GUTHMAN.TXT

                                       A Tree Grows In Israel

                     RABBI SIDNEY S. GUTHMAN, D.D., 32, KCCH
                  5036 Atherton Street, Long Beach, California 90815

 I HAVE MADE many trips to
Israel, but my most recent tour
in December 1990, was very spe-
cial for many reasons. First, it
made a statement. The hotels,
particularly in Jerusalem, were
already empty because of the im-
pending Gulf crisis. Some hotels
had closed down for lack of tour-
ists. Joining a group of my Ameri-
can colleagues was a way of show-
ing solidarity for the forces of
justice and peace.
   The other reason for this visit to
Israel was to learn more about the
Jewish National Fund which does
magnificent work in the area of
afforestation.
   Although today everyone is
ecology-conscious, this modern-
sounding word actually has its
roots in the Bible. The midrash or
analysis of the text of Ecclesiastes,
tells how God took Adam around
the Garden of Eden showing him
all its beauty. Then He said to
him: "See how lovely and how
worthy of praise are My works.
They have all been created for
your sake. Take care not to spoil
or destroy My world!"
   There are many Biblical injunc-
tions prohibiting uncontrolled
exploitation of nature, including
that of destroying fruit-bearing
trees. When the children of Israel
entered the Promised Land, they
began the arduous process of
clearing large tracts of uncultivat-
ed hilly areas for agriculture. They
built stone terraces on the hill-
sides to prevent soil being washed
down the slopes and planted vine-
yards, crops of wheat and barley,
orchards of olives, pomegranates,
and figs.
   With the modern resettlement
of Israel, afforestation is again a
matter of high priority. The land
before 1948 had known genera-
tions of wanton destruction and
neglect, and the new settlers
found a defoliated, eroded wilder-
ness. To remedy this situation, for
the last 42 years and even today,
the Jewish National Fund has
developed areas of conservation,
advanced natural resource man-
agement, and developed innova-
tive fire-righting techniques.
   Recently some Washington-
based experts also toured Israel to
suggest some joint projects. Eldon
Ross, a forest pathologist, and Dr.
Thomas Geary, an expert on tree
genetics, spent a week touring the
Negev, the Kinnereth (the Sea of
Galilee), Mount Carmel, and the
Golan Heights. During their trav-
els they expressed their admiration
for the work being done in Israel
where parts of the country have a
climate, land conditions, and ter-
rain similar to the United States,
in particular the American West.
They said America shared Israel's
water shortages and could learn a
lot from the J.N.F.'s water man-
agement techniques.
   The American experts were also
impressed by Israel's use of goats
and sheep to manage undergrowth
and reduce fire dangers without
overgrazing and denuding all the
vegetation. In fact, the two coun-
tries have signed a joint coopera-
tion agreement and will send re-
searchers on exchange visits to
conduct joint research and to
learn from each other.
   It was most enlightening to see
for myself how critical reforesta-
tion is as a way of establishing
ecological balance. The Sha'ar
Hagai forest in the Judean Hills
outside Jerusalem was severely
depleted in the 1980's by a certain
species of moth which damaged
the Jerusalem pine trees. Also on
Mount Carmel, near Haifa, the
forests were almost wiped out by
terrorist-related arson. In both
areas major reforestation projects
are currently being undertaken.
   The cycles of rain and dew,
wind and sun are as critical to the
daily life of modern Israel as they
were in biblical times. That a
similar ecological consciousness is
taking place today in the United
States and that American Masons
are part of this growing conserva-
tion movement are sources of
pride to me. Clearly, Freemasons
can be both "Ancient and Accept-
ed" while being modern and pro-
gressive!

Rabbi Guthman, D.D., of Congregation
Sholom, Seal Beach, is a member of the
Civil Service Commission of Long Beach
and serves as chaplain of Veterans Adminis-
tration Medical Center, and former Grand
Chaplain of Grand Lodge of California.

