The Festival of Lights had extra meaning this year at Temple Beth El of Hollywood.  This Chanukah, the Temple was prodding members to add energy-saving light bulbs to their households. 

Our synagogue asked our 400 families to replace one conventional incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent light for each of the eight nights of Chanukah.  At a public lighting Tuesday, December 4, 2007, the 10-foot-tall menorah on the Temple lawn had large versions of the spiral screw-in tubes.

The eight days of oil embedded in the Chanukah story is environmental wisdom.  It’s an instance of getting new and relevant insights from religious tradition.

Temple Beth El has been selling the lights at eight per box for $36.00…a price symbolizing “double chai” or “twice life” in Hebrew numerology.  The lights may be pricey, but they use one-quarter as much electricity and last ten times longer than conventional bulbs.

This program is just one initiative of the Temple’s Environmental Advisory Committee, which was formed after Yom Kippur in 2006.  It’s a religious duty to be better stewards of the world.

The Committee has reached several goals since then.  The Temple has begun to power its parking lot lights with solar panels; and waters its lawn and gardens with Israeli-style drip irrigation, using porous buried hoses.  Air ducts have been cleaned and disinfected of molds.  Detergents and cleaning fluids used are biodegradable.  We’ve accomplished much of what we set out to do...bringing awareness to our congregation.  We have plans to do much more as we continue to go “green