President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama watch as a child lights the Hanukkah candles at a reception in the White House on December 16th, 2009. (Photo by Samantha Appleton, courtesy of the White House)
A lot of people worry that we make
too much waste during the holidays.
But some religious leaders are trying
to change that. Julie Grant reports
on one rabbi who wants people to see
Hanukkah as a holiday about sustainability:
Transcript
A lot of people worry that we make
too much waste during the holidays.
But some religious leaders are trying
to change that. Julie Grant reports
on one rabbi who wants people to see
Hanukkah as a holiday about sustainability:
Jewish people light candles each of the eight nights of Hanukkah – a tradition dates back 2200 hundred years – when the Jews reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow says they needed oil to light the temple.
“They lit the menorah with just one day’s worth of oil, and, according to the legend, it lasted for eight days, until the new oil was ready.”
A few years ago, Rabbi Waskow realized this is an environmental message for people today.
“This could be seen as the conservation of oil.”
So Waskow wants people to see Hanukkah as a time to conserve natural resources in their own lives – and in public policy.
He’s encouraging people to drive less,
to support biking, railways and walking paths, and
to rest more, so we emit less carbon.
For The Environment Report, I’m Julie Grant.