Part of the Jewish tradition is a strong call to be guardians of the Earth. Rabbi Bernstein and Congregation Shaarey Tikvah have engaged members of the synagogue and the community at large to consider the current environmental crisis, and the role we each can play in reducing our carbon footprint.

Mission

The current mission statement mentions tikkun olam, or repairing the world, which can be applied to stewardship of the environment and reducing our harmful impacts on the Earth.

Religious Leader

According to Rabbi Bernstein, environmental stewardship is the most pressing social issue.

• Rabbi Bernstein, as a religious leader, believes that attention to the current environmental crisis is a religious and moral imperative. As human beings we have a responsibility for stewardship of God’s Creation.
• The week preceding Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Bernstein devoted a service to the theme of stewardship of the environment. During the service, a portion of Renewal, a documentary profiling different religious groups who, within the context of their faith communities, are promoting greater stewardship of the environment, was screened. This triggered a discussion by the congregation about what they could do to contribute to greater environmental stewardship.
• Rabbi Bernstein and Shaarey Tikvah have been written about in the Cleveland Jewish News in regards to their concern about the current environmental crisis and what they are doing to help.

Educational Groups

An overarching theme at the synagogue for this year is the environment.

• The theme of a monthly high school program is the environment. They are exploring how, as Jews, they can take more responsibility for stewardship of the environment.
• The annual community retreat in the winter is focused on the theme of stewardship.
• A service at the beginning of the High Holy Days season was devoted to stewardship of the environment.

Events

Green Building

• Most light bulbs have been converted to CFLs.
• They are currently working on a construction project to repair the driveway and parking lot. The end result of this repair should improve drainage, reduce standing water, and thus lessen the amount of salt needed during the winter.

Transportation

Waste Reduction

• They have recycling facilities for bottles, cans, and paper.
• Concern about the amount of mercury in CFLs prompted the synagogue to collect discarded CFLs for recycling. This was initiated after a group within the synagogue sold CFLs.
• Currently, they’re exploring ways to reduce waste during social events.
• They’re exploring the possibility and benefits of performing a waste audit.

Grounds

Purchasing

Green Committees

CityFresh East at Shaarey Tikvah, started by Young Adults Chavura, promotes greater stewardship. This includes reducing the use of fossil fuels and a community wide effort to purchase locally grown produce, which reduces their carbon footprint.*

• The Young Adults Chavura discuss environmental issues and decided to participate in a CSA (community supported agriculture) project to grow local, organic food
• This initiative just completed its first season, averaging 132 families per week, and providing 197 families with fresh, locally grown produce over the whole season.
• The facility is staffed by volunteers, and Shaarey Tikvah covers utility and maintenance costs.
• Leftover produce is brought to the Hebrew Shelter Home or Cleveland Women’s Shelter on Thursday evenings.
• This program combines the idea of eating as a sacred act with the principle of justice, creating something known as ‘eco-kosher.’
• Weekly newsletters are e-mailed to shareholders with nutritional tips, recipes, interviews with local farmers, and explanations and sources of the Jewish connection to environmentalism.

Larger Initiatives

The congregation is a participant in the newly developed Energy Task Force of the American Jewish Committee in Cleveland.

Contact: Rabbi Edward Bernstein, RabbiECB@shaareytikvah.org

*Some data on CityFresh East at Shaarey Tikvah collected from: Fine, Arlene, “Weekly Fruit and Vegetable Market Flourishes,” Cleveland Jewish News, September 19, 2008.