Jews United for Justice and Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light are inviting all synagogues, temples, minyanim, and havurot in the DC area to mark October 24 as Climate Healing Shabbat.

In our Jewish communities, we will be reading Parshat Noah that day, considering the Torah's promise to withhold future floods and to preserve creation. Our Climate Healing Shabbat gatherings will join thousands of other "350.org" events around the world that day through which communities are calling on their governments to bring carbon dioxide in our atmosphere back down to a safe level of 350 ppm.

The bad news is we're already past that number-we're at 390 parts per million, which is why the Arctic is melting, why drought is spreading across the planet, why people are already dying from diseases like dengue fever and malaria occurring in places where they've never been seen before.

The good news: that number gives us a target to aim for. When the world's leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to reach agreement on a new climate treaty, we need them to go farther than they've planned to go: we need to make sure they'll pay attention to the latest science and put forward a plan that gets us back to safety.

Look to our collection of Jewish climate resources below for ways to connect with Climate Healing Shabbat at your own congregation, and be sure to register your congregation's event at www.350.org.

Divrei Torah/Sermons:

Parshat Noach: A Paradigm for Environmental Consciousness
by Shimshon Stüart Siegel, from Canfei Nesharim

Walking the Walk: The Sacred Art of Energy Conservation
by Rabbi Brant Rosen, from Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Jewish Environmental Values: The Dynamic Tension Between Nature and Human Needs
by Rabbi Saul Berman

Text Study:

The Story of Noah and the Flood: Midrash Texts on the Preservation of Species and Human Responsibility
by Rabbi David Seidenberg, from COEJL (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life)

Jewish Texts as Resources on Global Climate Change
by Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, from COEJL (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life)

Supplemental Prayer:

Prayers for Creation and Parshat Noach :
by Rabbi David Seidenberg, from NeoHasid.org

For Kids:

God Said to Noah: An Old/New Song to Avert a New Flood
By Rabbi Arthur Waskow, from The Shalom Center

Climate Education Resources from 350.org:

Science of 350 ppm Factsheet

Climate Solutions Factsheet

10 Things You Can Do to Fight Climate Change Flyer