In honor of Tu B'Shevat: Here’s a thought I had while studying the Talmudic tractate Bava Kama (the laws of damages). The discussion focused primarily on the obligations a private individual has to the public vis-a-vis the disposal of his property. For example, he is not allowed to toss rocks or other dangerous items from his private domain into the public domain as it might cause damage to a passer by. For if he did, and a passer by was injured – let’s say by tripping over the rock – then the person would be obligated to pay the damages.
The Talmud then tells a story about a certain individual who threw some rocks from his private property into the public domain. A certain Hasid came by and told him he shouldn’t do that, not just because it was wrong, but also because it was self-defeating. “Why are you throwing something from the public domain into your private domain?” The violator was perplexed; “you mean from my private domain into the public domain, don’t you?” No, replied the Hasid, I meant what I said – from the public into the private. The violator walked away confused but then understood the meaning of the Hasid’s words sometime later when he was forced to sell his private field due to an economic downturn. As he was walking the public streets he accidentally tripped over a rock and hurt himself. He then realized that this rock might have in fact been one of the ones he threw from his private domain. And then it hit him: What we consider our private property is not necessarily always going to remain so. We may have to sell it, or we may lose control of it for some other reason. In a sense then, yes, it is like public property, certainly not just my own private domain. And when things go bad, and I lose all my private property, sometimes the only thing that I can still call my own in some way is the public property around me which I am allowed to use. Even if I’m dirt poor and don’t own anything, at least I can walk in and enjoy the public domain; in other words, it is in some ways ‘my’ property. So, thought the violator, the words of the Hasid do make sense after all.
After reading this story it struck me that it contains an important insight relevant to environmental concern. We often think that we can do whatever we want without consequence. But, of course, that is not true. If we pollute the land around us, it is foolish to think we can simply hide in our own non-polluted property and enjoy it without any problems. The pollution we sent out into the world eventually will effect our lives; that world, after all, is ‘our’ property as well. In fact, it’s all we’ve got. The Talmud is teaching this same point. Realize, it is saying, that the person’s life you might be saving when you act responsibly to the outside world might just be yours.
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