‘The spirit of God hovers over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2).’
Water holds a unique sanctity in Judaism as a means of purification, life and renewal. The Talmud tells us that all the water in the world ultimately has its roots in the river that emerged from Eden; this river in essence is the spiritual source of all water.
In Judaism, rivers symbolise the possibility of a return back to Eden, back to a perfect state, no matter how great the sin or the damage. Today, our rivers, lakes, seas are our way back to a physical Eden. They are the key to restoring the perfect world G-d gave us, but which mankind is destroying.
As Jews we must protect and honour our rivers, seas and waterways. They are our life source both physically and spiritually. It’s sacrilegious from a Jewish perspective to have polluted rivers and seas, flowing with raw sewage, plastic waste and chemical contamination, not to speak of the very real impact on our health and well-being and the millions of creatures dependent on them.
This is the reason EcoJudasim is prioritising water restoration over the next 5 years as one of our key projects. Just as water changes, so can we. We can do better. We can have sparkling clean rivers that you can swim in, that are clean enough to serves mikvas.
We can restore waterways that support a myriad of plant and wildlife rivers.
Where we’re working:
London:
EcoJudasim runs regular River Cleans at Mutton Brook, a North-West London river that intersects the Jewish communities of Golders Green, Finchley and Hendon. Our river cleans have attracted hundreds of Jewish residents, of all different ages and backgrounds to learn about their local river ecology, remove pollution and campaign for clean rivers in the UK.
Please see our events page for the next river clean.
We also offer River Clean Team Building events and volunteering opportunities for local organisations and businesses. Please contact Naomi.Joffe@ecojudaism.org.uk for details.
Our long-term objective for this river is to partner with Barnet council to restore the riverbanks, vegetation and ecology. Plans are in progress so watch this space for updates.
Regional hubs
We are actively looking to work with Jewish communities outside of London interested in restoring their local waterway. Please contact Naomi.Joffe@ecojudaism.org.uk if you’d like to partner on a river project