David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous, ix
Humans are tuned for relationship. The eyes, the skin, the tongue, ears, and nostrils--all are gates where our body receives the nourishment of otherness. This landscape of shadowed voices, these feathered bodies and antlers and tumbling streams--these breathing shapes are our family, the beings with whom we are engaged, with whom we struggle and suffer and celebrate. For the largest part of our species’ existence, humans have negotiated relationships with every aspect of the sensuous surroundings, exchanging possibilities with every flapping form, with each textured surface and shivering entity that we happen to focus upon. All could speak, articulating in gesture and whistle and sigh a shifting web of meanings that we felt on our skin or inhaled through our nostrils or focused with our listening ears, and to which we replied---whether with sounds, or through movements, or minute shifts of mood. The color of the sky, the rush of waves--every aspect of the earthly sensuous could draw us into a relationship fed with curiousity and spiced with danger. Every sound was a voice, every scrape or blunder was a meeting—with Thunder, with Oak, with Dragonfly. And from all of these relationships our collective sensibilities were nourished.
Lynn White Jr., “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” Science, 1967
In Antiquity every tree, every spring, every stream, every hill had its own genius loci, its guardian spirit. These spirits were accessible to men, but were very unlike men; centaurs, fauns, and mermaids show their ambivalence. Before one cut a tree, mined a mountain, or dammed a brook, it was important to placate the spirit in charge of that particular situation, and to keep it placated. By destroying pagan animism, Christianity made it possible to exploit nature in a mood of indifference to the feelings of natural objects.
(א) הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃
(1) Hallelujah. Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him on high. (2) Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts. (3) Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all bright stars. (4) Praise Him, highest heavens, and you waters that are above the heavens. (5) Let them praise the name of the LORD, for it was He who commanded that they be created. (6) He made them endure forever, establishing an order that shall never change. (7) Praise the LORD, O you who are on earth, all sea monsters and ocean depths, (8) fire and hail, snow and smoke, storm wind that executes His command, (9) all mountains and hills, all fruit trees and cedars, (10) all wild and tamed beasts, creeping things and winged birds, (11) all kings and peoples of the earth, all princes of the earth and its judges, (12) youths and maidens alike, old and young together. (13) Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name, His alone, is sublime; His splendor covers heaven and earth. (14) He has exalted the horn of His people for the glory of all His faithful ones, Israel, the people close to Him. Hallelujah.
א"ר תנחום דרש בר קפרא בציפורי מפני מה כל מ"ם שבאמצע תיבה פתוח וזה סתום ביקש הקב"ה לעשות חזקיהו משיח וסנחריב גוג ומגוג אמרה מדת הדין לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע ומה דוד מלך ישראל שאמר כמה שירות ותשבחות לפניך לא עשיתו משיח חזקיה שעשית לו כל הנסים הללו ולא אמר שירה לפניך תעשהו משיח לכך נסתתם מיד פתחה הארץ ואמרה לפניו רבש"ע אני אומרת לפניך שירה תחת צדיק זה ועשהו משיח פתחה ואמרה שירה לפניו שנאמר (ישעיהו כד, טז) מכנף הארץ זמירות שמענו צבי לצדיק וגו'
Rabbi Tanḥum says that bar Kappara taught in Tzippori: Due to what reason is it that every letter mem in the middle of a word is open and this mem, of the word lemarbe, is closed? In the Masoretic text, the letter mem in the word “lemarbe” is written in the form of a mem that appears at the end of a word, closed on all four sides. This is because the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to designate King Hezekiah as the Messiah and to designate Sennacherib and Assyria, respectively, as Gog and Magog, all from the prophecy of Ezekiel with regard to the end of days (Ezekiel, chapter 38), and the confrontation between them would culminate in the final redemption. The attribute of justice said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, and if with regard to David, king of Israel, who recited several songs and praises before You, You did not designate him as the Messiah, then with regard to Hezekiah, for whom You performed all these miracles, delivering him from Sennacherib and healing his illness, and he did not recite praise before You, will You designate him as the Messiah? It is for that reason that the mem was closed, because there was an opportunity for redemption that was thwarted. Immediately, the earth began and stated before Him: Master of the Universe, I will recite song before You in place of that righteous person, i.e., Hezekiah, and designate him as the Messiah. The earth began and recited a song before Him, as it is stated: “From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous. But I said, my secret is mine, my secret is mine, woe unto me. The treacherous deal treacherously; the treacherous deal very treacherously” (Isaiah 24:16).
