“I can’t imagine going to sleep without my mother reading to me,” said one wide-eyed girl in the class. “We are always reading or talking about reading. Even when we’re driving in the car, my mom tells me a story or talks to me about what we’re going to read.”

The children in this classroom are participating in Light Up Literacy, an innovative Hanukkah program of Reading Village, a Boulder-based organization that brings the joy of reading to rural Guatemala, where approximately half of the population cannot read, and lives in the darkness of illiteracy.

In this particular activity, these second graders learned about their counterparts in rural Guatemala, who do not have books in their houses or people to read to them.

Light Up Literacy is a resource-rich program that teaches children the joy of g’milut chasadim (acts of loving kindness) and brings tikkun olam (social action and the pursuit of social justice) to Hanukkah. Through Light Up Literacy, our children can learn the important Hanukkah lessons of hard-won freedom, justice, and tzedakah, and be a shamash — an important source of light in the lives of others.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) recently mentioned Light Up Literacy as a way to add make Hanukkah celebrations more memorable in its December 12, 2011 article, “Giving the gift of tikkun olam.”

“We love the work of Light Up Literacy,” said Vinny Green, the K-6 administrator of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Religious School. “We are adopting Light Up Literacy as our tzedakah (charity) project for November and December this year.”

For the third year in a row, congregations from the Reform and Conservative movements around the country will participate in this innovative Hanukkah program that teaches children the joy of giving and of helping others in need. In Los Angeles, participating congregations include the Stephen S. Wise Temple, the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and the University Synagogue.

“Through Light Up Literacy, families dedicate one night of Hanukkah to celebrate reading and the gift of literacy,” said Linda Smith, co-founder of Reading Village, the creators of Light Up Literacy. “Parents set aside money they might have otherwise spent on gifts to support reading in a country where there are few books and where the literacy rate in rural communities less than 50%.”

Because of the low literacy rate and lack of books, the cycle of parents reading to children has been broken. Reading Village is working to mend that cycle. The organization provides scholarships and leadership development training to Guatemalan teens, and in return, these youth give back to their communities by engaging young children in their community in reading activities.

By joining together with Light Up Literacy, these temples in Los Angeles will help repair this broken cycle.

Guatemala has the second lowest literacy rate in the Western Hemisphere. In rural areas only 25% of children complete the sixth grade and less than 10% go on to high school. Public school in Guatemala is not free, and the cost of tuition, books, uniforms, supplies and transportation can exceed a month’s income for just one child.

Reading Village is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit. Donations to this organization perform double duty: they keep youth in school by providing scholarships and they promote literacy through their teen reading promoter program. The organization’s vision is to transform the lives of Guatemalan children through literacy. For more information on Reading Village or to donate see www.readingvillage.org.

1. Gifts of service require little or no use of natural resources, and are very personal and memorable. They can be gifts from you: A coupon book filled with dog walking, massages, household chores, gardening. This is something that can pay forward as well. Or they can be gift certificates from local businesses like a local hair salon or barber shop, a car wash, or even to a locally-owned restaurant. And of course a professional massage is a terrific gift to get your inner lights aglow.

2. In our world of obesity and gluttony, giving the gift of health can be life-changing. A gift of membership to a locally-owned gym or a monthly membership in an organic food delivery service can transform a person from a couch potato to a healthy and active individual.

3. Giving the gift of an event can be so much fun and the recipient will have memories that hold value for years. For example, tickets to a show or concert can be so wonderful with minimal impact on resources. Sports events, local attractions, rock-climbing centers, and zoo or museum memberships are other examples. Another possibility is to give someone coupons to a car sharing group like carshare.org. One can give a membership to a community garden for those avid gardeners lacking their own space to sow.

4. Let’s look at re-gifting in a new light. If you have received an item that is not to your taste, it is simply “kind” to the environment to pass it on to someone who may cherish it instead of purchasing a “new” item. No energy or resources are expended and I also think we should TELL our recipients about it so this trend becomes the new fad in gifting. Spread the word! Re-gifting is the new black!

