Jewish Teachings on Communal Responsibility: Lessons from Eglah Arufah and Environmental Stewardship

In this week's Torah portion, Shoftim, we learn about the ritual of eglah arufah. This ritual is performed when a murdered person is found in a field, and the perpetrator is unknown. The elders and judges of the nearest town must go to the site, decapitate a calf, and wash their hands, proclaiming, "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it." This act symbolizes communal responsibility and underscores the sanctity of human life.

There is a profound message here about accountability—not just for direct actions but also for indirect consequences. I was recently introduced to two stories that illustrate this idea.

The first is the Starfish Story. A father and son walk along a beach littered with starfish washed ashore. The boy picks up the starfish, one by one, and throws them back into the ocean to save them. His father, watching, says, "There are too many—what’s the point? You’ll never be able to save them all." The boy responds, "Maybe not, but I saved these ones."

The second is the Drowning Babies Story. Two people see babies floating down a river. One frantically pulls them out, saving as many as possible. The other, instead of staying to rescue, runs upstream to find and stop whoever is throwing the babies into the water. As we all know, addressing a problem at its source is much harder—and often out of our control—than making small, immediate impacts. So, is it even worth trying?

Reading this Torah portion, I couldn’t help but hear lyrics from Dear Evan Hansen playing in my head:
"If you've fallen in a forest and there's nobody around, did you ever really crash or even make a sound?"

The eglah arufah ritual is a response to a person who has died alone, without witnesses. The Torah emphasizes that just because no one saw it happen doesn’t mean it didn’t happen—or that it couldn’t have been prevented. The elders and judges are required to perform this ritual because they are leaders—the ones with the power to create change. The calf, young and innocent, is sacrificed despite having done nothing wrong, symbolizing the consequences of negligence. It reminds me of how future generations will suffer from our actions—or inactions—on climate change, just as today’s leaders fail to act with urgency.

We are facing environmental crises that demand communal responsibility. Climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction are not abstract issues; they are the direct result of human decisions. Recently, I attended a Tikkun HaYam (Repair the Sea) Shabbaton, where we learned about the devastating effects of pollution and rising sea levels. Marine life is dying due to plastic waste, and these environmental shifts impact the entire planet. Scientists predict that parts of Miami could be almost entirely underwater by 2050. The loss of marine species disrupts entire ecosystems, affecting food chains, weather patterns, and even the air we breathe.

When I returned from the Shabbaton, I read that the U.S. government had rolled back policies promoting paper straws in favor of plastic ones. And honestly? I hate paper straws. They fall apart, they taste weird, and they suck. But there are better alternatives than plastic.

The next day, I went for a walk to get coffee and noticed plastic straws littering the grass. I started picking them up, and before I knew it, I had collected over 40 straws within a few blocks. I then searched for a recycling bin. I walked into five different restaurants—none of them had one. I decided I wouldn’t buy my coffee until I found a business with a recycling bin. Finally, I found Pura Vida, a café that offered both recycling and compostable straws. I spent $8 on a latte—only to later realize it didn’t even have coffee in it and also that straws cannot be recycled in Florida… but that’s beside the point.

I learned something important: voting with my money matters. Supporting businesses that make sustainable choices has a greater impact than any one action I take alone.

As a community, we must ask ourselves: Are we washing our hands of environmental destruction? Are we taking responsibility for our impact, even when it’s indirect? Just as the elders and judges in the Torah couldn’t claim innocence when a murder happened near their town, we cannot ignore our role in harming the planet and future generations.

So, what can we do?

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. In that order.
Reducing plastic use should always be the priority. When that’s not possible, reusing plastic—whether for storage or another purpose—extends its life. Recycling should be the last resort.

Every small action matters—just like throwing back a single starfish.

Let us learn from eglah arufah and embrace our communal responsibility. Through collective action and mindful stewardship, we can honor the sanctity of life and ensure a sustainable future for all.