On this last night of the Festival of Re-Dedication, we light all eight candles, we complete the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and we add one last item to our list of promises to ourselves for the year to come.

Hanukkah Night 8:

The Litany of Harm:

For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness!

For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness!

For all those who suffer from tropical diseases, and those at risk from spreading diseases and heat waves. We stand in witness!

For farmers and all who eat, as droughts ruin crops, incomes, and food supplies. We stand in witness!

For people of color around the world, who are at risk from climate change and environmental injustice. We stand in witness!

For the human populations, plants, and animals who are losing or have lost access to enough fresh water. We stand in witness!

For the countless animals who suffer in factory farms, in a system that causes misery and carbon pollution. We stand in witness!

For all the habitats already lost and which are disappearing. We stand in witness!*

For the endangered mammals, plants, birds, insects, and all the species we will never discover. We stand in witness!

For the burning rain forests. We stand in witness!

For the warming oceans and the dying choral reefs. We stand in witness!

For the mountaintops removed, water supplies poisoned, and oceans spilled with oil. We stand in witness!

For all who make their living from our addiction to fossil fuels.We stand in witness!

For our own roles in using and wasting energy. We stand in witness!

For all of us, and our children and their children, who are living and growing up on a changing Earth. We stand in witness!

For the courage and strength it takes to face climate change with love and hope. We stand in witness!

The Call to Action:

We’re ready to act because we have a favorite place on Earth that we want our great-grandchildren to experience. With love in our hearts, Compassionate One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because somewhere we heard John Muir’s voice, reminding us that in the beauty of nature we see the beginning of creation. With beauty in our hearts, Creator, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because someone in our life once shared something with us – something we needed; something we could not live without – and we want to do the same for the next generation and beyond. With generosity in our hearts, Holy One of Blessing, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because we’ve read texts we consider sacred, and they make clear that the Earth is a gift, and we are stewards of that gift. With responsibility in our hearts, G!d of Judgment, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because the blessing of life has allowed us to see the ways our lives are all connected with one another in a web of mutuality. Affirming the web of life, Mysterious One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because the most basic moral instruction at the core of every world religion is the call to love our neighbors as ourselves; … and we regard future generations as no less our neighbors than those who live next door to us today.  Affirming all people alive – and yet to be born – as our neighbors, G!d of Life, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because we want to be part of the solution.  Affirming the gift of creativity, Almighty, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because the G!d of Many Names is a G!d of hope, and as people of hope, we will not stop until the people of the world embrace new habits, new practices and new aspirations that will extend to countless generations the bountiful creation into which we were born.  As people of hope, G!d of Many Names, move us to action.**

We add the last item to our list.

For this last night, we consider how we behave toward those around us. What can we do better in our individual relationships? Where are our weaknesses? Our strengths? What do we wish we could do better when we are interacting with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and others around us?

Here are my thoughts for this last night of Hanukkah:

Eloheinu v’elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu, Our G!d and G!d of our ancestors, give me strength on this last night of Hanukkah, and help me to re-dedicate myself to remembering that I am created in the image of the Holy One of Blessing, to eating organic, local food, to speaking out about racism, to maintaining my values in my finances, to writing to my representatives or local paper about climate change and social justice issues, to supporting the hungry, to matching my words and actions to my beliefs and values, and to treating others as I wish to be treated.

What does your complete list look like?

As you go forward through this year, I invite you to keep your list with you. When you are feeling in need of strength, recite the prayer you have created to ask G!d for help. When you are feeling on top of the world, recite it to remind yourself of the work you have to do. Reflect on your successes. Feel gratitude for what you have been able to do. Search for the strength to go ever deeper in bringing light and joy and goodness into the Universe, and making G!d’s presence manifest in the world.

Hanukkah Sameach – Happy Hanukkah,

Rabbi Katy

* by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

** by Rev. Jim Antal, adapted

On this penultimate night of Hanukkah, we light seven candles, we continue the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and we consider a seventh way to strengthen our resolve to change the world in positive ways.

Hanukkah Night 7:

The Litany of Harm:

For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness!

For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness!

For all those who suffer from tropical diseases, and those at risk from spreading diseases and heat waves. We stand in witness!

For farmers and all who eat, as droughts ruin crops, incomes, and food supplies. We stand in witness!

For people of color around the world, who are at risk from climate change and environmental injustice. We stand in witness!

For the human populations, plants, and animals who are losing or have lost access to enough fresh water. We stand in witness!

For the countless animals who suffer in factory farms, in a system that causes misery and carbon pollution. We stand in witness!

For all the habitats already lost and which are disappearing. We stand in witness!*

For the endangered mammals, plants, birds, insects, and all the species we will never discover. We stand in witness!

For the burning rain forests. We stand in witness!

For the warming oceans and the dying choral reefs. We stand in witness!

For the mountaintops removed, water supplies poisoned, and oceans spilled with oil. We stand in witness!

For all who make their living from our addiction to fossil fuels.We stand in witness!

For our own roles in using and wasting energy. We stand in witness!

The Call to Action:

We’re ready to act because we have a favorite place on Earth that we want our great-grandchildren to experience. With love in our hearts, Compassionate One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because somewhere we heard John Muir’s voice, reminding us that in the beauty of nature we see the beginning of creation. With beauty in our hearts, Creator, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because someone in our life once shared something with us – something we needed; something we could not live without – and we want to do the same for the next generation and beyond. With generosity in our hearts, Holy One of Blessing, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because we’ve read texts we consider sacred, and they make clear that the Earth is a gift, and we are stewards of that gift. With responsibility in our hearts, G!d of Judgment, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because the blessing of life has allowed us to see the ways our lives are all connected with one another in a web of mutuality. Affirming the web of life, Mysterious One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because the most basic moral instruction at the core of every world religion is the call to love our neighbors as ourselves; … and we regard future generations as no less our neighbors than those who live next door to us today.  Affirming all people alive – and yet to be born – as our neighbors, G!d of Life, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because we want to be part of the solution.  Affirming the gift of creativity, Almighty, move us to action.

We add a seventh item to our efforts toward re-dedication.

For the seventh night, we consider our integrity. Do our actions match our words? Do our words mirror our deeply-held beliefs? Do we say and do what we know is right? What can we do to ensure that the answers to these questions are YES as much of the time as possible?

Here is how my list is shaping up on this seventh night of Hanukkah:

Eloheinu v’elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu, Our G!d and G!d of our ancestors, give me strength on this third night of Hanukkah, and help me to re-dedicate myself to remembering that I am created in the image of the Holy One of Blessing, to eating organic, local food, to speaking out about racism, to maintaining my values in my finances, to writing to my representatives or local paper about climate change and social justice issues, to supporting the hungry, and to matching my words and actions to my beliefs and values.

What are you adding to your list tonight?

Chag Urim Sameach – Happy Hanukkah,

Rabbi Katy

* by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

** by Rev. Jim Antal, adapted

Tonight we light six candles, the lights in our home grow ever brighter, but as we add to the “Litany of Harm,” we know that there is darkness in many corners of the world, and so we add also to our “Call to Action,” and consider a sixth way to move our lives forward in a way that adds light to the world.

Hanukkah Night 6:

The Litany of Harm:

For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness!

For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness!

For all those who suffer from tropical diseases, and those at risk from spreading diseases and heat waves. We stand in witness!

For farmers and all who eat, as droughts ruin crops, incomes, and food supplies. We stand in witness!

For people of color around the world, who are at risk from climate change and environmental injustice. We stand in witness!

For the human populations, plants, and animals who are losing or have lost access to enough fresh water. We stand in witness!

For the countless animals who suffer in factory farms, in a system that causes misery and carbon pollution. We stand in witness!

For all the habitats already lost and which are disappearing. We stand in witness!*

For the endangered mammals, plants, birds, insects, and all the species we will never discover. We stand in witness!

For the burning rain forests. We stand in witness!

For the warming oceans and the dying choral reefs. We stand in witness!

For the mountaintops removed, water supplies poisoned, and oceans spilled with oil. We stand in witness!

The Call to Action:

We’re ready to act because we have a favorite place on Earth that we want our great-grandchildren to experience. With love in our hearts, Compassionate One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because somewhere we heard John Muir’s voice, reminding us that in the beauty of nature we see the beginning of creation. With beauty in our hearts, Creator, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because someone in our life once shared something with us – something we needed; something we could not live without – and we want to do the same for the next generation and beyond. With generosity in our hearts, Holy One of Blessing, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because we’ve read texts we consider sacred, and they make clear that the Earth is a gift, and we are stewards of that gift. With responsibility in our hearts, G!d of Judgment, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because the blessing of life has allowed us to see the ways our lives are all connected with one another in a web of mutuality. Affirming the web of life, Mysterious One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act  because the most basic moral instruction at the core of every world religion is the call to love our neighbors as ourselves; … and we regard future generations as no less our neighbors than those who live next door to us today.  Affirming all people alive – and yet to be born – as our neighbors, G!d of Life, move us to action. **

We add a sixth action to our commitment to ourselves.

For the sixth night, we consider our neighbors, those in our own communities and those around the world, who are mired in poverty, who go to bed hungry at night, and whose children die of starvation. What can we do to help them? How are we able to assist one person, a family, or a community? What are we able to give, financially or through our talents and skills, to change the plight of those with little or nothing?

Here are my commitments on this sixth night of Hanukkah:

Eloheinu v’elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu, Our G!d and G!d of our ancestors, give me strength on this third night of Hanukkah, and help me to re-dedicate myself to remembering that I am created in the image of the Holy One of Blessing, to eating organic, local food, to speaking out about racism, to maintaining my values in my finances, to writing to my representatives or local paper about climate change and social justice issues, and to supporting the hungry.

How is your list shaping up?

Chag Urim Sameach – Happy Hanukkah,

Rabbi Katy

* by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

** by Rev. Jim Antal

On this fourth night, half way through Hanukkah, we light four candles, continue the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and consider a fourth way to move our lives forward in a way that adds goodness to the world.

Hanukkah Night 4:

The Litany of Harm:

For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness!

For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness!

For all those who suffer from tropical diseases, and those at risk from spreading diseases and heat waves. We stand in witness!

For farmers and all who eat, as droughts ruin crops, incomes, and food supplies. We stand in witness!

For people of color around the world, who are at risk from climate change and environmental injustice. We stand in witness!

For the human populations, plants, and animals who are losing or have lost access to enough fresh water. We stand in witness!

For the countless animals who suffer in factory farms, in a system that causes misery and carbon pollution. We stand in witness!

