Jewish Values: Shmirat ha Adama

By Rabbi Min Kantrowitz

Each edition of NMJJ highlights one of the many Jewish values that guide our lives.  Each of these values underlies our Jewish community, regardless of any individuals’ religious observances or practices.  These values form the ethical structure of the community.  They are not presented in order of importance…all of them, together, weave a fabric of support, inspiration and hope for increased compassion and justice in our shared world.

Shmirat ha Adama. #3. In literal translation, this value means ‘to guard/protect/watch the earth’. In Jewish tradition, nothing in the world really belongs to any of us. either as individuals or as groups of people. Rather, in Jewish thought, all things are on loan to us, for safekeeping, for nurturing, for preserving and for improving the world into which we were born. Psalm 24 states this idea clearly: The earth is God’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it, for God founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. 

Any loan is based on the expectation that the recipient is trustworthy and is expected to return what is lent in good condition. So it is with our planet. Jews have inherited a tradition of stewardship which teaches us that earth and its resources must be treated with care, not with the assumption that they were created for our use alone, without regard for its future condition or for its viability for generations that follow us.

Since we live in a world that we did not create, we have a special relationship to this world and all it contains. In Jewish tradition, this concept implies that we humans have a number of responsibilities. We are required to both care and share.  

Caring for the earth includes caring for the plants, animals and people who live on our fragile planet. This goes beyond making sure that the soil is not polluted by harmful chemical fertilizers or hazardous pesticides but includes providing proper nutrients, thoughtful pest management and careful crop selection. For example, embracing monoculture by replacing a diverse natural forest with a single crop designed for quick growth and maximum profit is inappropriate stewardship.  

Caring for the earth includes caring for her inhabitants. Sharing food, providing transportation, volunteering, giving hope, extending quality of life, improving social opportunities, and helping sustain some of these social, healthful activities through generous contributions are all specific examples of acting in accordance with this value in community.

The concept of environmental stewardship reminds us that those of us who are alive today have the obligation to preserve, protect and improve the earth for future generations. Our actions today have a direct impact on the future health of our land, water and air. Here in New Mexico there are unfortunately many remnants of prior decisions which have left areas despoiled by some practices of the oil and gas industry, careless handling of radioactive materials or the emissions of fossil fuel-fired power plants.  

Contemporary concerns about climate change, environmental pollution, water quality, species extinction and toxic waste are just a few examples of our shared responsibility to guard our precious planet. We all enjoy the same air and water, benefit from healthy soil and flourishing plants. We benefit from the healthy ecosystems of plants and animals. We are all interconnected and our behavior and decisions influence others and the joint future of our society, ecology and world. 

We are expected to share the bounty with which we've been blessed – whether that bounty is economic resources, special expertise, time, or energetic involvement with the world. 

In appreciation, aware of the Jewish value of shmirat hadamah, we can choose to act as responsible stewards of this amazing world in which we are blessed to live.

Rabbi Min Kantrowitz has served as a rabbi and chaplain in Albuquerque for many years, and has devoted much of her time and herself to this community, which we can say is better for it.
Jewish Values: Love your neighbor as yourself  #1
Jewish Values: B’Tzelem Elohim "in the image of God" #2
Jewish Values: Shmirat ha Adama to guard/protect/watch the earth #3

A Dove In The Hand is by Meredith Gould, a mixed-media artist in Albuquerque. View her work-in-progress on Instagram (www.instagram.com/themeredithgould.arts), Judaica at her Etsy Shop (meredithgouldarts.etsy.com), and painting originals at her website (www.meredithgouldarts.com).