IN THIS ISSUE:

TAKE ACTION: Protect the Endangered Endangered Species Act
CELEBRATE: A Green Cleaning of Chametz
LEARN: Overcoming Real Slavery
IN THE FIELD: Synagogues are Going Green Around the Country!
GO GREEN: Compostable Dishware and Whole Grain Matzah for Passover

Check out the updated online COEJL Guide to Speakers on Judaism and Ecology to find Jewish environmental speakers in your area. Search by state or name to find the best speaker for your needs!

Protect the Endangered Endangered Species Act

Jewish texts clearly state that all species deserve our wonder and protection. “Of all that the Holy One created in the world, not a single thing is useless,” teaches the Talmud (B. Shabbat 77b), while the Midrash elaborates, “Even those creatures that you may look upon as superfluous in the world . . . they too are part of the entirety of creation. The Holy One effects purpose through all creatures, even through a snake, a scorpion, a gnat, a frog” (Genesis Rabbah 10:7). Every species of plant or animal is thus understood by Jewish tradition to occupy an ecological niche in our interdependent, living world. (from “The Entirety of Creation: A Jewish Call to Protect the Endangered Species Act”)

The next few weeks are a crucial time to ensure that this year the Senate does not pass legislation to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Key Senate offices are meeting to see if they can agree on a bill, and there is considerable pressure from the chair of the committee, Senator Inhofe, who has jurisdiction over the ESA to produce a bill.  Also, there is a bill that weakens the Endangered Species Act that has already been introduced into a different committee (because, in part, the bill relates to the tax code). There is a general consensus that any bill passed by the Senate would lead to weakening of the ESA, which will have real world ramifications for fragile species at risk of extinction.

Click here for more information about the Endangered Species Act, how the faith community is taking action to protect it, and how to contact your Representatives.  

Passover is a natural time to take an “environmental inventory” of the chametz in our world and to be mindful of the simple lives our ancestors led in the desert in their pursuit of freedom. Chametz is the Hebrew term for any of the five basic biblical grains which traditionally observant Jews remove from their homes. These include wheat, rye, oats, barley, and spelt—that have been mixed with water and allowed to ferment. Eastern European Jews also consider chametz to include a variety of beans, peas, rice, corn, peanuts, and other foods which could be ground and made into flour or bread.

When our ancestors were dwelling in the desert, they had no choice but to live simply. In our day, simplicity has come to mean conservation, not using more than you need, and not being wasteful. Jewish law prohibits wasteful consumption. When we waste resources, we are violating the law of bal tashchit—Do not destroy. (Deuteronomy 20: 19-20).

Matzah itself is a symbol of simplicity and humility, and is a metaphor for getting back to basics and our natural selves. It is in contrast to our leavened or puffed up, over-inflated selves caught up in accumulation and over-consumption. In A Night of Questions, A Passover Haggadah, Rabbi Michael Strassfeld further explains the paradox of matzah. Not only was it the bread that our ancestors did not have time to let rise as they fled Egypt, but it is also the bread that they ate as slaves. Yet, even in its simplicity, it was filling and satisfying—supporting the old adage that less is more. And since matzah is the bread that took us from slavery to freedom, it is also a symbol of the possibility for change. We can use this as an inspiration for making the kind of changes and choices that lead to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Click here to read more of "A Green Cleaning of Chametz"

Click here for COEJL’s resources on Greening Passover

Overcoming Real Slavery
by Rabbi Lawrence Troster, Rabbinic Fellow, COEJL

In reading the story of the Exodus, I am struck time and time again at what idiots our ancestors were. Immediately after the splitting of the Red Sea, they attack Moses when they need fresh water. This is only the beginning of a series of rebellions against Moses and Aaron’s leadership and against God, which culminates in the disaster of the ten spies whose report causes the whole nation to remain in the desert for 40 years. I always thought that if I had witnessed the plagues, the splitting of the sea and the revelation on Mount Sinai (aside from the “minor miracles” of the manna and various productions of water), I would never have any doubts about the power of God to save me and take care of me in the desert.  

But then again, I have never been a slave. The usual explanation for our ancestors’ behavior is that having been brought up as slaves they could not handle freedom and that was why it was necessary to have a whole new generation, born in freedom, to be the ones to enter the Promised Land.

Click here to read more of “Overcoming Real Slavery"

Synagogues are Going Green Around the Country!

Around the country synagogues are going green!  Check out these three inspiring initiatives from synagogues in North Carolina, New York, and Arizona that are taking environmental action: 
 
In Winston Salem, North Carolina, Rabbi Mark Strauss-Cohn of Temple Emanuel gave an environmental Torah sermon on the need for a dedication to environmental change.  He asked his congregants to commit to ten different environmental actions or a “minyan of ideas.”  He requested ten members to make rain barrels, another ten to plant trees, another ten to compost, and he even asked that ten coffee drinkers begin to buy only shade-grown organic coffee.  Minyans of action are forming and participation in his congregation is on the rise.

Click here to read about congregations breaking eco-friendly ground in New York City and Phoenix, Arizona. 

Don’t have a set of china for 15 for your Passover seder?  Are you searching for an environmentally sustainable way to celebrate the holiday?  Check out these 100% compostable dishware products from Recyclaholics.  Recyclaholics' food service ware is made from vegetable-based ingredients, which contain zero or negligible amounts of petrochemicals. When used in a proper composting environment, they will break down into carbon dioxide, water and natural minerals in a short period.  Apply the principles of bal tashchit in your home and make this Passover a chance to refrain from chametz and environmental destruction.       

If you think eating matzah means you have to give up on whole grains such as spelt and whole wheat, then you’re in luck. This Passover you can order hand-baked shmurah matzah (refers to matzah that is guarded from the time it is harvested), in organic or non-organic whole wheat or spelt from the Brooklyn based Williamsburg Matzah Factory. These healthy matzah products are not only delicious and nutritious; they are also an active step toward helping the environment. Use your consumer power to purchase organic and send a message that Jews care about sustainable agriculture.