For all the habitats already lost and which are disappearing. We stand in witness!*

The Call to Action:

We’re ready to act because we have a favorite place on Earth that we want our great-grandchildren to experience. With love in our hearts, Compassionate One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because somewhere we heard John Muir’s voice, reminding us that in the beauty of nature we see the beginning of creation. With beauty in our hearts, Creator, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because someone in our life once shared something with us – something we needed; something we could not live without – and we want to do the same for the next generation and beyond. With generosity in our hearts, Holy One of Blessing, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because we’ve read texts we consider sacred, and they make clear that the Earth is a gift, and we are stewards of that gift. With responsibility in our hearts, G!d of Judgment, move us to action.**

We add a fourth promise to ourselves.

For the fourth night, we consider our finances. Where do you spend your money and how? What does the cost of an item say about the wages of the people who made it? What resources went into making it? If you have money invested, do you know how it is being used? How does your bank use your money? Are the ways your money is invested consistent with your values? (Click here for some resources with changes you might make.)

Here are my thoughts for this fourth night of Hanukkah:

Eloheinu v’elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu, Our G!d and G!d of our ancestors, give me strength on this fourth night of Hanukkah, and help me to re-dedicate myself to remembering that I am created in the image of the Holy One of Blessing, to eating organic, local food, to speaking out about racism, and to maintaining my values in my finances.

What do you feel moved to add to your list tonight?

Chag Urim Sameach – Happy Hanukkah,

Rabbi Katy

* by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

** by Rev. Jim Antal

On this third night of Hanukkah, we light three candles and continue to add to the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and we provide a third action to our personal list of ways in which to increase the sanctity of our lives and the lives of those around us.

Hanukkah Night 3:

We continue the Litany of Harm:

For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness!

For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness!

For all those who suffer from tropical diseases, and those at risk from spreading diseases and heat waves. We stand in witness!

For farmers and all who eat, as droughts ruin crops, incomes, and food supplies. We stand in witness!

For people of color around the world, who are at risk from climate change and environmental injustice. We stand in witness!

For the human populations, plants, and animals who are losing or have lost access to enough fresh water.*

We continue our Call to Action:

We’re ready to act because we have a favorite place on earth that we want our great-grandchildren to experience. With love in our hearts, Compassionate One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because somewhere we heard John Muir’s voice, reminding us that in the beauty of nature we see the beginning of creation. With beauty in our hearts, Creator, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because someone in our life once shared something with us – something we needed; something we could not live without – and we want to do the same for the next generation and beyond. With generosity in our hearts, Holy One of Blessing, move us to action.””

And we add a third item for increasing holiness.

For the third night, we focus on our responses to people of color. Do we see the differences in how white people and people of color are treated? Do we see how our days are different from those who are different from ourselves? Are we ready and able to recognize and acknowledge our white privilege? And what do we do about all of this?

Here are my thoughts for this third night of Hanukkah:

Our G!d and G!d of our ancestors, give me strength on this third night of Hanukkah, and help me to re-dedicate myself to remembering that I am created in the image of the Holy One of Blessing, to eating organic, local food, and to speaking out about racism.

What do you feel moved to add to your list tonight?

Chag Urim Sameach – Happy Hanukkah,

Rabbi Katy

* by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

** by Rev. Jim Antal

On this second night of Hanukkah, we continue to increase in holiness by lighting two candles and by adding to the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and by adding a new action to our personal list of ways in which to re-dedicate ourselves. (See Night 1 for a full introduction.)

Hanukkah Night 2:

We continue the Litany of Harm:

For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness!

For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness!

For all those who suffer from tropical diseases, and those at risk from spreading diseases and heat waves. We stand in witness!

For farmers and all who eat, as droughts ruin crops, incomes, and food supplies. We stand in witness!*

We continue our Call to Action:

We’re ready to act because we have a favorite place on earth that we want our great-grandchildren to experience. With love in our hearts, Compassionate One, move us to action.

We’re ready to act because somewhere we heard John Muir’s voice, reminding us that in the beauty of nature we see the beginning of creation. With beauty in our hearts, Creator, move us to action.**

And we add to our list of actions to which we re-dedicate ourselves.

For the second night, we focus on food. What are the ways in which you are prepared to change your eating habits to better protect the Earth and farm workers? What can you give up or what can you take on that will make your food healthier for both you and the planet?

Here are my thoughts for this second night of Hanukkah:

Eloheinu v’elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu, Our G!d and G!d of our ancestors, give me strength on this second night of Hanukkah, and help me to re-dedicate myself to remembering that I am created in the image of the Holy One of Blessing and to eating organic, local food.

What will you add to your list tonight?

Hanukkah Sameach – Happy Hanukkah,

Rabbi Katy

* by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

** by Rev. Jim Antal

Why don’t we light eight candles on the first night of Hanukkah, and work our way down to one? Why do we start with one candle and work our way up to eight? So familiar are we with our traditional way of lighting the candles and increasing the light, that imagining doing it the opposite way is almost impossible. Reduce the amount of light each night? No way!

Yet, in ancient times this custom seems to have been practiced. In the Talmud, the School of Shammai said, “On the first day eight lights are lit and thereafter they are gradually reduced,” but the School of Hillel said, no, no, no! “On the first day one is lit and thereafter they are progressively increased.” We all know who won that argument! Hillel’s reasoning? “We increase in matters of holiness but we do not decrease.” (Shabbat 21b)

Thus, we learn from Hanukkah – the festival of re-dedication – that in regard to holiness, we are never to decrease, only to increase. So, this is what happens when we light the Hanukkah candles – we increase the light, the holiness, the positive energy, the goodness, in the universe.

I think of that game, “I’m going to my grandmother’s and I’m taking with me…” Each person “takes” their own new item, but also all those named previously, so that the list grows longer and longer and longer. This is what happens with increasing holiness. Each night we bring into the room, into the universe, into our lives, all the goodness and holiness of this particular candle-lighting, as well as the goodness and holiness from each previous one.

This week, we will post a bit of holiness for you to bring to your candle-lighting, and each night we will add a new bit, eight pieces of a puzzle to fill in and create something whole over the eight nights of Hanukkah. Each night we will add two verses from a “Litany of Harm” to the planet, written by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Freidman, to help us stand in witness and solidarity with all those who are being harmed by climate change. It will also include one verse from “A Climate Change Call and Response to Action” written by Rev. Jim Antal. And at the end of each of these sets of verses you will find ideas and questions to help you decide to what to re-dedication yourself that night. Each day will provide a different theme.

I invite you to keep adding on, as we do with lighting the candles and with the “I’m going to my grandmother’s…” game, so that on the 8th day of Hanukkah, you read the entire Litany of Harm, the entire Call to Action, and re-dedicate yourself to all of your actions.

Hanukkah Night 1:

We first the candles and recite the traditional blessings.

We then begin the Litany of Harm to our Planet:

For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness!

For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness!

We begin our Call to Action:

We’re ready to act because we have a favorite place on Earth that we want our great-grandchildren to experience. With love in our hearts, Compassionate One, move us to action.

We start to act:

For the first night, we focus on the spiritual. What are the ways that you want to re-dedicate yourself to your spiritual life? How do you want to continue to strength and deepen your relationship with the Holy One? Prayer? Meditation? Spending time outdoors? What will enrich your spiritual life the most? You may want to consider these questions alone, or discuss them with those lighting candles with you.

Here are my thoughts for tonight:

Eloheinu v’elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu, Our G!d and G!d of our ancestors, give me strength on this first night of Hanukkah, and help me to rededicate myself to remembering that I am created in your image, in the image of the Holy One of Blessing.

What are your thoughts? For the last part of tonight’s Hanukkah meditation, put your intention about spiritual re-dedication into words and share it with those around you.

Chag Urim Sameach – Happy Hanukkah,

As we head into winter, the light changes and creates changes inside of us. Dusk descends upon the Earth earlier and dawn arrives later.  An evening walk takes us through luminous pockets of blue, white, red and green. For some, winter light brings a melancholy and longing for bright summer sunlight. For others, the candles and iridescent colored bulbs bring excitement and nostalgia.

It is with this consciousness of light and its effects on the human condition that the Jewish people observe Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.

During Hanukkah, we commemorate the triumph of the Maccabees over the Greeks in the 2nd century BCE.  When they rededicated the desecrated Temple, the Maccabees found only one cruse of oil left to light the ceremonial lamp.  That cruse of oil was only expected to last for one night; however, it lasted for eight days.

What meanings can we glean from the miracle of the oil? Perhaps it is that no matter how abused or degraded an individual or a group may be, there is the capacity in it for more fire and light than one could ever imagine. Or maybe it is that triumph over oppression illuminates what is good.  We have what we need even if it doesn’t seem as though we have enough.  We can enter darkness in our world and in our souls knowing that we will endure, and that world has what it needs to illuminate truth, beauty and goodness.

Congregation Har Shalom is getting ready to construct its outdoor hanukkiah, which we light each night in front of the synagogue.  What will be different about this year’s Hanukkah Festivities at Har Shalom?

Generally the custom on Hanukkah is to light one candle for the first night, and one additional light each night until the eighth night when the hanukkiah is aglow with all eight branches burning brightly.  This custom was the custom of the School of Hillel.  A lesser known form of the ritual – that of the House of Shammai- is to light eight lights on the first night and one fewer each night until one candle remains lit.  This year, since it is a shmita or sabbatical year in which we allow fields to lie fallow as instructed by the Torah, our community has decided that we will light our public hanukkiah according to the lesser known tradition. This mirrors the shift away from production and cultivation of land which in our times can be construed as increasing consumption of energy and natural resources.  The lights of the universe and beyond will be felt most profoundly on the culminating 8th night instead of eight lights that are humanly constructed and lit.

The sabbatical year occurs every seven years and provides the opportunity for a shift in perspective towards humility in which we can explore the non-dominant approach.   Our usual way of doing things is interrupted and we take some time to retreat into stillness.  From there, new approaches to address old problems arise, a welcome opportunity in this challenging year.  We hope you will join us in staring into the night sky and that you will be blessed with discernment, and the lights of awareness and new hope.

Rabbi Shoshana Leis is co- rabbi of Har Shalom Center for Jewish Living.  Jennifer Geraci is the Vice President of Spiritual Practice at Har Shalom. Visit congregationharshalom.org for information on Hanukkah activities and more.

Chanukah commemorates the single small container of pure olive oil — expected to be enough for only one day — which, according to the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), miraculously lasted for eight days in the rededicated Temple.

