GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

INTRODUCTION TO COEJL'S
GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

God’s circle of concern extends far beyond ‘us.’ It includes untold future generations of humans, who face a doubtful future due to our actions. It includes billions of God’s children, alive and suffering even today from poverty, injustice, environmental degradation, and other social ills. And it includes tens of millions of species, many under threat today, all of which are part of the intricate and sacred and “very good” (Gen. 1:31) web of Creation.

Judaism has specific sacred language for all these concerns, which are not only God’s, but ours as well. We speak of transmitting that which matters l’dor vador, from generation to generation. We promise to follow tzedek tzedek tirdof, the commandment to pursue justice (Deut. 16:20). And we claim to be enlightened stewards of the seder and ma’aseh beresheet, the Divine order and the integrity of the works of Creation.

Synagogue life is about many things. We come to our batei knesset to create community, praise God, educate adults and children, celebrate simchas and mourn sorrows, heal ourselves, heal the world, connect with Israel and with Jews around the world, observe holidays, and much more (including the volunteer and financial infrastructure which enables all the rest to take place). Within that larger context, “the environment” may seem like one small piece of one piece.

But in fact, ecological concern is not something we can opt out of. Minimizing our environmental footprint is a communal, a Jewish, a civic, and a theological imperative. All streams of American Jewish religious life acknowledge this, through their involvement in COEJL (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, including URJ, USCJ, JRF, and UOJC). As Martin Buber wrote (On Judaism, p. 209), “real relationship to God cannot be achieved on earth if real relationships to the world and to [hu]mankind are lacking. Both love of the Creator and love of that which [God] has created are finally one and the same.” And a popular new saying puts it succinctly: “no planet, no Torah.”

On the pages within this website that follow, you will find numerous resources to help synagogues, as key centers of Jewish life, become ever greener (though many of the same resources work for homes, schools, offices, and other facilities, too). On the main page, there are links to seven different areas where we can make a difference – one meaningful ‘sample’ action is listed here for each area, but dozens more will appear at the click of a hyperlink. Each of the seven sections begins with a short description of what we can do through our building / program / education / etc., and how and why to do it; much more detail is found in numerous specific webpages under each category.

May we all be shomrei adamah, guardians of God’s good Earth. And may we all help our synagogues and other sacred communities to better care for Creation.

See what synagogues like yours have already done, and to learn from their stories. We offer here statements from three synagogues -- Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative -- on how they plan to become ever-more environmentally committed.