Jonathan Schorsch

I am the founder and director of the Green Sabbath Project.  Our mission is to adapt and adopt some version of the ancient practice of shabbat / sabbath as an ecological ritual for our era of environmental catastrophes.  Whether celebrated as a secular, spiritual, or religious day, we believe that a weekly day of rest, a weekly Earth Day, a weekly day of refraining from or minimizing our environmental impact offers manifold benefits.  Shabbat / sabbath traditionally served as a reminder that humans do not belong to their employers or to the economy, that our world / creation makes our lives possible, that higher purposes should guide our lives and not merely material desires.  We envision green sabbaths as a practice to help reorient our behavior as individuals and collectives toward truly sustainable living; as a time for self, family, and community; as a reminder of economic inequalities; as a practice of self-care and tending toward our own well-being; and as a vessel for environmental consciousness-raising.

I also founded and direct the Jewish Activism Summer School (Berlin).  For a living I teach Jewish Studies at the University of Potsdam (Germany).