An argument from sachar va’onesh
(Reward and Punishment)
We raised a number of arguments that could be made to disregard the threat of climate change. The second on the list was the argument from sachar va’onesh and it went like this:
Surely it is evil and sin that destroy the world, not greenhouse gas emissions caused by the normal daily living of ordinary people minding their own business. They are not being evil, just doing what Hashem expects them to do.
To elaborate, having established in our previous discussion that we bear responsibility to maintain the world in partnership with Hashem, we might still object to the suggestion that greenhouse gas emission reduction should be the method used to achieve that.
The Mishna in Avot (5:1) says:
With ten utterances the world was created. And what does this teach us, for surely it could have been created with one utterance? But this was so in order to punish the wicked who destroy the world that was created with ten utterances, and to give a good reward to the righteous who maintain the world that was created with ten utterances.
The Mishna teaches us that righteous people maintain the world while wicked people destroy the world. Apparently, it is moral and good actions that maintain the world and immoral and evil actions which destroy it. Suffice it to say, there is no mention of greenhouse gas emissions.
Other mishnayot paint a similar picture:
Shimon HaTzaddik… used to say: On three things the world stands: on Torah, on the Temple service and acts of kindness. (Avot 1:2)
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel used to say: On three things the world stands: on justice, on truth and on peace… (Avot 1:18)
This also seems to be borne out through numerous stories in the Torah - Adam and Chava’s sin caused the earth to be cursed, the evil of the Generation of the Flood caused the world to be deluged, the evil of the cities of Sodom and Amora caused their destruction, and so on.
One may therefore be inclined to say: “Leave me alone with your scientifically-based fears and explanations. Let mankind work on its spirituality and morality as the antidote to the world’s problems and forget about greenhouse gases.” Is that not a reasonable argument?
The smoker analogy
Imagine you have a religious Jew who has also been a heavy smoker for a long time. After living in relatively good health for many years, he starts to have problems with his breathing. He’s concerned and discusses the problem with his friends. One friend recommends he see his doctor straight away. The other tells him he should speak to his rabbi and engage in soul-searching and teshuva. Who is right?
If one is trying to adopt a Torah-true approach, one might be tempted towards the latter option. But look at these words of the Ramchal:
Hashem, blessed be He, has made man with sound intellect and clear reasoning in order that he may guide himself in the right way and guard from harmful things which were created to punish the wicked. But someone who does not want to guide himself in an intelligent manner and exposes himself to dangers - this is not trust in Hashem but rather foolishness. Such a person sins in that he is acting against the will of Hashem who desires that a man guard himself.
Hence, besides the inherent danger which he is exposing himself to due to failing to guard himself properly, he also actively brings punishment down upon himself for the sin which he commits. Thus the sin itself is what brings upon him the punishment. (Mesilat Yesharim chapter 9)
The Ramchal is teaching us an important principle. It is true that observing the Torah exerts supernatural influence in the world. However, that does not mean that Torah observance requires us to view all of reality through an exclusively supernatural lens. Hashem created a natural world that operates in accordance with natural laws. He has blessed us with the intellectual skills to be able to understand the natural world and He expects us to use our intellect in order to look after ourselves. This is also a part of Torah observance. We should not be biased in favor of supernatural interpretations for events or supernatural responses over natural ones.
A smoker should not assume that his problems with breathing must derive from some supernatural explanation related to his spiritual state when there is a readily apparent natural explanation. Medical science is a gift from Hashem. Hashem has given mankind the ability to understand the workings of the body, and to disregard that is to fail to appreciate the intellect that Hashem has given him and the purpose for which it has been given to him. It is foolishness and in defiance of Hashem’s will.
The same argument can be applied to climate change. Hashem has blessed us with intelligence and the tremendous ability to discover the scientific workings of the climate. If climate change is happening and our scientific know-how can explain it and guide us as to how to address it, it would seemingly be foolish and contrary to Hashem’s will to ignore that.
That is not to say that we should not also look for possible spiritual causes for climate change, or consider spiritual responses to it. But we should not be skeptical about the scientific explanations in deference to spiritual ones.
We should also highlight that no suggestion is being made that reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be generally considered a substitute for virtuous behavior in maintaining the world. It is merely the necessary response to the particular threat we are now facing.
We will next discuss the third argument based on the principle of “Shomer p’tayim Hashem” (“Hashem protects the simple”).
