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The Charlotte Jewish News -November 2013 - Page 28 Linking to Jewish Fair Trade: The Bike Chain Menorah By Edmon J. Rodman Los Angeles (JTA) - When on Chanukah we say “A great mira- ele happened here,” the “here” isn’t China. I thought it was. With bins of eleetrie menorahs, strings of dreidel lights, and flash ing LED dreidels, all “Made in China,” I thought I had Chanukah eovered. That is until I found a new menorah, a kind of “Made in India” magie lamp that without even a single rub (you bend it), I diseovered a new way to light up my holiday - and maybe yours, too. Over the years, eelebrating the Festival of Lights with stuff made in China, what did I eare? Was it my problem that workers making this stuff might be earning the equivalent of $300 a month? Not the least. Mostly my Chanukah paraphernalia was pur- ehased at an affordable priee at ehain drug and book stores during a Christmas season when seeing a Jewish flag like these was eom- forting. As far as I was eoneemed. Made in China Chanukah tschokes were good for the Jews. But perhaps not good enough. On a reeent trip to New Haven, CT, I wandered into Ten Thou sand Villages, a fair trade store where I was surprised to find among the international eeramies, weavings, and jewelry, a Jewish ritual objeet that was a different kind of “good” - a metal menorah from India made from a seetion of a reeyeled bieyele ehain. The menorah, aeeording to the store, was a produet that was made without exploitation. Cre ated by a group of artisans, mostly women, who work with Noah’s Ark International in Moradabad, India, a fair trade marketing or ganization, it was a menorah I eould light up for Chanukah and not worry if the worker who made it earned enough to light their home as well. Newly enlightened, I wondered if there was an organization that supported Judaiea fair trade prod uets; that led me to liana Sehatz. In 2007, Sehatz launehed the Fair Trade Judaiea website, whieh promotes fair trade produets and provides teehnieal assistanee in designing new ones. It’s a way to eonneet marketers and retailers in the West with eertified artisans and produeers who support fair pay, safe work eonditions, gender equality, a ban on ehild labor and environmental sustainability. As Sehatz saw it, the Jewish eonneetion to fair trade was sup ported by Torah-based law and Talmudie interpretation that ealled for the paying of wages in a timely manner and not oppressing workers, as well as not eommit- ting fraud or deeeption. “If Chanukah is a story of lib eration, then produets made for a fair wage represent a different kind of liberation,” she said in a reeent interview. Sehatz, who lives in the San Franeiseo Bay Area, added that “When you buy a fair trade prod- The bike chain menorah. uet, it ean lift that family out of poverty.” In addition to the bieyele ehain menorah, Sehatz also promotes a duek family menorah made in Cambodia; a 16-foot-long Papele Pieado banner from Mexieo with Chanukah eutouts; a soda ean kipah from South Afriea; and a string of eolorful Jewish blessing flags, eaeh with a hamsa that she designed and had made in Nepal. Fair Trade Judaiea also pro motes a set of eandlestieks from “IsraeFPalestine.” “We would really love to pro mote Israel produets, but there isn’t a fair trade organization in Is rael, though there is a fair trade store in Tel Aviv,” Sehatz said. Glittering among this grouping of fair trade produets are ehoeo- late eoins. Sehatz spoke highly of Divine milk ehoeolate kosher Chanukah gelt made from ehoeo late grown in Ghana by farmers who reeeive a fair trade priee for their beans and own 45% of the eompany. These are not “beans of afflie- tion,” she said, shifting to a Passover metaphor. “They are re ally good ehoeolate.” Yes, these goods are goodly, but would you want to buy them? Are they goods for the Jews? Looking at the Jewish relation ship with handmade ritual objeets, the handmade bike ehain menorah ealled to mind the intention that goes into the making of mezuzot (the handwritten parehment within), ketubot, tefillin, and the hand-tied tzitzit on a tallit. Refleeting that intention Sehatz, while working with the many international fair trade arti sans who make Judaiea, has seen their “deep respeet” for the work and need to understand what they make. As I turned over the menorah in my hand, I eould see also adding to its value was the green beauty of an objeet made of material that we typieally would dispose. As to the ritual eorreetness of the design, the shamash holder was positioned eorreetly; higher than the other eight. The ehain al lows the design to be worked into a variety of intriguing display po sitions. However, for traditional users, for whom only a line of eandles will be ritually eorreet, the menorah easily straightens to that eonfiguration. Unlike eonventional ehanukiyot, whieh ean be bulky and large, this design is lightweight as a result of the bieyele ehain base and ean be folded up to fit in your poeket or purse. It’s a design that will travel well, making a great eompanion for the story of eeonomie freedom that is part of its design. The Goods: Bieyele ehain menorah: $24. Available from Ten Thousand Villages stores; for lo- eations see www.tenthousandvil- lages.com/bicycle-chain-menorah. Also available online at Modem Tribe, www.modemtribe.eom/ju- daiea/modernmenorahs/biey- eleehainmenorah. For more on Jewish Fair Trade: http://fairtradejudaiea.org. ^ Have a product that might be good for “Goods for the Jews ’’? Send candidates to edmonjace@ gmail.com. 'fQndle toj^er hke t^e steadfast star fi>^laze en eventngs forehead e'er tfie eartfi, adB eacfi ntg^t a lustre ttll afar •ftn etg^tfdld Sj^ler)^er Lazarus, "TK?e Teast Abigail Arts Major Tulane university, Fine Open House Parents, please join us! Wed., October 23,9:30 - 11 am Thurs., November 7,11:30am -1 pm Preschoolers'visit Fri., November 8,1:15 - 2pm CJD5 pointed w in the Ridht diRection! My CJDS fifth QRade c\aG>& tRip to Camp ThundeRbiRd \Na& the f iRst time I went a\hia\^ fRom home, as the trip approached, I grew more and more nervous. The thought of sleeping away from home (and outside, no less!) made me more uncomfortable than I cared to admit. Close to my home and my family was where I wanted to stay. I returned with a sense of confidence I had never before possessed. My CJDS "family"gave me the courage to tell myself "I can do it." My fifth grade friends and teachers helped me conquer my fear and push outside my comfort zone. With my new-found self-confidence, I decided to attend a Jewish sleep away camp, which I then enjoyed for many summers. These experiences were followed by a six week trip to Israel, and finally college. Now I am challenged daily by the rigors of my studies and my artistic pursuits. But I owe it to CJDS for first showing me what I was capable of—on my own. I C Charlotte Jewish ^1 \J J Day School Phone: 704.366.4558 * CJDSCHOOL.org A strong academic foundation for living Jewishly.
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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