Leave the world alone
The American author Daniel Quinn writes that “Man’s destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he’s done, almost. The problem is, that man’s conquest of the world has itself devastated the world. And in spite of all the mastery we’ve attained, we don’t have enough mastery to stop devastating the world. or to repair the devastation we’ve already wrought.”
This week’s Torah portion describes a new commandment, the Mitzva of Shmitta/ the Sabbatical year. For six years the farmers would work, but the seventh year would be a Sabbath to God. No work on the land was allowed for one year. Commentators explain that this commandment served to instil a deep, belief and trust in God. Our world would survive without our input, we would be fed from the hand of G-od. Our mastery of the world halted for 12 months. God is in control; our survival is not a product of our own efforts. Ultimately we would need to rediscover our role in the world.
Daniel Quinn was wrong; Man does have enough mastery to stop devastating the world. When we learn to step back and stop demonstrating our dominion over the world. If once is seven years is too long to wait then the weekly Sabbath gives us a opportunity to do so.
People used to ridicule the Sabbath laws, we don’t work or shop, use our cars or travel by plane. We don’t operate businesses. We walk to synagogue, we don’t drive or use electronic devices.
The Sabbath tells us that we don’t own nature, we are merely its guardians for the sake of God and future generations. Not everything we can do, should we do. If there’s one thing on which environmentalists and religious believers agree upon it’s the need to live within the limits of the earth’s ecology. One day a week without cars or shopping might just be one way of preserving the world.
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