DEUT1012 This prohibition against destroying fruit-bearing trees was known as the rule of bal tashhit, "do not destroy." On the face of it, it is highly limited in scope. It does no more than forbid a "scorched earth" policy in the conduct of war. It seems to have no peacetime application. However, the sages understood it very broadly as including any act of needless destruction. Rambam states the law thus: "Not only does this apply to trees, but also whoever breaks vessels or tears garments, destroys a building, blocks a wellspring of water, or destructively wastes food transgressors the command of bal tashhit." (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Melakhim 6:10). This is the halachic basis of an ethic of environmental responsibility.