A switch to vegetarianism would be using our wisdom and compassion to help inspire another great miracle: the end of the tragedy of world hunger, therefore ensuring the survival of tens of millions of people annually. Currently, from one-third to one-half of the world’s grain, and about three-quarters of major food crops in the U.S. (e.g., corn, wheat, soybeans, oats), is fed to animals destined for slaughter, while almost a billion poor people chronically suffer from malnutrition and its debilitating effects, tens of thousands of them consequently dying each day, one every few seconds.

Chanukah represents the victory of the idealistic and courageous few, over the seemingly invincible power and dominant values of the surrounding society. We learn through both our religious studies and history that might does not make right, even if it sometimes rules the moment. Therefore, quality is more important than quantity; spirituality is more vital than materialism, though each is necessary. “Not by might and not by power, but by My spirit,” says Zechariah 4:6, part of the prophetic reading for Shabbat Chanukah. Today, vegetarians are relatively few in number, though growing, but the highest ideals and spirit of Judaism are on their side.

According to the Book of Macabees, some Macabees lived on plant foods — to “avoid being polluted” (by eating non-kosher meat)— when they hid in caves and in the mountains to escape capture. Further, the major foods associated with Chanukah, latkes  (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts), are vegetarian foods — as is chocolate gelt — and the vegetable oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the pure vegetable oil (olive) used in the lighting of the Temple’s Menorah.

The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus. One day’s oil was able to last for eight days in the Temple, a miracle of resource conservation. Conservation and energy-efficiency are sacred acts and vegetarianism allows resources to go much further, since far less oil, water, land, topsoil, chemicals, labor, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets, while far less waste, pollution, and greenhouse gases are produced. For example, it can require up to 78 calories of non-renewable fossil fuel for each calorie of protein obtained from factory-farmed beef, whether kosher or otherwise, but only 2 calories of fossil fuel to produce a calorie of protein from soybeans.

In addition to resource conservation and economic efficiency, a switch toward vegetarianism would greatly benefit the health of individuals, the condition of our environment, and would sharply reduce the suffering and death of billions of animals. Further, the social, psychological, and spiritual benefits should not be underestimated. Many people who switch to a vegetarian diet report feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually better. And more and more Jews and others are doing just that!

Chanukah also represents the triumph of idealistic non-conformity. Like the Hebrew prophets, the Macabees fought for their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to proudly exclaim: this we believe, this we stand for, this we are willing to struggle for. Like the great Prophets and the celebrated Macabees, vegetarians represent this type of progressive non-conformity by an inspired minority. At a time when most people, especially in wealthier countries, think of animal products as the main part of their meals, vegetarians are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more compassionate, more environmentally sustainable, and ethical choice, one that better fits with our religious values and philosophical beliefs.

The word Chanukah means dedication, while the Hebrew root of the word means education. Each year, we should re-educate ourselves about the horrible realities of factory farming and slaughterhouses, as well as re-dedicate and beautify our inner temples. We can do this by practicing  the powerful Jewish teachings and highest values of Judaism, as another way to “proclaim the miracle” of Chanukah and Jewish renewal. These sacred values and holy deeds ( mitzvot) include compassion for others, including animals ( tsa’ar ba’alei chayi, preserving one’s health (pekuach nefesh), conservation of resources  (bal tashchit), proper spiritual intention (kavanah ), righteousness and charity (tzedakah), peace and justice (shalom v’tzedek), being partners in creation (shomrei adamah), healing our world(tikkun olam), and increasing in matters of holiness (ma’alin bakodesh v’ayn moridim), going from strength to strength, just as Hillel successfully argued that we should light the menorah for the eight days in ascending order).

Chanukah commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the Syrian-Greeks. In our time, vegetarianism can be a step toward deliverance of society from various modern plagues and tragedies, including global warming, world hunger, deforestation, air and water pollution, species extinction, resource depletion, heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, obesity, rising health care costs, and lost productivity, among others.

One way to achieve the wonderful aspirations of Judaism is by switching to a vegetarian diet. A shift toward vegetarianism can also be a major factor in the rededication and renewal of Judaism, as it would further demonstrate that Jewish values are not only relevant but essential to everyday personal life and global survival.

The letters on a Diaspora dreidel), are an acronym for nes gadol hayah sham, a great miracle happened there. May the celebration of this joyous holiday inspire another miracle within each of us.

May we all have a happy, healthy, and miraculous Chanukah!

For more information, please visit the Jewish Vegetarians of North America web site at www.JewishVeg.com and The Vegetarian Mitzvah site at www.brook.com/jveg.

Daniel Brook, Ph.D., teaches sociology and political science and his e-books, including An Alef-Bet Kabalah and Social Truthscan be found at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/brook. He also maintains The Vegetarian Mitzvah at www.brook.com/jveg, Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg, is a member of the Advisory Committee of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, and can be contacted via brook@brook.com.

Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, Who Stele My Religion?, and over 200 articles and 25 podcasts located at www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz. He is president emeritus of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) (www.JewishVeg.com), president of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV) (www.serv-online.org), and can be contacted via President@JewishVeg.com

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GO GREEN IN YOUR HANUKKAH GIFTING:

• Give Alternatives to “Stuff”:  Consider giving gifts that do not create waste.  Give a museum membership, tickets to a play or a certificate to a local restaurant.
• Buy Gifts at Fair trade stores:  One way to show that you care about the environment is to purchase gifts at fair trade stores.  Items you purchase typically are made by local artisans and buying handmade jewelry, bags and clothes from fair trade shops helps provide a living wage for these artisans. Typically products sold are made from natural and organic materials.

• Look for Gifts from your Favorite Environmental Organization:  Several national environmental organizations sell clothing, bags, calendars and similar items either online through their websites or at bookstores in your neighborhood.  A portion of the sales price benefits the organization and its environmental mission.

• Give Recycled Items:  Some locally owned stores carry items that have been recycled from other products.  This is a great alternative to a mass-produced present.  Your unique gift of recycled art, jewelry, a handbag or similar item will keep items out of landfills and offer your loved one something that is truly unique.

GO GREEN IN YOUR HANUKKAH CELEBRATION:

• Use Hanukkah candles made of beeswax or soy rather than paraffin candles made from petroleum.  Beeswax or soy candles are made from natural ingredients and also produce less soot and smoke than paraffin candles.

• Make a healthier batch of latkes by using local, organic potatoes and onions and cage-free, organic eggs.  Look for a winter’s farmers market to buy your potatoes, onions and eggs.   In St. Louis, the University City Market in the Loop and the Maplewood Farmers Market  have winter hours.

• Resolve as a household to conserve energy, identifying specific actions you can take over the next year.  This could include replacing conventional light bulbs with CFLs, starting a backyard vegetable garden in the spring or doing more walking and less driving as a family.

Happy Hanukkah!

This ebook is the most comprehensive study in English of how Jewish traditional sources teach us to protect our natural resources and preserve the environment. From food to trees, energy to water, wealth to biodiversity, the book studies eighteen topics where Jewish tradition has a relevant lesson for today's environmental challenges. All materials were comprehensively studied and reviewed by scientists and rabbis before printing.

These materials were originally created for the Canfei Nesharim/Jewcology Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment in 2012, and were released between Tu b'Shevat 5772 and Tu b'Shevat 5773. The materials were shared widely throughout the Jewish community, reaching more than 50,000 people. Source sheets, podcasts and videos are also available separately for each topic.

The ebook can now be ordered for your Kindle or Ebook device.

Podcasts now available: Another exciting release from the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment: all podcasts from our series are now available on iTunes! To see the full series, simply search “Canfei Nesharim” in the itunes store, or go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/canfei-nesharim/id646475293?mt=2. You can listen to the podcasts right there, or click "view in iTunes " and then click subscribe to have them appear in your iTunes podcast library.

Don’t have itunes? All items are also available for listening or downloading at http://canfeinesharim.podbean.com/.

Check out all the materials, including source sheets and videos, at www.canfeinesharim.org/learning or www.jewcology.com/learning.

(from http://neohasid.org/zman/chanukah/ice_menorah/)

First, here's what's cool about an ice menorah: reflections in the ice; it floats – water is amazing and awesome; renewable resource – and if it's cold enough where you are, just freeze it outside; meditate on climate change and melting glaciers, and resolve to do something about it!

Here's how to do it:

1) Set candles in cardboard brace.

2) Fill loaf pan or any container part way and set brace over it — see diagram. Candles should be immersed half inch or more in water.

3) Shamash (not pictured) — fill dixie cup or any small cup or jar with a few inches of water and set shamash candle in that.

4) Freeze it all.

5) Remove ice with shamash, put it on top of ice in loaf pan. add another half inch or more of water to freeze the shamash to the rest of the menorah.

6) You can carve a little channel for melted water to flow away from the shamash

(idea and execution – Heidi Creamer; diagram and instructions – David Seidenberg; neohasid.org)

for pictures of a real ice menorah, before and after it's lit, go to http://neohasid.org/zman/chanukah/ice_menorah/

You'll notice while the menorah is burning that the melted ice warms up and creates its own channels (see pic above), sometimes making holes through the ice. Among other things, that's a great moment to talk about melting glaciers. Let us know what you do and how it goes!

You can design meditations on water, on climate change and glaciers, on renewable resources, on science, using this project. Send ideas to rebduvid8@gmail.com and I'll post them here.

For the first time since 1888 and then not again for about 78,000 years (!), Chanukah and American Thanksgiving coincide this year on Thursday, November 28. Some are calling it Thanksgivukah. Some are calling it another miracle! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Hope springs eternal. Indeed, it's always been an integral part of Jewish and American history, spirituality, and politics. Without hope, there wouldn’t be a Chanukah; without hope, there might not even be a Jewish community; without hope, there might not be democracy or America. That’s the power of radical hope!

Thanksgiving was established as a national holiday by President Lincoln 150 years ago, although various days of thanksgiving were celebrated since the early 1600s in America. Chanukah has been celebrated for 2178 years. The two holidays are united in our gratitude for Light, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Latkes.

Jewish survival is a miracle of hope. Increasing light at the darkest time of the year to celebrate Chanukah and Jewish survival is also a miracle. Each year, we should be grateful for our miracles and we should work and hope for further miracles.

We sincerely hope that Jews will enhance their celebrations of this spiritually meaningful holiday of Thanksgivukah by making it a time to strive even harder to live up to Judaism's and America’s highest moral values and teachings. For most of us, we certainly don’t need more "things" in our homes or more food in our bellies; instead, we need more meaning, purpose, gratitude, and spirit in our lives. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this. One significant way we can do this, on a daily basis, is by moving towards vegetarianism.

