UNION FOR REFORM JUDAISM

REFORM JUDAISM 2009/5770 $ 3 . 5 0

EarthcareSaving the Planet & Ourselves

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DISCOVERING WHO

JESUS REALLY WASTHE BATTLE FOR

HOLOCAUST MEMORY

An Ethical Culture Designed to Save

Adobe igloos, hand crafted from straw balesand local earth, house students studying atKibbutz Lotan’s Center for Creative Ecology.

Our Planet & Ourselves

guide us in our decision-making, perma-culture has a simple reference we call “thethree ethics”: 1) Care of the Earth, includ-ing all living things—plants, animals,land, water, and air; 2) Care of People,promoting access to resources, self-reliance, and community responsibility;and 3) Fare Share, placing limits on con-sumption to ensure that the planet’s limit-ed resources are used wisely and equi-tably. Now, before we make our milkpurchase, we can ask: “Care of the Earth”questions: Were the animals who gave themilk treated well? Were they fed sprayedfood, which might affect milk quality aswell as the earth the food was grown in?Is the dairy farm local, avoiding pollutionthat would be generated from the milk’stransport? We ask “Care of the People”questions: Does the farmer properly man-age the manure so as not to pollute thelocal drinking water? Will the milk salegenerate income for a neighborhoodfarm, increasing the likelihood that mon-ey will be reused efficiently within the

At Kibbutz Lotan’s Center forCreative Ecology you offer aGreen Apprenticeship in Perma-culture and Ecovillage Design.What exactly is permaculture,and why do you believe it’s soimportant to be taught?

Mike Kaplin, co-creator,director, and head permaculture teacher, Centerfor Creative EcologyIn the 1970s, Bill Mollison,

an Australian ecologist, and one of hisstudents, David Holmgren, developed theconcept—a contraction of “permanentagriculture” (or sustainable agriculture)that soon turned into “permanent culture”(or sustainable culture). Permaculture is aculture, philosophy, and design methodthat teaches us to look at a whole systemor problem, to observe how the partsrelate, and to mend what needs fixing byapplying time-tested sustainable prac-tices. For example, when we’re about topurchase an item at astore, such as a bottle ofmilk, rather than thinkonly of its immediateusage, which is only asmall part of the system,we consider the wholepicture: Do I really needit, where was it produced,what materials is it madeof, and, always, what hap-pens after it’s used, howwill it be disposed of? To

local area? And we ask “Fare Share”questions too: Are part of the cow pas-tures and woodlands kept “wild” forwildlife? Can the milk bottle be reused orrecycled easily, or will disposing of it con-tribute to the landfill? Once we trulyunderstand that we only have one planetEarth and her resources are limited, weappreciate that we are invested with thepower to change Earth, for better orworse, in every decision we make.

You quote from the permaculturedesigner Graham Bell: “Perma-culture is about investigating andfinding the way to go back intoourselves, to find within our-selves what we need to live andto stop looking for it elsewhere.”What does he mean by this?

Mike: If we can just stop for a second andlook at our lives, we may realize thateverything we need, want, and makes us

truly happy is simple, priceless, and prob-ably universal: family, friends, love, andhealth. In contrast, our consumer culture

Kibbutz Lotan, a community in Israel’s Negev conceived to fuse egali-tarian ideology with Reform Jewish values, has become an internationallyrecognized institute for practical environmental education centered onthe Earthcare concept known as “permaculture.” In this Reform Judaismmagazine interview, four of Lotan’s leading ecology experts explainhow Reform Jews and congregations throughout North America can re-envision and transform our relationship with the Earth.

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Green Apprenticeship stu-dents from Israel, Australia,California, and Londonhang out in a straw balehouse in process. Con struc -tion using this renewable,natural resource began 100years ago in Nebraska andstill provides spectacularinsulation value in build-ings worldwide.

“With all our modern have to say hello to our

drives us to seek happiness by acquiringthe newest, fastest, most efficient contrap-tions—but after a short period of time thathappiness is gone. And ironically, with allour modern super-duper time-savingappliances, how much time do we have tosay hello to our neighbor, play with thekids, and visit with family and friends?

