Twenty-first International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Jewish environmentalism has roots in millennia of stewardship of God’s creation, teleology, and principles of not destroying. The nonprofit organization, Hazon, is just one recent manifestation of this tradition. Utilizing ecological passages from the Hebrew Bible, teachings of rabbis, and sustainable practices, Hazon has advocated for policy change for issues like sustainable food, environmental justice, and renewable energies. The nonprofit engages people through a call to community, specifically appealing to the identities of American Jews by emphasizing how Jewish traditions support stewardship of the Earth. I analyze this non-governmental organization from both an emic and etic perspective. To understand volunteers’ own understanding of their work, I examine Hazon’s website and social media. To gain a comprehensive view of scholarly approaches to Hazon, I study peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the organization. Using Hazon as a case study, I show how certain beliefs and practices traditional to Judaism are conducive to environmental health and advocacy.

Presenters

Avalon Jade Theisen
PhD Student and Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Arizona State University, Arizona, United States