A Different Kind of Present by Rabbi Sandra Kviat

There’s nothing like buying a present, wrapping it expectantly, and then seeing the joy on the face of the receiver. The process can be so satisfying, fun, and life affirming, and I don’t mean the endorphins that get rolling when we buy things. Giving presents, like food, can be a physical manifestation of love, a way to show the person how much we care. Or, as we receive the present, we also receive the sense of being cared for.

This is of course when it all goes right, when the present is truly appreciated. Most Chanukahs the situation is a bit more fraught, with tons of wrapping paper piling up in the corner while children (or even adults) open one present after the other, with quantity sometimes the dominant factor. And it can all easily become a plastic consumerist nightmare. According to Plastics Magazine 40% of toys that were given during this season are broken come springtime, and even more worryingly, 90% of all toys on the market are made of plastic. That is an awful lot of plastic being put into rubbish or recycling bins when the daffodils begin to bloom. Or what about the lovely tradition of sending cards to family and friends. Imperial College researchers found that 1.5 billion Christmas cards are thrown away every year. It sounds a lot, but it comes to about 22 cards per person, which is an awful lot of trees that need to be felled, even if we try and buy recycled cards.

But the news isn’t all bad. The Great British Beach Clean by the Marine Conservation Society has found that the waste washing up on our beaches is falling year by year. “Volunteers found 385 pieces of litter for every 100 metres of beach on average, down from 425 in 2020 and 558 in 2019. Single-use plastic bags have fallen from a high of 13 for every 100 metres in 2013 to just three in 2021. The plastic bag charge introduced in 2015 has cut their use in supermarkets by 95%. The MCS said the results were positive and showed that actions being taken at a personal, local and national level were having an impact. But it said 75% of beach litter was still plastic or polystyrene...”. Amount of litter on UK beaches is falling, national clean-up finds

The situation seems to be slowly going in the right direction, but as we all know, there is a lot more that needs to happen. And that is where I find that the Chanukah story has a very powerful message for us. For the story that we recount is one of stretching resources, of one portion of oil lasting eight days. It’s a simple but long lasting message for us. How can we live so as to stretch our resources? To help us bring this message to the fore we have created a Sustainable Chanukiah that is for you to fill in with the actions or commitments that you can do to help your resources stretch further, throughout the year.  On my Chanukiah I have committed to stop buying wrapping paper and use newspapers instead, to bring a bag when we go for a walk to litter pick, to continue to use public transport, and to get involved in a local organisation that works to change environmental policy. Next is for the children to also decide on their actions. 

This is a different kind of present, one that is long term. Apart from the robot and the logic puzzle that the children will get for Chanukah we are also giving them a commitment to living our lives a little differently. A present of cleaner air, more trees, and less plastic pollution, that is also a way of showing love, even if it doesn’t come with a gift tag.