Israel is not just the startup nation, home to titans of technology and the citing edge of innovation; it is tragically and inexplicably the home of the world’s cheapest, flimsiest plasticware, items whose quality is so embarrassingly rock bottom you wouldn’t find them in an American dollar store. Given the inferior quality of Israeli disposables, it’s no surprise that Israel is second in the world in consumption of single-use plasticware, known in Israel as חד פעמי. Every cup requires a reinforcement and every meal necessitates several iterations of the same utensil, because the first two or three snapped or melted. Just before Rosh Hashanah, a group of illustrious Israeli Rabbis signed a memorandum in which they begged the Israeli public to reduce their reliance on plasticware. You may have heard of some of the signatories to the letter: Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, head of Jerusalem’s Ateret Yerushalim Yeshiva; Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, director of the Tzohar Center for Jewish Ethics at the Tzohar rabbinical organization and the Ofra settlement’s chief Rabbi Avi Gisser. As this issue has gained traction, other environmental issues have also taken root in Israel, including the establishment of the very first carpool lane ever in Israel.
These stories emerge onto the scene precisely when our attention was drawn to a public outcry over environmental concerns. Leading the charge was the now famous Swedish teen Greta Thunberg, a polarizing figure who, depending on your perspective, is either a modern day prophet or a stunningly unaware and privileged person who has no idea what actually happens in the real world.
As Jews, the fact that Rabbis have recently issued an environmental declaration might raise our eyebrows. The Orthodox community has, historically, been silent, indifferent or even oppositional to environmental conversations. This reticence is understandable; often times, the spokespersons of environmentalism speak with a fervor matched by the most zealous religious practitioners- yet they are often not conventionally religious themselves. Some might even say that environmentalism has become a religion of its own, in which those who follow its constructs are saintly, and those who ignore them are profligate sinners. This has served as a turnoff to many in our community. However, the imperfect, annoying or sanctimonious messengers should not render the message invalid. I’m not here to quote any of the abundant scientific research that has emerged over the last several decades, indicating that we wrought damage to the planet with severe, immediate and far reaching consequences. I am certainly not here to quote the pundits on all sides, either hyping up or downplaying the issue. What I am here for is to teach Torah and expound upon the messages of the glorious holiday of Sukkos.
The talmud tells us that the Arba minim, the four species must taken דרך גידולן , in accordance with their manner of growth. We are doing our utmost to honor and preserve nature as it is in its initial form. Interestingly, the Bnei Yisaschar points out that each of these species share something in common: they can grow naturally, and unabated, without the interference of people.
Another connection between Sukkos and nature is the halacha that the schach that covers your Sukkah must be harvested from a natural source; wooden slats, bamboo, pine boughs- all these are suitable. However, the moment it is turned into a kli, a vessel fashioned by man, it is no longer appropriate for use.The technical reason is that a vessel can contract ritual impurity, but it is also because the Sukkah is no longer in pristine form, as God intended it. Paradise has been spoiled.
Throughout most of the year, man is challenged to be productive, to generate something of substance from very little; to turn a canvas into a work of art, to turn steel and wood into a house, and to use brains and ingenuity to generate revenue and income. The challenge with this kind of life is that we become increasingly distant from nature, and forgetful of the gift that was handed to us. For eight days, however, we are tasked with a different kind of productivity- maintaining God’s world in its most unspoiled form. Consider for a moment the hoops we jump through to preserve the aravos each year. Ask three Jews, and you will get four opinions on the best way to store your Aravos each night: wrap in a wet cloth, wrap it in aluminum foil or not, in the fridge or not, or do nothing at all. We sense that there is some kind of preservation we need to perform, and that there are steps we need to take, but all we know is that we have a simple mandate: preserve as best we can
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The Medrash relates a conversation between God and Adam. He took him by the arm and showed him each tree, proclaiming- “all of this beauty was created for your benefit! Pay attention and don’t destroy my world, for if you do, there is no one to repair it after you.”
קהלת רבה (וילנא) פרשה ז
בשעה שברא הקב”ה את אדם הראשון נטלו והחזירו על כל אילני גן עדן ואמר לו ראה מעשי כמה נאים ומשובחין הן וכל מה שבראתי בשבילך בראתי, תן דעתך שלא תקלקל ותחריב את עולמי, שאם קלקלת אין מי שיתקן אחריך
This means that man may use nature only in such a way as to enhance it, not put it at risk; to appreciate it as it is, and not try to wrestle it under our control. We must use it, but only for what need, and not in a way that overburdens the planet. Nature is not a destination, it’s not a resource exclusively for our needs and pleasures. It is a place where we meet God; picture Him holding you by the hand and asking you “please don’t destroy my world.”
