Position: Rabbi

In addition to serving part-time at congregation Heichal Baoranim/Temple in the Pines in Flagstaff, AZ, I am the first designated Jewish contact for Jewish Services & Programs at Grand Canyon National Park. My husband (a Certified Jewish Meditation Teacher with M.S. in Jewish Studies) and I sometimes lead Jewish visits to both North and South Rim, and on the River.

Specializations

• Chevra Kaddisha/Post-Death Ritual
• Conversion Classes
• Public Speaking
• Teaching/Education
• Weddings

 

Other Specializations:
Jewish Grand Canyon experiences and retreats and both college and community classes on Jewish Studies

Thesis Title
TO WORK IT AND TO GUARD IT (Le’ovdah ul Shomrah):
Growing A Jewish Environmental Ethic (2009)

Abstract:
Since the 1960s in both academia and environmental activist circles, it has been common to cite the Hebrew Bible as a major source of beliefs and values inherently destructive to the environment. Those holding such views are not necessarily anti-Semites. Most are under-informed about Judaism, how Jews read texts, or the mandate to become Shomrei Adamah, guardians of the earth. Some contemporary Jews similarly feel distanced from Jewish tradition over this issue; the author was one of these.

Discovering an ancient “eco-Judaism” literally helped me “come home”; changed how I teach my college classes in both Environmental Ethics and Jewish Studies; inspired me to become a rabbi and the first Jewish contact at Grand Canyon National Park. My thesis shares Jewish teachings about humans, land, wilderness, animals, the environment’s role in Halakhah and living in Jewish time–and more.

Email: levchadash18@gmail.com