Chanukah commemorates the single small container of pure olive oil — expected to be enough for only one day — which, according to the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), miraculously lasted for eight days in the rededicated Temple on the 25th of Kislev 165 BCE, exactly two years after it was defiled by the Syrian-Greeks, who were ruled by the tyrannical King Antiochus IV. In kabalistic (Jewish mystical) thought, according to Avi Lazerson, "oil is symbolic of chochmah (wisdom), the highest aspect of the intellect from which inspirational thought is derived."

A switch to vegetarianism would be using our wisdom and compassion to help inspire another great miracle: the end of the tragedy of world hunger, therefore ensuring the survival of tens of millions of people annually. Currently, from one-third to one-half of the world’s grain, and about three-quarters of major food crops in the U.S. (e.g., corn, wheat, soybeans, oats, alfalfa), is fed to animals destined for slaughter, while about one billion poor people chronically suffer from malnutrition and its debilitating effects, tens of thousands of them consequently dying each day, one every few seconds.

Hundreds of millions of turkeys are bred in unnatural and brutal conditions, leading to injuries and ill health first for them and eventually for their consumers. Maimonides, the great rabbi, physician, and scholar known as the Rambam, who wrote that the pain of people is the same as the pain of other animals (Guide for the Perplexed), ruled that one must literally sell the clothes one is wearing, if necessary, to fulfill the mitzvah of lighting the menorah and celebrating the miracle (Hil. Chanukah 4:12). Uniting physical needs and spiritual needs is vitally important for the body, the mind, and the spirit. In the joyous process of celebrating our holidays, other beings shouldn’t have to be enslaved, tortured, and killed by our tyranny over them. No one should ever have to die on our account.

Chanukah represents the victory of the idealistic and courageous few, over the seemingly invincible power and dominant values of the surrounding society. We learn through both our religious studies and history that might does not make right, even if it sometimes rules the moment. Therefore, quality is more important than quantity; spirituality is more vital than materialism, though each is necessary. "Not by might and not by power, but by My spirit," says Zechariah 4:6, part of the prophetic reading for Shabbat Chanukah. Today, vegetarians are relatively few in number, though growing, but the highest ideals and spirit of Judaism and America are on their side.

According to the Book of Macabees, some Macabees lived on plant foods — to “avoid being polluted” — when they hid in caves and in the mountains to escape capture. Further, the major foods associated with Chanukah, latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts), are vegetarian foods — as is chocolate gelt! — and the vegetable oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the pure vegetable oil (olive) used in the lighting of the Temple’s Menorah.

The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus. One day's oil was able to last for eight days in the Temple, a miracle of resource conservation. Conservation and energy-efficiency are sacred acts and vegetarianism allows resources to go much further, since far less oil, water, land, topsoil, chemicals, labor, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets, while far less waste, pollution, and greenhouse gases are produced. For example, it can require up to 78 calories of non-renewable fossil fuel for each calorie of protein obtained from factory-farmed beef, whether kosher or otherwise, but only 2 calories of fossil fuel to produce a calorie of protein from soybeans. We increasingly need to incorporate this ecological ethic into the fabric of America, Israel, and everywhere else.

Reducing our use of oil by shifting away from the mass production and consumption of meat — thereby making supplies last longer, freeing us from our dangerous dependence on oil as well as oily authoritarian governments, and diminishing the availability of petro-dollar funds for terrorists and others — would surely be a fitting way to celebrate Thanksgivukah. By conserving oil, commemorating how one’s day’s worth of oil lasted for eight, and by reducing our dependence on it, we can create what Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center calls a “green menorah”, green Chanukah, and a green Thanksgiving. In this way, we support ethical lifestyles and holy communities on this holiday and throughout the year.

In addition to resource conservation and economic efficiency, a switch toward vegetarianism would greatly benefit the health of individuals, the condition of our environment, and would sharply reduce the suffering and death of billions of animals and millions of people. Further, the social, psychological, and spiritual benefits should not be underestimated. Many people who switch to a veg diet report feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually better. And more and more Jews and others are doing just that!

Chanukah also represents the triumph of idealistic non-conformity. Like the Hebrew prophets, the Macabees fought for their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to proudly exclaim: this we believe, this we stand for, this we are willing to struggle for. Like the great Prophets and the celebrated Macabees, and like our revolutionary leaders and abolitionists, vegetarians represent this type of progressive non-conformity by an inspired minority. At a time when most people, especially in wealthier countries, think of animal products as the main part of their meals, vegetarians and vegans are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more compassionate, more environmentally sustainable, and ethical choice, one that better fits with our religious values and philosophical beliefs.

Jewish sages compare candles to our souls and the light to the Torah (Proverbs 20:27), noting that the fire of a candle always strives to go upward. In this way, we kindle souls with the ethical light of our tradition. Candles are lit for each of the eight nights of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope, from oppression to miracles. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a "light unto the nations" (Isaiah 42:6). "Light is sown for the righteous" (Psalm 97:11) and, as our sages have said, it only takes a little light to dispel much darkness. Veg activists are like the shamesh, the servant candle, which helps to spread light without itself being diminished. We do not lose anything by helping others and ourselves; indeed, we gain in righteousness. Vegetarianism and veganism can be an effective way of adding light and hope to the darkness of a world still suffering with factory farms and slaughterhouses — and their attendant negative consequences — as well as with other systems and symbols of violence and oppression.

The word Chanukah means dedication, while the Hebrew root of the word means education. Thanksgiving, of course, implies giving thanks. Each year, we should re-educate ourselves about the horrible realities of factory farming and slaughterhouses, as well as re-dedicate and beautify our inner temples, giving thanks for what we have. We can do this by practicing the powerful Jewish teachings and highest values of Judaism, as another way to “proclaim the miracle” of Chanukah and Jewish renewal. These sacred values and holy deeds (mitzvot) include compassion for others, including animals (tsa’ar ba’alei chayim), preserving one’s health (pekuach nefesh), conservation of resources (bal tashchit), proper spiritual intention (kavanah), righteousness and charity (tzedakah), peace and justice (shalom v’tzedek), being partners in creation (shomrei adamah), healing our world (tikkun olam), and increasing in matters of holiness (ma'alin bakodesh v’ayn moridim, going from strength to strength, just as Hillel successfully argued that we should light the menorah for the eight days in ascending order).

Chanukah commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the Syrian-Greeks. In our time, vegetarianism can be a step toward deliverance of society from various modern plagues and tragedies, including global warming, world hunger, deforestation, air and water pollution, species extinction, resource depletion, heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, obesity, rising health care costs, and lost productivity, among others. That’s a lot to be thankful for.

The letters on a diaspora dreidel, those we use in America, are an acronym for nes gadol hayah sham, a great miracle happened there. May the celebration of this joyous holiday inspire another miracle and deepened gratitude within each of us.

May we all have a happy, healthy, thankful, and miraculous Thanksgivukah!

For more information, please visit the Jewish Vegetarians of North America web site at www.JewishVeg.com, The Vegetarian Mitzvah site at www.brook.com/jveg, and Farm Sanctuary at www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/turkeys-used-for-meat.

Dan Brook, Ph.D. teaches sociology and political science. Dan is the author of An Alef-Bet Kabalah at www.smashwords.com/books/view/1653, editor of Justice in the Kitchen at http://justicecookbook.wordpress.com, and maintains The Vegetarian Mitzvah at www.brook.com/jveg, Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg, is a member of the Advisory Committee of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, and can be contacted via brook@brook.com. More info at about.me/danbrook.

1. Chanukah represents the triumph of non-conformity. The Maccabees stuck to their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to say: This I believe, this I stand for, this I am willing to struggle for. Today, vegetarians represent non-conformity. At a time when most people in the wealthier countries think of animal products as the main part of their meals, when the number of fast food establishments is growing rapidly, when almost all celebrations involve an abundance of animal foods, vegetarians are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more humane diet.

2. Chanukah represents the victory of the few, who practiced God’s teachings, over the many, who acted according to the values of the surrounding society. Today vegetarians are a small minority in most countries, but Jewish vegetarians believe that vegetarianism is the dietary approach most consistent with God’s original diet (Genesis 1:29) and with Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, preserve natural resources, and share with hungry people.

3. Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day, but miraculously lasted for eight days. Today, with science academies worldwide and the vast majority of climate scientists warning of an impending climate catastrophe, it sometimes seems as if only a miracle will prevent it. However, many recent studies have shown that animal-based agriculture is a major contributor to the warming of the planet, so shifts to vegetarian diets can make a major difference.

4. The ratio of eight days that the oil burned compared to the one day of burning capacity that the oil had is the same ratio (8 to 1) that is often given for the pounds of grain that are necessary to produce a pound of beef in a feed lot The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus, and vegetarian diets make resources go much further, since far less water, fuel, land, pesticides, fertilizer, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets.

5. Chanukah also commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Syrian-Greeks defiled it. The Hebrew root of the word Chanukah means dedication. Today, a shift to vegetarianism can be a major factor in the rededication and renewal of Judaism, because it would show that Jewish values are relevant to everyday Jewish life and to addressing current problems, such as hunger, pollution, resource scarcity, climate change, and huge health care expenditures.

6. Candles are lit during each night of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a “”ight unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). Vegetarianism is a way of adding light to the darkness of a world with slaughterhouses and factory farms, as well as other places of oppression.

7. On the Sabbath during Chanukah, the prophetic portion indicates that difficulties can best be overcome “not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Today, Jewish vegetarians are arguing that the way to a better world is not by exercising our power over animals, but by applying the spirit of God, “whose tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:9).

8. At the morning services during each day of Chanukah, there is a recitation of Hallel, the psalms of praise from Psalm 113 to 118. During the Sabbath of Chanukah and every other Sabbath during the year, the morning service has a prayer that begins, “The soul of all living creatures shall praise God’s name.” Yet, it is hard for animals to join in the praise of God when almost 10 billion animals are killed annually in the U. S. for their flesh after suffering greatly on factory farms.

Leading up to the holiday:

• Buy gifts with a low carbon footprint–local stores that sell vintage, locally made or locally grown products are a great place to find these
• Consider offering a gift of time or one that fosters creativity–take your kids to the park for the afternoon or give them an hour's worth of pottery making time at an arts and crafts store
• Create homemade gift wrap from recycled materials rather than purchasing gift wrap that will be used once and thrown away. For example, gift wray can be created from used newspapers and magazines. As much as half of the 85 million tops of paper products Americans consume every year goes toward packaging, wrapping and decorating goods. Wrapping paper and shopping bags alone account for about 4 million tons of trash annually in the U.S.

