(7) Annette, 13/12/2007
lighting ONE less candle??? whose idea anyway...
I guess it's just too touchy to suggest to christians to leave the trees alone and either do without 'one' tree even for 'one' year or use artificial ones! you know those trees? the ones that are the lungs of the world, the filters of the air, the ones that provide homes and food and breeding grounds to more than 3 billion birds in over 300 species alone, plus the other animals (I just went to a Naturalist's meeting last night and have the data on me)- and these numbers are only for the Ontario portion of the Boreal Forest.
There are more people in Ontario than in Israel, I doubt very much 'one candle less' in Israel will make ANY difference! Israel likely has more smokers than Ontario. How about 'quit smoking' in Israel, all year long?
Relaxing may be difficult in Israel, but I sincerely hope they enjoyed all 44 candles of Chanukah instead. Shamas & all.
I'm sure over 1 million trees were cut this month for xmas, in Ontario alone. Imagine the ecological impact this has on global warming, the burden on the grid, etc.,... maybe more non-Jews should light Chanukah candles - to remind all of the 'need not assimilate' gift from The Almighty; yes, they've started lighting Chanukah candles. Light on! Light on!

(6) malka, 12/12/2007
so true
I agree, there are more significant dangers that people should be concerned about like car emissions, etc. Cigerettes are no good either and people should try very hard to quit.

The flames on the menorah are not just flames. When we do the mitzvah of lighting the menorah, we bring spiritual light into the world.
I agree that if they want to help the planet, they should not drive on shabbos. plus, they should also not use electricity on that day.

(5) Joey, 11/12/2007

The "no driving" idea made me smile. :-) One thing this actually makes me consider, though, is that people would be willing to do the one-less-candle thing because it's so easy---the average non-religious person is not overly troubled by it, and while it does not do much good, it would make you feel good. If you really wanted to help the planet, you would do, as Rabbi Saloman said, something more substantial, like not driving as much. But things that really help tend to be so much less trouble than not lighting a candle. (And unless someone calls me preachy, I'll admit I'm so lazy I don't do enough to help the environment; I'm just also self-actualized about it. :-)

Happy Hanukkah and God bless.