So if we are stewards of this planet, what obligation is placed upon us? None of us can save the planet single-handedly, but we must do our own share. Perhaps that means we need to rethink our obsession with meat; I am certainly among the carnivores, and I know I’m not prepared to remove meat from my diet completely. The very first wedding I ever officiated was for two vegans. The smorg was tofu in every possible ethnic variation. I have nothing against tofu, per se (particularly if other people are eating it) but after the wedding, I went to the closest kosher swarm place. I may have conveyed some distinctly un-rabbinic sentiments when I discovered it was closed… But what if we removed meat from our diet one day a week? You don’t even have to do without the delicious taste- there is at least one kosher restaurant in our community that serves The Impossible Burger. If we are intellectually honest, we should realize that reducing our consumption of meat alleviates strain on limited planetary resources. As Rav Moshe Cordovero, in his classic Kabbalistic work Tomer Devorah stated:
Because of this, a person should not denigrate any creatures, for they were all created with intelligence. Therefore, a person should not uproot any growing items with no purpose, and should not kill any living thing for no reason, and when he does have to kill an animal, he should do so with a knife that has been properly checked so as to minimize pain.
Reb Aryeh Levine (1885-1969), known as the ‘Tzaddik of Jerusalem,’ recorded the following incident in his memoirs:
I recall the early days, after 1905, when God granted me the privilege to ascend to the Holy Land; and I arrived at Jaffa. There I first merited meeting our great master, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (of blessed memory), who greeted me with good cheer, as was his sacred custom to receive all people.
We chatted together on various Torah topics. After an early Minchah (the afternoon prayer-service), he went out, as was his custom, to stroll a bit in the fields and collect his thoughts. I accompanied him.
During the walk, I plucked a twig or a flower. Our great master was taken aback when he saw this. He told me gently:
“Believe me — in all my days, I have been careful never to pluck a blade of grass or flower needlessly, when it had the ability to grow or blossom. You know the teaching of the Sages, that there is not a single blade of grass below, here on earth, which does not have a heavenly force above telling it, Grow!
“Every sprout and leaf of grass says something, conveys some meaning. Every stone whispers its inner message in its silence. Every creature utters its song [of praise for the Creator].”
Those words, spoken from a pure and holy heart, engraved themselves deeply on my heart. From then on, I began to feel a strong sense of compassion for all things.
Perhaps we can start thinking about the way we conduct ourselves at smachot and other public functions. There’s nothing wrong with using the same plate when you want to take seconds from the buffet; if we did that here, we wouldn’t just save money- we would reduce our imprint on God’s world. Not to mention following the recommendation of the Rabbis in Israel. Perhaps we can look into reducing our reliance on disposable plasticware, switching to paper and biodegradables. In addition to the environmental and financial benefits of conservation, there is another benefit to awareness of this mitzvah. What if, once a month, we went through our pantries in search of canned or dried goods we won’t use. Rather than just sitting there taking up space or worse, throwing them away, call up JFS and donate them.
In 2008, a commercial aired showing two people sitting on a couch, on a beach in Virginia. A closer look revealed that they were the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Pat Robertson. It was a commercial for an initiative called wecansolveit.org, about climate change and preservation of the environment. These two men have nothing in common, their mutual feeling that the other one is insane, and for various manifestations of their problematic relationship with the Jewish community. But they sat together on that couch and talked about how concern for the environment is not a partisan issue, and is terribly important. No matter your feelings about these individuals, they had the right idea. The lesson of Sukkos is that concern for our world is not a Democratic or Republican value, it is not a liberal or conservative mandate, it is not just for liberal or “progressive” Jews- it is a Torah value.
Today, on Sukkos, God’s voice beckons all of us to become one with nature once again. As we head toward finishing the Torah and Parshas Bereishis is on the horizon, we can understand that one of the tragic results of the banishment from Eden is the distance we feel from God’s creations, and from our responsibility for them. Let us learn the message of the Sukkah, and creation itself, and be worthy stewards of our world- לעבדה ולשמרה.
shaarerabbi 