on the
ENVIRONMENT
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Threats of global destruction, through pollution and exhaustion of
the earth's precious resources, have pushed environmental issues
towards the top of many a government agenda. Unless very radical
steps are taken to combat pollution and conserve natural resources,
we may soon reach a point beyond which global annihilation is
inevitable. Self interest alone demands that governments, industries,
communities and individuals join in a struggle to halt and reverse
all acts likely to endanger the survival of our planet.
For the Jew, ecological awareness should be prompted by more than
self interest, because Judaism has ever expressed profound concern
for environmental well-being. Such concern is a concomitant of the
cardinal belief in One Creator who is anxious to include humanity in
an ongoing programme of planetary care. The first chapter of Genesis
(verse 26) grants mankind dominion over the rest of creation but that
word "dominion" cannot be understood in isolation from the
rest of the verse or without reference to other Biblical and
post-Biblical passages. The beginning of Genesis 1:26 tells that
humanity was created in God's image. We are therefore expected to
image God in our dealings with the rest of creation - as God is just
and merciful so should we be just and merciful.
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof: the world and
all who dwell within it" (Psalm 24:1). This theocentric view is
reinforced by the regulations concerning the 50th year of Jubilee
when all leased land reverted to its original owners who were
themselves understood to hold the land in trust for God. "And
the land shall not be sold in perpetuity (i.e. the freehold shall not
be sold) for the land is Mine&ldots;" (Leviticus 25:23). Such
verses help the Jew to remember who is actually in charge. Acceptance
of God as master and humanity as servant encourages conservation of
earthly resources just as refusal to acknowledge God as "Adon
Olam" leads to undisciplined exploitation of the earth and its
riches. To clarify Jewish responsibility towards the earth and its
flora and fauna, Biblical and post-Biblical legislation specifies a
program of action: "When you besiege a city . . . you shall not
destroy its trees . . . you may eat from them but not destroy them .
. ." (Deuteronomy 20:19-20).
From this prohibition were drawn many others which in sum total serve
to prevent wanton destruction of anything useful to humanity. The
judging of what is useful cannot exclude considerations of effect
upon the environment because assaults against nature are also
assaults against ourselves. Subsumed under the term "Bal tashhit"
(you shall not destroy) are all measures likely to protect the environment.
"God took man and placed him in a garden . . . to work it and to
preserve it" (Genesis 2:15). This verse entitles humans to work
the earth and extract its wealth providing they also guard and
conserve it. The command to let agricultural land lie fallow every
seventh year (Leviticus 25:4) displays a sensitive concern for the
soil which is rarely to be found amongst modern agriculturalists.
Obsessed with a desire to produce ever greater quantities of visually
attractive foodstuffs (even in Europe where unwanted surpluses are
either destroyed or stored at enormous cost) the modern farmer
exhausts his soil and poisons his crops with chemical fertilisers and
pesticides. The consumer, human or animal, is also poisoned.
Modern consumer societies place enormous strains upon delicate
environmental balances and the increasing incidence of ecological
disasters should influence us to exercise greater restraint in our
enjoyment of the earth's manifold riches. In a finite world, infinite
appetites and aspirations are sorely misplaced. In our daily lives we
must abandon habits which are injurious to the environment and adopt
habits which conserve it. We are duty bound to persuade others to
follow our example and to urge local, national and international
authorities to do what is possible on behalf of the environment.
One of the greatest threats to planetary well-being is unbridled
expansion of the human population which has already adversely
affected the stability of most third world countries and added
immeasurably to social confusion and breakdown in those lands, such
as ours, which enjoy relative economic prosperity. Traditionally,
Jewish teachers have cited Genesis 1:28 (". . . be fertile and
increase and fill the earth . . .") as an argument against birth
control but now that the earth has been "filled" with
teeming humanity it might be argued that the commandment to increase
no longer applies, though clearly there remains an obligation to
reproduce sufficiently to avoid extinction of our species. While
certainly wishing to avoid coercion, and poignantly aware of
declining Jewish numbers, Liberal Judaism nevertheless encourages
voluntary family limitation. A smaller population will obviously use
less of the earth's finite resources to satisfy its basic needs.
The stance of Liberal Judaism on environmental issues is essentially
the same as that of other forms of Judaism and indeed Orthodox,
Conservative and Reform Jewish spokesmen have all played their part
in relating Jewish teaching to current ecological concerns. However,
when we consider the degree to which our founding fathers and mothers
emphasised ethics, it is justifiable for us to assert that Liberal
Jews have a special responsibility to serve in the vanguard of every
moral struggle. Ideally we should stand at the very forefront of
those who campaign for a healthier environment and at the very least
work in concert with others who care about the future of our planet.
"And God saw all which He had made and behold it was very
good" (Genesis 1:31). The earth is very good and with the
assistance of sufficient numbers of responsible humans it will remain so.
APPENDIX We append a suggested action list which is relevant at the time of writing but will require periodic updating, as new problems emerge and others find solution.
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