Torah Table Talk A New PaRDeS

Is the Tree of the Field, Human?

Parshat Shoftim, Deuteronomy 16:18 21:9
This weeks Torah Table Talk is dedicated by Rabbi Mark B Greenspan In honor the forty fifth anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah Parshat Shoftim deals with the regulations for a variety of civil, criminal, and religious institutions. The people are instructed to choose appropriate magistrates and officials to maintain the rule of law in society. Legal issues that are too difficult are to be brought to the priests in the Temple to be adjudicated. The leaders of Israel are to maintain a system of judges and to pursue justice both in the personal lives of each individual and in society at large. There are rules and standards for all members of society including the king, the prophet and the priest; the Torah specifies limits in the power of the leaders. There are also rules that apply to areas of life; even in times of warfare. The people are told to pursue peace with their neighbors but to wage a war for the complete conquest of the land. Still, there are rules by which such warfare must be conducted, particularly when it comes to the well-being of the environment. Drawing on these verses, the sages expanded on these laws of warfare to other areas of ecological responsibility. Bal Tashchit, avoiding the wanton destruction of resources became a general prohibition of Jewish law that applied not just in times of war but also in daily life as well. Deuteronomy 20:19-20 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? Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siegeworks against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced.

PaRDeS
1. Pshat Understanding the plain sense meaning of the text
Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? The syntax of the Hebrew is difficult and the translation uncertain. The translation suggests that trees are unable to protect themselves by taking refuge within the city, or that they are not like human enemies that they should have to take refuge. This is essentially a humanitarian rather than utilitarian reason for the prohibition. (Jeffrey Tigay, The JPS Torah Commentary, Deuteronomy) Verse 19 prohibits cutting down fruit bearing trees in a time of war. Biblical scholars have suggested that the Bible is alluding to scorched-earth military tactics common in the ancient near East. In this view, no direct advantage could be gained by felling a tree; the intent was a punitive form of psychological warfare. But from the fact that the next verse permits cutting non-fruit-bearing trees only for some immediate positive use namely constructing siegeworks it would appear that the prohibition of the previous verse includes cutting down fruitbearing trees for a similar purpose. In short, then, fruit-bearing trees may not be cut down even for the purpose of using their wood because this would destroy forever their generative capabilities. This analysis is consistent with Abravanels understanding of the requirement to send away the mother bird when taking her eggs or fledglings. (Eliezer Diamond, Jewish Perspective on Limiting Consumption, from Ecology and the Jewish Spirit) My Commentary: What exactly does the Torah mean when it speaks of the tree being like a human being? Do

trees have rights? Are we responsible for their well being? And, if so, why does the Torah differentiate between fruit bearing trees and non-fruit-bearing trees? Both Tigay and Diamond understand this as more than just a practical, utilitarian law. We protect trees not just because they provide something essential to society. Trees no less than human beings can become victims of war. The Torah allows us to use trees for other more utilitarian purposes but it distinguishes fruit-bearing trees from other trees. If the purpose of this law was simply utilitarian, then the Torah would have also allowed the use of the fruit bearing trees for the building of siegeworks. The distinction between fruit-bearing and non-fruit-bearing is absolute.

Even though the fruit-bearing trees might have other uses we are not allowed to chop them down since they are essential to the future of humanity. These trees have their own unique status. 2. Remez Allusions: Finding meanings hidden in the text
Are trees of the field human: What is the reasoning behind saying, 'Don't cut down a fruit tree since it is not like man who can run away from you?' In my opinion, we have no need for all this. But this is the meaning: 'For you may eat them and you shall not cut it down, for the tree is a man,' i.e., the tree of the field is the life of a man. This is like the usage in the verse '(A hand mill or an upper millstone shall not be taken as a pledge for a loan,) for he is taking his soul as a pledge' (Deuteronomy 24:6), which means, 'he is taking his means of livelihood as a pledge.'...Behold, one may not destroy the fruit tree which is life for a human being, it is permitted only to eat from it... (Abraham Ibn Ezra, Commentary on Deut. 20:19) God led Adam around all the trees of the Garden of Eden. And God said to Adam: See My works, how good and praiseworthy they are? And all that I have created, I made for you. But be mindful that you do not spoil and destroy My worldfor if you spoil it, there will be no one left to repair it. (Kohelet Rabbah 7:13) My Commentary: Ibn Ezra sees the protection of the trees as more of a utilitarian goal. He understands the

