On Sunday 9th February several dozen members of the 3CLJC gathered at the GDA in Gloucester for a wonderful seder in celebration of Tu Bishvat, the New Year for Trees. Rabbi Anna had done sterling and inspirational work in putting together a specially created seder order of service, with background history, readings, blessings and symbolic foods. Recently returned member of the community, garden designer and horticulturalist Paul, had lent a touch of magic to proceedings with lovingly crafted table dressing centrepieces consisting of carefully chosen flowers and foliage, each with a symbolic resonance illuminating both the ethos of the festival itself and wider themes: about the climate crisis and contemporary tragedies, but also hope and resilience.
The service was divided up between some of the community's young and not so young members. Joel read an initial explanation of the roots of the festival in 16th century Jewish mysticism and Kabbalistic symbolism, while Isaac, Maxine and Shyla treated us to amusing parables and Talmudic stories on the theme of trees, ecology and our responsibility for the environment. Paul explained his choices for the table dressing, and Anna oversaw a series of concoctions of red and white grape juice, carefully calibrated to produce multi-hued libations for the four blessings of the service. Each colour represented a different season, which in turn related to a specially curated seder plate of botanical and pomological (look it up!) significance. These included a plate of plants where the inside but not the outside is edible; a plate of plants where the outside but not the inside is edible; a plate where the whole fruit is edible; and a bowl of woody spices that are not themselves edible but which impart joyful flavours and fragrance. Each plate, libation and blessing related to one of the four Kabbalistic worlds. Under Anna's careful tutelage, the community navigated through these worlds – and several songs – en route to a delicious shared meal, made up of dishes brought in by members of the community, featuring among their ingredients the edible gifts of many trees and plants.
The meal was rounded off with grace and then everyone piled in to help clear up. Attendees ranged from the very young to the elegantly elderly, and it was remarkable how many new faces joined the celebration, evidence of the good work and warm welcome offered to new members by Anna, Natalie and the rest of the crew. Hopefully all went away cheered by the convivial occasion and bearing in their minds the aphorism that opened the seder: “Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai used to say: If you have a sapling in your hand and they tell you 'The Messiah is coming!' – first plant the sapling and then go to greet him.”

Passover is fast approaching, and Orthodox Jews may be kashering their kitchens and houses to clear out all the chametz.  Popular advice is to use this time as a chance to do some spring cleaning, but a recent missive from the good folk at Eco-Judaism made your Eco Corner wonder whether a good clear out doesn't perhaps clash with the mitzvah or commandment of Bal Tashchit – “do not waste or destroy”?  
 
Bal Tashchit is typically understood to be a proscription of wastefulness and unsustainability: throwing out perfectly good food, for instance, would transgress the mitzvah.  We would be curious to know the judgement of an Eco-Talmud on how to reconcile the two, but if Eco Corner may be allowed to pose as Amoraim, we would advise following the sustainability mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle. Perhaps your chametz is compostable? Whatever your approach, Eco Corner wishes you a gut yontif!

Eco Judaism is pushing a new Rosh Chodesh initiative "One Green Step".  For those who don't know (for instance, Eco Corner may have had to look this up), Rosh Chodesh is the celebration of the start of each month of the Hebrew calendar.  It is widely described as a 'minor' festival, but don't let that stop you taking that One Green Step every lunar month!

Suggestions so far from Eco Judaism include switching your washing up liquid to an eco-friendly brand and taking broken items to a repair cafe instead of dumping them and buying new ones.  Which One Green Step will you take on, for instance, 28th February (the first day of Rosh Chodesh for the month of Adar)?

The famous Mishnah that “one who kills another person, it is as if he destroys an entire world, and one who saves another person, it is as if he saves an entire world” (Sanhedrin 4:5) underlies the Jewish concept of Pikuach Nefesh, the saving of life.  This duty overrides almost every other injunction laid upon Jews.  Scholars, rabbis and climate activists alike are increasingly focused on the ecological implications of this sacred duty, viewing human-caused global heating, and the associated perils of ecocide, as a clear and present danger to human lives on a colossal scale, and thus a transgression against Pikuach Nefesh.  

This is why some very conservative rabbis have joined the cause with the environmental movement to argue for climate-friendly measures.  Liberal and conservative Jews alike can agree on this.

Now is the time of planting seeds.   Many of us may have stated our positive intentions for 2025, seeds of ideas to bring into reality during the year.   However, planting physical seeds is an action you can take right now to nurture seedlings, to grow into edible plants that you may be enjoying in your meals in a few months’ time.  You can plant in seed trays which can benefit from your indoor heating to help seeds germinate or in a heated greenhouse.   Children too may enjoy watching to see when seedlings begin to appear.
 
What to plant?

• Chillis, peppers and aubergines
• Microgreens and shoots
• Onions
• Basil
• Flowers: Geraniums, sweet peas, dahlias
  

The last Eco Corner gave you many tips for having a more Eco-conscious Chanukah.  At least one of these deserves mention again, as we come close to lighting our Chanukah candles.  Buying pure vegetable wax or beeswax candles is not only less harmful to the environment than oil-based paraffin candles, but these are also very beautiful and long-lasting! Even if you’ve bought your candles for this year, it's worth considering a bulk order for the future as buying two, three or more packs saves significantly on postage.  The best sources in the UK are 
https://contemporaryjudaica.co.uk/collections/types?q=candles and https://aisenthaljudaica.com/products/holidays/chanukah/chanukah-candlesoils/c-22-f.html. 

