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Ecology as a Mitzvah
and attics, especially before Pesah . This applies to food, as well. She said that her rather full figure was due to obeying the commandment“do not destroy.” At the dining table the corollary imperative for all the family was that there should be no leftovers.
Bal tash-hit sets the outer limits of the enfranchisement given to us to utilize all of the resources of nature for human purposes. When we cross these boundaries and demolish the works of God , we lose our delicate equilibrium with nature. Only by observing the guidelines of the mitzvot of ecology may we hope to regain this balance with the world around us.
Ecology in Interpersonal Relations
This essay began with the first form of environmentalism in Jew ish tradition— the affinity of humanity and nature. Now we turn to another form, the alliance of humans with each other, or relations among neighbors. This topic deals with sharing water and land as well as the disturbance of air pollution, noise, and odors.
Noise
Let us consider the phenomenon of noise. Modern technology has succeeded in developing acoustical methods of making our surroundings quieter and more livable. It also has increased the decibel level of roadways, meeting places, and the performance of music to a deafening point.
Let me invite you to an average wedding in the Tel Aviv area. The bridal couple is lovely, the food is sumptuous and kosher, the guests are elegant. There is only one problem: the music is so loud that you cannot hear the person sitting next to you. Someone said that the couple’s parents should add a voucher to the wedding invitation enabling those invited to take a quick course in lipreading before attending the simhah.
Maimonides rules in his Laws of Neighbors that if there is a shop in a residential courtyard, then neighbors may protest saying,“We cannot sleep because of the noise of the customers coming and going.” The owner of the shop may, however, work inside the store, but he must sell his produce in the marketplace.” Furthermore, neighbors can prevent craftsmen and artisans from opening up a new workshop in the courtyard of their residence.