Parshat Shoftim

Parshat Shoftim
September 5, 2008/ 5 Elul 5768

"When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them." (Deut. 20:19)

Parshat Shoftim is the source of a key principle in Jewish law-- bal tashchit -- one must not destroy. The rabbinic tradition understands this as a general prohibition against any wanton destruction or unnecessary wasting of resources. As the great Jewish legal philosopher Maimonides explains:

"Whoever breaks vessels, or tears garments, or destroys a building, or clogs a well, or does away with food in a destructive manner violates the negative commandment of bal tashchit." (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 6:10)

In modern times, many have understood this prohibition as the basis for a religious environmental ethic. They argue that our reckless attitude toward the Earth's precious and limited resources is not only a bad idea, it is a sin. One particularly fascinating element of this contemporary understanding of bal tashchit is that Jewish thinkers of all ideological backgrounds, from Reform to Orthodox, have come to similar conclusions about the religious necessity of environmental conservation.

This week, in place of a full d'var torah (I'm in the midst of packing for Israel), I want to share a text from Sampson Raphael Hirsch, the ideological founder of Modern Orthodox Judaism. His words speak with force and eloquence about the religious mandate to be stewards of our planet. We ignore them at our own peril.

Shabbat Shalom.

Sampson Raphael Hirsch
Horeb #56

"God's call proclaims to you, "Do not destroy anything! Be a mentsh [good person]! Only if you use the things around you for wise human purposes, sanctified by the word of My teaching, only then are you a mentsh 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 but an animal 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!" This is what God calls unto you, and with this call does God represent the greatest and the smallest against you and grants the smallest as also the greatest a right against your presumptuousness...

In truth, there is no one nearer to idolatry than one who can disregard the fact that things are the creatures and property of God, and who presumes also to have the right, having the might, to destroy them according to a presumptuous act of will."