At different times in history, Jews have engaged in growing crops, tending fruit trees, and shepherding animals in the Land of Israel. These activities were critical to provide food to sustain Jews living in the Land. Yet they also may have presented challenges to environmental sustainability in the Land of Israel. Jewish tradition can teach us about sustaining the Land over time, both in pre-modern times and today.
Summary:
Before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., the Jewish and gentile population expanded to about 2.1 million inhabitants. During the period before and after the destruction of the Second Temple (20 C.E. to 200 C.E., also known as the Mishnaic period), the people living in the Land of Isarel were fed in good part from grain, wine, and oil produced in Israel. At this time and for centuries afterward, most Jews still farmed the Land.
Jewish history records 3747 years since Abram and Sarai came to Israel, of which over 1500 years involved significant settlement in the Land of Israel. How did they manage to live in the Land of Israel for so long? While the Torah teaches us that Divine Providence (in response to the people following the commandments) played the fundamental role, the Oral Tradition as redacted in the Mishna also provides instructive guidelines for living in the Land of Israel. These teachings can inform us about living sustainably on the Land over a long period of time.
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