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Stewardship

Judaism teaches that humans must take environmental responsibility for the world given to them by God. This idea of taking care of the world and everything in it for the generations to come after us is known as stewardship. The mitzvot provide many commandments about taking care of the world, for example:

• never to destroy things on Earth which are useful
• giving the land a rest from growing crops every 50 years

Dominion

Judaism also teaches that humans have dominion over the world. This is the idea that God gave humans control over nature. The teachings about dominion can be found in the Genesis 1 in the Torah, where it states:

Tikkun olam

The Jewish term tikkun olam is a teaching to repair the world. Its purpose is to inspire the Jewish community to look after the world in any way they can. They could do this by ensuring we do not use up natural resources by living sustainably. This could include:

• recycling
• picking up litter
• choosing to walk rather than drive whenever possible
• turning lights off when not in a room

Bal tashchit

Tikkun olam is also linked with the Jewish term bal tashchit, which means ‘do not destroy’. This teaching is found in the Torah.

Gemilut hasadim

As well as looking after the world and its natural resources there is also a focus in Judaism on looking after each other. This commandment is known as gemilut hasadim, which refers to acts of loving-kindness, not only towards the environment but also towards each other. This can be done by:

• being kind to others
• helping others who are in need
• being charitable
• being generous

This is often referred to as being a global citizen.

Honi and the Carob Tree

In the story of Honi and the Carob Tree, a man called Honi once saw another man planting a carob tree. He asked how long he thought it would take for the tree to bear fruit, and the man replied that it would take around 70 years. Honi then asked if he thought that he would be alive to eat the fruit from the tree. The man answered that he may not be alive in 70 years, but he had eaten fruits which had been planted by his father and grandfather. By planting trees now his own children and grandchildren would be able to eat the fruit from the trees.

Tu B'Shevat

Tu B'Shevat is the Jewish new year for trees. It is one of the four Jewish new years, also known as the Rosh Hashanahs. On Tu B'Shevat, Jews often eat fruits associated with the Holy Land, especially the ones mentioned in the Torah. Some Jews plant trees on this day, or collect money towards planting trees in Israel.