Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by Moses on the Plains of Moab, shortly before they enter the Promised Land. The first sermon recounts the forty years of wilderness wanderings which had led to that moment, and ends with an exhortation to observe the law. The second sermon reminds the Israelites of the need to follow God and the laws (or teachings) God has given them, on which their possession of the land depends. The third sermon offers the comfort that, even should the nation of Israel prove unfaithful and so lose the land, with repentance all can be restored.
The final four chapters (31–34) contain the Song of Moses, the Blessing of Moses, and the narratives recounting the passing of the mantle of leadership from Moses to Joshua and, finally, the death of Moses on Mount Nebo.
(19) When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy (lo tashkhit) its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? (20) Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siegeworks against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced.
It is the first major work of rabbinic literature. It covers agricultural, ritual, civil, criminal, and Temple-related laws, presenting a multiplicity of legal opinions and incorporating occasional stories. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah ha-Nasi in the Land of Israel at the beginning of the 3rd century CE in a time when, according to the Talmud, the persecution of the Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten. Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but some parts are in Aramaic.
The Mishnah consists of six orders (sedarim, singular seder סדר), each containing 7–12 tractates (masechtot, singular masechet מסכת; lit. "web"), 63 in total, and further subdivided into chapters and paragraphs. The word Mishnah can also indicate a single paragraph of the work, i.e. the smallest unit of structure in the Mishnah.
(א) משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה.
(1) Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly.
(י) מֵאֵימָתַי אֵין קוֹצְצִין אֶת הָאִילָן בַּשְּׁבִיעִית. בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, כָּל הָאִילָן מִשֶּׁיּוֹצִיא. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, הֶחָרוּבִין מִשֶּׁיְּשַׁלְשֵׁלוּ, וְהַגְּפָנִים מִשֶּׁיְּגָרְעוּ, וְהַזֵּיתִים מִשֶּׁיָּנֵצוּ, וּשְׁאָר כָּל אִילָן מִשֶּׁיּוֹצִיא. וְכָל הָאִילָן, כֵּיוָן שֶׁבָּא לְעוֹנַת הַמַּעַשְׂרוֹת, מֻתָּר לְקָצְצוֹ. כַּמָּה יְהֵא בַזַּיִת וְלֹא יְקֻצֶּנּוּ, רֹבַע. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, הַכֹּל לְפִי הַזַּיִת:
(10) From when may they no longer cut down trees in the seventh year? Bet Shammai says: every tree, after it has produced [fruit]. Bet Hillel says: carob trees after [the carobs] begin to droop, vines after the berries begin to be moist, olive-trees after they had blossomed, any other tree after it has produced [fruit]. And any tree as soon as it reaches the season for tithes it may be cut down. How much should be on an olive tree such that it may not be cut down? A quarter [Rova] (A rova is 33.6 cubic inches). Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: all depends on the olive-tree.
The term Talmud normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), although there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi). It may also traditionally be called Shas (ש״ס), a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, or the "six orders" of the Mishnah.
The Talmud is the textual record of generations of rabbinic debate about law, philosophy, and biblical interpretation, compiled between the 3rd and 8th centuries and structured as commentary on the Mishnah with stories interwoven. The term "Talmud" may refer to either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah and Gemara together.
The entire Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in the standard print, called the Vilna Shas, there are 2,711 double-sided folios. It is written in Mishnaic Hebrew and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis (dating from before the Common Era through to the fifth century) on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, and folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law and is widely quoted in rabbinic literature.
And this is as reflected in an incident involving Rabba bar Rav Huna, when Rav Huna tore silk garments in front of his son Rabba. Rav Huna had said to himself: I will go and see if he becomes angry or does not become angry, i.e., he wanted to test him and see whether his son Rabba would honor him... The Gemara asks: But by tearing his clothes, he violates the prohibition: Do not destroy (ba'al tashkhit) (see Deuteronomy 20:19). The Gemara answers that Rav Huna made a tear at the seam, so that the garment could be repaired...
