Shoftim

          Shabbat Shalom. In this week's Torah portion, Parashat Shoftim, Moses continues his message to the People of Israel regarding their commandments. At this point in his prattling on, he's particularly focused on what will happen when they enter the Promised Land. Yet despite its continued lack of narrative, this parasha does stand out among the others in Deuteronomy with some of the best lines in the Torah. You're probably familiar with, "Tzedek tzedek tirdof" - "Justice justice shall you pursue." That's a banger. 

         This portion also says: "When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city?" (Deut. 20:19). On this, the great sage Sforno says: "Wanton destruction of such trees is justified only when it is not certain that without such action the war will come to a successful conclusion. The wars of conquest of the Land of Israel, however, the success of which has been guaranteed by G’d, does not fall into this category; it will be won without the need to destroy such trees. Destroying fruit bearing trees in the Land of Israel harms the country. For is a tree of the field equivalent to a human being, capable of defending itself and therefore posing a danger to you? Neither is it able to surrender on account of the siege; seeing that this is so, even though part of its timber could serve as a rampart for helping you to mount an attack against the city itself, since this will not be achieved (directly) by cutting down these trees it is not proper for you to destroy such trees, as opposed to your being permitted to attack human beings in that city opposing you and endangering you." 

          Setting aside for the moment Sforno's justification for actively harming people and conquering cities, the sad reality is that war happens. I would hate to say it is inevitable and I will continue to protest wars as they arise, but the fact remains that they seem to have been cropping up from time to time for all of recorded human history, and we haven't seemed to quite figure out yet how to stop them. Creating a framework for environmentalism even in times of war could be a form of harm reduction. 

         I may have mentioned before, I studied the intersection of conflict and the environment in college. For example, for one research paper during my undergraduate studies, I learned of an effort to make landmines that eventually deactivate themselves and decompose naturally into the ground. As far as I know, they've never been used, and land mines in general may be an outdated weapon, but I think about how many stretches of this earth still have active mines on them, land that is rather unusable for anything else now, and how lack of sustainable agriculture and resource scarcity often contribute to violent conflicts, creating a cycle of tension and mistrust between “competing” groups. I wonder how these "green weapons" could have been of use, or if their existence is mere greenwashing. 

         The verse from this week's Torah portion is the core to the halakhic principle of "Bal Tashchit", a prohibition against wastefulness. From this, a whole slew of Jewish ecological practices have developed over the centuries, from planting trees on Tu BiShevat to reducing meat consumption and supporting "eco-Kashrut". Judaism demands us to take care of the environment, even amidst seemingly more pressing matters. Even when actively engaged in warfare one must consider the ecological effects of a strategic decision and decide if it is necessary or wasteful. 

         We are now in the month of Elul, a preparatory period for the Days of Awe. In my own preparations I have begun working on a Yom Kippur sermon that will also address the urgent concern of our environment. We are truly at a turning point with climate change. The time to act is now if we would like to see a 5790. As we start our process of teshuvah, I urge each of us to reflect on our own sins of wastefulness, and start planning how we will do teshuvah to Mother Earth this coming year, how we can return our climate to what it should be within our lifetimes. 

         May you enjoy the fruits of such labors, and keep cool the shade of your favored trees. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.