Quotations
from Jewish Sources about Trees
1. And God said: “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding
seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has
seed-yielding fruit — to you it shall be for food.” (Genesis 1:29)
2. In the
hour when the Holy one, blessed be He, created the first person, He showed him
the trees in the Garden of Eden, and said to him: “See My works, how fine they
are; Now all that I have created, I created for your benefit. Think upon this
and do not corrupt and destroy My world, For if you destroy it, there is no one
to restore it after you.” (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:28)
3. When
you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you
shall not destroy (lo tashchit) the trees thereof by wielding an ax against
them; for you may eat of them, but you must not cut the down; for is the tree
of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you? Only the trees of which
you know that they are not trees for food, them you may destroy and cut down,
that you may build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until it
fall. (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20)
