Sara Tiersma
April 1, 2025
Rabbi Marcia Tilchin has always seen the world through a lens of care—care for people, care for tradition and care for the planet. Raised by a mother who took recycling seriously before it was fashionable, Marcia grew up seeing the natural world as something to be tended with care. Environmentalism was, in many ways, a spiritual practice—though she didn’t always recognize it as that.
As an ordained Rabbi and cantor, Marcia has spent her career as a leader in the Jewish community. Her work took her from New York to Orange County, where she quickly got involved in interfaith work. It was in these spaces and her own congregation that she began noticing a troubling pattern: a lack of awareness or care for the planet. “I saw so much energy waste, paper waste, food waste,” she remembers, “and nobody seemed to be thinking about it. I couldn’t ignore it.”
Determined to integrate social justice with Jewish tradition, Rabbi Marcia founded the Jewish Collaborative of Orange County (JCoOC). Under her leadership, the nonprofit has created and supported local and national programs to encourage people to connect their passions and purpose with their Jewish faith. She has also been an active member of other Jewish action groups, including the climate action movement Dayenu, which means “we have had enough,” and Adamah, which focuses on reducing carbon footprints across Jewish organizations.
Rabbi Marcia’s work extends beyond her own faith community, as she works to promote environmental justice across different religious traditions through interfaith networks such as the Interfaith Climate Action Working Group organized by WUICAN (Wildland-Urban Interface Climate Action Network). She first learned of WUICAN’s Interfaith Climate Action Working Group through congregant and friend, Julia Lupton, interim director of WUICAN partner University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI).
“When Julia approached me about the faith component of WUICAN’s environmental grants, I thought, ‘This is exactly what Judaism teaches!’” she remembers. “Judaism has always had a framework for sustainability with shmita, giving the land a Sabbath rest, and the idea that we’re stewards rather than owners of the earth. That perspective belongs in the climate movement.” Through the Interfaith Climate Action Working Group, Rabbi Marcia organized the event Fire: An Interfaith Exchange at Temple Beth El of South Orange County which brought together religious leaders and scientists in the community for a conversation about wildfire prevention, recovery and the meaning of fire in different religious traditions.
Rabbi Marcia’s vision is clear: to inspire collective action and systemic change supported by religious values and ethical responsibility. She hopes for a future where care for the environment transcends religious boundaries, leading to a change in how all of society views sustainability. “I think the way we invest wealth, not only the way we reduce our individual footprints—It’s about doing everything you can,” she says, calling for people to move away from industries that harm the environment and support practices that are better for the planet.
Her impact goes beyond policy advocacy—it’s visible in everyday actions and personal connections. “If each person could inspire one other person or family to take this seriously, that would double who’s doing it.”
Rabbi Marcia believes that has been her greatest success so far: educating and inspiring others to do what they can to value this precious earth.
Sara Tiersma is a senior at the University of California, Irvine, where she is majoring in Literary Journalism. She is a 2024-2025 WUICAN Climate Communications Fellow with the UC Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI).
WUICAN acknowledges our presence on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Acjachemen and Tongva Peoples, who still hold strong cultural, spiritual and physical ties to this region.
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