Alex Cicelsky, a foundingmember of Lotan, researcher,designer, and builder withan emphasis on environ-mentally appropriate systems

Making time for family and friends takesactive effort. It took me a while to under-stand that watching even “educationalTV” about foreign lands and ethnic cook-ing was taking time away from the family.Now, using Shabbat as a model for takinga respite from weekly patterns, we keepthe TV off, restrict Internet time, cook allour meals together, and invite friends fordinner each Saturday night. Instead of

“looking for it elsewhere,” we’ve initiatedour own integrative travel and cookingshow—like the Mexican food fiesta wecreated with tortillas made from scratch.It’s been great, and the kids always lookforward to next week’s adventure.

How do Jewish teachings informyour commitment to communityand environmental awareness?

Alex: When we built Lotan in Israel’s Aravadesert, far from the centers of activity, we fol-lowed former Prime Minister David BenGurion’s call to “conquer the wilderness.”Today, as it was for our ancestors who passedthrough here after the Exodus, the wildernessexperience transforms us politically, socially,and spiritually. Here in the gardens that weplant in the desert, Genesis 2:15 is ourteacher, advising us, in two Hebrew words,how to nurture the environment in order torealize its potential as a Garden of Eden: l’ov-da ulshomra, meaning “to till and to tend.”The word ovda(till) has the same root as avo-dah (the word for both work and worship).So, on the physical side, ovdameans work—

work the land, growfood—and spiritually,its meanings are prayer,appreciation, even rev-erence.

In 1955, eight yearsbefore Rachel Car-son’s Silent Springignited the environ-mental movement,Abraham Joshua Hes-chel wrote theseprophetic words: “Ascivilization advances,the sense of wonderdeclines. Such declineis an alarming symp-tom of our state ofmind. Humankind willnot perish for want of information; but onlyfor want of appreciation” (God in Search ofMan). As Rabbi Burt Jacobson says, at theroot of the environmental crisis is the eclipseof wonder and its replacement by mindless-

ness, greed, and domination. Our avoda, incontrast, is to appreciate this magnificentworld without the filter of “it’s here for me.”At Lotan we work to reexamine what we“need,” what we use to fulfill those needs,and how we do so without producing wasteand pollution. We live at the intersection ofJewish ethics and permaculture.

Some people have argued thatenvironmentalism is not essential-ly a Jewish imperative, that thetwo are related but not integratedideas. How would you respond?

Leah Zigmond, Eco Center Academic and Educational Director; gardener; former market-garden businesswoman

and biodynamic farm apprenticeI would say that the two are inseparable.After God created the world, the Torahtells us there were no trees in the fields orherbs in the gardens, for God had not yetsent rain or created a human to work thesoil. Only after forming man from dust

and blowing life into his nostrils did Godplant a garden. As it is written, “…Godtook the man and placed him in the Gar-den of Eden, to work and to protect…”(Genesis 2:5-2:15). From this passage Iconclude that to some degree the wholeworld was waiting for us humans to get towork. Note that God’s act of planting thegarden was unlike the creation of othernatural spaces in that God simply com-manded the latter spaces into existence.The garden, a metaphor for the earth,requires ongoing tending.

Note, too, our original purpose ashumans, according to the Torah: Our firstjob title was gardener. Caring for the earthis surely holy work, Jewish work.

To engage in this holy work,where should we begin?

Mike: Because every deed has conse-quences, positive or negative, the firststep is thoughtful observation: youobserve, collect information, ask ques-tions rooted in the three ethics of perma-culture, and keep an open mind before

Lotan seminar participants combine envi-ronmentally friendly materials such as earth,sand, and fibers to decorate the walls of achildren’s workshop space constructed on arecycled car tire foundation.

super-duper time-saving appliances, how much time do weneighbor, play with the kids, and visit with family and friends?”

the plastic bag; I’ll pack groceries in mybackpack. Before going to bed, I’ll pullthe plugs or turn off the power strip onall electronic appliances, because theyuse electricity even when they’re not inuse. I’ll put a bucket in the shower anduse the saved water to water my plants.And when the time comes to renovatemy house, office, or synagogue, I’ll usethe healthiest, most environmentallyfriendly materials I can find to conserveenergy.

