VOICES OF CONGREGANTS

Connie Dufner

It’s Tu B’Shevat and my question is: Do you know your carbon footprint?

As we make our way through the unpredictability of a Dallas winter, the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, the new year of the trees, takes on even more importance, as the nation, the Reform movement and Temple itself lurch toward more education, deeper awareness, practices and policies regarding the environment.

But one thing is for sure…nature puts this “in-between” time of the calendar to very good use. As Arthur Waskow writes in Seasons of our Joy, the handbook of Jewish festivals, “There is barely any change to see; there is barely any change to hear. However, the turn of the year has come. The still and quiet months are over; the seed is quickening, life is reasserting itself. In this hushed moment, we celebrate the new year of the trees; and the reawakening of the Tree of Life.”

At Temple, we, too, have sown seeds toward a significantly stronger stewardship of the environment. You will notice environmentally acceptable paper cups in place of Styrofoam, convenient recycling bins and more energy efficient light bulbs. Our Board of Trustees recently voted to add the environment to our focus statement, and our clergy have preached eloquently about our people’s obligation to the environment. Rabbi Robbins and her family are incorporating green principles into Sam’s bar mitzvah (have you emailed your RSVP yet?!) And informally, eco-conscious lay leaders and staff have started to talk about next steps.

As we become more empowered to steward the planet’s natural resources, one of the concepts to bubble up on buzzword lists is “carbon footprint,” which is, very loosely translated, the impact of our energy-consuming lifestyle on the environment. If you have never taken a carbon footprint test, it’s an interesting exercise. In fact, there is a link to one on the URJ website. I’ll pass around one copy of the printout, and in the spirit of the topic of this D’var Torah, I’ll direct you to it online to avoid paper waste. I recently completed the test, and got a score of 41, or in Jewish National Fund terms, that’s 41 trees I’d have to plant to offset my impact on the environment. (Incidentally, if I had not taken a single plane trip all year, the number would have been 5). If you change any of the variables¬—number of people, type of organization, geographic entity, etc.—the results are staggering.

I am confident that the energy, passion and dedication to this issue will yield incredible results in the months to come. But while we are in the “quickening” stages of the calendar, and of an environmental initiative, I’d like to seize on the concept of “carbon footprint” and challenge us to a different kind of test.

It’s Tu B’Shevat and do you know what your Temple footprint is? As lay leaders, our job is to serve all of Temple. While we may be in charge of one program, one committee or one council, the organism will thrive only if we focus on the forest instead of just the trees. Just as recycling that water bottle—while a complete and necessary task—can’t by itself save the planet, so, too, do the sum of all our parts at Temple make up the whole.
I offer you, then, a test. Here are seven questions that will determine your Temple footprint. Good luck!

1. Have you hugged a Temple staff member lately? If you’re not into hugging, at least let them know how much you appreciate them by a kind word or note.

2. You call yourself eco-friendly. How’s your just-plain-friendly quotient? Turn up the charm the next time you see someone you don’t know at Temple—welcome them and show them what a great place this is.

3. Go green! How about sending a child or grandchild to Greene Family Camp, or if that’s not in the cards, your donations help make the camp experience accessible to all?

4. You shop local. When was the last time you went to Judaic Treasures? Stop by sometime and see what great items the Women of Reform Judaism have stocked in the shop.

5. Sustainable is now a household word in your family. How about sustentation of Temple? Have you dug as deep as you can, and then a little more, to help ensure a strong, vibrant Temple for generations to come?

6. So you’ve filled up your recycling bin. How about the endlessly renewable resource of your soul? Remember, services are held every Friday and Saturday and during the week as well. And now, a commercial break from Cantor Cohn!

7. You do everything you can to conserve energy. How about expending some on a Temple social justice initiative? With Just Congregations, Vickery Meadow, Habitat for Humanity and dozens of other projects, there is no shortage of opportunities for tikkun olam.

So what’s your score? Pretty good I’m guessing. If it wasn’t perfect, that’s OK, too. We at Temple are not about perfect scores, but about getting closer every day.

I’d like to share the following midrash that I found on the Religious Action Center’s website, under the Tu B’Shevat Living Talmud section: ‘If you are holding a sapling in your hand, and someone says that the Messiah has drawn near, first plant the sapling, and then go greet the Messiah.’

As we plant the saplings and anticipate the arrival of spring, let us be efficient with consumable energy, yet generous with our spirit. Let us embrace climate change of fresh air and sunshine in lieu of chill and cold shoulders. And when it comes to our Temple footprint, may we always work our hardest to improve our scores.

On Jewish Life
Connie Dufner