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Orchard of Delights Noah

blueprint of creation, as the Zohar (2:161b) teaches: “God looked into of his downfall all the greater. His righteousness may have been
the Torah and created the world.” enough to save a remnant, but not enough to rectify the world.
In a similar fashion, scientists describe the building blocks of
creation as atoms, particles, molecules, and elements; and just as an
incredible amount of energy is packed into an infinitesimally small
atom, Divine light and energy are intensely contracted into the £Torah and the Environment£Torah and the EnvironmentTorah and the Environment
Hebrew letters, which function as conduits, serving as the channels of £
Divine speech. Consequently, in the Divine creative process, speech
is action –there is no separation between the two.
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah
Since human beings are created in “the image of God,” they share
this creative capacity to some degree. Words spoken impulsively or opened the window of the ark which he had made. He
sent out the raven, and it kept going and returning until
in anger can touch someone to his or her very core: destroying life-
long relationships, ruining a person’s reputation, and even leading the waters dried from upon the earth. Then he sent out
the dove from him to see whether the waters had subsided
to murder or war. More positively, compassionate and loving speech
can heal old wounds, give strength to the weary, provide people with from the face of the ground. (Genesis 8:6-8)
hope, and inspire the masses. The Torah records that Noah was instructed to take two of every

The Oral Torah actually considers this means of communication species, male and female, while of the “clean” animals, those that
the very defining quality of humanity, as the verse states: “And God in the future would be fit for Temple sacrifice, he was commanded
formed the man of dust from the ground and He blew into his nostrils to take seven. According to the Midrash, upon returning to the ark,
the soul of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Onkelos, the raven rebuked Noah telling him that he had acted irresponsibly.
in his classic Aramaic translation of the Torah, translates “living Had the raven not returned for some reason, his species would have
being” as “a speaking spirit.” Thus, when man receives his soul, he become extinct, as there would have been no male to mate with
gains his ability to communicate. The ability to communicate above the single remaining female. This remarkable Midrash highlights
and beyond our basic animal needs related to survival and pleasure is Judaism’s long-standing concern with the environment.
what ultimately differentiates human beings from animals. Another important Midrash explicitly delineates humankind’s role

For this reason we should be extremely careful with our words as as caretaker of the planet. When God placed Adam in the Garden of
speech has the power to create and destroy worlds. As God creates Eden he showed him all the beauty in nature and told him that he
through Divine speech, we too should use the gift of speech wisely. must be very careful to protect the Garden for if he acted rashly
Furthermore, we should realize the power and wisdom inherent in and destroyed it there would be no one to repair it for him (Kohelet
the Hebrew language, especially since Hebrew is the language God Rabbah 7:24). In fact, the Torah explicitly states this: “And God
chose to reveal His wisdom and His will through in the Torah. took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and
to guard it” (Genesis 2:15).

Although concern with the environment is a relatively new
development in Western societies, it is incredible to realize how
many sources in the Torah, Mishnah, Midrash, Talmud, and Jewish

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