Rosh Hashanah reminds us of God's creation of the world. Hence, it is an excellent time to consider the planet's environment and steps toward shifting the world to a sustainable path.

When God created the world, He was able to say, "It is very good." (Genesis 1:31) Everything was in harmony as God had planned, the waters were clean, and the air was pure. But what must God think about the world today, when, for example, the rain He provided to nourish our crops is often acid rain, species of plants and animals are becoming extinct at such an alarming rate, and the climatic conditions that He designed to meet our needs are threatened by global warming?

Fortunately, there are many Jewish teachings that can be applied to shift the earth to a sustainable path. Briefly, these include:
* Our mandate to be shomrei adamah (guardians of the earth) (Genesis 2:15);
* the prohibition of bal tashchit, that we should not waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value (Deuteronomy 20:19. 20);
* The assigned role of the Jewish people is to enhance the world as "partners of God in the work of creation." (Shabbat 10a);
* the ecological lessons related to the Shabbat, sabbatical and jubilee cycles.

It is essential that Jews take an active role in applying our eternal, sacred values in struggles to end pollution and the waste of natural resources. So at the start of a new year, we should seek to reduce our environmental impact by, for example, using recycled paper, eating less meat, driving our cars less and using more fuel efficient bulbs and other items. The fate of humanity and God's precious earth are at stake.

By Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.