Humans and Creation, Bal Tashchit, and Tikkun Olam (Copy)

(כו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה אָדָ֛ם בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ וְיִרְדּוּ֩ בִדְגַ֨ת הַיָּ֜ם וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּבְכָל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבְכָל־הָרֶ֖מֶשׂ הָֽרֹמֵ֥שׂ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (כז) וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃ (כח) וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָם֮ אֱלֹהִים֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָהֶ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ וּמִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ וּרְד֞וּ בִּדְגַ֤ת הַיָּם֙ וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּבְכָל־חַיָּ֖ה הָֽרֹמֶ֥שֶׂת עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (כט) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּה֩ נָתַ֨תִּי לָכֶ֜ם אֶת־כָּל־עֵ֣שֶׂב׀ זֹרֵ֣עַ זֶ֗רַע אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כָל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֶת־כָּל־הָעֵ֛ץ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֥וֹ פְרִי־עֵ֖ץ זֹרֵ֣עַ זָ֑רַע לָכֶ֥ם יִֽהְיֶ֖ה לְאָכְלָֽה׃

Genesis 1:26-29

(26) And God said: ‘Let us make humans in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ (27) And God created humans in His own image, in the image of God created him; male and female He created them. (28) And God blessed them; and God said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ (29) And God said: ‘Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed—to you it shall be for food;

בראשית ב׳:ט״ו

(טו) וַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעָבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ׃

Genesis 2:15

(15) And the LORD God took the human, and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and to guard it (also translates "to till and to tend it").

י.ר.ד.

מ.ל.ה.

כ.ב.ש.

ע.ב.ד.

ש.מ.ר.

Verbs from Text 1

Y.R.D. - have dominion - also: descend, decline, get off of, decrease

M.L.H. - fill - also: complete (like "you complete me"

CH.B.SH. - subdue - also: conquer, suppress, subjugate, vanquish, rape

Verbs from Text 2

A.V.D. - work - also: serve, worship, slave

SH.M.R. - guard - also: keep, observe (like sabbath observance), preserve, watch, take care of.

Given the meanings/connotations of words in Text 1 vs. Text 2, what do you think humanity's relationship with the world is meant to be in each text?

ויקרא י״ט:כ״ג-כ״ה

(כג) וְכִי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ וּנְטַעְתֶּם כָּל עֵץ מַאֲכָל וַעֲרַלְתֶּם עָרְלָתוֹ אֶת פִּרְיוֹ שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים יִהְיֶה לָכֶם עֲרֵלִים לֹא יֵאָכֵל. (כד) וּבַשָּׁנָה הָרְבִיעִת יִהְיֶה כָּל פִּרְיוֹ קֹדֶשׁ הִלּוּלִים לַיהוָה. (כה) וּבַשָּׁנָה הַחֲמִישִׁת תֹּאכְלוּ אֶת פִּרְיוֹ לְהוֹסִיף לָכֶם תְּבוּאָתוֹ אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.

Leviticus 19:23-25

(23) And when you shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then you shall count the fruit as forbidden; three years shall it be as forbidden unto you; it shall not be eaten. (24) And in the fourth year all the fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to the LORD. (25) But in the fifth year you may eat of the fruit, so that it will provide more yield: I am the LORD your God.

What practical difficulties can you imagine arising from following this commandment (not to eat the fruit of a tree until the 5th year?
Note: this law becomes related to Tu B'Shvat - the birthday/new year of the trees.

דברים כ׳:י״ט-כ׳

(יט) כִּי תָצוּר אֶל עִיר יָמִים רַבִּים לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ לְתָפְשָׂהּ לֹא תַשְׁחִית אֶת עֵצָהּ לִנְדֹּחַ עָלָיו גַּרְזֶן כִּי מִמֶּנּוּ תֹאכֵל וְאֹתוֹ לֹא תִכְרֹת כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה לָבֹא מִפָּנֶיךָ בַּמָּצוֹר. (כ) רַק עֵץ אֲשֶׁר תֵּדַע כִּי לֹא עֵץ מַאֲכָל הוּא אֹתוֹ תַשְׁחִית וְכָרָתָּ וּבָנִיתָ מָצוֹר עַל הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר הִוא עֹשָׂה עִמְּךָ מִלְחָמָה עַד רִדְתָּהּ.

Deuteronomy 20:19-20

(19) When you besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy the trees by wielding an axe against them; for you may eat of them, but you shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field a human, that it should withdraw from you into the besieged city? (20) Only the trees which you know that they are not trees for food, those you may destroy and cut down, that you may build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until it fall.

1. According to Text 5, which trees are you allowed to cut down, and which are you forbidden to cut down?
2. The Rabbis (in the Mishnah, Talmud, and beyond) extend/refine the biblical commandment "you shall not destroy" (Bal Tashchit) into a general principle, best understood as "you shall not needlessly destroy". Can you imagine how they justify this from the text above?

If you should regard the beings beneath you as objects without rights, not perceiving G‑d who created them, and therefore desire that they feel the might of your presumptuous mood, instead of using them only as the means of wise human activity—then G-d’s call proclaims to you, “Do not destroy anything!” Be a mensch! Only if you use the things around you for wise human purposes, sanctified by the word of My teaching, only then are you a mensch and have the right over them which I have given you as a human. However, if you destroy, if you ruin, at that moment you are not a human and have no right to the things around you. I lent them to you for wise use only; never forget that I lent them to you. As soon as you use them unwisely, be it the greatest or the smallest, you commit treachery against My world, you commit murder and robbery against My property, you sin against Me! In truth, there is no one nearer to idolatry than one who can disregard the fact that all things are the creatures and property of G-d, and who then presumes to have the right, because he has the might, to destroy them according to a presumptuous act of will. Yes, that one is already serving the most powerful idols—anger, pride, and above all ego, which in its passion regards itself as the master of things. (Horeb, sections 397, 398 - R. Shimshon Rephael HIrsch 1808-1888)

1. What is the main point of Text 6?
2. How does text 6 expand on the definition of Bal Tashchit (do not needlessly destroy)?

A story about Rav Huna:
On the eve of every Sabbath [Friday] he would send a messenger to the market and any vegetables that the [market] gardeners had left over he bought up and then had them thrown into the river. Should he not rather have had these distributed among the poor? — [He was afraid] lest they would then at times be led to rely upon him and would not trouble to buy any for themselves. Why did he not give the vegetables to the domestic animals? — He was of the opinion that food fit for human consumption
may not be given to animals7 Then why did he purchase them at all? — This would lead [the gardeners] to do wrong in the future [by not providing an adequate supply].
-Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Taanit page 22a

What does text 7 have to do with Bal Tashchit?

When God created the first human beings, God led them around the Garden of Eden and said: “Look at my works! See how beautiful they are—how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it.” (Midrash Kohelet Rabbah, 1 on Ecclesiastes 7:13)

Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) has become a central value in modern Judaism, shared by all the modern movements. How do you understand this idea for yourself and your family - is it your responsibility to repair the world?