Ellen Bernstein
Writer, Teacher, Consultant, Founder, Shomrei Adamah, Keepers of the Earth
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A new book by an author with Philadelphia roots seeks to rekindle what a philosopher called "radical amazement." Ellen Bernstein and I met on a gorgeous May day on the Kitchen's Lane Bridge, which spans the Wissahickon in Fairmount Park. "This is one of the most beautiful places on earth," Bernstein exclaimed. "It's so green, so lush." Indeed, in this urban paradise, it was hard not to notice the splendor of creation. Need help re-igniting your sense of wonder? Read Bernstein's book. The Splendor of Creation: A Biblical Ecology (Pilgrim Press, $16) is a lyrical synthesis of the wisdom of the Bible and Bernstein's passion for nature. Based on the story of creation as told in Genesis, it seeks to rekindle what Jewish philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel called "radical amazement." "We are more intrigued by the creatures and peoples on the other side of the earth than the ones in our own backyard," Bernstein writes. "When I drive along Kelly Drive into Philadelphia, there's a surprise around every bend. I don't care if I encounter traffic - it gives me more time to contemplate the river, to look out for gay daffodils, to admire granite outcroppings, and to watch the scullers row." Bernstein, 51, moved to Northampton, Mass., last year to be with her fiance, but she still owns a house in Mount Airy, which she salutes in her book for its "communal integrity woven together by a walking lifestyle." Her book is full of love and concern for the city and its environs. "New development is consuming the open space and farmlands of Bucks County, the landscape that inspired 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning,' at the rate of one acre an hour," she frets on one page. She wants to halt the spread of McMansions and diversity-destroying "monoculture," to breed care for the environment by "giving nature a face." Her larger goal is to change minds about nature and the Bible. The Good Book is, she says, an unappreciated ecological handbook, "a guide for intelligent living" that can be a powerful tool for tikkun olam - Hebrew for repair of the earth. Bernstein is an intriguing blend of physical and spiritual. Growing up in northeastern Massachusetts, she was a tomboy who loved canoeing, hiking, skiing and mountain-climbing. At Berkeley, she majored in conservation and natural resources. Afterward, she taught high school biology and led whitewater rafting trips on the Klamath River in northern California. In high school, she admired the transcendentalists (Emerson, Thoreau). In college, her search for a spiritual path led her to reevaluate Judaism and begin studying the Bible. "The whole story of the Bible is like a wilderness trek," she says. "It's about a people and their relation to the land." Founder of Shomrei Adamah (Keepers of the Earth), a national Jewish environmental organization, Bernstein aims to save the environment by mobilizing the religious community. As she put it that day in the Wissahickon: "Churches and synagogues can be our allies. We have to get away from the idea that if you love nature you're a tree-hugger and a pagan, and if you're into religion, you're a fundamentalist and don't have a brain." Copyright 2005 © Philadelphia Inquirer |
