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oni's Circleoni's Circle is a climate chevruta (partner text study), In which Rabbi Paula Rose and Tamar Libicki explore Jewish texts from the Torah, the Talmud, and Commentaries to grapple with climate change. Author: Tamar Libicki and Rabbi Paula Rose
oni's Circle is a climate chevruta (partner text study), In which Rabbi Paula Rose and Tamar Libicki explore Jewish texts from the Torah, the Talmud, and Commentaries to grapple with climate change. Rabbi Paula Rose is the associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle, Washington. This Podcast is a project of Congregation Beth Shalom and Ahavat V'Avodat HaAdama, our community's environmental group. Language: en Genres: Education, Judaism, Religion & Spirituality, Self-Improvement Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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The Plague of Darkness
Episode 71
Tuesday, 6 January, 2026
In this week’s episode we continue our Ten Plagues series with the plague of darkness. We explore the stark power imbalance in Egypt, where Pharaoh holds all the agency while his people are rendered immobile, drawing a parallel to our modern struggle where those most affected by climate change often lack the power to enact the changes that those in authority refuse to make. We look at the plague’s unique nature—though not inherently deadly, its disorienting and isolating effect move Pharaoh more than any previous plague. We analyze this darkness as a poignant metaphor for climate despair, representing the feeling of being paralyzed and cut off from one another in the face of an overwhelming crisis. Ultimately, we find hope in the Israelites' transition from their own historical despair toward a new-found purpose, concluding that the antidote to such darkness is to gather a community of like-minded people to take collective action. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/694340