reference to trees as humans as a means of saying that they are essential to the needs of human life. If we destroy all the fruit bearing trees, we will be destroying the source of food for future generations. We have a responsibility to provide the means for future generations to sustain the world. This is similar to the story of Honi the Circle Maker who sees an old man planting carob trees. Why are you planting such trees, asks Honi, Since you wont live long enough to see them bear fruit (it takes carob trees many years to bear fruit)? The old man answers: "As others planted trees for me, so I plant trees for those who follow me! There is a partnership between human beings and trees by planting and maintaining them, we assure future generations of food and beauty in the world. The well-known story from Kohelet Rabbah serves as a warning: it takes years to grow a tree but only minutes to cut it down. A forest, once destroyed can take generations to be replaced. 3. Din Law: Applying the text to life
8. We must not cut down fruit trees outside a city nor prevent an irrigation ditch from bringing water to them so that they dry up, as is stated: Do not destroy its trees. (Deuteronomy 20:19) Anyone who cuts down such a tree should be lashed! This applies not only in a siege but in all situations. Anyone who cuts down a fruit tree with destructive intent should be lashed. Nevertheless, a fruit tree may be cut down if it causes damage to other trees, to fields belonging to others, or if a high price could be received for its wood. The Torah only prohibited cutting down a tree with destructive intent. 9. It is permissible to cut down any fruitless tree; even when one has no need for the lumber or the space it takes. Similarly one may cut down a fruit tree that has become old and produces only a slight yield which does not warrant the effort required to care for it. What is the yield that an olive tree must produce to warrant that it should not be cut down? It is a quarter of a kav of olives. Similarly, a date palm which yields a kav of dates should not be cut down. (A kav is approximately 52 ounces.) 10. This prohibition does not apply to trees only. Rather anyone who breaks utensils, tears garments, destroys buildings, stops up a stream, or ruins food with destructive intent transgresses the command do not destroy. However, he is not lashed. (Moses Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 6:8-10) My Commentary: It is fascinating to see what Maimonides does with this simple and straight-forward law.

Drawing on Talmudic discussions, he applies the law protecting trees not only in war time but in peace time as well. Furthermore, he suggests that this law applies not only to trees but to all human resources: both natural resources and man made products. It is forbidden to wantonly destroy anything that has some use, including clothing, utensils and food. In the spirit of this concept of bal tashchit, not destroying, it is interesting to note that it is a common practice for people in Jerusalem to leave books, clothing and other objects on the wall outside their home for other people to claim. While I have had this experience in other places, generally people are claiming objects I have left for the sanitation department. In Jerusalem, objects are left conveniently for people to take if they so wish not in the garbage but right outside their door!

4. Sod The Meaning and Mystery of Faith The sages turned the laws of warfare into a paradigm for environmental consciousness. To destroy the resources which God has created or which we have created through divine wisdom is considered a transgression of Gods law. Cruelty applies not only to the treatment of human beings but to the way in which we care for the environment. It is no accident that the Romans plowed the temple mount under after destroying Jerusalem to make sure no one would ever be able to use the land again. Israel suffered from years of environmental abuse as a result of warfare. Trees, like human beings, have rights and deserve protection. When the Torah compares the tree to a human being, it suggests that it deserves our protection both for our sake and for its own sake. Distinguishing between fruit-bearing trees and nonfruit-bearing trees is a paradigm for distinguishing between sustainable resources and non-sustainable resources. We are allowed to use the resources of the world for our need but we must preserve those resources that will be necessary for future generations. Using the language of Genesis, it is our job to till and tend the environment, using only those resources that are necessary for our own well-being. The Torah chooses to remind us of our responsibility to care for the environment at the moment we would be least aware of the needs of the land and the natural resources.

Questions to Ponder
1. In what ways are trees, like a human. How should this concept be applied to the laws of warfare today? 2. Do you believe that the law protecting fruit trees is essentially humanitarian, as Professor Tigay suggests. To what other resources should this verse be applied? 3. How is Ibn Ezras perspective similar to and different from that of Professors Tigay and Diamond? 4. How does Maimonides manage to apply a verse which deals with warfare to everyday life? Do you feel that he is stretching the meaning of this verse or is his interpretation a logical conclusion? 5. How can we apply the rule of bal tashchit to our daily lives? Many of us grew up being told that leaving food over was a sin. Is this an extension of the same teaching? Should synagogues teach bal tashchit and ecological awareness as a Jewish value or should we leave it to society to worry about this value?
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All it takes to study Torah is an open heart, a curious mind and a desire to grow a Jewish soul.
Copyright 2011 Rabbi Mark B Greenspan