A Passover Haggadah & The Promise of the Land

Passover 2020 will end tomorrow, so I'm a little late in drawing attention to a new resource published in February and already sold out in its first printing. According to Religion News Service (RNS) 

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, the Jewish publisher Behrman House issued a new Passover Haggadah with an environmental theme rooted in caring for the Earth. “The Promise of the Land,” by Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, is intended to guide Jews at the Passover Seder through the biblical story of their liberation from slavery with a newfound ecological emphasis.

I appreciate Rabbi Bernstein and have another of her books, The Splendor of Creation. Bernstein  founded Shomrei Adamah,  Keepers of the Earth, the first national Jewish environmental organization in 1988. Here is the mission, according to her website:

Shomrei Adamah's mission was to illuminate and make accessible the ecological roots of Jewish tradition and to inspire Jewish individual and institutions to care for the earth and act on her behalf.

This Haggadah interests me, and I'll probably order a copy in another printing. Hey, a ragtag band of God's people who had lived for generations in slavery figured out how to survive in the harsh wilderness for decades before arriving in the Promised Land. Sure, there was some divine intervention along the way, but the Israelites obviously adapted and became attuned to an environment very different from the one they had known.

Take a look at Rabbi Bernstein's website. It certainly inspires me.

http://www.ellenbernstein.org/

This interview is worthwhile as well.

https://jwa.org/blog/promise-land-interview-rabbi-ellen-bernstein