Given the magnitude of theworld’s environmental ills, it mayseem to many that what’s beingproposed here is but a “drop inthe bucket”—hardly worth thetrouble.

Alex: From a permaculture perspective,we each need to take one step at a timewith no preconditions as to the final out-come. From a Jewish perspective, RabbiTarfon addressed the concern regardingconfronting a seemingly insurmountablechallenge when he said: “It’s not up toyou to complete the task, but neither areyou free to desist from it.”

making judgment and taking action.Think about the three Rs—Reduce,

Reuse, Recycle—in that order of impor-tance. Begin by making small changes. Askyourself: Will I start recycling? Compost-ing? Carpooling? Riding my bike more?Growing herbs? You’ll be amazed at howsmall changes can start a domino effect.

Alex: Rabbi Hillel’s adage, “If I amnot for myself, who am I? If I am only formyself, what am I? And if not now,when?” perfectly applies to our choicesas consumers:

“If I am not for myself….”: I am enti-tled to take my share in this world.

“If I am only for myself….”: If I takemore than my share, I am out of balancewith what the world can give.

“And if not now, when?”: I will startnow, because my every action affectssomeone else. Maybe I can afford to leavethe lights on, but that means I’m tellingthe electric company to burn more coal,pollute more air, and harm more peopleand animals. Here in Israel, 1,600 peopledie each year from industrial, electrical,and vehicle exhaust-related air pollution.

So, the next time I shop, I won’t take

Am I already practicing perma-culture if I grow food in my ownorganic garden?

Leah: Organic gardening addressesfood production, which is only part ofthe whole. Permaculture takes intoaccount the entire “ecological footprint”of the food cycle—tracing it along itspath from production to consumption—where the initial inputs (seeds, fertiliz-ers, soil amendments, water) come from,where it’s produced, how it gets to theconsumer, and what happens to anywaste along the way.

What permaculture gardeningpractices do you recommend?

Leah: In permaculture we talk aboutreducing waste by making sure that everysingle component in a system serves at

least three different purposes. So, forexample, if you join with others in grow-ing fruits, vegetables, and herbs, the threebenefits might be: 1) increasing aware-ness of what produce looks and tastes likestraight from the earth; 2) discoveringas a community the world beneath thesoil; and 3) experiencing the empoweringfeeling of planting a seed and later harvest-ing an ear of corn or a head of broccoli.

What common gardening mistakes might we avoid?

Leah: A common mistake is thinkingthat this adventure is not going toinclude a lot of hard work. Gardenersneed to weed; to keep plants irrigated(you can place natural mulch over thesoil, such as dried leaves or straw, whichamong other things prevents the soilfrom drying out); and to provide for theirnutrition (you can mix in compost madefrom discarded garden and kitchenwaste, which provides nutrients andimproves soil texture).

Alex: The biggest mistake is giving upwhen you don’t succeed. Sometimes things

Kibbutz Lotan’s Center for Creative Ecology offers:

1 The Peace, Justice & the Environment FallSemester in Israel, a 16-credit college pro-gram for 14 students, accredited through U Mass Amherst, which teaches Social Jus-tice, Group Dynamics, Sustainable Agricul-ture and Design.

2 The Green Apprenticeship Practical Ecology Training Program, an intensive seven-week work/study permaculture experience:Students learn local food production, organ-ic gardening, ecological design techniques,natural and alternative building, sustainabletechnologies, community design, and envi-ronmental ethics while living in a unique eco-neighborhood—a prototype model forsustainable living.

3 Jewish Community and Practical Environ-mental Education Seminars specificallydesigned for Reform congregational andyouth group trips to Israel.

For detailed information please visitwww.kibbutzlotan.com or www.rjisrael.org,or email kibbutzlotan@gmail.com.

“According to the Caring for the

Seminar participants Ariel (aVenezuelan-Israeli gardener)and Frederick (an agro-engi-neer from Cameroon) producesun-dried bricks. The samerecipe the Children of Israelused to make mud bricks whilein Egypt is applied today inthe fabrication of carbon neu-tral walls, modern furniture,and pizza ovens.

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Courses in Creative Ecology

don’t work out. As Yom Kippur remindsus, what’s more Jewish than to make mis-takes, reflect, and learn from them?

