AUGUST 17 • 2023 | 55 The Limits of Grief SUSTAINABILITY In the case of bal tashchit, however, there is an obvious fit with much else in Jewish law and thought. The Torah is concerned with what we would nowadays call “sus- tainability.” This is particularly true of the three commands ordaining periodic rest: the Sabbath, the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee year. On the Sabbath, all agricultural work is forbidden, “so that your ox and your don- key may rest.” (Ex. 23:12) It sets a limit to our intervention in nature and the pursuit of economic growth. We become conscious that we are creations, not just creators. The earth is not ours but God’s. For six days, it is handed over to us, but on the seventh we symbolically abdicate that power. We may perform no “work, ” which is to say, an act that alters the state of something for human purposes. The Sabbath is a weekly reminder of the integrity of nature and the boundaries of human striving. What the Sabbath does for humans and animals, the Sabbatical and Jubilee years do for the land. The earth, too, is entitled to its periodic rest. The Torah warns that if the Israelites do not respect this, they will suffer exile, “then shall the land make appeasement for its Sabbaths, for as long as it lies desolate, and you are in your ene- mies’ lands. Then the land will rest and make appeasement for its Sabbaths. ”(Lev. 26:34) Behind this are two concerns. One is environmental. As Maimonides points out, land that is overexploited eventually erodes and loses its fertility. The Israelites were therefore commanded to conserve the soil by giving it periodic fallow years, not pursuing short-term gain at the cost of long-term desolation. The second, no less significant, is theological. “The land, ” says God, “is Mine; you are merely migrants and visitors to Me. ” (Lev. 25:23) We are guests on Earth. There is another group of commands that directs us against over-interference with nature. The Torah forbids cross- breeding livestock, planting a field with mixed seeds, and wearing a garment of mixed wool and linen. These rules are called chukim or “statutes. ” Nahmanides understood this term to mean laws that respect the integrity of nature. To mix different species, he argued, was to presume to be able to improve on creation and is thus an affront to the Creator. Each species has its own internal laws of devel- opment and reproduction, and these must not be tampered with: “One who combines two different species thereby changes and defies the work of creation, as if he believes that the Holy One, blessed be He, has not completely perfected the world and he now wishes to improve it by adding new kinds of creatures. ” Deuteronomy also contains a law forbid- ding taking a young bird together with its mother. Nahmanides sees this as having the same underlying concern, namely of protecting species. Though the Bible per- mits us to use some animals for food, we must not cull them to extinction. Samson Raphael Hirsch in the 19th century gave the most forcible interpretation of biblical law. The statutes relating to environmental protection, he said, represent the principle that “the same regard which you show to humanity you must also demonstrate to every lower creature, to the Earth which bears and sustains all, and to the world of plants and animals. ” They are a kind of social justice applied to the natural world: “They ask you to regard all living things as God’s property. Destroy none; abuse none; waste nothing; employ all things wisely … Look upon all creatures as servants in the household of creation. ” TO SERVE AND GUARD THE EARTH Hirsch also gave a novel interpretation to the phrase in Genesis 1, “Let Us make man in Our image after Our own like- ness.” (Gen. 1:26) The passage is puzzling, for at that stage, prior to the creation of man, God was alone. The “Us,” says Hirsch, refers to the rest of creation. Because man alone would develop the capacity to change and possibly endanger the natural world, nature itself was con- sulted as to whether it approved of such a being. The implied condition is that humans may use nature only in such a way as to enhance it, not put it at risk. Anything else is ultra vires, outside the remit of our stew- ardship of the planet. In this context, a phrase in Genesis 2 is decisive. Man was set in the Garden of Eden “to work it and safeguard it.” (Gen. 2:15) The two Hebrew verbs are signifi- cant. The first — le’ovdah — literally means “to serve it. ” Man is not just a master but also a servant of nature. The second — leshomrah — means “to guard it. ” This is the verb used in later Torah legislation to describe the responsi- bilities of a guardian of property that does not belong to him. He must exercise vigi- lance in its protection and is liable for loss through negligence. This is perhaps the best short definition of humanity’s respon- sibility for nature as the Bible conceives it. Man’s dominion over nature is thus limited by the requirement to serve and conserve. The famous story of Genesis 2-3 — eating the forbidden fruit and the subsequent exile from Eden — makes just this point. Not everything we can do, may we do. Transgress the limits, and disaster follows. All of this is summed up by a simple Midrash: “When God made man, He showed him the panoply of creation and said to him: ‘See all My works, how beautiful they are. All I have made, I have made for you. Take care, therefore, that you do not destroy My world, for if you do, there will be no one left to mend what you have destroyed. ” We know much more than we once did about the dangers to the Earth’s ecology by the ceaseless pursuit of economic gain. The guidance of the Oral tradition in interpreting “do not destroy” expansively, not restrictively, should inspire us now. We should expand our horizons of environmental responsibility for the sake of generations not yet born, and for the sake of God, whose guests on Earth we are. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020) was a global religious leader, philosopher, the author of more than 25 books and moral voice for our time. His series of essays on the weekly Torah portion, entitled “Covenant & Conversation” will continue to be shared and distributed around the world.