New Haven-Area Temple Members Clean Woodmont Beachas Part of New Year Celebration

For 50 members of Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven, cleaning up trash helps right some of the world’s wrongs

It’s amazing what you can find on a beach. About 50 members of an Orange synagogue picked up a watch, a hotel key, a paring knife, sunglasses and even a pair of shorts as they scoured Woodmont Beach Sunday as part of their fourth annual beach cleanup.

“We call it Reverse Tashlich,” said Dr. Karen Fenichel, who organized the event for Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven. “Jews have a tradition called tashlich of throwing crumbs into the water to get rid of their sins. The water is supposed to carry their transgressions away. In Reverse Tashlich, we take mankind’s sins – all the pollution people create – out of the water. It’s a great time for entire families to spend some quality time on the beach doing something good for the community.”

Fenichel works with the religious school at Temple Emanuel to assure that students as well as the adults are involved. This year, about 50 congregants and friends came together for the event. In addition, she coordinates with Repair the Sea, an international Jewish environmental preservation group; Save the Sound, a regional group dedicated to protecting Long Island Sound; and the City of Milford’s Open Space Preservation office.

“It’s amazing to think Jews all over the world this week are cleaning up beaches and celebrating the Jewish New Year by literally saving the world,” added Fenichel. “The best part is that the kids are deeply involved.”

Kids and adults moved up and down the beach in five groups, picking up trash, putting it in bags and documenting what was found. They looked for all sorts of trash. Cigarette butts were deemed particularly dangerous to wildlife because of the materials used to make them. About 183 cigarette butts were dropped into the plastic bags. In addition, Styrofoam cups, syringes, paper, fishing tackle scraps, pieces of glass, rubber material and other trash filled seven bags totalling almost 50 pounds. And the students fully understood what they were doing and why.

“The animals don’t deserve to have so much trash in their habitat,” said Ben Carmelli, 11, who tallied the trash for one group.

“This is a season when we are thinking about our actions and their impact,” said Rabbi Michael Farbman. “This is a wonderful opportunity to combine our traditions with those of the rest of the world. It also makes you think about your own actions the next time you walk on the beach.”

“It’s a way for the TE Community to give back to the wider community,” added Lindsey Sussman, temple president. “It’s a recent tradition to make the world better from generation to generation.”

Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven, based in Orange, is a participatory, diverse, non-judgmental, and intellectually vibrant reform synagogue, serving greater New Haven, Conn. With a growing membership of just shy of 200, the temple also boasts a vibrant religious school. More information is available at www.tegnh.org or (203) 397-3000.