DEUTERONOMY XXI:10-XXV:19

CARE OF FLORA AND FAUNA

The Torah’s respect for flora and fauna, which forbids the destruction of a tree bearing fruit and reduces the consumption of meat to a small group of animals, serves as the subject of an essay by Yael Shemesh on our chapters. According to Jewish tradition, the human being was installed on earth during the last hour of the sixth day of creation to signal that everything that was previously created was for the use and benefit of this being, who received the breath of the Divine at the time of his creation.

According to this perspective, man can dispose of nature according to his needs, without paying too much attention to the consequences on the delicate ecological balance. On the other hand, if it is considered that man is an entity that must be framed in the totality of creation, this man must assume the responsibility of behavior in accordance with the demands of nature for his healthy survival. That means that man must take care of the rivers and oceans, watch over the forests and jungles, ensure the purity of the air and an appropriate temperature for the terrestrial globe.

While the creation account in Bereshit (Genesis) points to an anthropocentric position, Shemesh points out that the Book of Iyov (Job) resizes the importance of man, teaching that God’s interest goes far beyond man’s needs and interests. There is no doubt that nature contains many elements which serve no purpose to man; on the contrary, many creatures challenge and defy it. 

It is enough to mention the existence of viruses and retroviruses, which constitute a constant threat. What is the benefit that a panther or a rhinoceros offers to man? Apparently, these creatures have an individual reason for their existence, which is independent of any human interests or needs. Both positions can be held according to Jewish tradition. According to the Talmud, man was God’s last creation so that, like an earthly king, he would enter the banquet hall after the necessary arrangements had been made. But if man inflates himself with false pride, he can be reminded that a humble mosquito was created first.

The case of the Shemitah (Sabbatical year), according to the Torah, serves to confirm man’s faith in God, who will provide him with the indispensable sustenance; notwithstanding that the land will not be sown in the seventh year. At the same time, we take note of the importance of this norm for the ecological system, which allows the renewal of the earth, cannot be denied. In this connection one may also mention the laws prohibiting the sexual mixing of different animals, with the obvious purpose of preserving the qualities of each species.

Although the psalmist states Hashamayim shamayim LaShem, veha’arets natan livenei adam, “while the heavens are the habitat of God, he has granted the earth to man,” there is no doubt that Jewish tradition demands respect for nature. From the beginning, when Adam was placed in Gan Eden (Garden of Eden), he received the Divine instruction that he was to “work and take care” of that garden.

MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 27  POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 47 PROHIBITIONS

532. Deuteronomy 21:11 Law concerning the beautiful woman captured in war

533. Deuteronomy 21:14 Do not sell the beautiful woman captured in war

534. Deuteronomy 21:14 Do not force a beautiful woman captured in war after having sex with her to work as a slave

535. Deuteronomy 21:22 Hang the executed person when so directed

536. Deuteronomy 21:23 Do not leave the hanged man at night on the gallows, and do not allow a dead body to stay up at night in his home, unless it is in his honor

537. Deuteronomy 21:23 To bury the one who was sentenced by the court to die, or any other person on the very day of his death

538. Deuteronomy 22:1 Return lost property to its owner

539. Deuteronomy 22:3 Do not avoid the sight of a lost object

540. Deuteronomy 22:4 Do not ignore your neighbor’s fallen animal because of the weight of his burden

541. Deuteronomy 22:4 Helping to lift a heavy burden of a Jew

542. Deuteronomy 22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothes

543. Deuteronomy 22:5 A man must not wear women’s clothes

544. Deuteronomy 22:6 Do not seize the mother bird while the eggs or chicks are in the nest

545. Deuteronomy 22:7 To drive away the mother bird from the nest before taking the eggs or chicks

546. Deuteronomy 22:8 To build a parapet around a dangerous roof or pit

547. Deuteronomy 22:8 Do not leave a dangerous roof or hole without a parapet

548. Deuteronomy 22:9 Do not sow a mixture of seeds in a vineyard in the Land of Israel

549. Deuteronomy 22:9 Do not eat the produce of a mixture of seeds in a vineyard of the Land of Israel

550. Deuteronomy 22:10 Do not work with animals of different species together

551. Deuteronomy 22:10 Do not wear linen and woolen cloth

552. Deuteronomy 22:13 The mitzvah of Kiddushin (marrying a woman)

553. Deuteronomy 22:19 The man who spreads an evil report of his wife’s immorality will remain with her forever

554. Deuteronomy 22:19 A man who spreads an evil report of his wife’s immorality cannot divorce that woman

555. Deuteronomy 22:24 The Court is to stone the person so sentenced

556. Deuteronomy 22:26 Do not punish the person who has been compelled to transgress

557. Deuteronomy 22:29 The rapist must marry his victim

558. Deuteronomy 22:29 A rapist cannot divorce his victim

559. Deuteronomy 23:3 A sterile man must not marry a young Jewish girl

560. Deuteronomy 23:4 A bastard who is the product of an adulterous or incestuous union must not marry a young Jewish girl

