blogs/rabbi-huberman

Torah, Trees and the Environment 

There is a story told in the Talmud about a wise man named Honi, the Circle Drawer who one day came upon an elderly man planting a carob tree.

Honi asked the man, "How long do you think it take for that tree to bear fruit?"

The man replied, "Seventy years."

Honi then asked the man, "And do you think you will live another seventy years to eat the fruit of this tree?"

And the elder answered, "Perhaps not. However, when I was born, I found many carob trees planted by my father and grandfather. Just as they planted trees for me, I am planting trees for my children and grandchildren."

This story, which is often recited in February during the holiday of Tu Bishvat, the New Year for trees, points to the importance of in Judaism of environment.

The importance of trees is highlighted not only within with the Torah, but also within Jewish practice. Two thousand years ago, theTalmudic rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai taught that, if a person planting a tree hears that the Messiah has arrived, they should finish planting the tree before going to greet him.

Today, one of the first activities tourists experience after their arrival in Israel is planting saplings within one of its many forests. Israel, in fact, was one of only two countries on earth where the number of trees at the end of the twentieth century exceeded the number at the beginning. During the 1990's, more than 240 million trees were planted in Israel.

What a priority: what a miracle.

Within Judaism, trees symbolize life. They also symbolize the transition from generation to generation.   In many ways, the Jewish approach to the environment is close to that of the First Nations people of northern Canada, with whom I worked earlier in my career.

A native elder once told me: "We did not inherit the environment from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

Tikkun Olam, the act of repairing or perfecting the world, is also connected to tree planting. This central Judaic concept is based on the idea that planting trees not only promotes social justice, but also environmental responsibility, and an appreciation of our place in the world.

Respect for trees is also embedded in this week's Torah portion, which stresses the importance of justice.

This portion, titled Shoftim, (Judges) is probably one of the most quoted within all of Judaism. We are told "Justice, Justice shall you pursue." It is a commandment aimed directly at judges and others who settle disputes to ensure that they do not favor another person based on status, bias, or any other factor irrelevant to the dispute.

But later in the Parashah, the Torah lays down an important instruction with regard to the environment. It commands that, before we go to war, we do everything possible to settle the dispute before resorting to the shedding of blood.

If war is unavoidable, however, when the battle is complete, we are commanded not to harm or harass survivors, and not to cut down the community's fruit trees. It is an important teaching which teaches us, and warns us, about the nature of victory and vengeance.

We are commanded: "when in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time to capture it, you must not destroy its trees...You may eat of them, but you may not cut them down."(Deuteronomy 20:19).

Throughout our history, as outsiders both around the world and within Israel, the Jewish people have not always been able to flex their physical muscles. We have been abused, victimized and persecuted. Yet, within restraints, we have found ways to embrace God's spirit, and life's eternity.

We have continued to invest in the environment. For many of our ancestors, who could not taste freedom, the simple act of planting a tree provided a sense of immortality, both for ourselves and for the earth.

The Midrash, our ancient collection of legends and teachings, states, "When you enter the land, you will find trees planted by other people. So shall you plant trees for your descendants. And let no one ask: I am already old. Why should I strive on behalf of others, if tomorrow I may die? Therefore a person may not evade this duty, even if he plants trees in old age, to add to what has already been planted."

And so, whether we live to taste their fruits or not, our ancient teachings link the planting of trees, and watching them grow through a life time to the destiny our people, and to God's eternity.

About twenty years ago, after moving to Edmonton, Alberta from the far north of the province, Patte and I planted a series of shrubs along the front yard of the little home we bought. We had a feeling at the time that we would eventually purchase a larger home, and not see these shrubs grow to maturity.

After we moved to the suburbs, I recall driving by the little house during our occasional visits to the old neighborhood, noting that the shrubs over their initial years had not really grown at all.

Two months ago, on the way to the airport after attending a wedding near Edmonton, I took a detour, and passed our little 74^th Avenue home, only to see our eight little shrubs, now twice their size.

In the front lawn there were two children, shaded by the shrubs, throwing a Frisbee, and the lesson of planting for the future came home to me.

As the Torah teaches, our sense of justice and investment in the environment must be considered beyond our day-to-day experience. The book of Proverbs reminds us, "It is a tree of life for those who grasp it."

Indeed, trees, unlike human beings, cannot take refuge. It is therefore up to us, as stewards of the environment, in times of peace and war, during periods of stability and hardship, to tend to and protect our trees, whether they be within the rainforests of the Amazon, or the fig trees of Israel, or in our own communities and back yards.

Let us remember the words of the Torah: that this earth will be the last one God will give to humanity.

Let us therefore tend to it and watch over it, for ourselves and for future generations.

Shabbat shalom, v'kol tuv (with all goodness)

Rabbi Irwin Huberman