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The Ethical Teachings Of Judaism

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Environmental ethics is the attempt to define a system of values to guide humans in the way that they treat the natural world. In Judaism, humankind are viewed as having an extremely significant relationship with the environment and Jews believe that God created the earth and everyone on it. Therefore because of this, it is important as adherents of Judaism to take care of the environment and use God’s creation sustainably. The midrash states that once the world is destroyed the damage is irreparable. It is therefore our responsibility to prevent this from happening by following the ethical teachings that Judaism provides. Judaism effectively provides a number of ways to teach adherents ethical guidance towards the environment to prevent harm, which can be seen through the sacred Jewish texts and its ethical teachings. Jewish texts are the sources of Jewish teachings and significant in their understanding of what is ethical, as the writings are designed to guide adherents through their lives in accordance with God’s wishes. Sources include biblical, rabbinic, liturgical, mystical and commentator sources. Judaism is a religious tradition that effectively demonstrates ethical teachings and adherents are guided to live ecological lifestyles in accordance to these ethical teachings, which also help to respond to current environmental issues.

In Genesis 1:26, humans were given the authority to “rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all

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