Over the eight days and nights of Hanukkah:

• Use Hanukkah candles made of beeswax or soy rather than paraffin candles made from petroleum. Beeswax or soy candles are made from natural ingredients and also produce less soot and smoke than paraffin candles
• Make a healthier batch of latkes by using local, organic potatoes and onions and cage-free, organic eggs. Look for a winter's farmers market to buy your potatoes, onions and eggs. In St. Louis, the University City Market in the Loop, the St. Louis Community Farmers' Market and the Maplewood Farmers Market all have winter hours. Go to http://agebb.missouri.edu/fmkdir/view.asp?region=5 for more information
• Resolve as a household to conserve energy, identifying specific actions you can take over the next year. This could include replacing conventional light bulbs with CFLs, starting a backyard vegetable garden in the spring or doing more walking and less driving as a family

Chag Sameach!

Resources: www.begreenminded.com

originally published at jewishinstlouis.org

As Chanukah draws to a close, we enter the month of Tevet (December 13, 2012-January 11, 2013). For many American Jews, this is a challenging time of the year. Christmas may seem ubiquitous, whether framed as a specifically Christian holy day or as a secular, commercial, all-American holiday. While some American Jews celebrate Christmas with relatives, others feel deeply alienated and alone. For many of us, December is the month when our difference and minority status are most pronounced.

However, American Jews are not the first to have struggled with what Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan termed the challenge of “living in two civilizations.” The rabbis of Roman Palestine tackled this very issue in Avodah Zarah (“Foreign Worship”), the tractate of the Mishnah concerned with idolatry and relations with non-Jews. To ensure that Jews would not be even indirectly implicated in idolatry, the rabbis forbade business transactions with non-Jews during the three days preceding and following Roman festivals (M. Avodah Zarah 1:1-2). Among these idolatrous festivals were Calenda and Saturnalia, which the Babylonian Talmud defines more specifically: “Rav Chanan bar Rava said: ‘Calenda is eight consecutive days following the Winter Solstice; Saturnalia is eight consecutive days preceding the Winter Solstice.’” (T. Avodah Zarah 8a)

Immediately after Rav Chanan’s explanation, the Talmud offers an intriguing story about the origins of Calenda and Saturnalia:

The rabbis taught: When Adam, the first man, saw the daylight gradually decreasing [during the first Winter of creation], he said: “Alas for me! Perhaps because I sinned the world is darkening for me, and it is returning to a state of ‘unformed and void’; this is a death sentence decreed for me from heaven [for my transgression].” So he got up and engaged in fasting and prayer for eight days.

However, once he saw the Tevet Solstice and saw that daylight was gradually increasing, he said: “This is the nature of the world!” So he went and established eight festival days [i.e., Calenda]. The following year, he established as festival days these [i.e., the eight days of Calenda after the Solstice] and those [i.e., the eight days of Saturnalia before the Solstice].

He established them for the sake of Heaven, but they [i.e., non-Jews of future generations] established them for the sake of idolatry. (T. Avodah Zarah 8a)

What are we to make of this bizarre tale? First of all, it contains a strikingly humane concern. Adam—a brand new human being living in a brand new universe, with no knowledge of how it functions—sees the daylight waning and experiences a deep sense of terror and existential dread. He fears that the orderly natural world is disintegrating into a state of “tohu va-vohu” (“unformed and void”), the same Hebrew phrase used to describe the primordial state preceding Creation in Genesis 1:2. While this may seem like a comedic overreaction, we must remember that for those without access to light and heat—whether two millennia ago or today—Winter is a potentially life-threatening time. The rabbis of the Talmud appreciated this, and perhaps this is why they recounted a midrashic tale of hope and faith in the natural order. If comfort and survival are not guaranteed during Winter, at least we can trust in Spring’s inevitable return.

Second, the rabbinic view of Calenda and Saturnalia as corrupted versions of Adam’s festivals is particularly baffling. In a tractate devoted to distancing Jews as much as possible from the corrupting influence of idolatry, why claim any connection whatsoever between the idolatrous festivals of Rome and the holy sanctification of G-d’s Creation? Were the rabbis attempting to retain a monopoly over the sanctification of Creation? Was it easier to charge Rome with appropriating and perverting Adam’s Tevet Solstice than it was to admit that Rome had independently enshrined the Winter Solstice as a sacred occasion? If the latter approach risked putting the Roman god Saturn on the same level as the G-d of Israel, the former ensured that the G-d of Israel remained supreme.

The path of theological supremacy represented by the former approach may be useful under siege, occupation or exile, but it is of limited use to those of use committed to living as Jews in a pluralistic society. Rather, we need to formulate, refine and maintain strategies that enshrine our Jewishness without engaging in theological chauvinism that sees our G-d as better or in cultural separatism that demands disengagement from non-Jews during their religious holidays.

Even as the approach suggested by Avodah Zarah is obsolete and impractical for Jews in America, I would argue that it does offer us a kernel of meaningful relations with non-Jews. The common element that the rabbis recognize in both Calenda/Saturnalia and the festivals of Adam is the Winter Solstice. Likewise, many Christmas traditions actually preserve pre-Christian celebrations of the Winter Solstice: December 25 was the birthday of the Late Roman sun god Sol Invictus; gift giving was part of the Saturnalia festivities; and the Yule Log was a component of the Germanic pagan mid-Winter festival of Yule. Like the light-giving Yule Log, candles were an important component of Saturnalia, which some ancient sources describe as a “festival of light.” Many contemporary Christians light Advent candles in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Jews light candles on Chanukah, which straddles the months of Kislev and Tevet. And the relatively new African-American holiday of Kwanzaa features a candle-lighting ritual, wherein each candle represents one of the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa.

The gods are different, the cultures and languages are diverse, and the worldviews may even be incompatible if not outright antagonistic to one another. However, what all of these holidays share is the goal of helping believers survive the shortest, coldest and darkest days of the year; of cultivating hope and trust in the face of uncertainty and fear; and of linking the individual, the community, the natural world and the Divine in a web of deep and vital meaning. Their common element is a belief in the natural world as a place of holiness and purpose, a sacred realm of seasons and cycles. If we can cultivate a Jewish environmental ethos—a system of values, wisdom, rituals and skills that enable us to better inhabit and steward the natural world—our Judaism will certainly be more fulfilling. It would also enable us to converse and cooperate even more effectively with non-Jews who are engaged in similar work in their own traditions. I can think of no better common ground than the Earth itself.

Daniel Brook, Ph.D. & Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.

Chanukah commemorates the single small container of pure olive oil — expected to be enough for only one day — which, according to the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), miraculously lasted for eight days in the rededicated Temple.

A switch to vegetarianism would be using our wisdom and compassion to help inspire another great miracle: the end of the tragedy of world hunger, therefore ensuring the survival of tens of millions of people annually. Currently, from one-third to one-half of the world’s grain, and about three-quarters of major food crops in the U.S. (e.g., corn, wheat, soybeans, oats), is fed to animals destined for slaughter, while almost a billion poor people chronically suffer from malnutrition and its debilitating effects, tens of thousands of them consequently dying each day, one every few seconds.

Chanukah represents the victory of the idealistic and courageous few, over the seemingly invincible power and dominant values of the surrounding society. We learn through both our religious studies and history that might does not make right, even if it sometimes rules the moment. Therefore, quality is more important than quantity; spirituality is more vital than materialism, though each is necessary. “Not by might and not by power, but by My spirit”, says Zechariah 4:6, part of the prophetic reading for Shabbat Chanukah. Today, vegetarians are relatively few in number, though growing, but the highest ideals and spirit of Judaism are on their side.

According to the Book of Macabees, some Macabees lived on plant foods — to “avoid being polluted” (by eating non-kosher meat)— when they hid in caves and in the mountains to escape capture. Further, the major foods associated with Chanukah, latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts), are vegetarian foods — as is chocolate gelt! — and the vegetable oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the pure vegetable oil (olive) used in the lighting of the Temple’s Menorah.

The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus. One day’s oil was able to last for eight days in the Temple, a miracle of resource conservation. Conservation and energy-efficiency are sacred acts and vegetarianism allows resources to go much further, since far less oil, water, land, topsoil, chemicals, labor, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets, while far less waste, pollution, and greenhouse gases are produced. For example, it can require up to 78 calories of non-renewable fossil fuel for each calorie of protein obtained from factory-farmed beef, whether kosher or otherwise, but only 2 calories of fossil fuel to produce a calorie of protein from soybeans.

In addition to resource conservation and economic efficiency, a switch toward vegetarianism would greatly benefit the health of individuals, the condition of our environment, and would sharply reduce the suffering and death of billions of animals. Further, the social, psychological, and spiritual benefits should not be underestimated. Many people who switch to a vegetarian diet report feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually better. And more and more Jews and others are doing just that!

Chanukah also represents the triumph of idealistic non-conformity. Like the Hebrew prophets, the Macabees fought for their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to proudly exclaim: this we believe, this we stand for, this we are willing to struggle for. Like the great Prophets and the celebrated Macabees, vegetarians represent this type of progressive non-conformity by an inspired minority. At a time when most people, especially in wealthier countries, think of animal products as the main part of their meals, vegetarians are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more compassionate, more environmentally sustainable, and ethical choice, one that better fits with our religious values and philosophical beliefs.

The word Chanukah means dedication, while the Hebrew root of the word means education. Each year, we should re-educate ourselves about the horrible realities of factory farming and slaughterhouses, as well as re-dedicate and beautify our inner temples. We can do this by practicing the powerful Jewish teachings and highest values of Judaism, as another way to “proclaim the miracle” of Chanukah and Jewish renewal. These sacred values and holy deeds (mitzvot) include compassion for others, including animals (tsa’ar ba’alei chayim), preserving one’s health (pekuach nefesh), conservation of resources (bal tashchit), proper spiritual intention (kavanah), righteousness and charity (tzedakah), peace and justice (shalom v’tzedek), being partners in creation (shomrei adamah), healing our world (tikkun olam), and increasing in matters of holiness (ma’alin bakodesh v’ayn moridim, going from strength to strength, just as Hillel successfully argued that we should light the menorah for the eight days in ascending order).

Chanukah commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the Syrian-Greeks. In our time, vegetarianism can be a step toward deliverance of society from various modern plagues and tragedies, including global warming, world hunger, deforestation, air and water pollution, species extinction, resource depletion, heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, obesity, rising health care costs, and lost productivity, among others.

