GEN69 [A] fundamental Jewish attitude that shapes economic life is that we are tenants in the world, not owners. “Ladonay ha’aretz umelo’o, the earth and all that is in it belong to God,” proclaims the psalmist (Psalms 24:1).  Psalms 24:1 figures prominently in liberation theology. For this progressive religious movement of the past four decades or so, initially from Catholic Latin America, the rallying cry is “De Jehova es la tierra, y su plenitude (Psalms 24:1)”; nature’s wealth belongs not to multinational corporations or ruling elites, but to God, who loves the campesino and the Presidente equally.  We have an obligation to respect the wishes of the Owner, so we cannot do whatever we like with the property. In Hebrew there is no word that can be directly translated into “owner” or “ownership.”  Things can “belong” (shayakhut) to someone. One can be a “master” (ba’al) over something. But ownership as we understand it in English can refer only to the One owner – God – and we are merely stewards.  The implications of this idea are broad.  Perhaps the most obvious is that just as a tenant is not allowed to deface the apartment or office she rents, so we are not allowed to damage the environment intentionally and irreparably. Our traditional extends this notion much further, however. It suggests that the wealth of the world should be used on behalf of all its inhabitants. While Genesis describes humanity as having dominion over other creatures, Jewish ethics has never seen that dominion as having no limits; we are also stewards of the world with responsibility for it. Genesis describes humanity as having both dominion and the responsibilities of stewardship. These two attitudes are brought into relationship with each other in the very first biblical book. In a world where there is enough for everyone to eat, allowing anyone to go hungry is a violation of our stewardship as the rabbis understand it.  From a Jewish perspective, commitment to the just distribution of resources is the result of understanding the rights and obligations inherent in being human.  TEUTSCHEO  7-8