Yom Kippur 5769

Rabbi David Locketz
Judaism and the Environment
Yom Kippur 5769
Bet Shalom Congregation

About a year ago I entered our Bet Shalom men’s room to wash my hands.  It was right about 6:30 pm on a Wednesday and the building was swarming with students…some coming some going.  I was in a hurry to get to Confirmation Class myself and I quickly washed my hands and then did what I always did…grabbed four towels to dry my hands off.  As I did this, I noticed a 5^th grader staring at me as I dried my hands.  After a minute he said, “Rabbi…do you really need four towels to dry your hands?”  I laughed nervously and said…”umm well…you know…they aren’t that absorbent.”  As he walked away he commented, “Well you could use one until it is no longer any good then take a second one and see what happens.  I bet you don’t need four.”

A few weeks after that interaction I was approached by one of our 7^th grade students.  She asked me who in the synagogue was responsible for the light bulbs.  She had done some simple calculations and had come up with two conclusions.  One was that if we switched all of our light bulbs to compact fluorescents we would be saving a great deal of energy.  We’d also be making an incredible environmental shift at Bet Shalom.  The other point that came out as we conversed on the subject was that Bet Shalom, by making this change, would be sending a strong message to our members that care for the environment is an important Jewish value.

I continue to learn from our young people.  I have always considered myself an environmentalist.  But looking backward now, I can see that in the last few years I had grown somewhat complacent…as I believe most of us have.  Once again our young people seem to know something that we do not…or that we have forgotten…that the simple things we do in life make a huge impact on the world around us.  Using fewer paper towels to dry hands… paying a little more for a light bulb, but making a big difference in the process…little changes make an impact.

In June there was a flurry of articles in the Startribune about the recent push toward environmentalism.  As often happens when a topic is of ongoing importance…one that suggests the way people are living is problematic…problems whose solutions might seem to impede individual freedoms…responses to these articles ended up in the opinion section.  I was struck by one such opinion piece that claimed that the push toward eco-friendly living had become “annoying.”  The author stated that she wanted to be left alone, that she was recycling and doing other simple things around her home, but that she was tired of being pushed and cajoled…simply put…it was no one’s business whether she made steps toward being more friendly to the environment.  Her annoyance is as acceptable to me as what one friend recently told me.  He stated sarcastically, “I stopped throwing garbage out my car window in 1986.  What else do you want me to do?”  As I sifted through those articles, it occurred to me that the environment could really use a good PR person because it was not being branded well.

So I am here to tell you that I have decided that I am going to be the PR Guy for the environment.  Being good to the environment and making eco-friendly decisions has gotten a bad rap and we need to correct it.  We cannot be annoyed by it and we cannot ignore it.  We need to be the solution.

You do not need to be a hippy to be an environmentalist.  Let me repeat that…you do not need to be a hippy to be in environmentalist.  I am not suggesting for a second that you run out and chain yourself to a tree or blockade a earth mover about to destroy the last untouched lot of land in the metro area…there are those who will do that and I wish them well.  But there is much you can do without being one of them.

As the newest PR guy for the environment, I would also like to remove another incorrect notion from the earth’s profile.  The environment is not a political issue.  Politicians would have us think it is…so much so that political candidates now seem to be the authority on the causes of climate change.  It needs to stop.  We will never agree whether or not the government should play a role in mandating the changes we need to make in the way we live.  We must remove politics from the discussion and just talk about what we can each do.  For some of you being environmentally friendly may color the way you vote…that is fine…but politics is often alienating and we can’t afford to alienate half of society when we think of the earth.  We all need to get on board with eco-friendly living.

Many of you have heard me say what I am about to say.  But it is something that I truly believe.  There are many individual reasons why religion is important to us as a modern people…I am not discounting those…sanctifying time, personal growth and happiness among them…but religion also exists to help us make the world a better place.  If religions do not serve to do that…if Judaism can’t help us do that…then why have it?From peace to fighting hunger and homelessness to greening our lives…religion has got to play a role in helping us make this world a better place. 