One way to achieve the wonderful aspirations of Judaism is by switching to a vegetarian diet. A shift toward vegetarianism can also be a major factor in the rededication and renewal of Judaism, as it would further demonstrate that Jewish values are not only relevant but essential to everyday personal life and global survival.

The letters on a Diaspora dreidel are an acronym for nes gadol hayah sham, a great miracle happened there. May the celebration of this joyous holiday inspire another miracle within each of us.

May we all have a happy, healthy, and miraculous Chanukah!

For more information, please visit the Jewish Vegetarians of North America web site at www.JewishVeg.com and The Vegetarian Mitzvah site at www.brook.com/jveg.

Daniel Brook, Ph.D., teaches sociology and political science and his e-books, including An Alef-Bet Kabalah and Social Truths, can be found at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/brook. He also maintains The Vegetarian Mitzvah at www.brook.com/jveg, Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg, is a member of the Advisory Committee of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, and can be contacted via brook@brook.com.

Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, Who Stele My Religion?, and over 150 articles and interviews located at www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz. He is President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) (www.JewishVeg.com), Coordinator of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV) (www.serv-online.org), and can be contacted via President@JewishVeg.com.

• Give Alternatives to “Stuff”: Consider giving gifts that do not create waste. Give a museum membership, tickets to a play or a certificate to a local restaurant.

• Buy Gifts at Fair Trade stores: One way to show that you care about the environment is to purchase gifts at fair trade stores. Items you purchase typically are made by local artisans and buying handmade jewelry, bags and clothes from fair trade shops helps provide a living wage for these artisans. Typically products sold are made from natural and organic materials.

• Patronize Winter Farmers’ Markets: Even though the prime season for area farmers’ markets has ended, most communities continue to have winter farmers’ markets on a weekly or monthly basis. (In Saint Louis, the Maplewood Farmers Market operates inside Schlafly’s Bottleworks Restaurant monthly. More information is at: (http://www.maplewoodfarmersmarket.com/). At these markets, you can buy locally made jams, jellies, soaps and similar items. These make great gifts.

• Look for Gifts from your Favorite Environmental Organization: Several national environmental organizations sell clothing, bags, calendars and similar items either online through their websites or at bookstores in your neighborhood. A portion of the sales price benefits the organization and its environmental mission.

• Give Recycled Items: Some locally owned stores carry items that have been recycled from other products. This is a great alternative to a mass-produced present. Your unique gift of recycled art, jewelry, a handbag or similar item will keep items out of landfills and offer your loved one something that is truly unique.

  Happy Hanukkah!

Originally posted in jewishinstlouis.org at http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/blog.aspx?id=345

While few people associate Chanukah with vegetarianism, there are many connections between plant-based diets and the Festival of Lights:

Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.

1. According to the Book of Maccabees, some Maccabees lived on plant foods to “avoid being polluted like the rest” by eating non-kosher foods, when they hid in the mountains to avoid capture.

2. The foods associated with Channukah, latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried donuts) are vegetarian foods, and the oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the oil used in the lighting of the Menorah in the rededication of the Temple.

3. Chanukah represents the triumph of non-conformity. The Maccabees fought for their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to say: This I believe, this I stand for, this I am willing to struggle for. Today, vegetarians represent non-conformity. At a time when most people in the wealthier countries think of animal products as the main part of their meals, when McDonald’s and similar fast food establishments are expanding, vegetarians are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more humane diet.

4. Chanukah represents the victory of the few, who practiced God’s teachings rather than the values of the surrounding society, over the many. Today vegetarians are a relatively small (though growing) minority in most countries, but they believe that, consistent with God’s original diet (Genesis 1:29), and religious mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, preserve natural resources, and share with hungry people, vegetarianism is the dietary approach most consistent with Jewish values.

5. Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day, but miraculously lasted for eight days. A switch to vegetarianism on the part of the world’s people could result in an even greater miracle: the end of the scandal of world hunger which results in the death of an estimated 20 million people annually, while over a third of the world’s grain is fed to animals destined for slaughter.

6. It is interesting that the ratio of eight days that the oil burned compared to the one day of burning capacity that the oil had is the same ratio (8 to 1) that is often given for the pounds of grain that are necessary to produce a pound of edible beef in a feed lot. The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus, and vegetarian diets make resources go much further, since far less water, fuel, land, pesticides, fertilizer, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets.

7. Candles are lit during each night of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). Vegetarianism can be a way of adding light to the darkness of a world with slaughterhouses, factory farms, and vivisection laboratories, as well as other symbols of oppression.

8. Chanukah commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the Syrian Greeks. So, today, vegetarianism can be a step toward deliverance from modern problems such as hunger, pollution, and resource scarcities.

9. On the Sabbath during Chanukah, the prophetic portion indicates that difficulties can best be overcome “not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Today, Jewish vegetarians are arguing that the way to a better world is not by exercising our power over animals, but by applying the spirit of God, “whose tender mercies are over all of His creatures” (Psalm 145:9).

10. The Hebrew root of the word Chanukah means education, Jewish vegetarians believe that if Jews were educated about the horrible realities of factory farming and the powerful Jewish mandates about taking care of our health, showing compassion to animals, protecting the environment, conserving resources, and helping hungry people, they would seriously consider switching to vegetarian diets.

11. At the morning services during each day of Chanukah, there is a recitation of Hallel, the psalms of praise from Psalm 113 to 118. During the Sabbath of Chanukah and every other Sabbath during the year, the morning service has a prayer that begins, “The soul of all living creatures shall praise God’s name”. Yet, it is hard for animals to join in the praise of God when annually in the United States alone over 9 billion animals are killed for their flesh after suffering from cruel treatment on factory farms.

Chanukah—the Festival of Lights—offers us a joyous, eight-day respite from the cold, dark month of Kislev (November 14-December 13, 2012). Beginning on 25 Kislev (sundown on December 8), Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, following the successful Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE. (In Hebrew, “Chanukah” means “dedication, consecration.”)

Perhaps the most notable Chanukah tradition is the lighting of a nine-branched menorah (candelabrum), which symbolizes the well-known miracle of Chanukah. According to the Babylonian Talmud:

When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary by touching them. And when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame them and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that bore the seal of the High Priest undisturbed by the Greeks. And there was sufficient oil there to light the candelabrum for only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit the candelabrum from it eight days. The next year the Sages instituted those days and made them holidays with recitation of hallel and special thanksgiving in prayer and blessings. (Shabbat 21b)

It is curious to note that this Talmudic discussion of the history, laws and customs of Chanukah is actually a brief tangent in a far more extensive treatment of the laws that govern the suitability of various wicks and fuels for Shabbat lights. Clearly, the holiness and purity of various oils and fuels were crucial to Temple worship.

As Jews concerned with the environment and sustainability, how might we understand Chanukah’s oil-related miracle? Rabbi Arthur Waskow suggests that the miracle of Chanukah represents “G-d’s conservation of energy….The story teaches that G-d worked WITH the earth, made it possible for one day’s worth of oil to last eight days.” For Rabbi Waskow, Chanukah enshrines the value of conservation and teaches us to trust in the bounty of Creation. This is certainly an attractive interpretation and an indispensible lesson, but I am afraid that I do not find it particularly convincing.

Much more thought-provoking, in my opinion, is the observation of Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk, an 18th-century Polish-German Talmud scholar. In Penei Yehoshua, Falk points out that, presumably, there was sufficient impure oil to light the candelabrum for a number of days. According to halakhah (rabbinic law), it would have been acceptable to kindle the Temple candelabrum with this impure oil, particularly under the circumstances of widespread war and death. So why did the priests opt to use their only cruse of pure oil? The answer, Falk suggests, is that the priests wanted to rededicate the Temple according to the most stringent standards of purity. Likewise, “the miracle, which made it unnecessary to use impure oil, demonstrates the great love that G-d has for His people, Israel.”

This notion of striving for purity and, in doing so, consuming the last pure quantity of something hardly seems like a convincing model of conservation. After all, the priests had no way of knowing that the oil would miraculously last for eight days, until more pure oil could be procured. In their quest for the highest degree of purity, one might argue, they rejected perfectly acceptable fuel and apparently hoped for the best. Does the fact that G-d rewarded them for this with a miracle make their choice any more acceptable or responsible? What does this teach us about the relative merits of hope and purity, both as moral values and as strategies for responsible, sustainable living?

I am afraid that such questions do not invite easy answers—neither from our Jewish traditions nor from contemporary discussions about environmental sustainability. They do however shine some light on the dangers of blind faith and vain hope. In Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, environmentalist Bill McKibben writes: “By burning every gallon of oil and cubic meter of gas and ton of coal we could find, we’ve managed to end the climatic stability that’s marked human civilization. We’ve also managed to bet our entire economy on the belief that these supplies will last forever, a bet we’re now in the process of losing.” Similarly, physicist and editor of Climate Progress Joe Romm has criticized Bill Gates’ 2010 call for “energy miracles.” In Romm’s opinion, hoping for miracles or other game-changing solutions usually just serves to defer critical action to major problems. McKibben and Romm certainly would not dispute the importance of hope, but they refuse to wait for miracles in the face of daunting challenges that demand immediate action.

Returning to the story of Chanukah, we know in hindsight that the priests’ gamble paid off: They chose only the purest and best oil, which miraculously lasted. Through their faith and their hope, they succeeded in shedding light in a dark place, during a dark time of war, suffering and death. Stories about miracles and long-shot victories are indispensible for driving away despair and sustaining our vision of a brighter future. And yet, I have to hope that if the miracle had not arrived—if the flame of the Temple menorah had begun to flicker and fail—the priests would not have been too proud to compromise with their ideal notion of purity and to accept that there are few convenient or comfortable answers to the problem of how we can keep the lights on, both literally and figuratively.

by Rabbi Anne Heath

I celebrated my first Hanukkah amongst my siblings and their children celebrating yet another family Christmas. We had gathered for winter break in Santa Fe, NM, at our brother's home, glad to be together after travels of varying distances and difficulties.

My lengthy, made-it-in-one-day drive from St. Louis culminated in a wondrous night sky display. My younger daughter and I approached Santa Fe well after midnight. The cold, crisply clear night made for perfect night-sky viewing, too good to be just an out-of-the-window-on-our-way-somewhere experience.

I stopped the car. We got out, glad to be standing. We stretched our road-weary limbs, all the while looking up in awe. We both agreed that it almost felt as if the sky were falling because the sky was so full of constellations and planets. The area's elevation made everything seem just that much closer.

