An interesting ruling in this week’s parsha is “when you siege a city you may eat of the fruit trees but not cut them down, for are the trees of the field like men who can flee from you before a siege?”^[1] The Hebrew is כי האדם עץ השדה, and a beautiful Israeli song was produced by Shalom Hanoch with that as the chorus in 1983.^[2] Once can wish (as I do) that the Bible voiced the same level of concern about the other nations. Nevertheless, I think there is a lesson to be learned in being mindful of our environment and not needlessly destroying, especially items that bear fruit. We live in a state that produces over one-third of the United States’ total fruit, vegetables and nuts, and it is important that we maintain that beauty for generations yet to come. 

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^[1] Deuteronomy 20:19

^[2]https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS1012US1012&sca_esv=c0e01933550a57b0&sxsrf=APpeQnvduJzNkGPLKo6XdqqwsYM8GoPnuA:1786127475656&q=%D7%9B%D7%99+%D7%94%D7%90%D7%93%D7%9D+%D7%A2%D7%A5+%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%93%D7%94+%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D&si=APenkKnKBEUauq4uTtUY4jfHLnqFuwjYstKqhPBfybgq7STLIjPYw55Ta3dja4ujVQ8Hq9BgRKPtP-YW0fyMifnfwvdIm4IIS_NeKZdq7kizGrRV4IWUsEoVz9mhMwHs0mHVjwGSLG1_4_ilNPwSurYnok7YNR4IgqeOn64yuEfTX34SivTkykdfN2kVkz-naIbkW-k-XUo8TmGwH_0rDTMhcJRYu52VJw%3D%3D&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwjg1tatk4-WAxUNCjQIHW8nGjAQyNoBKAB6BAgWEAA&ictx=1&biw=1920&bih=953&dpr=1