Opinion
We can be a solar-powered light unto the nations
Jewish community can achieve net-zero emissions if we work together
November 4, 2021 11:19
1 min read
Jewish community can achieve net-zero emissions if we work together
November 4, 2021 11:19On Succot, the Jewish festival that celebrates nature, the Lulav sets which we wave come in single-use, unrecyclable plastic holders.
Muswell Hill United Synagogue was not impressed. For next year they are looking into having lulavim delivered in bulk and keeping the holders for re-use year after year.
Garnethill Synagogue in Glasgow, in conjunction with UJIA, want to give kosher sweets to its children for programmes including for Simchat Torah and Chanucah, but not wrapped individually in plastic. Is there a more eco-friendly alternative?
Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue will soon need to do some works on the drainage of its car park area. While they are at it could they investigate replacing the regular boilers with ground-source heat pumps to reduce the synagogue’s use of fossil fuels?
These are just a few of the issues that have been directed to the EcoSynagogue resource bank where congregations can share their experiences in becoming better environmental citizens and encouraging their members to follow their lead.
It would be fair to ask what difference to the world it would really make if the synagogues of the UK make changes to reduce or eliminate their carbon footprint, recyle more effectively and waste less. The answer is that Jewish communities must be part of the movement for change that will give us a liveable future.
Our changes may be symbolic as they will not in themselves solve climate change, but they show our Jewish community as partners in the sustaining of the Earth, in accord with the values that our religion shares with others.
EcoSynagogue, a project supported by the Board of Deputies, spans the whole Jewish community with rabbinic leadership from four denominations of Judaism. The project will be present at COP26, exhibiting in the “Green Zone”, showing that Judaism has a place in the prevention of man-made climate change.
Our community, cohesive as it is, should be able to reach net-zero in carbon emissions rapidly if we work together. COP26 is for the nations of the world, Israel included, to pledge action to change our environmental future. It is time that the Jewish community became, to relate the word of the Prophet Isaiah to today’s situation, a low-energy, LED, solar-powered light to the nations.
Rabbi Mark Goldsmith is Senior Rabbi of Edgware & Hendon Reform Synagogue and a member of the EcoSynagogue Rabbinic Team
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