A NEW SEDER RITUAL:
Planting the seeds of Commitment

Instead of washing each other’s hands as would be traditional at this point in our seder, we will instead plant seeds in a similar fashion:  one person will hold the pot of soil, the person sitting beside him/her will plant a seed from the small dish, then pot and dish will be passed until everyone at the table has planted.  The youngest person at the table will take the pot home and nurture it, in the way all things of value are transmitted in Judaism:  L’Dor vaDor, “from generation to generation.”   There is a small silk pouch containing four very specially selected seeds, representing prime initiatives of each of CBHT’s Protecting Our Planet working groups; they will be explained between commitment statements.  Another person at the table may take home the pouch of seeds after the seder.

1. Our world was blessed with abundance of water, which quenches our thirst and sustains all life. And yet, today we are using wasteful irrigation practices in our agriculture causing the world to be on the brink of massive water shortages. Despite the Clean Water Act and other clean-up efforts, half of our country’s waterways and lakes are still polluted with agriculture runoff and household chemicals rendering them unusable for swimming and fishing. And we have over-fished and destroyed 80% of the oceans’ edible species. Let us plant seeds of commitment to conserve our earth’s life giving waters, to fill our cupboards with organic foods and cleaners and to refrain from eating endangered fish and ocean life, limiting our contribution to the plagues destroying our water.

 
ENERGY – Sunflower Seed

Sunflower seeds represent sustainable energy sources.  As the seed gives life to the sunflower, the sun gives us life – the source for most of the energy on earth - the power source for plants, the cause of flows of atmosphere and of water, the warmth that makes life possible. None would exist without it.  As the sun moves on its course with respect to the earth the sunflower turns its head to face the sun, reminding us to use the sun to heat our homes in the winter to make use of solar energy and other renewable energy sources year round.

1. Our land was blessed with nutrient rich soil capable of nourishing plants that sustain us, and every living thing in the great web of life. And yet, today we have chosen to till our land using chemicals and pesticides that rob and degrade the nutrients from the soil and we allow livestock overgrazing, transforming acres of farmland into deserts. These practices as well as over-development are causing massive species extinction that could rob the earth of ½ of all biodiversity within 50 years. Let us plant seeds of commitment to support organic and other farming practices that are sensitive to preserving our earth’s soil, to eat a less meat-centered diet and to support organizations and legislation which seeks to preserve the world’s endangered species and stop our participation in these plagues destroying our land.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE/FAIR TRADE - Greasy Cut Short Beans

The Greasy Cut-Short Bean has a funny name, but all Greasy Beans, which are like green beans but have larger beans inside their edible pods, are prized in these parts for both taste and regional authenticity.   A southern Appalachian heirloom, they are a distinct food that is available here in our mountains and not from the global food supply, and in this way, they represent the Food Group\\\'s initiative to EAT LOCALLY.  This goal serves our efforts to create a sustainable partnership with the earth by forming closer relationships with local farmers and food sources, thereby using less fossil fuel to ship food in from distant sources, supporting small non-corporate farms that use cleaner methods of production, boosting our local economy and getting fresher and more nutritious food for our families.  All these benefits are consistent with the guiding principles of Tikkun Olam:  to take care of our planet and our selves.

1. Air used to be the invisible breath of life. And yet, today we fill our air with carbon dioxide as we have created an entire economy driven by CO2 producing coal and oil, which fuel our cars, homes and businesses. Moreover, we are still cutting down for paper, timber and ranching the old growth forests that would absorb harmful CO2 from our atmosphere. Let us plant the seeds of commitment tonight to find alternative ways to harness our planet’s kinder and healthier energy resources, find used, recycled or responsibly harvested wood, and eat a reduced meat diet to fight the worsening of this environmental plague polluting our air.

TRANSPORTATION- Sugar Snap Peas

SUGAR SNAP PEAS are a variety of pea in a tender, fully edible pod, and have a sweet symbolism for the Transportation Group.  We see the pods as analogous to vehicles carrying multiple passengers (the peas) to their destinations.  Rather than growing in a field as individual, unprotected peas on a vine, Nature has placed a group of peas in a pod ready to be transported safely and efficiently to market, much in the same way that people can be transported safely and efficiently from here to there in carpools, buses and trains.  Like peas in a pod, we are all in the same “boat” when we consider that air polluted with carbon, lead and ozone from the fumes of fossil fuel burning vehicles affects us all negatively, and likewise, it is only in partnership that we can divert this disastrous outcome.  Perhaps God created the Sugar Snap not just to be delicious and enjoyed, but also to suggest a sweet green solution to our energy and pollution dilemmas.

1. Humans used to take pride in being frugal and using every resource in our possession for good use. Every part of an animal, every piece of metal, every bit of water and land was used and then reused. And yet, today we have allowed ourselves to become a consumerist, throw away society where precious resources end up in land-fills instead of being used again, leading us to strip the earth of its limited resources. Our world is a gift from God. And yet, until now, for short-term comforts we’ve chosen to live unsustainably without mindfulness of how to responsibly use and compassionately share the earth’s abundance. Let us plant seeds of commitment tonight to changing our ways, to recognizing all that we have done and saying dayenu, it is enough. These plagues stop with me, so that my children and my children’s children and their children after them won’t be slaves to pollution, hunger and thirst and will enjoy all the gifts our world has to offer.

 
REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE – Tomato seeds

The mitzvah of “bal tashkhit” found in Deuteronomy expresses a prohibition against wasting or destroying fruit bearing trees in a time of war.  Over the centuries, Jewish thinkers have elaborated that bal tashkhit applies to every person all the time, charging us not to use more than we need, not to needlessly destroy anything, not to use something of greater value when something of lesser value will suffice, and not to use something in a way it was not meant to be used (which increases the likelihood the item will be broken or destroyed. Reduce, reuse and recycle are three ways of living in the spirit of bal tashkhit. This Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato seed, passed from generation to generation, symbolizes the renewal of the earth and the sustenance we enjoy.  In honoring this seed, we are reminded that we are partners with G-d in caring for the earth, and of the commandment bal tashkhit, do not waste or destroy.