Does Judaism Care About the Environment?

What is Judaism's view on Environmental issues?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question

Yes. Part of being a Torah Jew is to care about the environment.

Rabbi Levi once said was that without a well-kept planet, humans won’t survive and Rabbi Chanina used to personally sweep the streets of Eretz Yisrael so that no one should ever have a complaint against its roads. So, as one can see, our sages took the environment seriously.

We are told that Noach was faulted for his disregard when he was informed that God was about to destroy His beautiful world. So too, the Midrash says, “When the Holy One Blessed be He created Adam, He took him and made him pass before all the trees of the Garden of Eden and He said to him, ‘See My works, how lovely and how excellent they are, and everything that I have created is you for.… Pay attention that you should not corrupt it; there is none to fix it after you.’” So we see from here that we are responsible to keep the world healthy!

There are many Talmudic passages that tell us to show consideration for property, environment, and quality of life. For example, the Talmud says that one who wants to run a furnace may only do so away from the city due to the smoke and other pollution that it creates. We are also told not to leave one’s garbage on public property and one who does should be punished. Similarly, if one litters and someone is injured from the litter one will be obligated to pay for the damages.  

There are countless more examples on the importance of caring for the environment. Suffice it to say, it is an important part of Judaism

Tosefta, Bava Batra 1:10; Bava Kama 82b; Ketubot 112a; Bava Batra 23a;  CM 155:23,34; CM 291,292, 414

Bereishit Rabba 13:3; Tanchuma, Noach; Kohelet Rabba 7.