Ask yourself: What can I learn fromthis? Who might be able to help? Some-where nearby there may be an elderly gen-tleman who grows tomatoes that his wifecans, and they’re much better teachersthan the back of the seed package or thegardening show on TV. Bake some cook-ies, go over, and ask them for pointers.

How might we begin reducingconsumption and waste?

Leah: A good starting point is compost-ing organic waste. On our kibbutz, 40%of our waste is organic and compostable,so we turn it into high-quality fertilizer. If,instead, we allowed this waste to bedecomposed in the landfill, it would giveoff large quantities of methane, a signifi-

cant greenhouse gas.Next, reuse your resources. Avoid as

many disposable items as possible—youcan even buy plastic birthday party platesthat can be washed. Pour used dishwateron the garden. Spend a little more to buyitems that, if broken, can be repaired.

Alex: Reducing waste takes consciouseffort. My kids tell me our computer isold. It is. It was overheating, so I replacedthe fan. It was low on memory, so weadded another hard drive. Eventually wewill replace it, but only when it can nolonger be repaired.

Look in your trashcan. The trashcan isa great teacher, when you are willing tolisten to it.

Repairing items isn’t easy ifyou’re not mechanical.

Alex: Pick up this great book: Dare toRepair: A Do-it-Herself Guide to Fixing(Almost) Anything in the Home by JulieSussman. Look on the Internet—I’malways astounded by the number of peoplewilling to freely share their expertise. Notlong ago, my laptop fell off my bike and the

keyboard got bent—so I did a web search,discovered step-by-step instructions withphotos on opening up the keyboard, and,following along, was able to bend the boardback into place. It’s worth trying.

Another option is asking for help. Thatguy down the street who’s always tinker-ing with his car—he’s probably got amachine shop full of tools and would beglad to come over and help you take apartyour washing machine to unclog the pipeleading to the pump. Just don’t forget tobake some cookies as a thank you.

Given the many “green” tech-nologies available today, howdoes one choose?

Alex: It’s best to make a “low carbon“choice which supports the natural topog-raphy, climate, and solar path, as well asthe amount of human energy needed to

Torah, our first job title was gardener. earth is surely holy work, Jewish work.”

maintain it. The idea is to break old mod-els in favor of new, highly efficient prac-tices; and to recognize the maintenanceschedules (i.e. every garden needs to beweeded) to which you’re committing.Also, you need to check the practicality ofyour designs, asking such questions as:What happens if the money runs out orthe rains come early? It is possible to plana passive solar house and organic gardenthat looks good on paper, only to discoverupon completion that trees shade the win-dows needed to heat the house, the houseshades the garden, or both get too muchsun. Using the permaculture process,many expensive fixes can be avoided.

If you’re about to begin a project—any-thing from turning a swampy backyardinto a vegetable garden to renovating yourhome or synagogue—I’d suggest you takea PDC (permaculture design course). Usu-ally a 2-week seminar or a series of weeklystudy sessions, PDCs are now taught prac-tically everywhere in the world, includingof course at Lotan’s Center for CreativeEcology (see sidebar). Students learn alarge pool of technologies, some low tech

continued on page 34

by truck bring trash bags to neighborhoodcenters, where they’re exchanged for bustickets and food, resulting in less city litter,less disease, less garbage dumped in rivers,and a better life for the poor. Children,too, can exchange recyclable garbage forschool supplies, chocolate, toys, and showtickets. Moreover, 70% of the city’s trash isrecycled by its own residents, and the cityemploys the homeless and recoveringalcoholics in its garbage separation plant.

While not every city may be ready tobecome a Curitiba, we can do more. Wecan grow food in communal gardens, andwe need to plant more trees—the answerto many global problems. Trees clean theair, regulate air temperature, prevent soilerosion, offer food and shelter to wildlife.They give back a lot more than they take.

Will saving the earth requiremainstreaming the Lotan andCuritiba models of communalcooperation?

Alex: Let’s look at the larger picture. Formost of human history, we lived andshared resources within our tribe. In theshtetl, the Jewish community offered asafety net to all. Why? Because every-one knew everyone else and mutualresponsibility was a mitzvah for all.

