Section 3:

Text Study

Judaism began long before anyone worried about global warming or dependence on foreign energy supplies. But even then, energy for cooking and light was valued and Judaism instructed our ancestors to use it properly. Two examples with relevance for us today are the commandment of the Ner Tamid, or Eternal Light, and the Menorah, the Temple candelabra that has become a symbol of the Jewish people.

Most synagogues today have a Ner Tamid, a small light that is always on, symbolizing God?s continuous presence. Surprisingly, the lighting of the original Ner Tamid may well have been more environmentally sound than that of its modern counterparts. The difference comes in part from the multiple meanings of the word ?tamid,? which can mean ?continual? or ?regular.? For example, here are two translations of the relevant biblical verses. The first is from the 1985 JPS edition, which is our source for the translations of biblical passages in this document. The second is from an earlier translation, the 1936 translation of Rabbi J. H. Hertz.

Command Israelite people to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly. Aaron shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting ... [to burn] from evening to morning before the Lord regularly; it is a law for all time throughout the ages.
--Leviticus 24:2-3 (JPS translation)

Command the children of Israel to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. ?In the tent of meeting shall Aaron order it from evening to morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
-Leviticus 24:2-3 (Hertz translation)

Questions:

1. The older translation contains an apparent contradiction: first it says that the lamp should burn continually, and then it says that the lamp should burn just from evening to morning. Why might the text contain both instructions?

According to the later translation, the ner tamid was a ?regular? or customary light rather than an Eternal Light. But if its purpose was to symbolize God?s presence, why was it lit only at night? One possible answer is that the light was visible to the people only at night. The Menorah, which was used for the ner tamid, was placed within the Tent of Meeting, where only the priests could enter. Most of the people would therefore have only seen the ner tamid at night, when it would light up the Tent of Meeting from within. Also, light was needed for the priests inside the tent only at night.

Questions

2. What can we learn from the idea that ner tamid was lit only at night?

The light was used only when its effect would be felt, i.e. when the people could see it. If this translation is correct, God is commanding us to turn the lights off when we leave the room, even in the Tabernacle itself, where ritual might be expected to supercede utilitarian issues.

The light used for the ner tamid was originally the menorah, the famous seven-branched candelabra that has become a symbol of the State of Israel today. Have you ever wondered where the design of the menorah comes from? Some people say that the menorah teaches us about environmental stewardship through its very design.

The structure of the menorah is specified in Exodus 25:31-40. The description is full of botanical terms; the ancient menorah must have resembled a stylized plant or tree, as is evident from the following verse: ?On one branch there shall be three cups shaped liked almond-blossoms, each with calyx and petals.?? (Exodus 25:33; a calyx is the ring of small leaves, or sepals, at the base of a flower.) Nogah Hareuveni identifies the structure of the menorah with a specific plant that grows in Israel?s scrublands (Hareuveni, Nogah. 1980. Nature in Our Biblical Heritage. Kiryat Ono, Israel: Neot Kedumim). This plant is a type of sage which grows wild in the Judean hills, called Moriah in Hebrew.

Questions

3. Why would God want our menorah to be shaped like a wild scrubby plant such as the Moriah?

The menorah may be a reminder that God?s light shines forth everywhere, even where we might not expect it. The moriah may not have been as useful to people as the grapevines and fig trees our ancestors tended. It grew alongside their terraced fields and vineyards, under God?s care. While not central to human life, it is a valued part of God?s garden, glowing with the divine spark that is in all life. The menorah reminds us to see this light in all life, even when it is outside our own sphere. This is an especially valuable lesson today, when our energy demands lead us to drill and mine in wilderness areas and pollute the air through power plant emissions. May the symbol of the menorah inspire us to be modest in our energy use, leaving more space for wildlife like the moriah to flourish, so that God?s light can shine out in all its aspects.

Action Projects

A Bright Idea

This Ecoteam action project reminds us to save energy by turning off lights and appliances when we don?t need them. Traditional Judaism goes a step further: it asks us to avoid turning these energy-using appliances on or off at all on Shabbat, the day on which we give ourselves and our environment a rest. If you do not already observe this aspect of Shabbat, consider extending this Ecoteam activity by picking one Shabbat per month on which you will not turn on lights, cook, drive, watch television, or use any electrical appliances. Concentrate not on what you?re doing without, but on the peace you feel when these machines do not intrude on your life. Without television, you have more time for reading or being together with your family; without a car, you take restful walks when you want to go somewhere and you avoid going places you don?t have to go. If you already observe Shabbat in this way, go out and buy electrical-current timers that automatically turn lights off. You can set these before Shabbat, so that the lights you need for eating dinner, reading, etc., do not burn all night.

Relating to Nature: An Enlightening Experience

This Ecoteam project calls for you to go on an excursion to someplace nice to watch the sun rise, taking time to appreciate the start of a new day. Judaism provides a specific ritual for acknowledging and thanking God for the start of a new day: shacharit, the morning prayer service. When you go to watch the sun rise, bring a siddur, or prayer book, along with you and start shacharit just as the sun rises (bring tallit and tefillin too, if you use them for your morning prayers). See if you can convince a whole minyan (a quorum of ten eligible worshippers?required for certain prayers) of your friends (maybe your Ecoteam group?) to join you in prayer and song. If the whole service is more than you want to undertake, simply say the Shema, as a way of connecting your appreciation of the natural world with your thankfulness to God for creating it and giving it to us. Or consider reading a few of the psalms found near the beginning of the shacharit service, several of which praise the natural world and rejoice in creation.

You may want to enrich your excursion with a short text study, which can be especially fulfilling in a beautiful natural setting. Below is a study based on Psalm 148, one of the psalms found in the morning service:

Text Study to Accompany ?An Enlightening Experience?:

Psalm 148 focuses on images from wild nature. It reads:

Hallelujah.

Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him on high.

Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts.

Praise Him, sun and moon,

praise Him, all bright stars.

Praise Him, highest heavens,

and you waters that are above the heavens.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for it was He who commanded that they be created.

He made them endure forever,

establishing an order that shall never change.

Praise the Lord O you who are on earth, all sea monsters and ocean,

Fire and hail, snow and smoke, storm winds that executes His command,

all mountains and hills, all fruit trees and cedars,

All wild and tamed beasts, creeping things and winged birds,

all kings and peoples of the earth,

all princes of the earth and its judges,

youths and maidens alike,

old and young together.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for His name, His alone, is sublime;

His splendor covers heaven and earth.

He has exalted the horn of His people

for the glory of all His faithful ones,

Israel, the people close to Him.

Hallelujah.
- Psalms 148

Questions

1. According to Abraham Joshua Heschel (writing in God in Search of Man), the ancient Greeks worshiped the powers of nature, addressing the earth, air and sun directly in their prayers. How does Psalm 148 reflect a different relationship to nature? The Greeks, according to Heschel, did not gain solace from nature. Do you think the psalmist did? Why?

2. People, plants and animals seem to be on an equal footing in this psalm. For that matter, even inanimate objects and forces of nature are exhorted to praise God. How can a mountain praise God, let alone a fruit tree? Does this psalm suggest that non-human life and even inanimate natural features have special value?