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man in Search of God, 95
[From a Jewish perspective] The earth is [a person’s] sister rather than his mother. Man and earth are equally the creations of God…To think of God, man must hear the world. Man is not alone in celebrating God. To praise Him is to join all things in their song to Him.
אסור לו לאדם שיהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה: תנו רבנן אסור לו לאדם שיהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה וכל הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה מעל... אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל כל הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה כאילו נהנה מקדשי שמים שנאמר לה׳ הארץ ומלואה רבי לוי רמי כתיב לה׳ הארץ ומלואה וכתיב השמים שמים לה׳ והארץ נתן לבני אדם לא קשיא כאן קודם ברכה כאן לאחר ברכה אמר רבי חנינא בר פפא כל הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה כאילו גוזל להקדוש ברוך הוא וכנסת ישראל שנאמר גוזל אביו ואמו ואומר אין פשע חבר הוא לאיש משחית ואין אביו אלא הקדוש ברוך הוא שנאמר הלא הוא אביך קנך ואין אמו אלא כנסת ישראל שנאמר שמע בני מוסר אביך ואל תטוש תורת אמך מאי חבר הוא לאיש משחית
One is forbidden to derive benefit from this world without a blessing. The Sages taught in a Tosefta: One is forbidden to derive benefit from this world, without reciting a blessing beforehand. And anyone who derives benefit from this world without a blessing, it is as if s/he is guilty of misuse of a consecrated object. ...Similarly, Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: One who derives benefit from this world without a blessing, it is as if he enjoyed objects consecrated to the heavens, as it is stated: “The earth and all it contains is the Lord’s, the world and all those who live in it” (Psalms 24:1). Rabbi Levi expressed this concept differently. Rabbi Levi raised a contradiction: It is written: “The earth and all it contains is the Lord’s,” and it is written elsewhere: “The heavens are the Lord’s and the earth He has given over to mankind” (Psalms 115:16). This is not difficult. Here, the verse that says that the earth is the Lord’s refers to the situation before a blessing is recited, and here, where it says that He gave the earth to mankind refers to after a blessing is recited. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: Anyone who derives benefit from this world without a blessing, it is as if he stole from God and the community of Israel, as it is stated: “Whoever robs his father and his mother and says: It is no transgression, he is the companion of a destroyer” (Proverbs 28:24).
Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Shiur Komah 206b
The essence of Divinity is found in every single thing—nothing but it exists. Since it causes every thing to be, no thing can live by anything else. It enlivens them; its existence exists in each existent. Do not attribute duality to God. Let God be solely God… If you suppose that Ein Sof emanates until a certain point, and that from that point on is outside of it, you have dualized. God forbid! Realize, rather, that Ein Sof exists in each existent. Do not say, “This is a stone and not God.” God forbid! Rather, all existence is God, and the stone is a thing pervaded by divinity
Rebbe Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, (1889–1943), Bnai Machshava Tova, 33-34
Before [the] ability to see the world as souls and essences and consciousness fully emerges in you, you can still impress upon your rational mind the following thought: The whole world and everything in it is divine in origin and substance. It is not visible to my eyes but God is the source of all reality, even I am full of God. The sand under my feet is an articulation of God. The whole world is utterly comprised of, and dependent on, God…When you constantly impress this idea on your mind, you will begin to internalize it…When you remind yourself repeatedly that all the world is divine, your feelings and consciousness inevitably begin to comply with this point of view, which already corresponds with the perspective of the soul…As you observe the world, remind yourself that everything is completely given over to God. Everything is surrounded by the holiness of His Presence. Everything is, essentially, divine.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He moves them to and fro to dedicate them to He Whom the four directions are His. He raises and lowers them to He Whom the heavens and earth are His. In the West, Eretz Yisrael, they taught it as follows. Rabbi Ḥama bar Ukva said that Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: He moves them to and fro in order to request a halt to harmful winds, storms and tempests that come from all directions; he raises and lowers them in order to halt harmful dews and rains that come from above.
