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Q's
& A's
What Is the Proper Place
and Role of Human Beings in the World?
In Genesis 2:15, the first humans are commanded
"to till and to tend" the Earth. This
formulation hints at a kinship with the rest of
creation that becomes even clearer when we look
at the Hebrew more closely. Avad means not only
to till, or even to work in a more general sense;
it means also, and more powerfully, to serve or
to participate in worship of the Divine. Thus,
our "tilling" is more properly understood
as service to God's Earth, a service that is not
only a profound responsibility but a direct and
critical part of our connection with and worship
of God as well. And shamar, or "tend,"
means not only to tend, but more commonly, to
guard or to watch over. What these meanings have
in common is that the shomrim guard property that
does not belong to them, but that is entrusted
to them. (Daniel Swartz, “Jews,
Jewish Texts, and Nature: A Brief History.”
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