B’NAI ISRAEL
OUR COMMUNITY
‘Charging Up’ Their Faith
Jennifer Odza charges her vehicle at Temple B’nai Israel.
Kalamazoo’s B’nai Israel puts faith into action with electric vehicle charging station. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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f you’re driving an electric or hybrid vehicle around Kalamazoo and need some charging power, you could head to the parking lot at Temple B’nai Israel. The congregation maintains two power lines available to anyone. The charging station, installed last June, might impress onlookers as strictly an expression of environmental concerns, but the congregation also is expressing a modernized approach to spirituality. Its introduction happened in what has been designated a shmitah year, according to Torah teachings — 2021-22 in line with the Hebrew calendar year of 5782. Although shmitah years historically have been observed as times to give the ground a rest by leaving it fallow, Temple B’nai Israel has extended the concept to address current concerns in nature by promoting relief from carbon emissions. National recognition of the dual objective has brought the temple $1,500 as one of six national winners of the Interfaith Power and Light Cool Congregations
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Annual Award for Leadership and Sustainability. “The charging station became part of the conversation when we started discussing the shmitah year and our role as stewards of the Earth,” said Rabbi Simone Schicker. “We questioned what that means outside of the land because there’s argument that shmitah is not only about the biblical land itself. “We have a Green Team that took on actions we could take right now to make an impact, and a piece of it was that we have a number of congregants with electric cars and hybrid cars who felt it was something that would both benefit the immediate car nation and be a statement of our values. “It became a statement that we have responsibility to our planet and to our neighbors as well.” THE GREEN TEAM Steering the project — and all temple environmental projects — is Green Team leader Steven Bertman, professor of environment
and sustainability at Western Michigan University and former volunteer building manager for the temple. He is an environmental chemist who also implements his principles at home and advocates for conservation throughout the community. Part of the impetus for developing the charging station came from learning about financial incentives offered by a local power company. “I’m constitutionally disposed to conserving energy, and ever since I was in high school, I wanted solar panels,” said Bertman, who has them installed on his own home. “Renewable energy seemed like it was a no-brainer and, 40 years later, when we’re still burning fossil fuels, I finally bit the bullet and bought an electric car. “I think for a lot of people, the barrier to getting an electric car is that it’s different. We have to learn a new thing. That certainly was part of it for me. I got the car and learned all the things I needed to do, including the use of charging options — how fast vehicles charge and the differences between wiring. That’s how I learned about the rebate program.” The program covered 90 percent of the temple installation. “There’s a fee structure that covers the cost of the electricity so the temple isn’t making a profit, but it’s not taking a loss in terms of the electricity,” Bertman said. “Any driver can pull into our parking lot, scan payment information with a cell phone, using either an established account or credit card identification, and plug in. “A big part of my motivation was to raise awareness and make it less scary to try something new.” Members of the congregation can charge their cars while attending services or meetings, thereby taking care of religious interests while vehicles are powering up. On average, a two-hour charge would cost the user about $3.64 for some 60 miles in range. For a comparable range using gasoline, the current cost in Michigan would be about $8.78. Jennifer Odza is a temple member who regularly powers up her vehicle at times she is pursuing congregational commitments. “I really appreciate that our congregation is making meaningful efforts to be environ-