5. Let’s try to give more battery-free gifts as we all know that batteries have so many toxins and fill up the landfills. Of course we need batteries for many important items but there are also rechargeable batteries and now there are solar chargers.

6. As always a gift of giving back is fabulous. Make a gift to your child, a time to do community work, as a family together, such as working at Community Food Share or the Community Table. We can teach our children that it is such a good feeling to help others and that feeling outweighs any “thing” they may receive.

7. A family outing to a local new or used bookstore is a fun way to spend time together and teach the joy of reading to your kids.

8. Wrapping paper can be made from many types of paper already in your recycling box. Old magazines, paper grocery bags and even computer paper with a touch of some magic markers can become artistic gifting! Find some old, dried grass outside on a hike and you can tie up the package with a touch of nature.

I’m really determined to give more GREEN gifts this year. It’s my way of taking advantage of a time of year when I spend more money than usual, so at least I can make sure that I’m conserving resources in some way and supporting local businesses. How about you?

This has been a tough year with some of us living from paycheck to paycheck and many of us not even having a paycheck!  The world looks pretty gloomy and we sure need a festival of light to renew our sense of hope, but the consumerist pressures in the commercial, sleigh bell world out there hardly alleviate the burdens many of us are feeling this winter.  Everything points us to the Hanukkah presents that we feel we must buy so that we can join the chorus of happy consumers.  This may be a shock, but Hanukkah was never about presents.  It has been about all kinds of things throughout history; from military victory to a celebration of God’s miracles; a force of hope in a world of despair to a tenacious insistence of survival.  Not expensive presents.

The symbolism of the apparent miracle of the oil is central to the story and now we are using far too much oil; we are addicted to it and it is killing us and our atmosphere!  This year Hanukkah coincides with the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen and, as world leaders look to how we can cut back on our carbon emissions and reduce the impact of global warming, we should all be thinking about consuming less, not more.  I was recently in Hong Kong (yes, I did fly there) and the pollution from China is so disturbing; much of it from the toy industry.  Did you know that four fifths of the world’s toys are manufactured in one town in China?  These are the toys we are buying our children for Hanukkah.

This might be the year to think alternatively about giving for Hanukkah in ways that really give, rather than consume.  The World Land Trust (www.worldlandtrust.org)  is one organization that is doing a great deal to protect our planet and you can buy an acre or more of protected rain forest and give it as a gift to someone, for which they will receive a nice certificate.  Heifer International (www.heifer.org) is another wonderful organization whose initiatives significantly help communities in the third world become more sustainable and self-sufficient.  They have a great gift catalog that allows you to buy chickens, goats, love and hope for many, and the person in whose honor you buy this gift gets a beautiful card and a sense of fulfillment that most material gifts simply cannot give.  (Please see updated information below). These are just two suggestions.  If you feel you really have to buy a physical gift, perhaps spend less than you were going to and donate the rest to your favorite synagogue!

Whatever choices we make this year (with only five shopping days until Hanukkah!) I invite us all to rethink and to opt out of an over-consuming holiday wonderland and opt in to making positive contributions to ensure the survival of a more sustainable world.  The name Hanukkah refers to the rededication of holiness.  We can each rededicate ourselves to some of the core values of this wonderful holiday by lighting each candle with a sense of utter determination that we will, once again, survive, by each of us doing our own piece of the work to ensure that the light does not go out on our sacred Jewish traditions, nor on our beautiful, fragile world.

Hag Urim Sameach – Happy Festival of Lights!

UPDATE:

Since writing this Hanukkah message this morning and sharing it, I have received a few responses that point out another side of the organization Heifer International (HI). Many animal rights activists claim that the treatment and inappropriate exploitation of animals is not a good way to reduce global poverty for ethical and environmental reasons. Not all agree, but PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) opposes their work. Here is a link to an article that examines this issue. There is no doubt that HI has done significant work in some of these communities and helped towards self-sufficiency in very poor areas, but the question is, at what cost? Many environmentalists and activists do endorse their work, but many do not.

