Hava Nedeber Ivrit:
Safeguarding Environment Rooted In Jewish Law

By NIRA LEV

Michzur, ecosystems, ecologia,
environmentalism, biodegradable
substances — all of these
beetooyim and the de'aga to the
s'viva that they represent seem to
be ra'ayonot chadashim that
emerged in recent years. For us as
Jews, however, these are not a
ra'ayonot chadashim. Like many
other modern theories, we find the
ra'ayon of shimur ha'svivah in the
Torah and in the Talmud.

s earth-saving ideas.

Rap

The amazing source of warmth,
it's begun
To spread delight, even in the
night
The moon so white and bright
Don't forget it collects and reflects
sunlight
Midnight and high noon for all to
see
Sun and moon: Yom Rivi'i

And it was good, it was real good
And it was good, it was real, real
good!

Fish swim with gill and fin
Fill out, swarm in the seas
Wherein sea serpents dip and dive
Alive, alive, alive, alive!
While in the skies, fowl flies
Freedom fills their wings
Their song rings through sky and
see
Y'see? Fertility: Yom Hamishi

Then came the mammals, koalas
and the camels
On four legs and t-t-t-two, like you
I mean people: man, woman and
child
You're responsible, so don't get
me riled
With your junk all piled and the air
defiled
Go one, enjoy! but d-don't destroy
There's no one to restore it but
you and me
The final creation on Yom Shishi

And it was good, it was real good
And it was good, it was real, real
good!

The term "ecologia" is
obviously not used in the Torah or
in the Talmud, but chookei
ha'Torah and the sages of the
Talmud stressed the significance of
"Bal tashchit" (you must not
destroy), namely: the need to take
good care of our s'vivah.
The s'vivah in the Tanach and
in the Talmud includes ba'alei
chayim and tzma'chim, the
adamah, the water, and the air in
our olam.
We first find the ethics of
shimur ha'svivah and the kavod to
all life, not just human life, in
seepur Noah. The warning, the
building of the teivah, the
ingathering of all ba'alei ha'chayim
into the teivah, and the
reinhabitation of the adamah have
an important meser: Noah was
obliged to labor not only for

hatzalat atzmo but for the survival
of all species.
Nachmanides teaches that
Noah was commanded to strive
lema'an ba'alei ha'chayim as he
would for his own life. Seepur Noah
ends with a Brit not just between
God and man, but a Brit that
includes all ba'alei chayim
The value of tza'ar Ba'alei
chayim. the prohibition of causing
suffering and cruelty to animals,
and our responsibility to treat
ba'alei chayim well, can be found
in numerous verses in the Torah
and it permeates the Talmud. On
Shabbat not only man should rest
but also ba'alei ha'chayim.
We are obliged to help the
chaya of our oyev if it is in distress;
We have to feed our ba'alei chayim
before we eat ourselves and we
should not take a ba'al chayim if
we cannot feed it ourselves. The
chookim of kashrut and
sh'cheetah are meant to sensitize
us to the k'dusha of the life of the
chayot.
The principle of "Bal tashchit"
is applied to the s'vivah as a whole,
and is based on the Pentateuchal
isur of destroying atzei pree. The
consensus of the Rabbis is that it is
forbidden to destroy or waste
anything that is shimushi and
nachutz for sustaining life.
An important part of our s'vivah
is, obviously, the adamah that is a
V

source of life. The chookim
regarding the sh'mittah were an
ecological measure to provide
"menuchah" to the sadot, so that
the natural strength of the adamah
could be restored.
No discussion of ecologia in
our masoret Yehudit would be
complete without mentioning the
numerous passages in the Tanach
in which the T'kufat Mashiach is
described as an era of peace and
harmony between ha'adam and
ha'teva. Hashem gave us our olam
to live in and preserve.

Meelon (Dictionary)

recycling
michzur
ecology
ecologia
expressions
beetooyim
worry, concern
de'aga
environment
s'vivah
new ideas
ra'ayonot chadashim
an idea
ra'ayon
protecting the
shimur ha'svivah
environment
The laws of
chookei ha'Torah
the Torah
Don't destroy
Bal tashchit
the Bible
the Tanach
animals
ba'alei chayim
plants
tzma'chim
land, soil
adamah
world
olam
honor
kavod
Book of Noah
seepur Noah
ark
teivah
tradition
meser
saving himself,
hatzalat atzmo
self preservation
on
lema'an ba'alei ha'chayim
behalf of the animals
story
seepur
a covenant
brit
tza'ar ba'alei chayim ...compassion
for animals, prevention
of cruelty to animals
an animal
chaya
an enemy
oyev
laws
chookim
ritual slaughter
sh'cheetah
holiness, sacredness
k'dusha
prohibition
isur
fruit trees
atzei pree
practical
shimushi
necessary
nachutz
The Sabbatical year
sh'mittah
rest
menuchah
fields
sadot
tradition
masoret
period, age, era
t'kufah
Mashiach
Messiah
Man
ha'adam
Nature
ha'teva

Nira Lev is director of Hebrew
Learning Center, Agency for Jewish
Education: Director of Hebrew
Department, Community Jewish
High School; Associate Professor,
Midrasha College of Jewish Studies.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

L 5

-