Dear Friends,

Here we are at Passover, deeply grateful to the community for the gift of sabbatical time and spiritual renewal. Nick and I were making the transition from our final travel destinations in Europe and Southern Africa to early spring in Vermont, when 25 inches of snow suddenly dropped on Woodstock. 

With most everyone in New England, we were surprised and quite delighted by the unexpected gift of powder, thanks in part to an efficient snowplow system and mercifully uninterrupted power. Reflecting on our time away, we’d been deeply frightened by what we’d seen and learned: wildfires dotting the Okavango Delta and the profound reduction in water flows that feed the delta, and the stark reality that Capetown had run out of water just a few summers ago.

The impact on human and wild lives that droughts and swings in climate are wreaking is increasingly disconcerting. The hundred-year floods that submerged much of Woodstock twice in just twelve years cannot be ignored. The United Nations reported in November that nearly 114 million people have been displaced on the planet, and that 60 percent of those people are from areas most affected by climate change.

As we celebrate Passover this year, we are reminded of what it means to be a refugee. What it means to “go to the land that I will show you” in a time of famine, to be forced to leave in a time of oppression. Even as we as Jews struggle with strains of war and rising antisemitism, we are still called upon to protect our planet, and by extension, to work toward environmental justice.

Pikuach nefesh, the obligation to save a life, is a central imperative of Judaism. What this means in terms of our obligation around Israel and the protection of the planet must never be understated.

At Rosh Hashanah this year, I spoke from the bima of our obligation as Jews and as concerned citizens of the planet to protect the earth, to be part of the solution. As one climate theologian, Rabbi Nate DeGroot, wrote, we stand now at the cusp of our new potential “as both hospice caretakers of the old world and its structures and midwives of the new.”¹

The project that is being proposed to put heat pumps in our sanctuary and solar panels on the roofs of our buildings is not only a smart investment decision from a financial perspective, but it addresses the imperative that we have been given to be co-creators with the divine in protecting our planet. To literally enhance the lives of the widow, the orphan, and the stranger.

Why is this night different from all other nights? Because on this night, we will act. With the power of our community, we will work together to reduce the plagues of hurricanes, droughts, and migration from starvation. We will reduce costs both economically and in terms of the impact we are having on the environment.

As Elliot Goodman, our Vice President and project champion with Dan Gottlieb, said at the end of his Board presentation, quoting Pirkei Avot, “If we are not for ourselves, who are we? If we are not for ourselves, who will be for us? And if not now, when?”

We urge you when you attend our community Seder on Monday, April 22^nd, to bring a main dish for ten, and to bring your voice in supporting the Board’s proposal to bring solar panels and heat pumps to our synagogue. This project in addition to what seems like a financially sound investment is for certain a proactive act in support of our future and the future of our children.

Rabbi Ilene Harkavy Haigh

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¹ Kahn, Andrue J. The Sacred Earth: Jewish Perspectives on Our Planet (p.131). CCAR Press. Kindle Edition.

Dear Fellow Congregants,

As Rabbi Haigh recalls in her letter above, she challenged us during the High Holydays to help fight climate change by finding ways to reduce our carbon foot print. Since then, a group of congregants, led by Dan Gottlieb, has developed a plan to install solar panels on the roof of our sanctuary, and to install heat pumps to provide both heat and air conditioning in the sanctuary. 

Dan’s team, along with the Executive Committee, researched equipment and installation costs, energy bill savings, and financial incentive programs. After soliciting bids, we are in discussion with two Vermont contractors who have good reputations and are well known in the area.

Shir Shalom spends about $10,000 a year on electricity and propane and pours lots of carbon dioxide into the environment. New solar and heat pump systems will immediately reduce our fossil fuel expenses by 75% and will eliminate 90% of our harmful emissions.

The cost of installing solar panels will be about $73,000 after the current federal rebate program reduces that amount by 30%. We have money in our Building Fund and there are grants and low-cost loan programs available for this type of carbon-reduction effort. However, it is still likely that we will have to ask for congregant participation through a dedicated fund-raising campaign.

At its March meeting, our Board approved the project concept and scheduled a final approval vote for its April 18 meeting. Elliot Goodman has prepared a detailed overview of the project that will answer many of your questions. It also shows that, with the cost savings realized, the breakeven point of our investment is about ten years. To access his report, click here.

Our By Laws require that a project of this size be approved by both the Board and the Congregation. Assuming the Board approves the project on April 18, we will have a short Congregational meeting at the Community Seder on April 22. A notice of that meeting is included in my Passover letter that you will receive soon.

Dan, Elliot, and I will continue to keep everyone up-to-date, and invite you to contact us with your questions and comments: Mike Brown, Elliot Goodman, or Dan Gottlieb. 



We hope you will support this exciting and meaningful project.

Hebrew Review

Thursday, April 4

11:00

Click here to join

https://zoom.us/j/7259482096

Speakers from a village

of Israelis & Palestinians

on today's realities

On Sunday, April 7 at noon,

Dr. Ariela Bairey Ben Ishay and Samah Salaime of Neve Shalom/ Wahat-al Salaam (“Oasis of Peace” in Hebrew and Arabic), a cooper-ative village of Jews and Arabs living together in Israel, will speak on Zoom about the current situa-tion and their perspective on the potential for peace in Israel. Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom is a vil­lage of Palestinians and Jewish citizens of Israel ded­icated to building justice, peace and equality in both the country and the region. The village was established in 1970 and is situated equidistant from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa. As a community, it is a model of equality, mu­tual respect and partnership that challenges existing patterns of racism and discrimination as well as the continued conflict.

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Zoom Information:

https://zoom.us/j/7259482096

Meeting ID: 725 948 2096

Password: 856328