It is clear that Judaism demands we care for the environment.  There are hundreds of teachings in our tradition that clearly expect our regard for the world around us.  Our Creation Story…that foundational mythological core of who we are…that we are guests on this planet put here by God - looms heavy.  Few of us understand that piece of our story in a literal way, but so many of our important traditions are tied to it.  Shabbat comes from it…so does our Jewish understanding of time.  Our Creation story teaches us that we came late in the timeline that the Torah lays out.  As it says in the book of Chronicles, we are “sojourners with You, mere transients like our ancestors; our days on earth are like a shadow…”[1]  We are travelers here with a unique responsibility.

There are hundreds of other ways that the Torah demands us to be ecologically and environmentally responsible, but they can all be summed up simply with the Jewish value of Ba’al Taschit which means one should not destroy.  In the Book of Deuteronomy, it is very clearly stated that when the Israelites laid siege to a city, they were forbidden to destroy the trees that were surrounding it.[2]  Later in Rabbinic interpretations of this text, this law was extended to the wanton consumption of just about anything.[3]  Our tradition expects us to consider carefully what we really truly need.  When we understand our true needs first, we are less likely to over consume and go to excess…that is better for our world.  Ba’al Tashchit.

My favorite symbol of our connection to the earth is the sukkah.  In just a few days we’ll be celebrating sukkot.  In fact, tradition teaches us that as soon as we break our Yom Kippur fast this evening, we are supposed to begin building our sukkah to show our eagerness.  But when the sukkah is up and we sit it in, we come back to the earth and our connection to it.  We can see the sky through the roof…the grass is at our feet and the wind blows through the walls.  We are reminded of how impermanent we really are…how impermanent our structures are…and how dependant we are on the earth.

In Tom Friedman’s recent book, Hot, Flat and Crowded, he pokes fun at the notion that society is experiencing an environmental revolution as so many people call it.  He wrote that when he hears people talk about this so called revolution he can’t help but think, “Really?  A green revolution?  Have you ever seen a revolution where no one got hurt?  That’s the green revolution we’re having.  Everyone’s a winner, nobody has to give up anything…that’s not a revolution.  That’s a party.”[4]  He has a point.   If we don’t actually change our behavior…nothing will really change.  

We are a society that is based in personal freedom which makes it a bit touchy for me to stand up here and demand that you change the way you live and consume.  I understand what that editorialist was saying…it can be annoying…we all have enough to worry about.  But Judaism requires this of us. 

Around the time that 5^th grader admonished me to conserve paper towels, Debbie and I moved our family into a new home here in Minnetonka.  Entering a new living space, we were able to make some very specific decisions about how we live…decisions that might have been more difficult without the newness of our living environment.  I would like to share some of these with you to show you how easy it can be.  Bet Shalom has close to 850 family units which represents several thousand people.  The impact we are talking about could be huge.  If each of us makes just a few adjustments to our lives and the way we consume…we truly can make a difference.  I do not want to sound like I am reciting a list from “Real Simple Magazine,” but I would like to share with you just 10 things that I think you can do to help our world…I know you can do them…because Debbie and I do them.  If we can…so can you.

1.    When we moved into our new home, we bought all new cleaning supplies.  We decided that since we were starting from scratch, we would buy only environmentally friendly products.  There has been some trial and error.  Not everything that is environmentally friendly cleans the way you want it to…and not everything that is labeled environmentally friendly is actually good for the environment.  But we are learning.  You don’t have to throw out all of your cleaning supplies and toiletries…but as they run out…try replacing them with non toxic alternatives. 

2.   Composting:  Don’t be scared.  It is easy.  It keeps us from putting food products down our garbage disposal which ends up needing to be treated with the waste water in the municipal water treatment facility.  We do it through our garbage company so it is simple to do.  We are actually saving money by doing it, because so much of our trash can be composted, we don’t need our actual trash picked up every week anymore.

3.   Plastic bags:  We simply use our dry cleaning bags as garbage bags as much as possible. 

4.   We carry reusable nylon bags in our cars.  We also have reusable grocery bags that we take to the grocery with us.  We don’t ever need to take throw away bags at stores anymore.

5.   We have signed up to receive 100% of our electricity from Wind farms rather than from electrical plants that burn fossil fuels.

