We were created amidst a world of wholeness, a world called “very good,” pure and beautiful,

but now your many works are being erased by us from the book of life.

Not by our righteousness do we plead our prayers before You,

Adonai our God, for we have sinned, despoiled, destroyed.

May it be Your will that You help us overcome and make atonement:

For the wrong of filling land and ocean with filth, toxins and garbage;

And for the wrong of extinguishing forever wondrous species

which You saved from the waters of the flood;

For the wrong of razing forests and trees, rivers and mountains,

For the wrong of turning the atmosphere into a chastening rod,

and for the wrong of making desolate the habitats that give life to every living soul.

Open our eyes to see the majesty of Your creation!

Then we will praise you as it is written:

“How manifold are Your works, Adonai!

You made them all with wisdom; the earth is filled with what you hold.”

Please Adonai, protect them all,

in the shade of your wings give them refuge.

Renew the face of the earth, please, save the weave and fullness of life.

Please Adonai, remove the heart of stone from our flesh,

and set within us a heart of flesh, that we may behold the Godly therein.

Grant us wisdom and courage to heal and to watch over this garden of life,

to make it thrive under the heavens.

            Copyright 1992, revised 2005. Reprinted with permission from www.neohasid.org

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“What is contrary to nature is contrary to God.” -Leopold Kompert

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“Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative challenge, it’s common sense.” -President Ronald Reagan

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“We live in a world we did not create and must not destroy. Environmental issues respect no borders.” -Martin S. Kaplan

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“We are the first generation to confront climate change and we are the last generation that can.” -Rabbi Glenn Jacob

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