Environmental pollution in the Ta’nach and in the Talmud

Abstract

The scope of pollution in the time of the Mishnah and Talmud was much different than of today. For example, consider the magnitude of today’s industrial complexes and the type of pollutants of today, e.g., PCBs, PBBs, BPA, and DDT, versus mom-and-pop industries and wood smoke of 2,000 years ago. Apparently, water and soil pollution were not health issues, possibly as people of those generations were intimately connected to the land and understood the need to refrain from spoiling these environments. Air pollution seems to have been the main concern, albeit the health hazards from undesirable air were only understood on a simple level. For example, when R’ Yehudah HaNasi became ill in Beis Shaerim, which was in a valley and had a hot climate, he was taken to Tzippori, which sat atop a mountain where the air was cool and crisp (Kesubos 104a). In Talmudic times, the focus on pollution abatement was rather simple, as both the nature of the offending toxicants and subsequent the health hazards were minor, as compared to environmental issues in the 21st century.