Upon awakening late the next morning, we discovered that the bright, clear sky of the night before had been replaced by low-hanging gray clouds and occasional fog. Disappointing? Yes, but not nearly as problematic as what I perceived as "wrong" with the area's trees, grass and dirt/soil. The pinion pines were short and stubby. There wasn't much grass – green or otherwise. The dirt/soil was sandy clay. Nothing like the tall trees in St. Louis, nor the prevalence of lawns and dark, rich soil there. Nothing like the wide variation in flora in St. Louis – even in winter.

The brilliant night skyscape seemed "just right" immediately. The "wrongness" of the Santa Fe landscape didn't turn into "maybe this is OK" until almost the end of our visit, eleven days later.

I wondered on the drive home if my feeling of no longer fitting in at family holiday celebrations might have colored my feeling of not feeling at home in the Santa Fe physical environment.

I continue to wonder why I can get so stuck in needing my environment to be one that is comfortable and familiar. The push and pull between the lure of the new and the ho-hum-ness of the everyday is a recurring theme in my life.

In the lead up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year it will be worthwhile for me to revisit the question of balance between the security of the known and the insecurity of the unknown, especially when the unknown represents new growth, renewal and health for my relationship with myself, with G-d and with others; and even more especially when a trek off into the unknown represents a running away from what's difficult in the midst of the known – something which needs healing.

If this is your experience, I pray that 5773 will be a year in which a clarity as brilliant as the cold winter night sky outside Santa Fe illuminates your path.

A member of both the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Boards of Rabbis, Rabbi/Cantor Anne Heath (Academy for Jewish Religion-NYC 2007) is beginning her tenth year of service as the spiritual leader of Congregation Agudath Achim and the Jewish Community House – a 100-year-old progressive, independent congregation in the heart of Taunton, MA.

Highlights include:

• The Chanukah story they DIDN’T tell you as a child
• Why a nineteenth-century rabbi used botany to make sense of Kabbalat Shabbat
• The hidden tree and advice to adult children and parents in Psalms 92 and 128

The fee for the program is $3 for YM-YWHA and JOY members and $8 for all others. For more information or to reserve a place, contact Susan Silberner at ssilberner@yahoo.com or 908-289-8112 X 34. The YM-YWHA of Union County is located at 501 Green Lane, Union, NJ 07083.

Teva Ivri Is Spreading the Light in Jerusalem – Meet JiVE!

At Hannukah, we learn that even one little bit of oil can spread a lot of light – all it takes is a group of dedicated Jews to uncover it. Teva Ivri is excited to introduce you to a new project which is helping young Jews light the spark of their Jewish identity and helping the holy city of Jerusalem to shine.

Meet JiVE: Jerusalem Volunteers for the Environment , Teva Ivri’s newest innovative environmental education program! JiVE connects young Jews from around the world to Israel through community service and Jewish learning in Jerusalem. Participants clean up parks, work in community gardens, and study Jewish texts on conservation and nature appreciation. A highlight of this program is the “peer exchange” with young Israeli environmental and social justice leaders.

Founded by Rabbi Shaul Judelman, former director of the Eco-Activist Beit Midrash, JiVE provides engaging service learning for Israel programs from across the denominational spectrum. For an afternoon or for a week, young Jews develop a hands-on relationship with Israel and Jewish values by getting to know a community garden or urban nature site and the local residents who oversee it. They work closely with young Israelis from SPNI’s Gari’n Dvash, who share their personal stories and their choice to do environmental work in service to their country. On break from the day’s work, participants explore the Jewish tradition’s approach to environmental questions with skilled environmental educators.

JiVE promotes a Jewish culture that values sustainability and facilitates a new bond between youth of the Diaspora and the people of Israel. We welcome you to join us in creating a sustainable Jerusalem and Israel – in person on your next visit, or from afar via the Teva Ivri website.

As always, Teva Ivri thanks you for your support and encouragement!

Happy Hannukah!

Einat Kramer
Director, Teva Ivri

As today is the first day of Chanukah, I think it a fitting time to reflect on the virtues of olives and olive oil; their benefits, and some of their hidden meanings.

The story of Chanukah is the age-old struggle of the Jewish people to remain Jewish in a non-Jewish world. According to the Talmudic legend, when the Hasmoneans recaptured and cleansed the Temple following their victory over the Syrians, they were able to find only a single vessel of oil sufficient for one day's lighting of the Menorah. But, as the story goes, a miracle occurred, and it burned for eight days. The nightly kindling of the Menorah with its increasingly brighter light has become a symbol for both our physical and spiritual resistance to tyranny and assimilation. Jewish tradition has preserved this twofold concept of resistance. The heroic Maccabean military triumph is counter-balanced by the words of the prophet Zechariah: "Not by might and not by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord (4:6)."

The olive tree is unusual in having two flowers for each fruit, perhaps hinting at the idea that it takes both physical and spiritual strength in order to bear fruit. The Jewish people are compared to the olive tree by Jeremiah, who said;

"Why should My beloved be in My House? She has done vile deeds, many, and the holy flesh is passed from you; when you do evil, you rejoice. The Lord named you 'A leafy olive tree, Fair, with goodly fruit.' But with a great roaring sound He has set it on fire, and its boughs are broken. The Lord of Hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because of the evil wrought by the House of Israel and the House of Judah, who angered Me by sacrificing to Baal" (11:15-17).

Rabbi Yohanan teaches: "Why are the People of Israel compared to an olive? To teach you that just as an olive does not give its oil except when crushed, so too the Jewish people do not repent and return to God except after being crushed by suffering" (Menachot 53b). The olive tree is not like other trees whose fruit ripens little by little. The fruit of an olive tree takes a long time to ripen; but then it ripens all at once, producing abundant fruit. So too, the Jewish people will finally repent in large numbers (Menachot 53b). Just as the purpose of the olive tree is fulfilled at its end, so will the Jewish people's purpose be fulfilled at the end. May we merit to repent in love and joy, out of expansiveness and with all good things, rather than through the ordeal of suffering. Rabbi Yehoshuah ben Levi said: "Why is Israel compared to an olive tree? Because just as the leaves of the olive tree do not fall off either in summer or in winter, the Jewish people shall not be case off, either in this world or in the world-to-come" (Menachot 53b). Thus, while Jeremiah's comparison of the Jewish people to an olive tree forbodes terrible suffering (in the form of the tree being set on fire and its boughs broken), there is also an element of eternal perserverance and eventual redemption inherent in its symbolism. The olive tree, a survivor in the extreme, thrives in conditions of poor soil, draught, and intense heat. This is indeed an apt metaphor for the Jewish people, who have survived harsh circumstances throughout our history, and who have been watered by the deep waters of the Torah.

The connections and contrast between olives and olive oil is also indicative of the transformation that occurrs through the process of crushing olives in order to make olive oil. The olive fruit is a bitter fruit, which cannot be eaten directly from the tree. Rather, it must be brined in order to be eaten, or crushed into olive oil. In contrast to the bitter olive fruit, olive oil is considered to be sweet in taste. The rabbis in the Midrash note about olives and olive oil that what began as bitter ends as sweet (Sefer HaShirim Rabbah 1:2). It is reported that the Seer of Lublin said, "the olive represents the high spiritual state where a person's devotion is so intense that he is absorbed into the divine nothingness, so that each moment he forgets and remembers nothing. Olive oil, said the seer, represents the state of drawing this exalted divine light down to where memory returns in the form of wisdom" (Rosh Hashanah LaIlanot, p.60). This comparison of olive oil to divine light is both metaphorical and very literal — for olive oil is litterally the fuel that was burned in the Temple lights. The rabbis taught: "Just as olive oil [used for lamps] brings light to the world, so do the People of Israel bring light to the world, as it says: Nations shall walk by your light'" (Isaiah 60:3) (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1:2).

There are many more meanings of olives and olive oil that I have not even addressed; the olive branch representing Peace, and the olive leaf in the mouth of the dove which Noah sent out symbolizing the regeneration of the earth following the flood. For more insights into olive oil and its many meanings, I recommend Cafe Neisharim's teaching on The Wisdom of Olive Oil. Then, too, there are the culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic applications of olives and olive oil which could fill volumes. Hardly a day goes by without a new scientific revelation regarding the benefits of olive products and their constituent ingredients for health and wellbeing. Heart health, skin benefits, immunity boosting powers, and anti-aging support are some of the most studied and widely cited applications of the olive tree. Whether as a food, for fuel, or as a metaphor for light, peace and perserverance, the olive cannot be beaten (but it can be crushed — pun intended). It is truly a miraculous fruit. Who knew that something so rich in taste was so deep in meaning as well! I hope you have an olive oil filled Chanukah, one in which the light from the flames shine out in contrast to the darkness of the Winter Solstice, and one in which the bitterness represented by the olive fruit is transformed into the sweetness represented by the olive oil.

We love this time of year. The opportunity to share special moments with family, lighting candles, eating latkes, and sharing special community celebrations. As we come together to celebrate happy moments, Chanukah is a great time to share Torah learning and to remember to be mindful of our energy actions.

Chanukah reminds us that even when things may seem dark, there's light. To share the light this year, Canfei Nesharim's website features the following resources:

• The Miracle of the Vessels, a Torah teaching to learn with your family and community, with source sheet and discussion questions.

• The Wisdom of Olive Oil, a printable fact sheet with energy facts and Torah teachings about our use of oil.

• Songs and kids' activities to brighten your Chanukah party.

• And much more!

Check out all of our Chanukah resources today!

(Hint, hint… all we want for Chanukah is a successful 2012! Give a Chanukah gift to support Canfei Nesharim here.)

Psst! We wanted to remind you that Tu b'Shevat is just 6 weeks after Chanukah! This year, the Jewish "New Year of the Trees" falls on Tuesday-Wednesday February 7-8.

Now is the time to start thinking about preparing your own community projects for Tu b'Shevat. It's time to build your planning committee and put your event on the community calendar. Just think of us as a "little birdy" (or maybe an eagle) calling to remind you.

Looking for ideas and resources? Great materials available on our Tu b'Shevat Site! Stay tuned for more updates coming soon.

Don't miss this great opportunity to learn and educate your community about our Jewish responsibility to protect the environment!

Wishing you a joyous and bright Chanukah!

Connecting traditional Torah texts with contemporary scientific findings, Canfei Nesharim educates and empowers Jewish individuals, organizations and communities to take an active role in protecting the environment, in order to build a more sustainable world.

Reproduction of this material is encouraged so long as the footer and header information remains intact.

