When, last summer, I set out to commission and direct “a Jewish play about environmental sustainability” I faced a number of sizable challenges. I was inspired to address through my art the issues that I care about, that I consider to be really important. But what can you say about the environment through the medium of theatre, without sounding obvious or preachy? 

 

And then there’s the Jewish piece. I know that Jewish texts and tradition have lots to teach us regarding human beings and their relationship to the world around them, but why complicate a task that’s already difficult? Throw religion into the mix and don’t you increase people’s resistance?

 

My writer Rebecca Nesvet and I have grappled with these questions throughout the development of The Engineer of Chelm, which will be staged at the newly reopened Jewish Museum London in the first week of June.

 

At first we looked to the Jewish texts which speak most obviously to environmental concerns. For example, the Talmud tells the story of Honi the Circle Maker, who happens across an old man planting a carob tree. Honi is perplexed, as a man so old will never see the fruits of his labour. The old man tells Honi he is planting not for himself but for his children.

 

Or, to cite another example, the Talmud tells of Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba, who claimed he can prevent the loss of Torah from the world using only flax seeds, from which he makes twine and traps deer, from which he creates Torah scrolls, from which he teaches children to spread Israel’s wisdom. It’s a tale of high ecology, a kind of rabbinic permaculture.

 

In the end though we settled on the Biblical Book of Jonah as our principle source text. The Engineer of Chelm retells the story of the reluctant prophet, chosen to relate a message of doom and prompt an entire population to change their ways. Jonah, recast for our purposes as the only engineer and wisest man in Chelm, runs away from his calling, attempts to avoid delivering his message, and then rails against the possibility of human change.

 

We chose the book of Jonah because it works well as a narrative and it speaks to the position many of us find ourselves in today. Knowing what we do about the environmental consequences of our society’s excesses, ecological activism and advocacy can be daunting. Sometimes it seems impossible to make a difference.

 

Chelm is the legendary “City of Fools” of Jewish folklore. Our play claims that even ‘fools’ can change, that – as the title of Rabbi Yissocher Frand’s new book puts it – “it’s never too little, it’s never too late, it’s never enough.”

 

There are things we can do, whether it’s political campaigning for our leaders to effect change, or switching to 100% renewable energy, as we have in Moishe House London, the non-denominational Jewish community hub I set up and inhabit in Willesden Green.

 

Using theatre and Judaism to express this message is worthwhile, because both have the power to capture the imagination, to inspire us through their stories and renew our capacity to do good in the world. Each one of us can deliver the message in his or her own particular way. When we are called upon to do so, let’s not run and hide.

 

The production has been supported by grants from JHub, the Association for Jewish Culture and Jeneration.