Bal tashchit: A Jewish environmental precept

Environmental Ethics

Volumn 19, Issue 4, 1997, Pages 355-374

  Schwartz, Eilon ^a,b  

^a HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM   (Israel)

^b Abraham Joshua Heschel Ctr Nat S   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0004360333     PISSN: 01634275     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5840/enviroethics19971943     Document Type: Article

References (59)

1. Although the term rabbinic has a more generic usage, in the context of this paper it refers to the individuals who wrote and codified the Mishnali and Talmud. The Mishnali is the name of the earliest major rabbinic works, first appearing toward the turn of the third century C.E. It is the core document of the talmudic tradition, composed in very terse language and arranged topic by topic over a wide range of subjects. The Talmud primarily refers to the Mishnah combined with its later rabbinic commentaries, the Gemara. The earliest one is the Jerusalem, or Palestinian, Talmud, dating from the first half of the fifth century. Some two centuries later the Babylonian Talmud was compiled. All talmudic references in this paper are to the Babylonian Talmud.
2. For a literature survey of the contemporary debate on the relationship of Judaism to the environment, and a discussion of the theological/moral issues which are at the root of such a relationship, see Eilon Schwartz, "Judaism and Nature: Theological and Moral Issues to Consider While Renegotiating a Jewish Relationship to Nature," Judaism 44 (Fall 1995): 437-47.
3. The halacha is the set of rules often known as "Jewish law" that governs Jewish life. The halacha, however, contains far more than what is usually suggested by the term law, as is demonstrated in this paper.
4. R. Solomon b. Issac [RaShI] (1040-1150). Perhaps the most influential biblical and talmudic exegete. French.
5. Samuel ben Meir, commentary on Deuteronomy 20:19, in Torat Chaim (Jerusalem: Hotzaat Mosad HaRav Kook, 1993). He is Rashi's grandson, one of the Tosafists, halachic commentators on the Talmud in twelfth to fourteenth-century France and Germany.
6. Nahmanides, commentary on Deuteronomy 20:19, in Torat Chaim.
7. Ibid.
8. All quotes from the Mishnah and the Talmud are taken from the Soncino translation, unless otherwise cited.
9. I have here changed parts of the Soncino translation, translating in a way similar to Adin Steinsaltz in his Hebrew translation of the Talmud.
10. Meir Ayele, "The Fear of Cutting Dow Fruit-bearing Trees in the Responsa Literature," in Tura [Hebrew] (Kibbutz Hameuchad, 1989), pp. 135-40.
11. Moses Maimonides, Judges, Mishnah Torah [Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Hotzaat Mossad HaRav Kook, 1962), Laws of Kings 6:10. Perhaps the most influential Jewish philosopher ever.
12. Moses Maimonides, Judges, Mishnah Torah [Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Hotzaat Mossad HaRav Kook, 1962), Laws of Mourning 14:24.
13. Maimonides, Mishnah Torah, "The Book of Judges," Kings 6:8-10
14. Scholars whose efforts were concentrated on determining the halacha in practice.
15. Tosefot Baba Metzia 32b
16. Judah he-Hasid, Sefer Ha Chasidim (Jerusalem: Aharon Block, 1992), no. 339.
17. Ovadiah Yosef, Yabiah Omer (Jerusalem, 1993), pt. 4, Even HaEzer, no. 9. Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel.
18. Ovadiah Yosef, Yabiah Omer, pt. 3, Yoreh Deah, no. 18. A mezuzah is a parchment scroll containing portions of the Torah, fixed to the doorpost.
19. Shabbat 105b.
20. Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, Mishpat Cohen (Jerusalem, HaAguda L'Hotzaat Sifrei HaRav Kook, 1937), no. 21. Zionist leader. First Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine.
21. Moses Maimonides, Responsa (Hebrew), trans. Jehoshua Blau (Jerusalem: Mekize Nirdamim, 1958), no. 112.
22. Judah B. Samuel Rosannes, Mishneh la-Melekh, commentary on Maimonides, Mishnah Torah, Isurei Mizbeah, 7:3 as it appears in Baal Tashchit, Encyclopedia Talmudit (Jerusalem: Hotzaat Encylopedia Talmudit, 1973). Turkish rabbi.
23. Judah B. Samuel Rosannes, Mishneh la-Melekh, commentary on Maimonides, Mishnah Torah, Isurei Mizbeah, 7:3 as it appears in Baal Tashchit, Encyclopedia Talmudit (Jerusalem: Hotzaat Encylopedia Talmudit, 1973). Turkish rabbi.
24. Baruch Baandit Wiesel, Makor Bartich, as cited in Meir Ayele, The Fearof Chopping Down Fruit Trees in the Responsa Literature, in Titra: Studies in Jewish Thought (Tel Aviv: Kibbutz HaMeuchad, 1989), p. 138.