If members are aware of any other sources, please let the Eco-team know
 
Wishing all the community a Happy Chanukah and Happy New Year 2025.

After our successful Eco-Shabbat service, we are now approaching Chanukah – a time of candle-lighting and for some of us, a time of present-giving. Chanukah celebrates the miracle of a small amount of oil lasting for 8 days, reminding us that there are times when we need to make things last as much as we can. This is a good principle for the giving of presents. Look for presents that are sustainable and avoid buying those things (especially for young children or grandchildren) which are designed only for the short term. There are lots of choices now for more eco- and sustainable present giving. A couple of examples are:
https://shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/gifts-books-and-toys and https://www.protecttheplanet.co.uk/eco-friendly-gifts.

That’s not to say this can’t be a time to indulge yourself a little, but if you can buy gifts that are ethical and support others, that’s a double bonus.  And wrapping......there are lots of alternatives to buying expensive shiny wrapping paper – recycle last year’s wrappings, use newspaper, or make your own design – and it is easy to make your own gift tags from a piece of card, using a hole punch and a piece of string. Finally, for an all round sustainable Chanukah see https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/8-ways-to-make-your-hanukkah-more-eco-friendly/.

Happy present giving and a Happy Chanukah!

With no building of our own, 3CLJC has limited opportunities to put into practice our eco-principles around our services.  One way in which we can express our commitment to sustainable practices is to make kiddush as eco-friendly as possible.  This is something we hope to model at the upcoming Eco-Shabbat, which is once again kindly being hosted by our good friends at the Springhill Cohousing Community in Stroud, on Saturday 30th November.  
 
Fortunately the Eco-Judaism website has a page dedicated precisely to this end – here – and it details three main categories of sustainable practice to follow at Eco-Shabbat and the associated kiddush: sustainable set-up and clean-up; the four Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle and refuse); and “use your “LOAF”.  Regular readers will recall that this stands for Local, Organic, Animal-friendly and Fairtrade, and refers to the nature and provenance of the goodies we bring along and consume at kiddush.  Check out the webpage for more detail but, please remember, if you are kind enough to bring something for the kiddush, to make it vegetarian and, if possible, LOAF!

Saturday November 30th is Eco-Shabbat, which we hope to celebrate, as last year, at Springhill Co-housing community in Stroud. One of the areas 3CLJC want to develop is to gather information from community members about initiatives they have taken themselves, or in their households, to be become more eco-conscious. What actions are you already doing or do you want to do more of in the future? Some of these actions may already have been mentioned in previous 3CLJC bulletins’ Eco-corners (all available on the 3CLJC website).
For example:
Fast fashion/Ethical clothing:
Do you look at clothes labels to check the source and material?
Do you buy organic cotton if you are able to do?
Do you think carefully whether you need an item or clothing, or do you just buy on impulse?
Have you bought (or got for free) any item of clothing in a charity shop or clothes swap in the past year?
Energy Consumption:
Have you taken steps to make your home better insulated?
Have you taken steps to reduce your energy bills? If so, what have you done?
Travel:
Do you use buses or trains as an alternative to car use for longer journeys?
Do you try to reduce the amount you fly (if that is part of your lifestyle)?
Do you have or have you considered an electric car?
Food Shopping
Do you buy local or organic produce when you can?
Do you try to avoid excess packaging in supermarkets?
Do you use Zero-waste/ refill shops
Cleaning at home:
Do you try to use cleaning products which have minimal impact on the environment?
Do you think about the environmental impact of toiletries and choose products which are less harmful to the environment?
For Eco-Shabbat, there will be several opportunities for you to share your experience and contribute your ideas:
Come to the Learning Circle sessions on Eco-Judaism – on 7th and 21st November
Come to the Eco-Shabbat service on 30th November where you’ll be able to write your ideas to share on an Eco-Judaism tree being created by the Cheder children.
Respond to a short survey by email.
Look out for further information on all the above in future bulletins.

The Eco-Shabbat is coming (Saturday 30th November) and Eco-Corner could not be more excited.  As part of the build-up to the big day we'll be looking to engage the community in discussion and reflection on eco-issues, and as part of this programme Rabbi Anna will be facilitating some special eco-themed Learning Circles. That's a lot of eco!
 
On Thursday 7th November, in a session led by Rabbi Anna, the Learning Circle will be looking at Biblical references to ecology and green issues.  A follow-up Eco-Judaism-themed Learning Circle will be on Thursday 21st November, and will explore practical examples of what community members have done, are doing now and would like to do in the future.  Details of the timing and access for the Learning Circles will be in the relevant bulletins.
 
Eco-Corner would also like to alert you to the fact that the national Eco-Judaism movement is organising a series of workshops to run alongside the international COP meeting, which is taking place from Monday11th to Friday 22nd November.  Full details can be obtained by emailing Naomi Verber at [email protected].