Volumes upon volumes have been written about the innate spirituality of nature.  Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav said it is a mitzvah to roam the forest and the fields to commune with God, and our Jewish holidays almost all focus on the agricultural cycle of the year.  The Jewish tradition teaches that we are partners with God in creation, and have a responsibility to repair the damage done to the world by humans.  Nature is fundamentally intertwined with Judaism, and there are many excellent Jewish environmental organizations around the world fulfilling the Mitzvah of Tikkun Olam (to Repair the World).  These organizations are doing great work to educate Jews about the beautiful teachings of Judaism and the natural world, and connecting them.   Yet when it comes to the marine environment, from these same organizations we hear very little.

 

As Jews, we are expected to be stewards of the environment. This responsibility, however, is not limited to the dry land on which we live. It includes the blue waters on which we rely as well.

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This is why there is a need for a Jewish Marine Environmental organization: to raise awareness in the Jewish World about our deep Jewish connection to the Sea, to educate the Jewish Community about the profound spiritual nature of water, and to instill in every Jew the recognition of the urgent moral imperative to preserve and protect the marine environment.