In every generation Jewish scholars study our holy texts and mine them for additional meaning and understanding. And as far as texts go you can’t beat the Book of Exodus. It has a gripping narrative with its story of redemption and revelation.

The story of Moses and the burning bush just leaped out of the pages for me this year as a metaphor and as a lesson for today. Our own trees are burning, burning in the Amazon, burning in California and burning in Australia. Millions and millions of trees have been destroyed.

The book of Genesis is full of catastrophic and unusual weather events that change the course of history. Noah is directed to build an ark and save his family and animals from a massive flood, Jacob and his sons flee the drought in Canaan and might be our first recorded record of climate refugees.

Fast forward to the Book of Exodus. Moses sees the burning bush. He stops in his tracks and comes nearer to investigate. He knows that when you observe something unusual in nature, you should take notice.

God directs Moses to keep a distance and remove his shoes and tells him “the place upon which you are standing is sacred”.

We now understand the complicated and critical relationship between species and their environment. To our chagrin, modern society has pretty much treated our planet like a bottomless trash can. Take a step back folks and see the message in our own burning forests. It is the trees and the animals and the fungi and the ferns and insects working together in an ecosystem that makes up the sanctity of this place- our earth.

In the Book of Exodus God works through human emissaries. Moses is appointed to lead the Children of Israel from slavery. He is reluctant to take on this task as he is a humble guy who knows himself. He knows he is not an inspiring orator. He knows this challenge of national liberation is a hard sell. He has to convince both the Egyptian power structure and the children of Israel who, like many of us, resist change. Moses knows that even with compelling evidence- staffs that turn into snakes, hands that turn leprous and are cured in a blink of an eye- he needs a voice, he needs bold rhetoric that will both inspire and move a generation from slavery to freedom. He needs help and his brother Aaron is there to speak for him. Together they embark on their journey.

In our own struggle to combat climate change and to liberate ourselves from our dependence on fossil fuels, we must take a step back, stop and look and listen to the world around us with awe. The changes we have to make are radical. It will be a hard sell even with all the compelling evidence we have. And then we must continue to work together just like Moses and Aaron. Doing our part at home and supporting courageous causes and candidates. We must use rhetoric that is persuasive and support policies that are effective. We don’t have to be Moses (but wouldn’t it be nice if we had such a leader?). We don’t even have to be Greta Thunberg but we can be inspired by her. The future is daunting, the message is clear: we have our own burning bush right before our eyes and ears, just look and listen and then act.