The Climate Stewardship Act of 2003 - Vote Yes for Earth!
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) have introduced an historic bipartisan bill to cut our nation's greenhouse gases - the pollutants that scientists believe are causing global warming. The Climate Stewardship Act (S. 139) will have a positive effect on the environment, and will encourage American industry to be more innovative and cost effective, leading to further economic growth. Send a fax or email to your Senator letting them know that you want them to support this issue and to vote yes on this crucial piece of legislation. A vote is scheduled to take place on October 30.

"See to it that you do not destroy my world, for there is no one to repair it after you." Midrash Rabbah 7:13

Heshvan and the Holiness of the Everyday
With holidays behind us, and the Tishrei moon waning fast, it's almost Heshvan. The new month festival of Rosh Hodesh Heshvan begins this Saturday night and continues for two days. This month of Heshvan -- the only one without a holiday or festival -- is thus also known as Mar-Heshvan, "bitter fall month" (though rabbis and others exhausted by the High Holy Days and Sukkot tend to feel more positive about it!). So this month, let us celebrate the ordinary ... the absence of anything unusual ... the holiness of the everyday. Our best resource for this is the second-to-last stanza of the Amidah, the central standing prayer of every Jewish service, called "Modim" or "Thanks." Here we acknowledge our gratitude to the One "for your miracles which are every day with us, and for your wonders and goodnesses which are at every moment, evening and morning and afternoon." The line between holy and ordinary becomes thin, indeed, when we can see the miraculous in the mundane, and the numinous in the normal. Happy Heshvan!

A Cosmic Creation
Why, you might wonder, is Rosh Hodesh Heshvan a two-day festival? When the Torah ordains a one-day holiday, Israelis and liberal diaspora Jews still celebrate one day, while more traditional diaspora communities add a second day (in pre-internet times of calendrical uncertainty, this ensured celebration on the proper day). But the answer about Rosh Hodesh lies in astronomy, not history: an average lunar month is just over 29 1/2 days (29d 12m 44m to be exact). To compensate, some Hebrew months like Tishrei are "maleh / full" with 30 days, while others like Heshvan are "choser / lacking" at just 29 days. To avoid confusion should a new moon appear at the tail end of a 30-day-month, that thirtieth day (which appears about half the time) joins the first day of each month as "Rosh Hodesh." So look to the western sky just after sunset on both 30 Tishrei (25-26 Oct) and 1 Heshvan (26-27 Oct). And as you enjoy the Hallel, liturgical changes, special Torah readings, and extra honor for women which traditionally mark Rosh Hodesh, remember with the Psalmist that the sun, moon, stars, and all of Creation joins in the cosmic chorus of praise.

Coffee, please, hold the dioxin.
Why does a coffee filter have to be white when it ends up brown anyway? Most paper filters are bleached with chlorine, leaving behind traces of dioxin, one of the most harmful chemicals around. But there's no need to have anything seeping through to contaminate your morning brew. Many alternatives are now available including unbleached paper filters, unbleached cotton filters, or reusable gold tone filters. Melitta and even Mr. Coffee now offer brown, unbleached paper filters, available at your local grocery store. For the more waste-conscious, Gold Tone filters are made of stainless steel, and treated so as not to transfer metallic tastes. Cloth filters are made of natural, unbleached cotton muslin. Both are reusable, the cloth ones lasting for a few months - the gold tones for a few years. And remember to throw the used grounds in your mulch pile!

To buy cloth and gold tone filters, go to green home, care2, or fante's.

JEI Planting Trees as a Religious Act
Members of the Jewish Environmental Initiative, the COEJL Chapter in St. Louis, are getting ready for their two fall tree-planting events. On October 26, volunteers will be planting trees in a small park in the St. Louis suburb of University City, the home base of the area's Orthodox Jewish community. Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform congregations, as well students from Washington University's Hillel Center, will be participating. On November 2, JEI will be planting trees in a state park on the outskirts of the metro area. This tree-planting is cosponsored by the Interfaith Partnership, an alliance of 24 religious bodies and denominations. The event will start with a brief interfaith program, featuring readings from the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Bahai, Buddhist, and Native American traditions. For more information, click here.