Mara Benjamin "Jewish Peoplehood in an Ecological Age"

Tuesday, December 3 at 7pm, Biran Beit Midrash

In recent decades, scientists have found increasing evidence that plants, non-human animals, and other life forms share many qualities once thought to be the unique property of human beings. Humans are more similar than dissimilar other organisms in critical respects, and our fate as a species may require us to recognize how we are entangled with other forms of life. At a time when the interconnections among species are becoming more and more apparent, why should we be interested in the concept of Jewish peoplehood (or its earlier incarnation, chosenness)? Do the characteristic elements of Jewish civilization matter anymore, when we are facing planetary crisis – and if so, how?