JUSTICE - No. 65

18 No. 65 JUSTICE embedded in the Bible and in Jewish law. The duty of humanity toward the planet we live in is amply expressed in the book of Genesis: “And God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it.” 33 Our sages elaborate on this commandment in the Midrash: When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the first human being, He took him and showed him all of the trees in the Garden of Eden, and said to him: “See my creations how beautiful and praiseworthy they are, and everything that I have created, for you I created it. Put your mind not to damage and not to destroy my world, because if you damage it, there is nobody who can repair it after you.” 34 We are also commanded to refrain from tza’ar ba’alei chayim , meaning to cause animals unnecessary suffering. According to most authorities, this is a biblical mandate ( de’orayta ), 35 derived from several sources, and in particular the Torah commandment to assist in unloading burdens from animals. 36 A concern for suffering caused to animals is also found in the prohibition to eat the 33. Genesis, ch. 2, verse 15. 34. Midrash Kohelet Raba 7:13 (Hebrew). Author’s translation. 35. See e.g . Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim (Hebrew), ch. 305. 36. Exodus 23:5. 37. See Genesis ch. 9, verse 4 and T.B. Sanhedrin 59a. Sefer Hachinuch (Spain, 13 th century), for instance, explains that the objective of this prohibition is to prevent cruelty: “And really there is no cruelty in the world greater than to cut off a limb or flesh of a living animal when it is still alive and to eat it”( ibid . Commandment 452). flesh of live animals ( ever min hachay ), which is also one of the Seven Noahide Laws considered to apply to all humankind. 37 What we have learned from the pandemics of the last decades is that the cruel trade and treatment of wild animals, and the destruction of their habitat, also cause mortal danger to humans. Hence, we are also commanded under the principle of Pikuach Nefesh (saving a human life) to take all necessary measures to prevent such a danger. This can only be done through global cooperation. Hence, globalization is not only the source of the problem, but also the solution to it. n Arie Reich is a full professor of law at Bar-Ilan University and serves as the Vice Rector of the University. He also serves on the Academic Advisory Board of JUSTICE.