GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

Existing Green Structures: Green Built Shuls

More and more synagogues are building green. COEJL will keep adding materials to this section of our website as we learn of shuls which have made such a commitment (and if yours is one of them, please let us know). Shir Hadash in Los Gatos, CA, put solar panels on its roof. A number of shuls -- including Temple Israel of Northern Westchester (NY), the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston IL, and Temple Beth Israel of Eugene OR -- are now designing what should become model sustainable synagogue buildings. Beth El - Kesser Israel of New Haven CT, and Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation of Bethesda MD, both received the EPA Energy Star Congregations Award for their efforts. And the list goes on. Contact your movement for more information on synagogues which have done notably well in this area; no doubt the staff and lay-leadership of those communities will be happy to share their experience and expertise with you.

Below are some ‘lessons learned’ from one such experience. And on the webpages which follow you’ll be able to see specific materials from communities like yours which have taken the plunge toward sustainability. Best of luck, and keep us posted! See helpful materials from Bethesda MD, Evanston IL , and the list is growing… your shul could be next!

Eco-Building Lessons Learned (Adat Shalom, 2001):

1. Start early. Make environmental issues and energy conservation clear priorities from the get-go of the design and fund-raising processes. Make the community aware that these are not just choices, they are moral and spiritual imperatives: as a house devoted to God, we must zealously strive to minimize the ways in which its construction and operation might adversely impact God's creation and God's children.

2. Be ready to engage and educate everyone involved -- from congregants to contractors -- on environmental and energy issues. Plan to do the legwork required to research options, in which case you needn’t be put off by dismissive messages from an architect or contractor. Get ready to pitch slightly-more-expensive-but-far-more-sustainable design elements to the board or congregation or funders. Know how much work it will be, and know how sacred that work is.

3. Keep sustainability in mind throughout the process. Use the theme of sustainability to remind people of the ethical and religious commitments for which we stand; use it to goad donors into giving more (and feeling good about doing so!); use it as a rallying point for efforts to fund and build your communal home.

4. Get information from wherever you can, as early as you can. Learn about your architects, general contractors and sub-contractors' environmental awareness before hiring them. And then plan to work closely with them along the way, both to support and to monitor. Unfortunately "green building" is still new, and we have the chance to educate the professionals about it if we take our responsibilities seriously. Simply asking the questions raises consciousness.

5. Know that unless you have infinite resources, it won't all get done at once. Do the best you can with what's available, and keep a 'wish list' in mind for future expansions or retrofits. Don't despair because you can't have every energy-saving device or construction technique; since you can't do everything, it's still better to do what you can. Know that every CFL, every LED exit sign, every double-glazed window, every square foot of recycled carpet, every programmable thermostat makes a difference, and is sacred. As Rabbi Tarfon wrote almost 2000 years ago in the Mishnah (Avot 2:21), "it is not upon you to complete the task -- but neither are you free to desist from it."