6.   Everyone in our family has their own stainless steal water bottle.  They come with us everywhere and we never need to buy plastic water bottles.

7.   Light bulbs:  When we moved into our home, we replaced every light bulb with compact fluorescents.  Our electrical bill is significantly smaller because of it.  If you don’t want to replace them all at once, try replacing five a month…or every time one burns out, replace it with a cfl.

8.   Recycling:  We have placed bags for recycling throughout our home, not just in our kitchen so it is easy to separate recycling from garbage.  Being environmental has to be easy…or most of us won’t do it. 

9.   Appliances:  Our dishwasher recently broke and we paid a little more when we replaced to have the most efficient one we could find…it recycles water and it uses less electricity. 

10.  Transportation:  This is the biggie…and probably the scariest for all of us.  There is no good solution right now…but we all have to take a look at how we use our cars.  About 2 months ago I bought a scooter.  Many of you have seen me on it and we’ve all had a good laugh.  But I get the last laugh because it gets 75mpg.  In the time I have owned it, I have never once gone on a joy ride…I have only used it the way I would use my car when I am alone…going back and forth to work and on short errands.  I have driven over 600 miles and I only live 1 mile from Bet Shalom.  It has really wakened me to how much driving we do as a society.  I do not have a solution to this…but it is something that Debbie and I have thought a lot about.  We are hoping to have a hybrid electric car very soon.  Between using my scooter in the warm months and a hybrid as much as we can the rest of the time…we are hoping to seriously cut down on our use of gasoline and our output of carbon.  I encourage you all to think before you drive….group your errands together so you can use your car less.  Do something.

I know that many of you do some of these things too.  I know you do because Minneapolis was just named the 7^th most sustainable city on a list of the 50 most populous cities in the country.[5]  That doesn’t just happen…many of you are doing good things for the environment too.  I invite you to let me know what you are doing.  I plan to start a list of helpful websites and resources on our Bet Shalom website and I’ll include your great ideas as well.  Great strength comes from being part of a strong communal effort.  Share your efforts with me so we can join together in this environmental Tikkun Olam. 

One of the greatest blessings Debbie and I have realized since we began to make these changes in our lives is that our kids are growing up with this so naturally - compared to how we have to learn and modify our behavior.  I am in no way suggesting that what we have done makes us perfect.  There is a lot more we can do and a lot more we hope to do.  But I truly believe what the rabbis in Pirke Avot have said, “Mitzvah Goreret Mitzvah….one good deed leads to another good deed.”  So it is with this.  The more we have tried to be environmentally conscious…the more we have wanted to do more.  Start somewhere.

One of my favorite characters in the Talmud is a guy named Honi the Circle Maker.[6]  I think we can all relate to him.  Honi was known for his ability to bring miracles.  He could pray for rain and it would actually rain.  One day Honi was walking in the country-side and he came across a man who was planting carob trees.  Honi laughed at him and said, “How long will it take these trees to grow fruit?  Seventy years?  You think you’ll be alive for seventy more years?”  "I don't,” said the man, “but just as my grandparents and parents planted for me, I am planting this tree for the generations to come."

Honi kept walking for a bit, and when exhausted, he laid down on the dusty ground. When he awoke, he was shocked to see that the dusty ground had become a lush grassy field with a huge carob tree towering over it. Honi realized that he had been asleep for 70 years.  He spent the rest of his life travelling the land planting carob trees for future generations.

Honi, like most of us, started out skeptical.  But then he realized how much good he could do even if he would never reap the reward himself.

Be like Honi.  Rid yourself of skepticism.  The earth needs us to turn from our ways and be agents of the land.  In the year ahead, let us learn from the young people around us and help make this world a cleaner, healthier, better place.  Take part in Creation which unfolds around us each day.

At the end of the Genesis Creation story, it says, “Vayar Elohim et col asher asah…’v’hinei Tov M’od.’ - Then God looked at all God had done and said, ‘This is very good.’”  May Creation continue to be “very good” as we each take up the mantle of responsibility in the year ahead.  G’mar Chatimah Tovah.                        

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