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1. BUILDINGS “Unless God builds the house, its workers toil in vain” – Psalm 127:1. And if indeed ‘God has no hands but ours,’ then it’s up to us to build the Godliest houses of worship we can! As filmmaker and Jewish environmental activist Judith Helfand says: “don’t just build a synagogue; build a just synagogue.” By every measure – their numbers, how big they are, how much time we spend in them – synagogue buildings are central in the life of our Jewish community. From an environmental perspective, perhaps the most helpful and important thing we can do is to green the synagogue building itself. Ideas and resources for doing just that follow. Though our focus is on shuls, most of this material applies just as easily to other Jewish communal structures (JCC’s, Hillels, schools, camps, Federation and agency buildings, etc.), and much of it applies to our homes and offices as well. There are so many reasons why we should green our facilities: If it was only the right thing to do for Creation – dayenu (that would be enough for us!)This section of the COEJL website will help you and your congregation figure out how to build green. The resources contained here are designed for synagogues now contemplating, planning, or involved in any kind of serious work on their buildings – new construction, expansion, renovation or retrofits. If your shul is not about to make any changes to its facility, you might go directly to other sections of the website. Likewise, if your congregation does not own its own facility, then the remainder of “Greening Synagogues” on this website (purchasing, program, education, rabbinic resources, etc.) may be more helpful than what’s contained in this section. Even so, you may want to look over these resources -- for long-range planning; to figure out how to be an informed tenant; or to suggest to your facility’s owners easy ways they can make a difference. Numerous synagogues – across movements, regions, demographics, and sizes – have already made a meaningful difference for the Earth through their buildings. To learn about what’s been done in congregations like yours, and how the experiences of these other communities can help inform your own choices, click here to view a document presentation on green buildings that includes a case study of one New Jersey synagogue which paid off its initial environmental investment in less than two years, saving money as well the Earth every moment thereafter. Below you will find numerous resources to help your congregation to build green. Make good use of them! And please let us know what you’ve done, and how COEJL can help further.
General Resources: Energy Savings: Construction, Renovation, Building Materials:
Click here to see what synagogues like yours have already done, and to learn from their stories. Click here to offer feedback: tell us what you were looking for, if you found what you needed, and what you’ve done with the information – this helps us make the site more useful for others, and helps our partners and supporters know how helpful these resources are. Please help us by letting us know! |
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| Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life | 116 East 27th Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10016 (212) 532-7436 | info@coejl.org Copyright © 2007 COEJL (COEJL is a program of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization) |
