Rabbi Shmuel Greene of the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life said Sukkot is “very much about awareness of the natural world.”
Go green
Teens from throughout the MetroWest area are invited to attend the free Sukkot and the Environment celebration in the sukka at Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston on Sunday, Oct. 19, beginning at 10:15 a.m.
Participants are encouraged to bring along musical instruments.
To RSVP and for more information, contact Rabbi Shmuel Greene at the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life at 973-929-2975 or sgreene@thepartnershipnj.org.
October 16, 2008
MetroWest teenagers will combine a celebration of Sukkot with a demonstration of how to care for the environment.
The Oct. 19 pizza lunch and holiday program, Sukkot and the Environment, held in the sukka at Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, will include a discussion led by Rabbi Lawrence Troster of the inter-religious environmental group Greenfaith.
The free event, from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m., is sponsored by The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life, the educational arm of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ.
“For the kids, this will be a real introduction to a Jewish approach to environmentalism,” said Troster. “I will teach them how to calculate their carbon footprint — how much does their consumption actually mean in terms of the rest of the world? We will talk abut the Jewish perspective on reducing waste and how we can make commitments to live up to great Jewish values.
“We have to retrain ourselves, and it is not going to happen overnight.”
Rabbi Shmuel Greene, director of teen initiatives at the Partnership, said the eight-day harvest holiday of Sukkot, which began the evening of Oct. 13, is very much about awareness of the natural world. Jews are commanded to build sukkot, temporary shelters, and leave the comfort of their homes for meals, study, and even sleep in the booths — evoking not only the period of desert wandering, when the Israelites lived in movable huts, but also when Jews in the Land of Israel were farmers and lived in makeshift structures during harvest time.
“There is a reason why God is telling you to leave your home and go outside,” said Greene. “It is to be aware of what is out here and be aware of the world and what’s happening. Many rabbis and commentators talk about the idea that once you leave your permanent abode and go into a flimsy hut, you start realizing that it’s a big world out there.”
Rabbi Lawrence Troster of Greenfaith will talk to the teens about Jewish values and environmentalism.
Greenfaith, based in New Brunswick, was founded by Jewish and Christian leaders in 1992 to promote environmental awareness from a religious perspective. Its projects include helping houses of worship integrate environmental lessons into their worship, education, and facility management.
“We are at a critical moment,” said Troster. “We have to do something as quickly as possible. It shouldn’t be a partisan issue. No matter who is the next president, something will have to be done.”
If it rains, the celebration will move indoors.
“There is no point in forcing people to get wet,” Greene said.
Which is not to say that a little bad weather would daunt him. “I grew up in Minnesota,” Greene said. “We had snowstorms on Sukkot.”
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