Tu B'Shevat is an appropriate time to appreciate the greatness of creation,
and to honor it. We read in the third chapter of Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the
Fathers) a mishnah that symbolizes the essence of the Torah's regard for
the purposefulness of all G-d's creation:
Ben Azai would be accustomed to say: Despise not any man, and carp not at
any thing; for thou wilt find that there is not a man that has not his hour,
and not a thing that has not its place. (Translation by Charles Taylor)
The mishnah can be divided naturally into two subjects: Regard for essential
purposefulness of any human being and that of anything that is not a human
being. The second category, that of non-human, has an interesting and peculiar
use of the Hebrew language: al tehi maflig lkal davar. The above classic
translation translates the verb maflig as "carp" (to find fault with).
Others translate maflig as "dismissing." There are other
attempts to translate such a unique word. Even though the numerous translations
for the word maflig give a sensible meaning to the mishnah, without a more
specific translation of the word, there will be still lacking the inner essence
of what the sage Ben Azai wanted to teach us.
We see in the book of Genesis that the generation of the Tower Of Bavel is
referred to as the dor haflagah, based on the verse in Chapter 10, verse
25: "The name of the first [son of Eber] was Peleg, because the world became
divided in his days." (Aryeh Kaplan translation)
From this we see that the best translation of the word maflig in the
mishna is to "divide" and "separate." Ben Azai is teaching us that everything in
creation has a special part in G-d's plan for unity. We have to realize that
once we separate ourselves from any object in the unified puzzle of creation, we
have then created an unbalance and disruption in the supreme perfection and
unity of nature and man's world. If we look at an animal as if it is not within
"our world," we in essence create a schism and the animal can now be treated as
a foreigner on this Earth without the rights and importance attributed to
everything in creation.
The 19th-century scholar, Rabbi Samuel Rafael Hirsch, in his commentary on
the book of Genesis (2:4), describes the work of G-d's creation as a whole and
perfect circle (kalil), since everything that G-d created found its
correct and balanced place in the "circle of creation." Everything has its place
in the plan of creation and it is "good."; it becomes "very good" when all the
parts are working in unison.
The Torah's world-outlook of unity and purpose is what many modern scholars
are exposing. Dr. Ronald Bissell writes in his Unity: Life's Essence:
"You will be taken on a solitary walk along a beach where you will experience
the quiet observation of creatures and the rhythms of nature seen along the way.
Through this walk you will find the unity found in all of creation. Like the
sandpiper's dance with the waves, you will gently discover the essence of your
soul in the beauty and harmony of Spirit as it surrounds you. Through this quiet
contemplation you will feel a sense of awe at the potential within each living
creature - the potential to bring the experience of unity into the consciousness
of our world."
In practical terms, we see a number of practical teachings and laws that
emphasize the value and purposefulness of the works of creation. The most well
known example is that of Bal Tashchit, which is the commandment to not
destroy fruit bearing trees during a siege of an enemy city:
When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order
to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them.
You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field
human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? Only trees that you know
do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing
siege works against the city that is waging war with you, until it has been
reduced (Deuteronomy 19:19-20)
Bal tashchit, the prevention of wanton destruction, is the halachic
principle that bases its origin in this passage from the Torah.
The famous sage Rabbi Aharon Halevi, in his classic book "Sefer Hachinuch",
in his commentary of the this negative commandment of destroying fruit-bearing
trees, says: "the source of the commandment is well known, in that the Torah is
teaching us to love the good and the purposeful and to cling to it …and distance
ourselves from evil matter and device of destruction. This is the way of the
pious and men of great deeds, that they would love peace….and would not destroy
even a mustard seed in their entire life, and they would suffer personal pain at
any loss and destruction that they would witness. And if they had the ability to
save an object from wanton destruction, they would do so with all their
strength."
In the book of Genesis (37:14) Jacob has a conversion with his son Joseph
inquiring about the welfare of his other sons. In the same breath, Jacob
inquires about his flock of animals that are being herded by the brothers. The
Midrash asks: "I can understand the need to inquire about the welfare of the
brothers, but what is the need to inquire about the welfare of the flock? From
this we understand that a person has to inquire the welfare of anything that
benefits him."
With this principle in mind, everything in creation has the potential to give
us benefits and we need to treat them with this mindset.
It is brought down in the Talmud (Berachot 50B) and in the Shulchan Aruch
(Code of Jewish Law) that one should not throw bread and other food items on the
ground due the importance of bread and food in general. The Mishna Brurah, (a
commentary on the Shulachan Aruch), comments that even if you did not throw the
food on the ground but that you were a simple bystander, you should still pick
up the article of food and have it disposed in a more honorable manner.
The Talmud also says that if you have taken water from a well, it is
forbidden to throw out the remaining water but should find some way to recycle
it. We can learn from this that one should offer a ride to hitchhikers so that
we are not wasting the gas on ourselves alone [ed. note: if this can be done
safely].
This Tu B'Shevat, let us appreciate the unity and purposefulness of all
creation, and rededicate ourselves to protecting it.
