It is not enough to keep the status quo. Humankind, as God 's partner in creation, must continually strive to re-create.
In the beginning, harmony reigned between Adam and nature. The Torah tells us that“God planted a garden east of Eden where He placed the human that he had created”(Gen. 2:8). The human being is part of nature. It is as if Adam himself were planted in Eden together with all of the trees and vegetation. The human creature was in symbiosis with the animals and vegetation and all of nature that surrounded him.
How did this harmony turn into cacophony? Humankind did not heed the divine warning related in the midrash:
“See the works of God , for who can repair that which has been ruined? When God created Adam, the first man, he took him to view all of the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him,‘See how pleasant and excellent are my works. Everything that was formed, I created for your sake. Take heed that you do not ruin and destroy my world, for if you ravage it, no one will be able to repair
re
it after you.””5
When those created in God 's image, instead of utilizing the gifts of nature for their life needs— food, clothing and shelter carelessly cut down plants or destroy animals, out of greed, negligence, or destructive impulses, they obliterate the very source of life.
The primary biblical interdiction of damaging the elements of nature is found in the ban against chopping down fruit trees in wartime(Deut. 20:19-10). Maimonides ruled that this prohibition is not confined to destruction in time of war, but has a more general application. Thus, he codified the law:
“Fruit trees growing in the countryside are not to be cut down, nor are they to be deprived of water so that they dry up and wither. Whoever cuts down[such trees] is liable to the penalty of flogging, and this not only during times of siege, but whenever they are wantonly destroyed. They may, however, be cut down if they damage other trees or a neighbor’s land.”®
This rule of bal tash-hit“do not destroy” is extended to all objects that may have value. This prohibition includes killing animal life and destroying plants and even inanimate objects. My late grandmother used to say that this mitzvah is what made it so difficult for her to throw anything away when cleaning out cellars