine

This tekhine connects the mitzvah of honoring our parents with the mitzvah of caring for Mother Earth. Some understand the human abuse of Mother Earth as an extension of patriarchal violence against women. If we read our relationship with Earth as that of children toward a parent and bring in the mitzvah of honoring our parents, then our use of the word “mother” in this context shifts to one of respect and responsibility. This tekhine helps to realign ourselves with our ethical obligations. I chose to call this a tekhine and not tefillahspecifically because I wanted to connect it to the long tradition of women’s liturgy, which was often used as a kavannah (intention) before preforming a mitzvah.

A Tekhine to Honor Mother Earth

May the one who blessed Eve, mother of all living and fashioned us Humans, humus from the soil, and blew the breath of life into our nostrils, so we became a living creature: May She bless us with Heart-Wisdom and Body-Knowledge to guard the sacred commandment of “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days me be long on the soil that Adonai your God has given you.” And may we remember that life’s web springs from Earth and from the rush of waters on and within Her as we remember that “wetness would well from the earth to water all the soil…and Adonai our God caused to sprout from the soil every tree lovely to look at and good for food…” And she the soil-ground is our Mother: We arrive from her dust and return to her when our spirit leaves us. So may our Goddess of all mercy “Return children’s hearts to their parents” and we shall once again fulfil the mitzvah of reverence and respect to Earth as due to a parent so that “I (Adonai) do not strike the whole land with utter destruction.” And may we merit to clean the Earth with our own hands and beautify her together with all our brothers and sisters: The Crawlers, Swimmers, Flyers, Swarmers, those who grow, those who suckle, those who spore and the silent ones.

A silence calling out from one end of the world to another.

Amen.

תחינה לחזק ידינו במצוות "כיבוד אב ואם" ביחס לאמנו, האדמה

מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ חַוָּה אִמֵּנוּ, אֵם כָּל חַי, וְיָצַר אוֹתָנוּ עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפֵּנוּ נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וְנִהְיֶה לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, הִיא תִּבְרַךְ אוֹתָנוּ בְּחָכְמַת הַלֵּב וּבְבִינַת הַגּוּף לִשְׁמֹר אֵת הַמִּצְוָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה מִן הַתּוֹרָה, דִּבְרֵי אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים: "כַּבֵּד אֶת־אָבִיךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִכּוּן יָמֶיךָ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר־יהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נָתַן לָךְ" (שׁמוֹת כ, יא) וְנִזְכֹּר שֶׁכָּל קְרוּמֵי קִיּוּם הָעוֹלָם נוֹבְעִים מִקַּרְקַע הָאֲדָמָה וּמִמִּשְׂחַק הַמַּיִם הַזּוֹרְמִים עָלֶיהָ וּבְתוֹכָהּ, בִּבְחִינַת "וְאֵד יַעֲלֶה מִן־הָאָרֶץ וְהִשְׁקָה אֶת־כָּל־פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה" (בְּרֵאשִׁית ב, ו), "וַיַּצְמֵחַ יהוה אֱלֹהִים מִן־הָאֲדָמָה כָּל־עֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה וְטוֹב לְמַאֲכָל" (בְּרֵאשִׁית ב, ט). וְהִיא, קַרְקַע הָעוֹלָם, אֵם כֻּלָּנוּ, וּמֵעֲפָרָהּ אָנוּ בָּאִים וְאֶל עֲפָרָהּ נָשׁוּב כַּאֲשֶׁר תַּעֲזֹב אוֹתָנוּ הָרוּחַ. וְלָכֵן בַּעֲלַת הַרַחֲמִים תָּשִׁיב "לֵב בָּנִים עַל־אֲבוֹתָם" (מַלְאָכִי ג, כד), וּנְמַלֵּא בְּנֶפֶשׁ חֲפֵצָה מִצְוַת מוֹרָאָהּ וּכְבוֹדָהּ שֶׁל אֲדָמָה, "פֶּן־אָבוֹא וְהִכֵּיתִי אֶת־הָאָרֶץ חֵרֶם" (שָׁם). וְנִזְכֶּה לַעֲסֹק בְּמוֹ יָדֵינוּ בְּנִקְיוֹן הָאֲדָמָה וּבְתִקּוּנָהּ יַחַד עָם כֹּל אַחֵינוּ וְאַחֲיוֹתֵינוּ: הַזּוֹחֲלִים, הַשּׂוֹחִים, הַמְּעוֹפְפִים, הָרוֹמְשִׂים, הַצּוֹמְחִים, הַיּוֹנְקִים, הַנּוֹבְגִים וְהַדּוֹמְמִים.

דְּמָמָה מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם וְעַד סוֹפוֹ.

וְנֹאמַר, אָמֵן.

Tekhine likhzok yadeinu b'mitzvot "kibud av v'eim" bikhas l'imeinu, ha'adamah

Mi shebeirakh khavah imeinu, eim kol khai, veyatzar otanu afar min-ha'adamah vayifakh be'apeinu nishmat khayim veniyeh lenefesh khaya, hi tivrakh otanu bekhokhmat haleiv uv'binat haguf lishmor eit hamitzvah hakedoshah min hatorah, divrei Elohim khayim: "kabed et-avikha ve'et-imekha lema'an ya'arikun yameikha al ha'adamah asher-YHVH Elohekha natan lakh" (Shemot 20:11). Venizkor shekol kerumei kiyum ha'olam nov'im mikarka ha'adamah umimis'khak hamayim hazormim aleiha uvtokhah, bivkhinat "ve'eid ya'aleh min-ha'aretz vehishkah et-kol-pnei ha'adamah" (Bereishit 2:6), "Vayatzme'akh YHVH Elohim min-ha'adamah kol-eitz nekhmad lemar'eh v'tov lema'akol" (Bereishit 2:9). Vehi, karka ha'olam, eim kulanu, umei'afarah ani ba'im v'el afaroh nashuv ka'asher ta'azov otanu haru'akh. Velakhel ba'alat harakhamim tashiv "lev banim al-avotam" (Malachi 3:24), u'nemale benefesh khafeitzah mitzvat mora'ah ukhevodah shel adamah, pen-avo vehikeiti et-ha'aretz kheirev" (sham). Venizkeh la'asok bemi yadeinu benikyon ha'adamah uvetikunah yakhad am kol akheinu ve'akhayoteinu: hazokhalim, hashokhim, ham'ofefim, haromesim, hatomekhim, hayonekim, hanovegim, vehadomemim.

Demamah misof ha'olam v'ad sofo.

Veno'mar, amein.

Posted in Preserving Creation, Tu B'Shvat
climate crisis, earth, eco-friendly, feminism, tekhine

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