January 17, 2008
The state of our environment is increasingly in the media. Global warming, toxic chemicals, endangered species, water shortages, and desertification are all topics that we encounter constantly. With all the bad news, it hardly seems possible to stop our collective slide into oblivion.
Once a year, however, Jews are given the opportunity to focus attention on many of these important matters. We can reexamine our role in this world and push ourselves toward being more responsible caretakers of this planet.
Much as it is customary to make New Year’s resolutions on Jan. 1, this holiday gives us a starting point to help us change the world.
The holiday — Tu B’Shevat or the 15th of Shevat (this year on Jan. 22) — originally began as a collective designation of a birthday for the trees. Jewish law forbids the picking of fruit from trees in the Land of Israel before trees reach a certain age. The date designation helped farmers keep track of this obligation. With the pioneering settlement of Eretz Yisrael, the custom of planting trees on Tu B’Shevat helped transform acres of barren landscapes into lush forests.
In recent years, the holiday has begun to take on a more extensive environmental persona. Today, this Jewish Earth Day takes in not only planting trees but the whole spectrum of environmental issues.
So, in recognition of Tu B’Shevat, here are some ways we can make a positive impact on our world:
• Buy locally
“Local” has replaced “organic” as the hot green topic. Buying local is a no-lose situation: It saves energy on transportation and resources on packaging, the food tastes better and is better for you, and the practice supports local and regional economies. Search out nearby farmers’ markets or local roadside stands. Buying local can include produce, meat, eggs, honey, and wine. Check out Local Harvest to find such providers.
• Support Israeli organic agriculture
Israel has made great strides in the number and diversity of organic growers. Many of these products equal or surpass the quality of other similar products on the market. If you simply insist on foreign products — such as olive oil from Italy or Spain — you can show your support for Israeli farmers by substituting their items for those from other distant locations. Halutza Olive Oil, for example, is produced in the Negev. The company has a line of oil that is produced organically and has won awards for quality. Likewise, Hadiklaim: The Israel Date Growers Cooperative offers several types of organic dates.
• Grow some of your own food
You don’t need 10 acres and a tractor, and no, having a “black thumb” is not really a legitimate excuse. Anyone can grow a little bit of their own food. Besides yielding produce with great taste and superior nutrition, growing your own keeps you tuned into the world around you and reminds you (and your kids) that our food doesn’t just appear overnight in the supermarket. If you’re a beginner, start with something simple, such as herbs, which can be grown on a sunny window sill or porch. If you don’t have land, you can grow a variety of plants in pots. This web site has good basic information.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle
This old environmental mantra is still relevant. Make a conscious effort to practice the “Three R’s” every day. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has an informative Web site that outlines strategies, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has a page designed especially for kids.
• Donate to green organizations
Whether you want to save the rain forest or preserve open space in Israel, there is an organization out there that can help put your money to work. CharityNavigator.org is an excellent source for information on the efficiency of charities you are interested in. Likewise, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life has an extensive list of Jewish and Israeli organizations active in environmental issues.
Sidebar - This Is the Title
Rabbi Hayyim Herring , STAR's executive director, thinks the synagogue and the minyan can be friends. "I believe that they could benefit from each other," he wrote in response to the Synagogue 3000 report, "for mainstream synagogues have infrastructure that these emergent communities often lack and, conversely, these emergent communities, just by their presence, could supply some energy to mainstream congregations."
I called Rabbi Herring last week and asked if, after five years at STAR, he is optimistic about the renewal of American synagogues.
"I started as a skeptic and I would say that my skepticism has really diminished and my optimism has increased," said Herring. "The evidence is still out, and I wouldn't want to make a prediction. But if more people will invest money and ideas and these kinds of resources into synagogues, we at least maximize the odds, which I think is critical."