8 | AUGUST 19 • 2021

guest column
Investing in the Future
I

n early August, the Biden
administration announced
a goal to make half of
all new cars sold in the U.S.
electric by 2030. In June, the
congregation I
serve, Temple
B’nai Israel in
Kalamazoo,
installed an elec-
tric car charger
with the assis-
tance of Hope
for Creation.
Through the congregation’s
relationship with Michigan
Interfaith Power & Light, as
well as other groups, it has
become clear that strong,
clean car standards have the
power to drive down vehicle

pollution as well as spur inno-
vation in the development of
new clean car technologies.
Therefore, our congregation
made the decision to invest
knowing there are members
who would benefit but also
because our values teach us
the importance of caring for
the planet. Investing in electric
vehicles is one way we can
shift our dependency away
from the fossil fuels that are
causing our climate crisis.
As Reform Jews, we look
to the Book of Deuteronomy
for the basis of our belief in
caring for the Earth. Verses
20:21-22 speak of actions
during wartime that directly
impact the Earth: “When in

your war against a city … you
must not destroy its trees,
wielding the ax against them.
You may eat of them, but you
must not cut them down.”
From these verses arise
the value of bal tashchit —
which is translated as “do not
destroy.” Humanity is taught

that they shall not destroy
fruit trees during wartime.
But Judaism does not only
draw from the Torah, but also
from the later commentaries
of the rabbis, the sages, of the
Mishnah and Talmud. These
sages extrapolate from this
idea to include all ecological

Rabbi
Simone
Schicker

Electric Vehicle Expo held at Peoples Church in Kalamazoo on July 18,
2021. Peoples Church and Temple B’nai Israel are among a few reli-
gious communities in Kalamazoo that have installed electric vehicle
chargers as part of their commitment to climate action.

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay
Carl Levin Was a Community Relations Senator
T

he night I learned that
Sen. Carl Levin had
passed away I did not
feel shock but tremendous
sadness and
loss. His death
marked the
end of an era
and the passing
of a longtime
friendship
with the Jewish
Community
Relations Council, now
known as JCRC/AJC, the
Jewish Community Relations
Council/American Jewish
Committee.
As a past president of the
organization, I recall a very
cold winter day, probably in
the 1980s, going with Jewish
community leaders and lead-
ers of the Arab American

community to discuss the
burgeoning of an organization
linking Arab Americans and
Jewish Americans who were
working on local issues of
importance to both groups.
Sen. Levin offered his help
in any way possible. This came
as no surprise. Sen. Levin was
later honored by the organi-
zation as was his sister and
brother.
The senator was no strang-
er to making alliances or to
working with people of all
backgrounds and all races,
ethnicities and religions. He
was non-judgmental, open
to ideas, but not willing to
compromise his basic beliefs.
He was truly “our” senator
because community relations
work in the Jewish community
is committed to those very

Jeannie
Weiner

continued on page 10

continued on page 10

TEMPLE B’NAI ISRAEL

Sen. Carl Levin with current JCRC/AJC Executive Director Rabbi
Asher Lopatin, at the Huntington Woods July 4th Parade, 2018.