Parashat Pinhas
Sustenance from the Source
City living can cause social fragmentation and environmental degradation.
By Michael Rosen
This
commentary is provided by special arrangement with Canfei Nesharim. To learn
more, visit www.canfeinesharim.org.
"And
the Lord spoke to Moses saying, for these shall the land be divided as an
inheritance according to the number of the names (Numbers 26:52)."
The Torah portion of
Pinhas discusses apportioning the land of Israel according to preset
measurements, called nahalot. These delineations are to remain forever
(Rashi to Leviticus 25:15). These land apportionments are intended to provide
the setting for true sustenance. As part of the great scheme of sustenance, God
gave us land measures to keep as a sustainable and balanced inheritance.
The respect
necessary for maintaining a sustainable relationship to the land can inform our
approach, even outside of Israel. We need to strengthen our access to
sustenance, both physical and spiritual, by feeling our connection to the land,
even though we might live in modern cities. We can do this by making human
health and well-being a goal in the architecture and scale of our cities, and
making planetary health and well-being a guiding force in planning our source
of nutrition.
The Torah directs us
to live in faith and unity with creation; approximately half of the mitzvot
involve agriculture and land apportionment. But city living distances people
from the agricultural test of faith, and thus they also are deprived of the
resulting closer relationship with God.
Dependence on God
In rabbinic
literature, the order of the Mishna related to agriculture is called emunah, a Hebrew word which means faith
in God's blessings. Dependence on the land deepens our relationship with God
through emunah.
With no emunah, land is harvested without an
appreciation of the source of sustenance. Industrialized farming results in
depleted soil, less nutritious food, and pollution from pesticides. This kind
of farming has little regard for the natural balance of life. By working with
nature, with God, organic sustainable farming produces a healthy harvest that
will sustain the human immune system, as well as the environment.
City Dwelling
In addition to compromised nutrition, the overall health of city
dwellers is an ancient issue. As early as the 11th century, Rashi explained
"Life is more difficult in the city, because so many live there, and they
crowd their houses together, and there is no air, whereas in villages there are
gardens and orchards close to the homes, and the air is good (comment to
Ketubot 110b)."
Maimonides commented
on city communities in the 12th century:
"The quality of
urban air compared to the air in the deserts and forests is like thick and
turbulent water compared to pure and light water. And this is because in the
cities with their tall buildings and narrow roads, the pollution that comes from
their residents, their waste…makes their entire air malodorous, turbulent,
reeking, and thick…And if you cannot move out of the city, try at least to live
in a suburb created to the northeast. Let the house be tall and the court wide
enough to permit the northern wind and the sun to come through, because the sun
thins out the pollution of the air, and makes it light and pure."
We know today that
imbalances such as no sunlight, lack of sleep, inadequate fresh air, and
environmental stress--all deficits common to city life--degrade health and
immunity levels. The medieval sages understood the balance of land and health,
and their recommendations for the city are valid today.
The Sages of the Talmud also noted that the emotional environment
undergoes more damage in large cities than in small towns. In explaining a law
of the Mishnah (Ketubot 13.10) that a husband may not compel his wife to move
from a village to a large city, the Talmud cites the reasoning of R. Yosi ben
Hanina, that life is more difficult in the city than the village.
Obviously city
living is imperative nowadays, and has been for decades, for many people
seeking a livelihood. However, despite some advantages that cities have over
the smaller towns and villages that many people have left, individuals are
weakened by living in places where identity is not reinforced and supported by
a community. Social fragmentation is created in cities where the public and
private domains are in conflict.
Eruv
For Jews living in
cities, the balance of public and private domain is defined by an eruv,
a minimal structure symbolizing a fence that surrounds the city. Today there
are many cities whose Jewish communities benefit from modern eruvim (plural
of eruv). The eruv is
effective for enabling the carrying of objects on Shabbat, by symbolically
unifying an entire community to one domain.
Eruv construction and maintenance requires
cooperative work by a community of people and benefits all involved. Thus, the eruv
engenders a continuous social domain which is supportive of community life, and
focused on God. Being included in a city eruv combats social isolation
and spiritual estrangement.
Connecting to the Source
For city dwellers, the key to maintaining mental and physical health is
to reconnect with the natural world, and its Creator. Cities without a connection to nature or
agriculture, green space, light, air, and horizon create an imbalance which can
support neither physical nor spiritual life. Rabbi Nachman would go for walks
in the woods to speak to God just outside town. In this manner he was able to
escape the damaging, isolating effects of the city, maintaining a connection
with nature and the Source of creation.
By taking these
minute, physical steps, we can reconnect to the land and the unity expressed in
creation, returning to the Source of all sustenance, "by knowing and
believing that all creation is not separate from God, but in reality an
extension of his oneness (Rabbi Nachman of Breslov)."
Suggestion Action Items:
1) Communities today are attempting to reclaim what is missing by
reconnecting to the land. Sustainable design is bringing courtyards, green roof
gardens, and community garden spaces to cities. In addition, agricultural and
nature preserves right outside city limits maintain life-giving nature zones
around urban areas. By supporting sustainable design, organic agriculture, and
community gardens we can strengthen the balance of population and land.
2) By helping to support eruv construction in your city, community bonds can be
strengthened around a holy purpose.
3) Take a walk in a park inside or just outside of your city. Take some
time to reflect on your dependence on creation, or to pray.
