This Shabbat, we will bless the new month of Shevat. According to the Mishnah, the 15th of Shevat is the New Year of the Trees. We have several Jewish new years: for people, on Rosh Hashanah, the day we are judged; for Kings, by which to date documents; for animals; and for trees, to determine the year of tithes. 

Later in history, the New Year of the Trees took on more significance. In the medieval period, there developed a kabbalistic Tu Bishvat seder, a process of eating certain foods and drinking certain wines to link the physical world and its trees with the upper worlds. In more modern times, this day became one to think about the natural world and the Jewish connection to it. This often includes a sense of responsibility to preserve the world God created, as the verse states in Bereshit when God created Adam, “And God took the human being and placed him in the garden of Eden to guard it and to tend it.” 

The obligation not to damage the physical world is set out in the Torah primarily in the verse regarding the obligation to refrain from destroying fruit trees. The Talmud learns from this a general obligation not to waste things and not to wantonly damage and destroy. 

This mitzvah is codified in halacha. Here, for instance, are the words of Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, the head of Yeshivat Har Bracha in Israel and author of the important modern-day halachic work Peninei Halacha (Laws of Fruit Trees and Destruction, 13:7):

“The Torah commands not to destroy things that have a use, whether they are food, utensils, or raw materials. The basis of the command is the warning to soldiers not to destroy fruit trees during war, for if during war one must be careful not to destroy, even more so during ordinary times. From this we have learned that anyone who breaks utensils, tears clothing, destroys a building, or blocks a spring unnecessarily, violates the prohibition of bal tashchit, ‘You shall not destroy.’”

The reason for this prohibition is clear. A person should treat beneficial things with respect and preserve their existence. Even if one does not like a certain food and therefore does not benefit from it, one nevertheless is not alone in the world. There are other creatures, people and animals, who can benefit from it; therefore, one should be careful not to destroy it for nothing.

The prohibition of ‘do not destroy’ includes the prohibition of destroying natural resources, since even during wartime the Torah forbade soldiers from destroying fruit trees without necessity, and how much more so in normal times is it forbidden to destroy or pollute natural resources. In the past, humanity’s ability to harm the environment was slight, and therefore the Torah’s main prohibition was directed at harming fruit trees or the stream of water that waters them. However, in recent generations, due to the development of technology and population growth, our ability to pollute and destroy the air, soil and water has greatly increased, and a great duty rests on the leaders of every country and community to establish laws and regulations for the protection of the environment. It is a Biblical commandment upon every person to observe these laws so as not to destroy natural resources. Similarly, the sages said (Kohelet Rabbah 7:13): “When God created the first man, Adam, He took him and placed him among all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: ‘See how beautiful and excellent are My works, and everything I have created—I created it for you. Be careful not to spoil and destroy my world, for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you.”

A recent poll by an Orthodox group, Meisharim (https://www.meisharim.org/), found that 65% of American Modern Orthodox Jews “do not think that humanity’s activities are the primary cause of climate change, and [that] 40% think climate scientists do not understand the causes of climate change. Indeed, 50% would not trust a statement about chemistry found in a science textbook—i.e., on the textbook’s authority—without first verifying it.”

Regarding the determination of scientific truth for halachic purposes in general and regarding climate change in particular, Rabbi Jeremy Wieder, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University, notes:

“The resolution of seeming conflicts between science and Judaism has a long and complex history—but only when they conflict. When the two do not conflict, our tradition is quite clear that halacha determines facts by following the view of rov beki’in, a majority of experts—and kal ve’chomer, a fortiori, when the alternate view does not even constitute a mi’ut she’eino matzui, a small minority. Therefore, since the overwhelming majority of experts in the field of climate science state that human activities are unequivocally responsible for the rapid warming of our planet and its ever-increasing negative consequences, halacha demands that we recognize this reality and act responsibly. To ignore it—for one’s own convenience, in accordance with one’s American political affiliation, or for any other reason—is an abdication of our responsibility to Torah, and to future generations” (https://jewishlink.news/a-rabbi-reflects-on-american-orthodoxy-torah-and-the-environment/).

This Tu Bishvat, let us each consider ways to raise awareness of this important issue for ourselves and our friends, families and communities.