561. Deuteronomy 23:6 A person belonging to the peoples of Ammon or Moav should not marry a young Jewish girl

562. Deuteronomy 23:7 Not to make peace with the nations of Ammon or Moav before a war

563. Deuteronomy 23:9 A descendant of Esau cannot marry a Jewish person even after he has converted to Judaism, nor can his son or daughter

564. Deuteronomy 23:8 An Egyptian cannot marry a Jewish person even after he has converted to Judaism, nor can his son or daughter

565. Deuteronomy 23:11 The ritually unclean person must not enter the area (Temple Mount) of the Levites

566. Deuteronomy 23:13 Preparing a washing outside the field during war

567. Deuteronomy 23:14 Prepare a shovel for every person in the army so that he can cover his excrement

568. Deuteronomy 23:16 Not to return to the Land of Israel a slave who fled to the diaspora

569. Deuteronomy 23:18 Do not oppress a slave who fled from his master to the diaspora to the Land of Israel

570. Deuteronomy 23:11 Do not have relations with a woman outside of marriage

571. Deuteronomy 23:19 Do not bring to the Temple the pay of a prostitute or the price-value of a dog

572. Deuteronomy 23:20 Do not lend money with interest from a Jew

573. Deuteronomy 23:21 Charging interest to the non-Jew

574. Deuteronomy 23:22 Do not postpone the vow to make an offering, nor postpone the offering of an animal consecrated for the Three Feasts

575. Deuteronomy 23:24 Keep promises and oaths

576. Deuteronomy 23:25 Allow the laborer to eat certain products while he works

577. Deuteronomy 23:25 The laborer owes no more of the produce that is permitted to him

578. Deuteronomy 23:26 A laborer should not eat of his employer’s harvest during his work

579. Deuteronomy 24:1 Whoever wishes to divorce his wife must do so through a Get (divorce document)

580. Deuteronomy 24:4 A divorced man cannot marry the woman he divorced after she has married and divorced another or widowed

581. Deuteronomy 24:5 A newlywed should not separate from his wife during the first year of marriage

582. Deuteronomy 24:5 A newlywed is to remain with his wife during the first year of marriage

583. Deuteronomy 24:6 Do not pawn objects with which food is prepared for sustenance

584. Deuteronomy 24:8 Do not pluck marks from tzara’at

585. Deuteronomy 24:10 Do not forcibly seize a pledge of pawn from the debtor

586. Deuteronomy 24:12 Do not withhold a pledge from its owner when he needs it

587. Deuteronomy 24:13 Return the pledge when its owner needs it

588. Deuteronomy 24:15 To pay the laborer in the day he labored

589. Deuteronomy 24:16 A person cannot testify in a trial about a close family member

590. Deuteronomy 24:17 Do not pervert righteousness in the case of a convert or an orphan

591. Deuteronomy 24:17 Do not take a pledge from a widow

592. Deuteronomy 24:19 Leave the sheaves forgotten for the poor

593. Deuteronomy 24:19 Do not take the sheaves of forgotten grain or fruit

594. Deuteronomy 25:2 Scourging a person who transgresses certain prohibitions

595. Deuteronomy 25:3 Do not give additional scourging or beat a Jew

596. Deuteronomy 25:4 Do not muzzle a domestic animal while you are working

597. Deuteronomy 25:5 A childless widow is not to marry anyone else but her deceased husband’s brother

598. Deuteronomy 25:5 A childless widow should marry the brother of the deceased husband

599. Deuteronomy 25:9 The mitzvah of Chalitsah (frees a woman from marrying her deceased husband’s brother)

600. Deuteronomy 25:12 To save the person persecuted by a murderer by attacking the murderer

601. Deuteronomy 25:12 Have no mercy on a murderer who persecutes

602. Deuteronomy 25:13 Do not keep inaccurate scales or weights, even when they are not in use

603. Deuteronomy 25:17 Remember what Amalek did to the Jewish people when he left Egypt

604. Deuteronomy 25:19 Eradicating the descendants of Amalek

605. Deuteronomy 25:19 Do not forget what Amalek did to the Jewish people when he left Egypt