Ownership

"The scriptures make clear that protecting God’s forests – and the many aspects of creation they encompass – is both sound policy and a holy obligation. We are taught that the Earth does not belong to us, but to God, and that we are the tenants charged with its care. God instructed the Israelites, “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants” (Leviticus 25:23), and the psalmist declares, “The Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1-2)."

-Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)

Excerpted from Protect Our Forests: Oppose Repeal of Roadless Rule, www.coejl.org, 24 May 2005

Photograph:  A temperate rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, by Emma McCreary (USA).