JUDAISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT by Rabbi Yossi Ives As a boy of six I was walking to shul with my father one morning and I unthinkingly tore some leaves off the hedge we were passing. In disapproval my father told me the Chassidic tale of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch. As a young boy he carelessly ripped a leaf of a tree and was told by his father that God had his intention for that leaf and he was not to damage it unnecessarily. The Torah proscribes wanton destruction even at a time of war (Deut. 20:19). Rabbi Aaron Halevi of Barcelona writes, This is the way of the devout and those who seek good deeds... they never destroy even a grain of mustard, and are upset at any destruction they see, (Sefer haChinuch, 529). Scriptural writings are full of natural imagery and are steeped in respect for nature, while biblical and later rabbinic law provide comprehensive legislation on issues such as conservation, animal welfare, species preservation, sanitation and pollution. The Torah orders the...