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LIBERAL
JEWISH VALUES
THE ENVIRONMENT Threats of global destruction, through pollution and exhaustion of the earth’s precious resources, have pushed environmental issues towards the top of many a government agenda. Unless radical steps are taken to combat pollution and conserve natural resources, we may soon reach a point beyond which global annihilation is inevitable. Self interest alone demands that governments, industries, communities and individuals join in a struggle to halt and reverse all acts likely to endanger the survival of our planet. For the Jew, ecological awareness should be prompted by more than self interest, because Judaism has ever expressed profound concern for environmental well-being. Such concern is a concomitant of the cardinal belief in One Creator who is anxious to include humanity in an ongoing programme of planetary care. The first chapter of Genesis (v26) grants humankind dominion over the rest of creation but that word ‘dominion’ cannot be understood in isolation from the rest of the verse or without reference to other Biblical and post-Biblical passages. The beginning of Genesis 1:26 tells that humanity was created in God’s image. We are therefore expected to image God in our dealings with the rest of creation - as God is just and merciful so should we be just and merciful. ’The earth is God’s and all its fullness, the world and all who dwell in it’ (Psalm 24:1). This theocentric view is reinforced by the regulations concerning the 50th year of Jubilee when all leased land reverted to its original owners who were themselves understood to hold the land in trust for God. And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity (i.e. the freehold shall not be sold) for the land is Mine. (Leviticus 25:23). Such verses help the Jew to remember who is actually in charge. Acceptance of God as sovereign and humanity as servant encourages conservation of earthly resources, just as refusal to acknowledge God as Adon Olam (Sovereign of the Universe) leads to undisciplined exploitation of the earth and its riches. To clarify Jewish responsibility towards the earth and its flora and fauna, Biblical and post-Biblical legislation specifies a programme of action: "When you besiege a city... You shall not destroy its trees. You may cut from them but not destroy them" (Deuteronomy 20:19-20). From this prohibition were drawn many others, which in sum total, serve to prevent wanton destruction of anything useful to humanity. The judging of what is useful cannot exclude considerations of effect upon the environment because assaults against nature are also assaults against ourselves. Subsumed under the term Bal tashchit (you shall not destroy) are all measures likely to protect the environment."God took Adam and placed him in a garden… to work it and to preserve it" (Genesis 2:15). This verse entitles humans to work the earth and extract its wealth providing they also guard and conserve it. The command to let agricultural land lie fallow every seventh year (Leviticus 25:4) displays a sensitive concern for the soil which is rarely to be found amongst modern agriculturalists. Obsessed with a desire to produce ever greater quantities of visually attractive foodstuffs (even in Europe where unwanted surpluses have been stored at enormous cost) the modern farmer exhausts soil and poisons crops with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The consumer, human or animal, is likewise poisoned. Modern consumer societies place enormous strains upon delicate environmental balances and the increasing incidence of ecological disasters should influence us to exercise greater restraint in our enjoyment of the earth’s manifold riches. In a finite world, infinite appetites and aspirations are sorely misplaced. In our daily lives we must abandon habits which are injurious to the environment and adopt habits which conserve it. We are duty bound to persuade others to follow our example and to urge local, national and international authorities to do what is possible on behalf of the environment. One of the greatest threats to planetary well-being is unbridled expansion of the human population which has already adversely affected the stability of most third world countries and added immeasurably to social confusion and breakdown in those countries, such as ours, which enjoy relative economic prosperity. Traditionally, Jewish teachers have cited Genesis 1:28 "…be fertile and increase and fill the earth" as an argument against birth control but now that the earth has been filled with teeming humanity it might be argued that the commandment to increase no longer applies, though clearly there remains an obligation to reproduce sufficiently to avoid extinction of our species. While certainly wishing to avoid coercion, and poignantly aware of declining Jewish numbers, Liberal Judaism nevertheless encourages voluntary family limitation. A smaller population will obviously use less of the earth’s finite resources to satisfy its basic needs. The stance of Liberal Judaism on environmental issues is essentially the same as that of other forms of Judaism and indeed Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jewish leaders have all played their part in relating Jewish teaching to current ecological concerns. However, when we consider the degree to which our founders emphasised ethics, it is justifiable for us to assert that Liberal Jews have a special responsibility to serve in the vanguard of every moral struggle. Ideally we should stand at the very forefront of those who campaign for a healthier environment and at the very least work in concert with others who care about the future of our planet. "And God saw all which had been made and behold it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). The earth is very good and with the assistance of sufficient numbers of responsible humans it will remain so. In March 2000 the Union of Liberal & Progressive Synagogues committed itself to three new environmental initiatives in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation. We gave our endorsement to the Climate Savers campaign on global warming, and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) on responsible use and management of trees; we also launched a movement-wide environmental audit, seeking to make communities and their buildings more environmentally friendly and aware. Liberal Judaism was a high profile participant in the WWF-ARC Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet conference in Katmandhu, Nepal in November 2000. APPENDIX We append a suggested action list which is relevant at the time of writing but will require periodic updating, as new problems emerge and others find solution.
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