Shavuot a Green Holiday? Let me Count the Ways

By: Liore Milgrom-Elcott for COEJL

With bellies full of delicious breads and cereals, many have put the thoughts of Passover behind them. Yet, there is a tradition called Sefirat HaOmer – counting of the Omer – which counts each of the 50 days leading up to Shavuot. Though rooted in daily grain offerings, rabbis transformed the Omer into a way to relive the journey from Exodus to the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.

But there is a layer even more ancient. As my grandfather (one can shep nachas from a grandparent, no?), Rabbi Jacob Milgrom (PhD) taught me years ago, the Omer also measures the passing of dangerous times, when the hot winds called hamsin (Sirocco) could blow in and destroy the season’s crops. Hamsin is derived from the number 50 – hamishim in Hebrew and hamsun in Arabic. This period of danger lasted 50 days, mirroring the span between Pesach and Shavuot, days which the people counted in trepidation until the danger passed.

1. Understanding the Might of Nature The agricultural tradition of the Omer reminds us that nature has powers that are beyond our control. Now more than ever, one of the greatest threats is the extremes in weather caused by climate change that technology has not yet solved.

2. Appreciating Nature Shavuot is also called Chag HaBikkurim, festival of the first fruits. As such, it is customary to adorn the synagogue with flowers and greenery. Growing up, we extended this tradition to our home where, to prepare, my siblings and I would wander in the backyard, clippers in hand, in order to convert our home into a green wonder.

3. Lowering our Carbon Emissions Lastly, Shavuot lowers the carbon footprint of the Jewish people for two whole days with its culinary tradition – DAIRY! Though there is no one source for this custom, there are multiple examples for Torah being compared to dairy. A beautiful text for #2, Deuteronomy 32:13, describes God/Torah nourishing the people in this way: “God nursed (the way a mother nurses a baby) on honey from the rock.” Torah nourished the people of Israel; Torah is like divine milk.

On Shavuot we not only study Torah, but eat it, too! We would like to reconnect Shavuot with its agricultural and environmental traditions – if your community has found ways to do just that, please share the program and/or story here by commenting here.

For more about Shavuot, check out our      page.

Jewish Energy Guide

The Jewish Energy Guide presents a comprehensive Jewish approach to the challenges of energy security and climate change and offers a blueprint for the Jewish community to achieve a 14%reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by September of 2014, which is the next Shmittah, or sabbatical, year in the Jewish calendar. The Jewish Energy Guide was created in partnership with the Green Zionist Alliance. Since last Tu Bishvat, we have released one article from the guide each week as part of a collaboration with Canfei Nesharim’s Year of Action. We hope you will use the guide as a tool for energy action and advocacy. Click here for the complete PDF of the Jewish Energy Guide. Click here for the Jewish Energy Guide resource page.

“Esh, Esh Medura” (Fire, Fire, Bonfire)

by Einat Kramer, Director – Teva Ivri for Jewcology

One of the most “Israeli” phenomena that I know is the bonfires of Lag B’Omer. Immediately after Pesach, even before the clean spring scent fades in the heat of the summer, the streets of our country are filled with children looking for firewood. They are everywhere; in forests, building sites, and among the garbage cans, they collect wood (or anything resembling wood), hauling it off in “borrowed” supermarket carts to their secret hiding place and guarding it fiercely until the holiday.

Shortly after Independence Day, the energy of the firewood hunt goes up a notch. At this point, you can see parents recruited, often against their will, to the work of collecting. This tends to widen the scope of firewood supply to include natural woodlands and national parks. Often, healthy live trees pay the price of this frenzy.

On the eve of Lag B’Omer, starting in the morning hours, children and their parents begin the careful labor of building the bonfire. Boards, broken furniture, cartons, branches, and other items of unidentifiable origin, are piled up high, with an effigy of the “bad guy” at the very top. (In my family we burn an effigy of Haman, but I have seen a variety of other certifiable bad guys perched on top of bonfires.) With nightfall, the ecstasy peaks as gallons of lighter fluid are poured onto the wood piles, sending flames into the sky. The congregation of rosy-cheeked children accompanies the blaze with patriotic hymns and other heartfelt songs…

OK, enough with the satire…

Not everyone remembers the reason for the big party – it is the day on which, according to tradition, the Bar Kochva rebellion began to look good for the Jewish warriors (despite their ultimate failure). The plague that killed Rabbi Akiva’s students finally ended, and great spiritual secrets were revealed to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on his deathbed. All of these are celebrated together with an evening of bonfires, baked potatoes, and marshmallows.

Another thing that people tend to forget is the damage caused by the above-described festivities. Lag B’Omer is a day on which the levels of air pollution in our small country rise exponentially; due to the burning of processed and/or fabricated wood products, the air is filled with carcinogenic particles (dioxins). The morning after, abandoned fires often spread into surrounding fields and forests. Never mind the mountains of trash left in the area long after the smoke clears…

These phenomena have led various well-intentioned environmental agencies to call for banning the custom of lighting Lag B’Omer bonfires altogether. I do not support this view. In my opinion, it is fine to connect one day of the year to the element of fire that is within us and to the wonders of sitting around a fire – especially when relating to a tradition that apparently dates back to the 1300’s. And especially when it is relatively easy to reduce the environmental damages and still celebrate with song and joy.

Tips for a (Relatively) Environmentally-Friendly Bonfire:

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Is environmental education the wave of the Jewish future?

More than five months after the Pew Research Center’s “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” survey highlighted rising intermarriage rates and declining connections with organized Jewish life, proponents of a newly released study believe they may have the antidote for what ails the Jewish community: Head outside.

Experiences that blend Jewish learning with the outdoors, food and environment are attracting a growing number of Jews, particularly younger Jews, to meaningful and inspiring Jewish life, reports the first national survey on the matter.

“Seeds of Opportunity: A National Study of Immersive Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education (JOFEE),” a report released March 10 by a group of six major funders and the nonprofit Hazon, suggests that these experiences have great potential for growth and for stimulating Jewish engagement.

“For the last decade, a growing number of young Jewish people have been connecting Jewish tradition on the one hand with food, the environment and the outdoors on the other,” said Nigel Savage, president of Hazon, which is based in New York and has an active San Francisco branch.

“What the study makes clear is that these programs are having an enormously significant impact — on people’s individual identity and Jewish commitment; on leadership development; and, in relation to food and the environment. JOFEE programs are strengthening Jewish life, and are having a significant viral impact as last year’s program participants become next year’s program founders.”

The study identified 2,405 people, participants in 41 JOFEE programs in 2012, including Jewish holiday retreats, conferences, outdoor/food adventures, camp fellowships and apprenticeships. Examples of the vast array of JOFEE experiences include Jewish farming programs, wilderness celebrations of Jewish holidays, multiday Jewish bike rides and a sustainable food tour of Israel. The report examined only immersive experiences, which are considered to last four days or longer.

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