GEN271 Man was set in the garden of Eden “to work it and take care of it” [this verse]. The two Hebrew verbs are significant. The first - le’avda – literally means “to serve it.” Man is not just a master but also a servant of nature. The second double -- leshamra – means “to guard it.” This is the verb used in later Torah legislation to describe the responsibilities of a guardian of property that does not belong to him. He must exercise vigilance in his protection and is liable for loss through negligence. This is perhaps the best short definition of man’s responsibility for nature as the Bible conceives it. Man’s domination over nature is thus limited by the requirement to serve and conserve. The famous story of Genesis 2 – 3—eating the forbidden fruit and the subsequent exile from Eden—makes just this point.  Not everything that we can do, may we do. Transgress the limits, and disaster follows. All this is summed up by simple midrash: “When G– d made man, He showed him the panoply of creation and said to him: ‘See all My works, how beautiful they are. All I have made, I have made for you. Take care, therefore that you do not destroy My world, for if you do, there will be no one left to mend what you have destroyed.’” Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13. We know much more than we once did about the dangers to the Earth’s ecology by the ceaseless pursuit of economic gain. The guidance of the Oral Tradition interpreting “do not destroy” expansively, not restrictively, should inspire us now. We should expand our horizons of environmental responsibility for the sake of generations not yet born, and for the sake of God whose guests on earth we are.  SACKS 303-4