25. Baruch Baandit Wiesel, Makor Bartich, as cited in Meir Ayele, The Fearof Chopping Down Fruit Trees in the Responsa Literature, in Titra: Studies in Jewish Thought (Tel Aviv: Kibbutz HaMeuchad, 1989), p. 138.
26. Naphtali Zevi Judah Berlin, Aleshiv Davor (Jerusalem, 1993), chap. 2, no. 56
27. Yaakov Tzvi from Kalenburg, HaKatav v'HaKabalah (Nurenburg, 1924), Deuteronomy 20:19.
28. Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi, Sefer Sha'arei Teshuva (Jerusalem, 1960), chap, 3, no. 82. Spanish rabbi and moralist.
29. Menahem Azariah Da Fano, Responsa, 129, as quoted in Meir Zichal, Environmental Protection in Jewish Sources [Hebrew] (Ramat Gan: The Responsa Project, 1989), p. 31. Italian rabbi and kabbalist.
30. Menahem Azariah Da Fano, Responsa, 129, as quoted in Meir Zichal, Environmental Protection in Jewish Sources [Hebrew] (Ramat Gan: The Responsa Project, 1989), p. 31. Italian rabbi and kabbalist.
31. Ephraim Weinberger, Yad Ephraim (Tel Aviv: HaVaad HaTziburi LiHotzaat Kitvei HaRav Weinberger, 1976), no. 14. Former member of Tel Aviv rabbinic council.
32. Jacob Reischer, Shevut Yaakov (Jerusalem, 1972), pt. 3, no. 71.
33. Shneur Zalman of Lyady, "Laws of Protecting the Body and the Spirit and Bal Tashchit", Shulhan Arukh of the Rav (New York: Kehot Publication Society, 1975), 31:b. Founder of Habad Hasdism.
34. Sefer Hachinuch: The Book of Education (New York: Feldheim Publishers, 1989), no. 529.
35. Zevi Ashkenazi, Haham Zevi, as quoted in Zichal, Environmental Protection in Jewish Sources, p. 9.
36. Zevi Ashkenazi, Haham Zevi, as quoted in Zichal, Environmental Protection in Jewish Sources, p. 9.
37. Jacob Reischer, Shevut Yaakov (Jerusalem, 1972), pt. 1, no. 159.
38. Jair Hayyim Bacharach, Havvot Yair (Jerusalem, 1968), no. 195. German talmudic scholar.
39. Jacob Ettlinger, Binyan Zion (Jerusalem: Davar Jerusalem, 1989), no. 61.
40. Moses Sofer, Responsa of Hatam Sofer [Hebrew], (Jerusalem: Hotzaat Hod, 1972), Yoreh Deah, no. 102.
41. Ovadia Yosef, Yabia Omer (Jerusalem, 1969), vol. 5, Yoreh Deah, no. 12.
42. Pinhas Hai Anu from Ferrara, Givat Pinhas, pt. 8, no. 2, as it appears in Meir Ayele, "Givat Pinhas": The Responsa of R. Pinhas Hai ben Menahem Anau of Ferrara, in Tarbitz. Northern Italian rabbi.
43. Pinhas Hai Anu from Ferrara, Givat Pinhas, pt. 8, no. 2, as it appears in Meir Ayele, "Givat Pinhas": The Responsa of R. Pinhas Hai ben Menahem Anau of Ferrara, in Tarbitz. Northern Italian rabbi.
44. Yaakov b. Rabbi Shmuel from Tzoyemer, Beil Yaakov (Diehernport, 1696), no. 140.
45. Naphtali Zevi Judah Berlin, Meshiv Davor (Jerusalem, 1993), chap. 2, no. 56.
46. Tosefot on Pesachim 50b.
47. Greenwald, Keren LeDavid (Satmar, 1928), Orech Chaim, no. 30. Hungarian rabbi.
48. Joseph Caro, Avalak Kochet (Leipzig, 1859), no. 18. Author of the Shulkhan Aruch, the authoritative code of Jewish law.
49. Abraham Isaac Kook, Daat Kohen (Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook, 1969), Yoreh Deah, no. 122.
50. Tzvi Pesach Frank, Har Tzvi (Jerusalem: Machon Harav Frank, 1973), Orech Chaim 2, no. 102; Noda Yehuda, Yoreh Dealt, no. 10.
51. Leviticus 25:23.
52. It is quite significant that trees are a central metaphor in Judaism. As one example, the Torah, those parts of the Bible traditionally revealed directly to Moses on Mt. Sinai, is called "a tree of life." Trees played a central role in the economic life in the ancient land of Israel, and were thus proper metaphors for bridging between the socioeconomic life and the theological-moral one.
53. Michael Rosenak, "Roads to the Palace": Jewish Texts and Teaching (Providence and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 1995), p. 5.
54. Moshe Silberg, "Laws and Morals in Jewish Jurisprudence" in Harvard Law Review 75 (1961-1962): 306-31.
55. Mary Midgley, "The Mixed Community," in Eugene C. Hargrove, ed., The Animal Rights/Environmental Ethics Debate (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), pp. 211-25.
56. J. Baird Callicott, "Animal Liberation and Environmental Ethics: Back Together Again," in J. Baird Callicott, In Defense of the Land Ethic: Essays in Environmental Philosophy (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), pp. 49-51.
57. Paralleling the discussion of bal tashchit is the rabbinic precept of tzar baalei chaim, describing duties toward the prevention of animal suffering.
58. See Avner de-Shalit, Why Posterity Matters: Environmental Policies and Future Generations (London: Routledge, 1995).
59. This is perhaps the major point of Max Oelschlaeger, Caring for Creation: An Ecumenical Approach to the Environmental Crisis (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994).