Chanukah begins tonight at sundown. Many take this time to celebrate possibilities – that a small army can defeat a larger one and that right will overcome might. But it is also a time for Jews to imagine a brighter world brought about through energy conservation. As we live through and work to halt climate change, Chanukah provides us a time to imagine a world in which we consume less and actually get more.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow has been drawing a connection between the holiday and the environment for decades. He points to the description of the menorah in the Chanukah haftorah, a vision of the prophet Zechariah:
Cervera Bible – illumination (1300) Courtesy National Library, Lisbon, Portugal
[The angel] said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a menorah all of gold, with a bowl above it. The lamps on it are seven in number, and the lamps above it have seven pipes, and the lamps above it have seven pipes; and next to it are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and one on its left. …”And what,” I asked him, “are those two olive trees, one on the right and one on the left of the menorah?” And I further asked him, “What are the two tops of the olive trees that feed their gold [JPS note: can be read as “oil”] through those two golden tubes?” (Zechariah 4:2-3)
This is astonishing: the menorah has two olive trees that are actually a part of it, interwoven with the part made by human beings. The trees are directly hooked up to the menorah, feeding olive oil directly into the lamps. The light of the menorah is actually fed and sustained by a continuous natural source of oil. The menorah, then, is a combination of nature and of human beings, shaped by both of them into an interwoven whole.
The source of energy for the Temple menorah, as envisioned by Zechariah, is a renewable one. At this time of Hanukkah, can we be inspired by the vision of Zechariah to do what it takes – through local, state and national leadership, through legislation, research and development, subsidies, tax incentives – to increase our reliance on renewable sources of energy, and to decrease our reliance on burning energy that produces carbon?
[From Hanukkah, Oil, & the Green Menorah: Talking Points for Sermons and Op-Ed Pieces, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, 11/7/2007]
In 2019, Waskow and Rabbinical Student Faryn Borella introduced #Hanukkah8Days4Climate offering eight concrete ways we can individually and collectively draw on the symbols and traditions of the holiday to “meet our sacred need to heal our desecrated Temple Earth.” Buildling on their ideas, Eric Boxer, Energy Consultant and friend of Sukkat Shalom, created Eight Home Energy Miracles for Hanukkah; 8 specific, simple, and healthy suggestions for celebrating in Central Ohio.
- Conduct a home energy audit. (Click here for tips)
- Bake! Heat your home with your oven, it’s more efficient than your furnace.
- Net the value of solar energy you are producing (if you are).
- Switch to LED lightbulbs
- Insulate single-pane windows.
- Balance your home airflow distribution.
- Decide for yourself if you really need a radon pump.
- Use a pressure cooker.
(For more details download Eric’s PDF from our Resources page!)
For another take on the delicious aspects of conservation, we were blessed with a teaching from Member-at-Large Louise Eberle at our board meeting this past weekend. Louise shared the story of a bag of potatoes she was given as thanks for her work at a food pantry this fall. The bag produced so many meals it seemed nearly bottomless. As luck would have it, she and her partner will enjoy its last offerings this week, fried into golden latkes. What’s sustenance is waiting in your pantry? What can you use up before you buy more?
Chag Samaech. May your holiday be joyous and full of hope.
Jodi Kushins, PhD
KSS Board Chair