Therefore, in France and nearby areas in which Jews were very much involved in viticulture during the early Middle Ages, there was much discussion about the problems of vineyards and their cultivation as well as the shipment of wine by non-Jews. !* In Spain Jews engaged in many different forms of agriculture, so they dealt with grain production along with other crops. In the lands of central Europe , Jews were rarely directly involved in farming, but often lived in villages or small towns in a rural setting and traded in domestic animals such as horses and cattle.
In more recent centuries in the large Jewish settlements of eastern Europe , some Jews managed estates or were engaged in forestry and the timber industry on a larger scale than in previous times. Discussions of problems that arose appeared frequently in the responsa literature, but it was concerned with human problems, not with the natural world.
The same issues that were important in earlier times reappeared(such as pollution, dirty and noisy crafts and trades, etc.). The decisors dealt primarily with the livelihood of the petitioner and the welfare of the Jewish community. The larger issues of the environment were not important to them, especially during times of oppression.
A very detailed look at the literature may discover new concerns incidentally expressed in the discussion of other issues. As responsa represent a reaction to questions asked, they treat only issues that had been raised and are real. Even in Reform and Conservative circles, no questions about the environment were posed until the end of the twentieth century. The natural world did not present any pressing issues. When the natural world was viewed in a broader perspective, it was seen as wonderful and awesome, but also dangerous. It needed no protection, but human beings, endangered by its might, had to be helped. Whenever possible, nature was to be conquered. When it was not possible, the wilderness was at least to be contained and not permitted to retake the land. People, not the environment, needed protection. The Jewish approach to nature did not change much through the centuries. There was wonder on the one hand and the realities of daily life on the other; the responsa dealt with the latter.
The responsa literature elaborates on the decent treatment of domestic animals.(See the essay by John Rayner in this volume). When used for labor or as a source of food, they were to be treated in a humane fashion, whether the motivation was