Some other suggestions of organizations that may be worthy of our support this Hanukkah are:

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation
Village Banking
Water Aid
The Arava Institute – Israeli-based school promoting a more sustainable Middle East

Alternatively, you might want to give in a more traditional Jewish way and support the Jewish National Fund and plant trees in Israel, support our local Federation, or even more local and support Bonai Shalom!  Of course there are many, many other organizations most worthy of our support and these are just a few suggestions from myself and others.

I am grateful to all of you who responded to my message and I always learn so much in this process, which is wonderful.

Wherever we find ourselves and whoever we find ourselves with, may we all give and receive great light to blow away all that darkness. And may we keep WARM!

Blessings,
Rabbi Marc

At the Boulder Jewish Day School (BJDS), we are using the theme of Chanukah as a great opportunity to teach our children those values. We give our children positive reinforcement for exemplary behavior, such as diligence in their studies and acts of charity/ Tzedakah. This year, Boulder Jewish Day School is joining Stephen S Wise Temple in Los Angeles and the Jewish Community of Guatemala in supporting Reading Village’s children’s literacy work in Guatemala. Because this initiative is connected with Chanukah it is being called, “Light Up Literacy.”

Why this project? Several reasons:  first, we have a personal connection, as the father of one of our recent graduates is from Guatemala. Second, because Reading Village is located here in Boulder. Third, Reading Village’s “Light Up Literacy” program is about spreading the light of freedom, which is truly what Chanukah is about. Fourth, and most importantly, because as a school and community we teach our children that tikkun olam and tzedakah are our responsibility – wherever there is need.

“The concept of Light Up Literacy is that families would set aside some gelt one night of Hanukkah to support reading in a country where there are few books and where the literacy rate in many rural communities is less than 50%.  And on that night, parents would read stories to their children to celebrate a freedom and capacity that we might otherwise take for granted.”   – Linda Smith, Reading Village founder

We are blessed to have great resources in our community for educating our children. Did you know that Chanukah has the same three-letter root word as the Hebrew word for education (chinuch)? This is the time of year, as we think about Chanukah and freedom, when we also must think about other children throughout the world who don’t have the same educational resources or opportunities.

The Shulchan Aruch’s (Code of Jewish Law) author, Rabbi Josef Caro, includes counting money as an example of what the Chanukiyah (Menorah) lights cannot be used for.  In our tradition, giving out Chanukah money was a way to remember this prohibition. With that in mind, this Chanukah we are asking each of our students to contribute some of the Chanukah Gelt he or she receives to enable Reading Village to purchase books for children in Guatemala – to bring the light to another child’s life.

We hope you’ll read a book to your children and celebrate having the resources and capacity to enjoy the love of reading. And, we invite your family to get involved in this project with us, and ask you to donate “1 Night of Chanukah Gelt” to the Reading Village Program, so that together we can light up more lives.

Donations can be sent to BJDS,7415 Lookout Road, Longmont, CO 80503 (please include “For Reading Village” on your donation). For more information on Reading Village, see www.readingvillage.org.  Here’s a short video about “Light Up Literacy” and the work of Reading Village. Enjoy and Happy Chanukah!

Donations to Boulder Jewish Day School may be eligible to receive a 50% tax credit through the State of Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.  Check the Colorado Department of Revenue for more info.

Boulder Jewish Day School (BJDS) is an independent accredited community day school serving Boulder, Broomfield, Longmont and the North Metro Denver area. The school offers an Early Childhood Program (2.5 to 5 years) as well as an Elementary program – Kindergarten though Fifth Grade –and after-school programs too. BJDS provides a strong academic curriculum, bilingual programs, Judaic studies, art, music and physical education. BJDS features a low-student to teacher ratio, an active parent volunteer community, and a warm pluralistic environment that welcomes students and families from all backgrounds. BJDS is dedicated to growing the next generation of community leaders. Financial aid is available.  For more information about BJDS or to schedule a tour, please contact us at 303.449.5569 or bjds@qwestoffice.net.