Va'etchanan: Guard Yourselves Very Well
Original author - Akiva Gersh, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021-2022 , and Shoshi Ehrenreich
View Accompanying Source Sheet Here
There is a very telling midrash on Parshat Bereisheit, in which Hashem takes Adam on a tour of the earth shortly after his creation.[1] At the end of the tour, Hashem instructs Adam, “Now, make sure you do not destroy this world, for there will be no one after you to come and fix it.”
Woven into the fabric of our tradition, an environmental ethic appears. It is part of the ancient consciousness that each generation inherits from those that came before; generations whose responsibility it is to then pass the consciousness on to those who will come next. But as history unfolds and society changes, new applications of the Torah create new opportunities for us as stewards of Hashem’s land.
Two verses in this week’s parsha, Va’etchanan, lend themselves to this conversation from a perspective of human health. “Guard yourself and guard your soul very much”[2] it writes, and, “You shall guard yourselves very well.”[3]
The Sages explain that these verses refer to the mitzvah of protecting one’s physical health. As Rabbi Ephraim Luntchitz, the Kli Yakar,[4] explains: “‘Guard yourself’ means taking care of the body.” According to the Sefer HaChinuch,[5] this mitzvah extends beyond the obligation of protecting oneself from things that can end one’s life to also include those things that can damage one’s body. One major component of health, that modern science is well aware of, is our diet. We learn from the Shulchan Aruch,[6] the primary compilation of Jewish law, that we should avoid all things that are a potential risk to our lives. So holy and valuable is our being alive in the eyes of Hashem that we are directed to stay away from something that is just potentially harmful.
Over the past century, humans have developed technologies whose use and implementation have exponentially increased our ability to facilitate agricultural growth. However, all too often, they have also increased the destructive impact that humans are leaving on the natural world and our own bodies.
The first synthetic pesticide use began in the early twentieth century. Following WWII, their use became the norm.[7] The original proponents of chemical pesticides focused solely on the shorter production time and increased crop yield the pesticides would bring. They were not thinking of the long-term, harmful effects these chemicals would have on the food being grown, local water sources, and animal life. As with many significant issues, the use of pesticides does not pose a single threat, which can be easily eliminated with the proper tools; it affects an entire chain in the ecosystem, which humans are very much a part of.
The purpose of pesticides is to kill living things—weeds, insects, rodents, worms, aphids, termites, or moths—which pose a threat to our food. However, the pesticides accumulate on the food and get eaten along with it. What happens when the pesticides spread to non-targeted organisms? In an article included in the National Library of Medicine, this issue is explored: “Once there, they can harm plants and animals ranging from beneficial soil microorganisms and insects, non-target plants, fish, birds, and other wildlife.”[8] Once multiple players in an ecosystem are affected, the solution is never swift or simple. And while discussion regarding the safety of their consumption through our food is warranted (and will be addressed below), the irrefutable matters surrounding these pesticides are their harm to local water sources and wildlife. Perhaps most directly and in the worst ways, over the years, synthetic pesticides have harmed humans in developing countries by contaminating their drinking water. One survey from 1995 found that “...in India, 58% of drinking water samples drawn from various hand pumps and wells around Bhopal were contaminated with Organo Chlorine…”[9] Issues such as these were, unfortunately, not isolated. In addition to these issues, it is worthy to note that there have been substantial findings that the residue that pesticides leave on produce seems to be correlated to certain maladies, particularly in fetuses.[10]
Regulatory bodies such as the EPA monitor and limit the risk of harm that is acceptable from US agriculture, but the US has lagged in banning pesticides compared to other countries. An increasing body of research shows that pesticides and other contaminants are more present in the foods we eat, in our bodies, and in the environment, than we thought.[11] Organic farming, which uses no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, is exceedingly better for the earth and reduces your exposure to the potential health risks associated with those chemicals.[12]
The Torah teaches us to choose life.[13] The decisions we make must enhance our ability and the ability of others to live in this world as healthy physical and spiritual beings. In our own lives, this ethic can extend to caring about the many ways in which pesticides can affect our fellow humans. This injunction, this ethic, is even farther reaching: chemicals used in the production of so many everyday items, from plastic water bottles to paints and fragrances, have been shown to have adverse effects on human health, toxic both to us and our environment. [14]
Confronting this issue on a practical level, it is extremely difficult to avoid eating any non-organic food, let alone any product that contains harmful chemicals. If we are financially able, we can commit to bringing only organic food into our homes. But even so, once we step outside our front door, the control we have over larger industries is not always what we would like it to be. The responsibility is not and cannot be entirely on the consumer—regulation and systemic oversight and change are also necessary. To say that the Torah would prohibit eating non-organic food as it prohibits us from eating pig, is, of course, illogical and unfounded. The Torah would never demand something of us that could not be fulfilled. Nevertheless, to say that the Torah would release us from all responsibility of healthy eating and living is just as unfounded. If and when possible, eating more organic food, educating ourselves on the products we use, and committing ourselves to healthier alternatives are steps that could be within our grasp—and with a collective purchasing power, concerned citizens do hold the possibility of shifting the market.
“You shall guard yourselves very well.” Hashem cares a great deal about how we treat our bodies, and therefore how we grow our food. Through our modern-day application of this ancient wisdom, we have the ability to transform ourselves into greater and stronger vessels to help further the process of universal redemption; may we experience it soon in our days.
Suggested Action:
If you don’t already buy organic food, and it is financially doable, try switching one or two items on your shopping list to organic.
Encourage your local synagogue, school, or any organization you’re affiliated with to similarly include organic food in its food repertoire and make its members aware of this change and the reasons behind it.
Click here to sponsor a parsha.
Notes:
[1] Kohelet Rabbah 7:13.
[2] Devarim 4:9.
[3] Devarim 4:15.
[4] Rabbi Ephraim Luntchitz (1550-1619) of Prague, also called the Kli Yakar, on Deut. 4:9
[5] Sefer HaChinuch, Rabbi Aaron Halevi, Spain, 13 century, Mitzvah 546.
[6] Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Yosef Caro, Israel, 1488-1575, Choshen Mishpat 427, 8-10.
[7] See here for a good history of pesticides.
[8] See here to read more.
[9] See here to read more.
[10] See here for information from the National Institute of Health.
[11] See here for a journal article on the USA’s regulation of pesticides.
[12] See here for information on organic farming from the EPA, and information here on organic from the USDA.
[13] Devarim 30:19
[14] See here for information on plastic packaging and recommendations from the NRDC, and here for information on common household products from the Cleveland Clinic.