Today, too, when you know your neigh-bors, sharing is possible. When my wife,two children, and I lived in an apartmentbuilding in Rehovot, I didn’t need to buy asingle tool because I made friends withHaim on the fourth floor who had them all.I didn’t need a car either, because once aweek I got a ride to the supermarket withKaren or Yaron from the second floor.

There is so much unused wealth allaround us into which we can tap, so longas we don’t think we have to own it all byourselves. We gorge our houses with stuff

and some quite advanced, as well as aseries of designing processes to map envi-ronmental constraints and resources. Agood PDC can empower a person tobecome her/his own contractor. You don’thave to do all the work yourself—all youneed to know is what’s right for you.

I’ve seen the process lead to unexpect-edly sensible projects. In rural Germany,instead of building the water storage tankthat the fire department demanded, acommunity created a lovely large naturalswimming pool with a small sandy beachto hold the water to be pumped in case offire. On Lotan a wastewater treatment sys-tem irrigates a pasture for goats and hasbecome a resting spot for migratory birds.

How can city dwellers practicepermaculture?

Mike: Cities are the most exciting placeswhere permaculture can have an effect.There is an advantage to having manypeople in a small area, if everyone workstogether toward a common goal. Youcan begin with areas of agreement, suchas: Everyone in our city has a right toclean air. If we all use cars in this smallarea, it can cause a lot of pollution.Then it’s about being creative, turningproblems into solutions.

In some cities, the solutions are ingen-ious. For example, the Curitiba region inBrazil, which is home to 1.6 million people,has become an international model for sus-tainable development, despite challengesduring the planning stages, in this casea military dictatorship and an economiccrisis. There’s a rapid, cheap, all-bus tran-sit network running on bus-only avenuesthat’s so efficient, auto traffic has droppedsignificantly, and Curitiba now registers thecountry’s lowest rates of ambient pollutionand per capita gas consumption. Curitibaalso boasts 52 square meters of green spaceper person, up from fewer than one squaremeter in 1970; residents planted 1.5 mil-lion trees along city streets and buildersreceived tax breaks for projects that includ-ed green space. Recycling is integral tocity functioning. Through the “greenexchange” employment program, low-income families living in areas unreachable

we don’t use. Nature, on the other hand,shares every atom, recycling it constantly.

Mark Naveh, General Secretary, Kibbutz Lotan;member, internationalEcovillage education curriculum board

Community is both a value and a humanneed. Unfortunately, the destruction oftraditional communities that occurred withthe advent of the modern age has resulted ina whole range of social and environmen-tal problems. The traditional communityhelped to create trust and a sense of belong-ing, and fostered respect and responsibilityamongst people and toward the environ-ment. When human beings are torn awayfrom community, the result can be alien-ation, ultimately even violence, towardother human beings and toward the earth.

Ecovillages—human-scale communi-ties that integrate a supportive social envi-ronment with low-impact living and astrong spiritual dimension—attempt torectify this situation. While different eco -villages follow diverse paths, all share theunderstanding that spirituality is theessential ingredient that gives us purpose,and the glue that holds us together. True,the ecovillage model is currently outsidethe mainstream, but communities on thecutting edge of developing sustainablesocial, economic, and ecological solutionsare having an ever-increasing impact theworld over. Their ideas can be put intopractice anywhere people live. All it takesis goodwill and a little creativity. Commu-nity is the key. And, of course, the syna-gogue as a spiritual community center hasa vital role to play in this process.

Is there anything else you’d recommend to our readers?

Alex: Go outside and find a place whereyou feel comfortable. Make a list of whatmakes you happy. Consider if there areenough resources on the planet to give youand everyone else the same things on yourlist. Then reassess your needs and goals.

And if you want someone to talk to,give us a call (011-972-54-979-9009) orsend us an email (kibbutzlotan@gmail.com). It’s our avoda (all meanings of theword intended) to help. In the spirit ofRabbi Hillel: “Just do it, now.” ■ A

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The Union forReformJudaism’s“GreeningReform Judaism”

web portal www.urj.org/greenoffers Jewish teachings on the envi-ronment, steps to reduce your car-bon footprint, educational program-ming, social action ideas, models of“green synagogues,” and more.

One-Stop Green Resource

Earthcarecontinued from page 29