Shlomo ben Yitzhak, best known by the acronym "Rashi", was an early and influential medieval Torah and Talmud commentator. He was born in Troyes, France, and as a young man he studied in the yeshivot of Worms and Mainz. At the age of twenty-five he returned to Troyes and opened his own yeshiva. He supported his family and his yeshiva by growing grapes and producing and selling wine. Widely known as the father of all commentators, his commentary on the Bible and Talmud is considered an indispensable tool for Torah study. He described his aim as clarifying the "peshat" or "plain-sense" meaning of each verse. He was also a posek who authored responsa.
Avraham ben Meir ibn Ezra, better known simply as Ibn Ezra, was a medieval Spanish Torah commentator, poet, philosopher and grammarian. While he wrote on grammar, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics, he is most famous for his Biblical commentaries, which, alongside those of Rashi, are ubiquitous and indispensable. His commentaries focus on grammatical explanations and the "peshat" (plain-sense) meaning of the text. He often incorporates biting or humorous comments directed toward other commentators, especially towards the Karaites. He maintained a deep friendship with R. Yehudah Halevi, and quotes some of his interpretations in his commentaries. His poetry is still read and sung as part of the regular liturgy. Ibn Ezra knew great poverty and traveled widely, almost incessantly, teaching and making connections with fellow scholars, notably Rabbenu Tam in France.
Mishneh Torah consists of fourteen books, subdivided into sections, chapters, and paragraphs. It is the only Medieval-era work that details all of Jewish observance, including those laws that are only applicable when the Temple in Jerusalem is in existence, and remains an important work in Judaism.
Maimonides intended to provide a complete statement of the Oral Law, so that a person who mastered first the Written Torah and then the Mishneh Torah would be in no need of any other book. Contemporary reaction was mixed, with a strong and immediate opposition which focused on the absence of sources and minority opinions and the belief that the work appeared to be intended to supersede study of the Talmud. Nevertheless, the Mishneh Torah endures as an influential work in Jewish religious thought
We teach a person that he should not recklessly destroy property and throw it to oblivion. It is better to give it to the poor than to throw it to maggots and worms. Whoever casts many articles on a deceased person violates the commandment against destroying property (b'lo tashkhit).
Yonah Gerondi (Rabbeinu Yonah) was a Spanish rabbi, Talmudist and ethicist. His best-known work is Sha'arei Teshuva, a comprehensive work on repentance. He also wrote chiddushim (Talmudic novellae) on a number of tractates, quoted by contemporaries and later authors. He was one of the most prominent opponents of the Rambam's philosophical works. When the attacks on the Rambam's works culminated in a public burning of wagon-loads of Talmud by Christian authorities, Rabbeinu Yonah publicly admitted his error in involving outside players, and gave Rambam a prominent and revered place in his teaching. It is surmised that this turn of events motivated Rabbeinu Yonah to write Sha'arei Teshuva.
לא תשחית את עצה לנדוח עליה גרזן (דברים כ׳:י״ט). כי הוזהרנו בזה שלא לכרות כל עץ מאכל גם לבנות לו מצור, כל זמן שימצא מאילני סרק די ספוקו. וכן הוזהרנו בזה שלא לפזר ממון לריק אפילו שוה פרוטה.
“You must not destroy (lo tashkhit) its trees, wielding the ax against them” (Deuteronomy 20:19). For we were warned with this not to cut down any fruit tree - even to build fortifications with it, so long as one finds enough fruitless trees for his needs. And we were also warned with this not to throw money around for no reason - even the value of a perutah (a small coin).
The root of this commandment is well-known - it is in order to teach our souls to love good and benefit and to cling to it. And through this, good clings to us and we will distance [ourselves] from all bad and destructive (hashkhit) things. And this is the way of the pious and people of [proper] action - they love peace and are happy for the good of the creatures and bring them close to Torah, and they do not destroy even a grain of mustard in the world. And they are distressed by all loss and destruction that they see; and if they can prevent it, they will prevent any destruction with all of their strength. But not so are the wicked - the brothers of the destructive spirits. They rejoice in the destruction (b'hashkhit) of the world, and they destroy (mashkhitim) themselves - [since] in the way that a person measures, so is he measured; which is to say that he clings to it forever, as the matter that is written (Proverbs 17:5), "the one who rejoices in calamity, will not be cleared (of evil)." And the one who desires the good and rejoices in it, 'his soul will dwell in the good' forever. This is known and famous.