You are clothed in glory and majesty,

Wrapped in a robe of light;

You spread the heavens like a tent cloth.

(Psalm 104:2)

Hanukkah which means “(re)dedication” has also been called the “Festival of Lights” at least since the 1^st Century CE as the earliest reference to this name is found in the historian Josephus:

And from that time [the purification of the Temple by the Maccabees] to the present time we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival. (Antiquities of the Jews 12.7.325)

Josephus is referring to the fact that Hanukkah was by his time already celebrated by the lighting of lights which he sees as symbol for religious liberty. And while it is not known when or why Jews began to light lights in celebration of Hanukkah, it has always seemed to be an appropriate ritual for the season. It is the beginning of winter, the days are short, the ground will soon freeze and the animals start to hibernate. At this darkest time of the year we want to celebrate light and life and our desire to look towards the coming back of the sun and the springtime renewal of the earth. The oil or the candle wax which fuels the light of our hanukkiyyot is actually from the sun as all energy sources on the earth originate in the energy of the sun. This original energy is stored by plants and made possible the olive oil on which our ancestors depended for food and for light.

The harnessing of many other energy sources makes modern life possible. From the current that powers our lights and computers to the fuel that transports us in cars and planes to the equipment which builds our homes and manufactures the physical structure of our society, all our technology relies on energy. We must see energy as a blessing which precedes all other blessings in that it makes so much possible by magnifying our limited physical capacity. Despite the serious problems which it is creating in its current fossilized form – air pollution which kills millions annually along with climate change – the human harnessing of energy is a gift that cannot be replaced.

But what is energy? How should we really conceive of it? In everyday language energy is often spoken of as a substance that can be utilized for a variety of activities. For example, we often speak of our bodies as having “run out of energy” when we are tired. “Energy drinks” commercially available claim to fill us up with more energy in the way we fill our cars with gasoline.

In modern science, however, energy is viewed more as a transformative process than as a physical substance. Scientists know that the law of the conservation of energy is a mathematical description of a transformative process rather than a physical commodity, despite the popular use of the term.This concept of energy as transformative process and animating power is remarkably similar to the power of God as described in numerous biblical texts.

In these texts there are two animating forces in Creation which come from God: light and wind. Wind (ruah)is the animating force which produces movement which includes animal and human life in which God breaths “the breath of life” (nishmat hayyim). In Genesis 1:2 the ruah ‘elohim (“wind from God”) “moves” the primordial deep (Hebrew: tehom) which is the basic resource out of which all Creation (except for humanity) emerges. Ruah is not, however, an inherent force, it is “the power encountered in the breath and the wind, whose whence and whither remains mysterious.” (Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann, editors., Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, p. 1203) [Ruah is also the source of wisdom (cf. Exodus 31:1-11) and prophecy (cf.1 Samuel 10:10) in that it “moves” people to achieve divine purposes in Creation.] As the biblical scholar Robert Alter wrote in his commentary to Psalm 104: “…it is God’s breath there that brings life into being.” (The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary, p. 367.)

Light, and its first cousin fire, is the second animating force. God's physical manifestation or kabod (usually translated as “Glory” or “Presence”) is made up of a self-sustaining fire in a humanoid shape that gives off extraordinary brightness. As the late biblical scholar Moshe Greenberg once wrote about fire as the manifestation of God:

The choice of fire as a divine element (as in Gen. 15:17) flows from its manifold God-like characteristics. As burning and fire are used in similes of fury (Esther 1:12) and love (Song of Songs 8:6), so the passionate nature of Israel’s God (‘whose name is Impassioned’ [Exodus 34:13]) is often expressed in similes of fire (Jeremiah 4:4; Psalm 79:5; Zephaniah 3:8). The destructive power of fire provides an analogy to God’s dangerous holiness…Finally, the mysterious texture of fire—its reality yet insubstantiality, its ability to work at a distance—must have contributed to its aptness as a divine symbol. (Understanding Exodus, p. 71.)

From the kabod (which dwells in the Tabernacle/Temple) come the animating force that creates the growth and fertility of living things. Light is life while darkness, it’s polar opposite, is death. Thus in biblical sources light and wind which come directly from God are forces which create and animate the world, and which transform it from inert substance to a creation responsive to its Creator.

While in rabbinic sources the biblical images of light and wind continued to influence ideas about God’s creative powers, newer concepts derived from Hellenistic culture also came into play. In rabbinic literature there developed the idea of God's gevura (usually translated as “power”). This term corresponds to the Greek term dynamis. Aristotle used the word dynamis to mean "potential power" as opposed to energia which is "actual power" and from which we derive our modern word energy. Related to dynamis is the word “pneuma” which has the basic meaning of “breath” and is very similar to the concept of ruah in Hebrew. It eventually took on the connotation of “spirit” or “soul” which was then also applied to ruah. For the rabbis, gevura became the animating power of God that would resurrect the dead in the days of the Messiah. This is seen in the second blessing of the ‘Amidah prayer which is called the gevura blessing and deals with the resurrection of the dead. Unlike the Greek idea of an animating power or inherent animating property that neutrally exists in nature, the rabbis’ use of the term sees gevura as a quality that can only come from God. It can bring life and is also the source of revelation.

Jewish classical sources see energy as a gift, an animating force of Creation which comes only from God. Viewed in this way, energy is not a value-free commodity or natural process but an expression of divine design and will. It is a concrete expression of divine benevolence, given to enhance our lives in harmony with the rest of Creation. Just as light and wind are an manifestation of the constant creative process of God, so too the energy that powers society is intended to represent the will and power of the Holy One who constantly creates and maintains the universe. In the liturgy we speak of God “in His goodness forever renewing daily the work of creation.” Energy, since it is gift from God, cannot be misused or wasted. This theological understanding of the source and purpose of energy sets the current issues of climate change in even starker relief. If energy represents the gift of divine, transformative, life-giving power, then how can it be right to make use of energy in a way that tears creation apart?

A final homiletical point: From the consideration of the classical Jewish concepts of “light” and “wind” as the divine animating sources of life, we can see that solar and wind power are clean "godlike" energy sources that help to maintain the integrity of Creation even as they benefit humanity. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, come from ancient dead matter that must be exhumed from deep in the earth which in the Bible is the realm of the dead, Sheol. If we are people of faith who worship the Living God then we must act in a way that sustains life as responsible members of the choir of Creation. This is not an option; it is an imperative of responsibility that we cannot pass by. So when we light our hanukkiyyot this week, let us remember the ultimate Source of our light, our energy, and our lives and rededicate ourselves to the preservation of this beautiful Creation.

(The original version of this essay is from: http://greenfaith.org/success-stories/just-released-energy-conservation-resource )

Originally posted in in the Princeton (NJ) Packet (http://bit.ly/sy6DlG)

By Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins

Dr. Dov Peretz Elkins is rabbi emeritus of The Jewish Center of Princeton and a member of Sustainable Princeton (www.SustainablePrinceton.org). His most recent book is “Simple Actions for Jews to Help Green the Planet", which can be purchased at http://bit.ly/uoUGDx.

Why is a rabbi writing about Christmas?

Hanukkah, sure . . . but Christmas!

Answer: “Have we not all one Father, has not one God created us all?” (Malachai 2:10)

Any clergy could have written this piece, because we all agree on the essentials of justice, peace and preserving our planet, God’s gift to us all. All religions revere the life-giving preciousness of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat.

So how can the major winter holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, etc.) bring us more light at the very time when we get the least light? How do we give our thanks to our creator for the gifts of life, even when the dark skies shake us from our faith? Must we not do so in a manner that sustains life, and not damages it?

Thus the central question: How can we green the winter holidays?

The three pillars of the environmental movement, the effort to be certain that our grandchildren and great-grandchildren have a planet at least as beautiful and healthy as the one we have, are: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Reduce

Our lives are crowded with “stuff.” Gadgets, accessories, all the latest fashion . . . “must haves.” Mostly stuff that we rarely wear, use, or play with, and which often goes into the trash almost as good as new.

With so much poverty in our country and around the world, the rampant materialism of our society is a major religious sin.

Take action: give fewer and smaller gifts. Give meaningful, useful gifts, like books (preferably e-versions), music (also digital), plants, board games to play as a family.

Send e-cards, or hand-made ones instead of store-bought canned messages written by a stranger. Give non-material gifts such as a promise to clean the dishes, or walk the dog for a month, or a pledge to volunteer at an orphanage or soup kitchen several times in the recipient’s honor.

Before you buy a gift, ask yourself if you could find something for half the price, and give the rest to a hungry or needy person. Ask yourself if this item is something that will add joy and satisfaction to the recipient, or if it will end up on a shelf, never to be seen again. Spend one evening of the holiday sitting together and watching the video “The Story of Stuff,” by Annie Leonard (www.storyofstuff.com). Have a family discussion after you watch it.

Reuse

Instead of buying fancy gift-wrapping, use old newspaper comics, or unused wallpaper, or just decorate some plain white paper from your printer. Have your kids draw pictures on it. The website www.sierraclub.org/holidays suggests that “If every family wrapped just three gifts [the way I described above] it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.”

Take some of your best gifts and give them to a worthwhile charity. Take some of your old toys, clothes, books, furniture and donate them too.

Here’s another idea: Ask your family member or friend to pick one thing in your house that you own (a piece of clothing, jewelry, a book, a toy, a painting in your bedroom) and offer it to them as your gift. Save lots of money, time and effort, right?

If you receive a new cell phone, ask a family member or friend if they’d like your old one. Someone who doesn’t have any would appreciate that.

If you do shop for a few small, useful gifts, remember to bring your own re-usable bag, and don’t accept plastic or paper bags from the store that will end up in landfills. Another great gift idea is to buy some plain cloth bags that you could paint and give to the people in the family who do the most shopping.

Recycle

Recycling saves materials, conserves energy and reduces the amount of waste going into our landfills. There are many websites with recycled materials you can give as gifts: http://hazon.bigcartel.com/ is especially for Jewish homes, but others can find useful things there as well. Christian groups can even recycle their Christmas trees (www.earth911.org). This website also gives folks of all faiths ideas how to green their home and the planet. Search the Internet for a recycling site for your faith.Brainstorm with friends and family for other ideas, and you can make lists that are high as the big blue sky.

But the most important thing to remember during the winter holiday season is that it’s a time to come closer to each other, to our magnificent planet, and to our creator. It’s more about family and values than about gifts. We need to develop an “attitude of gratitude” for all God’s blessing. The best blessing is Mother Earth. In this holiday season, let’s give her a present of our love. How’s that for a great gift?