(א) לרחם על כל הנבראים: עוֹד צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת רַחֲמָיו פְּרוּשִׂים עַל כָּל הַנִּבְרָאִים, לֹא יְבַזֵּם וְלֹא יְאַבְּדֵם. שֶׁהֲרֵי הַחָכְמָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה הִיא פְרוּשָׂה עַל כָּל הַנִּבְרָאִים דּוֹמֵם וְצוֹמֵחַ וְחַי וּמְדַבֵּר. וּמִטַּעַם זֶה הֻזְהַרְנוּ מִבִּזּוּי אוֹכְלִים. וְעַל דָּבָר זֶה רָאוּי, שֶׁכְּמוֹ שֶׁהַחָכְמָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה אֵינָהּ מְבַזָּה שׁוּם נִמְצָא וְהַכֹּל נַעֲשָׂה מִשָּׁם כְּדִכְתִיב "כֻּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ" , כֵּן יִהְיֶה רַחֲמֵי הָאָדָם עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו יִתְבָּרַךְ. וּמִטַּעַם זֶה הָיָה עֹנֶשׁ רַבֵּינוּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ עַל יְדֵי שֶׁלֹּא חָס עַל בֶּן הַבָּקָר שֶׁהָיָה מִתְחַבֵּא אֶצְלוֹ וְאָמַר לוֹ "זִיל לְכָךְ נוֹצַרְתָּ" (בָּבָא מְצִיעָא פה.) בָּאוּ לוֹ יִסּוּרִין, שֶׁהֵם מִצַּד הַדִּין שֶׁהֲרֵי הָרַחֲמִים מְגִנִּים עַל הַדִּין, וְכַאֲשֶׁר רִחֵם עַל הַחֻלְדָּה וְאָמַר "רַחֲמָיו עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו" כְּתִיב, נִצּוֹל מִן הַדִּין מִפְּנֵי שֶׁפֵּרַשׂ אוֹר הַחָכְמָה עָלָיו וְנִסְתַּלְּקוּ הַיִּסּוּרִים. וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ זֶה לֹא יְבַזֶּה בְּשׁוּם נִמְצָא מִן הַנִּמְצָאִים שֶׁכֻּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה וְלֹא יַעֲקֹר הַצּוֹמֵחַ אֶלָּא לְצֹרֶךְ, וְלֹא יָמִית הַבַּעַל חַי אֶלָּא לְצוּרֵךְ, וְיִבְרֹר לָהֶם מִיתָה יָפָה בְּסַכִּין בְּדוּקָה לְרַחֵם כָּל מַה שֶׁאֶפְשָׁר.
(ב) זֶה הַכְּלָל: הַחֶמְלָה עַל כָּל הַנִּמְצָאִים שֶׁלֹּא לְחַבְּלָם תְּלוּיָה בַּחָכְמָה, זוּלָתִי לְהַעֲלוֹתָם מִמַּעֲלָה אֶל מַעֲלָה, מִצּוֹמֵחַ לְחַי, מֵחַי לִמְדַבֵּר שֶׁאָז מֻתָּר לַעֲקֹר הַצּוֹמֵחַ וּלְהָמִית הַחַי - לָחוּב עַל מְנָת לְזַכּוֹת:
(1) To have mercy upon all of the creatures: He must also have his mercy extend to all the creatures. He [should] not disgrace them nor destroy them. As behold, the Highest Wisdom is spread over all the creatures - the inanimate, the growing (plants), the living (animals) and the speaking (people). And we are warned about disgracing food for this reason. And about this thing it is fitting that [just] like the Highest Wisdom does not disgrace anything in existence and everything was made from There, as it is written, "You made all of them with wisdom" - so [too, should] the mercy of a person be over all of His creations, may He be blessed. And for this reason was the holy Rebbe punished: Since he did not pity the young calf that was hiding with him and said to it, "Go, you were created for this," afflictions came upon him (Bava Metzia 85a). As they were from the side of judgement; since behold, mercy protects from judgement. And when he had mercy on a weasel and said, "It is written (Psalms 145:9), 'and His mercies are over all of His creatures,'" he was saved from the judgement - since the light of Wisdom was spread over him and the afflictions withdrew. And upon this way, he [should] not disgrace anything in existence from that which exists, as all of them are with Wisdom. And [so] he [should] not uproot a plant except for a need nor kill an animal except for a need. And [then] he [should] chose a nice death, with a checked knife, to have mercy in as much as is possible.
(2) This is the general rule: Compassion upon all things in existence - not to injure them - is [rooted] in Wisdom. [This is] unless it is to raise them from [one] level to [another] level - from growing to living; from living to speaking. As then it is permitted to uproot a [plant] and kill an [animal] - to disadvantage [it] in order to benefit [it].