The halachic rulings in the Shulchan Aruch generally follow Sephardic law and customs, whereas Ashkenazi Jews generally follow the halachic rulings of Moses Isserles, whose glosses to the Shulchan Aruch note where the Sephardic and Ashkenazi customs differ. These glosses are widely referred to as the mappah (literally: the "tablecloth") to the Shulchan Aruch's "Set Table".
Due to the increased availability of the printing press, the 16th century was an era of legal codification in Poland, the Ottoman Empire and other countries. Previously unwritten laws and customs were being compiled and recorded; the Shulchan Aruch was one of these.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman was asked by his teacher, Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, to write an adjusted version of the Shulchan Aruch (1562 CE) of Rabbi Joseph Karo with reference to later commentaries, as well as subsequent responsa, for nascent Hassidism. He composed his updated and adapted Shulchan Aruch (c. 1800), so that Hassidic laymen would be able to study the Jewish law at that time and place.
כשם שצריך להזהר בגופו שלא לאבדו
ולא לקלקלו ולא להזיקו כך צריך
להזהר במאודו שלא לאבדו ולא לקלקלו
ולא להזיקו וכל המשבר כלים או קורע
בגדים או הורס בנין או סותם מעין או
מאבד מאכלות או משקין או ממאסם
(או זורק מעות לאיבוד) וכן המקלקל
שאר כלדבר הראוי ליהנות בו בני אדם
עובר בלא תעשה שנאמר לא תשחית
את עצה וגו'
Just as one must be careful with his body so as not to destroy it or ruin it or harm it, so too one needs to be careful with his property so as not to destroy or ruin or harm it. Anyone who smashes utensils or tears clothing or breaks down a building or clogs a well or destroys food or drinks, or spoils them or throws out money – and likewise one who ruins any other thing which his fit for human beings to make use of – he transgresses against a Torah prohibition, as it is stated, “Do not destroy (lo tashkhit) its trees (Deuteronomy 20:19)”.
Jeremy Benstein, PhD, a founder and associate director of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership, has published numerous articles on Judaism, Israel and environmentalism, including regular contributions to the Jerusalem Report. He holds a master's degree in rabbinic literature and a doctorate in environmental anthropology, and frequently lectures on environmental ethics, consumer culture and religion, and the environment.
The Way Into... Series offers an accessible and highly usable "guided tour" of the Jewish faith, people, history and beliefs- in total, an introduction to Judaism that will enable you to understand and interact with the sacred texts of the Jewish tradition. Each volume is written by a leading contemporary scholar and teacher, and explores one key aspect of Judaism. The Way Into... enables all readers to achieve a real sense of Jewish cultural literacy through guided study.
The Way Into Judaism and the Environment (p. 97)
The four words of the original encapsulate in their ambiguity the two main schools of thought on issues of preservation and development. First is the view that nature has value in and of itself, that it exists apart from us and our needs, that we should refrain from destroying what we cannot create. Second is the equally legitimate anthropocentric approach, which speaks to "the bottom line," what we get out of the deal. It also implies a generational perspective - we harm not only ourselves but generations to come when we selfishly exploit resources for our short-term gain.
Some claim that we can arrive at a pragmatic synthesis of the two positions because it is impossible to conceive of human survival outside the boundaries of healthy and table ecosystems: doing what is best for humanity over the longest of long terms will necessarily dovetail with what is in the best interest of nature. Nevertheless, just as we need both interpretations of the biblical verses to do full justice to the richness of the original, neither by itself accounting for all the manifest and latent meanings, we need to worry about nature and about humanity, and about the ongoing connection and interdependence between them.