Judaism and environmentalism

Judaism intersects with environmentalism on many levels. This article addresses how the natural world plays a central role in Jewish law, literature, and liturgical and other practices. Moreover, within the diverse arena of Jewish thought, beliefs vary widely about the human relation to the environment. In addition, the article looks at the history of Jewish environmental thought and activism.

In Jewish law (halakhah), ecological concerns are reflected in Biblical protection for fruit trees, rules in the Mishnah against harming the public domain, Talmudic debate over noise and smoke damages, and contemporary responsa on agricultural pollution. In Conservative Judaism, a new initiative has adopted ecokashrut ideas begun in the 1970s. In addition, Jewish activists have recruited principles of halakhah for environmental purposes, such as the injunction against unnecessary destruction, known as bal tashkhit. The rule of tza'ar ba'alei hayyim is a restriction on cruelty to animals.

Generally speaking, the Bible and rabbinic tradition have put Judaism primarily on an anthropocentric trajectory, but creation-centered or eco-centric interpretations of Judaism can also be found throughout Jewish history, many theologians regard the land as a primary partner of Jewish covenant, and Judaism and especially the practices described in the Torah may be regarded as the expression of a fully indigenous and land- or earth-centered tradition. In Genesis, too, God instructs humanity to hold dominion over nature, but this may be interpreted in terms of stewardship as well. Eco-centric discussions of Judaism can be found in the work of such modern scholars and rabbis as Arthur Green, Arthur Waskow, Eilon Schwartz, Lynn Gottlieb, Mike Comins, Ellen Bernstein, and David Mevorach Seidenberg.

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