More than a dozen Massachusetts synagogues have signed on to a Pledge to Green.
The pledge is part of major statewide initiatives in environmental responsibility that have been undertaken by the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis and the Boston chapter of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life.
Last month, the Board of Rabbis unanimously endorsed a “Statement on the Environment.”
Meanwhile, the Boston COEJL has been signing synagogues to the statewide pledge. The pledge, a nonbinding promise to practice more environmentally conscious measures, is viewable at BostonCOEJL.org. The synagogues that have signed on represent all the denominations.
The document cites ancient Jewish texts pertaining to the relationship between human beings and the earth, passages that protect animals and trees, and the concepts of tikkun olam, or repair of the world, and of bal tashchit, which warns against wanton destruction and waste of resources.
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