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SOCIAL COMMENTARY

Rabbi Chaim Navon
Perfect Nature

and Cruel Man?

ou surely know about the Cher- righteous Moshe.” The Midrash is Do not underestimate the protection
nobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. not warning us of disposable plastic of the environment. As a conservative,
YYou’ve also probably heard utensils, but is rather adopting a I identify with this basic intuition:
about the disaster at the Fukushima classic Biblical warning: do not our world is vulnerable, our nature
nuclear power plant in Japan during transgress the Word of G-d, because if is sensitive, and it must be protected
the 2011 tsunami. But if you have no you sin, you and your children will die, from so-called “progress.” It is a little
particular interest in Chinese power including the righteous among them. surprising to me to see progressives
plants, you probably haven’t heard of who apply this thinking only to
the disaster in Banqiao. Does this mean that the Torah caterpillars and glaciers, and not
permits the destruction of the world
A hydroelectric power plant was in a careless manner? G-d forbid. The to family and human society. For
established at Banqiao Dam in Torah prohibits uprooting fruit trees, Man also has a nature, and it is also
China to generate electricity from and in halacha there are warnings in danger. Human society is also
the water flow, which is the most against hazards such as industrial vulnerable, and it must be guarded
environmentally friendly way to air pollution. What is unique about against “progress.”
generate electricity. In 1975, a failure the Torah’s approach to this subject? We should delineate two approaches
in this dam resulted in the deaths That it does not share the myth of
of 171,000 people. 11 million people perfect nature and cruel Man. It is not to environmental protection. The first
then lost their homes in floods. This is true that before there was Man, the focuses mainly on humans, and tries
compared to the Fukushima incident, cosmos existed in harmony, and it was to determine what is beneficial and
which directly resulted in just a few only Man who destroyed everything. what is harmful to our environment.
fatalities. We know that the world has always Clearly, air pollution is harmful;
destroying all forests will cause a
Concerns about the environment must suffered environmental disasters. It disaster; effective solutions to excess
not be neglected and should be clearly wasn’t plastic bags that destroyed the waste must be found.
and thoroughly thought out. But this dinosaurs.
sometimes brings us to surprising The Torah does not worship nature The second approach speaks in almost
conclusions. For example, the benefits and does not see Man as a corrupt spiritual terms: nature is sacred, the
of nuclear power plants, which are and destructive being. In fact, the cosmos is harmonious, and Man is
relatively efficient and non-polluting, Torah’s requirement to protect the an infection that threatens it. At the
do need to be considered in spite of environment is because it enables extreme end of this approach, you can
the dangers. even find acts of terror in the name
life for Man. This can be seen in the of environmental protection. The FBI
The Midrash says: “When G-d created halachic prohibition of cutting fruit estimated that green terrorists caused
the first man, He showed him the trees. Botanically, all trees which have $200 million in damage over a five-
trees of Gan Eden and said: See all My flowers produce some sort of fruits, year period.
work; all that I have created, I have but if humans do not eat it, they are
created for you. Be careful not to spoil not considered “fruit trees.” The If this is not a matter of rational
and ruin My world for if you spoil it, obligation to protect edible fruit trees, considerations but a new religion of
there is no-one to fix it for you.” This in particular, is not a permit to cut nature worship, I already have my own
1
Midrash has become popular among down other trees, but an important religion, and it’s a much better one.
Jewish environmentalists in recent declaration that the crown of creation
years. It’s a pity it doesn’t really say is the human being created in the
what people think it says. The next image of G-d, and the world must be 1 Kohelet Rabbah 7.
line in the Midrash, which describes preserved primarily for him. In the
the results of the human breakdown, words of the Midrash: “Everything I Rabbi Chaim Navon is a renowned author
says: “And you cause death to the created, I created for you.” and educator

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