(יב) והנה נשחתה מעצמה כי בזולת ענש היתה בדרך השחתה בהשחתת דרכם המקלקלת התולדה ובגזל המקלקל המדינות כענין וטחני קמח:
(12) והנה נשחתה, without external influences, as a natural consequence, not due to man’s ecologically criminal behaviour. Although on the surface, there appeared to be no connection, man’s corruption resulted in the corruption of his habitat. The language used here by the Torah is comparable to Isaiah 47,2 וטחני קמח, “and grind meal.” One does not grind flour, but one grinds grain into flour. The prophet spoke about the end product. The Torah also spoke about the end product of man’s corruption bringing in its wake, though invisibly, the destruction of the earth’s crust.
(יג) כי מלאה הארץ חמס מפניהם שכלם גוזלים זה את זה הבעלים גוזלים את האריס בכח והאריס גוזל את הבעלים במרמה באופן שהארץ נותנת כל פירותיה לגזלנים:
(13) כי מלאה הארץ חמס מפניהם, for they all rob each other. The owners rob their leaseholders, the leaseholders rob the owners through deceit, so that in the final analysis all of the earth’s produce is grown for the benefit of robbers.
Genesis Rabbah 30:7
For 120 years [prior to the flood], Noah planted cedars and cut them down.
And God saw the earth and behold it was corrupt. (Genesis 6:11) Rabbi Hiyya adduced the following text: And God saw their works that they turned from their evil way. (Jonah 3:10) See now, he said, when the sons of men are righteous and observe the commands of the Torah, the earth becomes invigorated, and a fullness of joy pervades it, because then the Sh’khinah rests upon the earth, and there is thus gladness above as well as below. But when men corrupt their way and do not observe the commands of the Torah, and sin before their Master, they, as it were, thrust the The Rabbinical Assembly Corruption and Destruction Page 2 Sh’khinah out of the world, and the earth is thus left in a corrupt state. For the Sh’khinah being thrust out, another spirit comes and hovers over the world, bringing with it corruption. -Zohar, 1:61a
(יג) ראה את מעשה האלהים כי מי יוכל לתקן את אשר עותו - בשעה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא את אדם הראשון, נטלו והחזירו על כל אילני גן עדן, ואמר לו: ראה מעשי כמה נאים ומשובחין הן, וכל מה שבראתי, בשבילך בראתי, תן דעתך שלא תקלקל ותחריב את עולמי, שאם קלקלת אין מי שיתקן אחריך.
(13) Look at God's work - for who can straighten what He has twisted? (Ecclesiastes 7:13). When the Blessed Holy One created the first human, He took him and led him round all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: “Look at My works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are! And all that I have created, it was for you that I created it. Pay attention that you do not corrupt and destroy My world: if you corrupt it, there is no one to repair it after you.
Our concern with environment cannot be reduced to what can be used, to what can be grasped. Environment includes not only the inkstand and the blotting paper, but also the impenetrable stillness in the air, the stars, the clouds, the quiet passing of time, and the wonder of my own being. I am an end as well as a means, and so is the world: an end as well as a means. My view of the world and my understanding of the self, determine each other. The complete manipulation of the world results in the complete instrumentalization of the self. - Who is Man? by Abraham Joshua Heschel (pp. 88)
Halakhah L’ma-aseh
a. In the Jewish tradition, the halakhah actually deals explicitly with the concept of wasteful consumption. When we waste resources, we are violating the mitzvah not to destroy the world, usually known in Hebrew as bal tashhit, literally, “do not destroy.”
- The Observant Life, pp. 880
b. The over-consumption of resources is at the heart of the environmental crisis. As Jews we are obligated to consider our real needs carefully whenever we purchase anything. When we have a simhah, we are obligated to consider the extravagance of our celebrations.
- The Observant Life, pp. 880
c. Shabbat is one way for Jews to embrace the concept of living a sustainable life. For one day out of seven, Shabbat observers limit their use of the earth’s resources dramatically.
- The Observant Life, pp. 880
d. The Torah has a whole program of tzedek-based laws, all of which try to preserve a just distribution of resources across the community…tzedek should be at therefore be at the heart of the Jewish perspective on environmental justice.
- The Observant Life, pp. 884
e. As Jews we must make a moral commitment to developing a sustainable economy, and we must adopt personal practices and communal policies that reflect that ideal. We must urge our governments to become part of our international process to lower carbon emissions. The future of the Jewish community is bound up with the environment fate of the world.
- The Observant Life, pp. 892