(28) God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”
(16) The heavens are the heavens of the LORD; But the earth hath He given to the children of men.
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.
(1) At the time that the Holy One created the first man, He introduced him to every tree in the Garden of Eden, and said to him, ‘See how wonderful and pleasant these trees are. And all of this I have created for you; therefore take great care that you do not damage and destroy My world, for if you do there is no one else to put right what you have destroyed.’
(כב) בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר, הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ. וּבָהּ תֶּחֱזֵי, וְסִיב וּבְלֵה בָהּ, וּמִנַּהּ לֹא תָזוּעַ, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ מִדָּה טוֹבָה הֵימֶנָּה:
(22) Ben Bag Bag says: Turn it and turn it again, since everything is in it. And in it should you look, and grow old and be worn in it; and from it do not move, since there is no characteristic greater than it.
אִם הָיְתָה נְטִיעָה בְּתוֹךְ יָדָךְ וְיֹאמְרוּ לָּךְ "הֲרֵי לָךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ", בּוֹא וּנְטַע אֶת הַנְטִיעָה וְאַחַר כָּךְ צֵא וְהַקְבִּילוֹ.
Avot de Rabbi Natan 31
Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai used to say: "If you have a sapling in your hand and they tell you 'The Messiah is coming!' first plant the sapling and then go to greet him."
One day, [Honi] was walking along the way and he saw a man who was going to plant a carob tree. He said to him, how many years until it will bear fruit? He answered: 70 years. He asked, is it so clear to you that you will be alive in 70 years? He answered: I found this world complete with carob trees that my ancestors planted. So too I will plant some for my children. [Honi] sat to rest, and slept for 70 years. He saw the same man collecting carobs. he said, "Are you the one who planted this?" He answered: I am his son's son. [Honi] said "I must have slept for 70 years!...
אמר להם: אידין מתקרי חכים? אמרו ליה: איזהו חכם - הרואה את הנולד.
“Who is called a 'wise man'?” [The sages] responded to him, “The person who sees the consequence of their action.”
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.
They [the Sages] state: "It is forbidden to live in a town which has no garden or greenery" (Kiddushin 66a).