The Ten Commandments are central to both Judaism and Christianity. However, some commandments are more central than others. The one perhaps least understood is the last one, lo tahmod, which is generally translated as “do not covet.” And yet in some ways it is the key to understanding what causes the behavior that violates the previous four commandments. Moreover, it provides us with some important insights about the problems of environmental degradation and the path to healing the natural and animal world.
Let us attempt to define the commandment. One of the difficulties in doing so, as pointed out by the medieval commentary Abraham ibn Ezra and others is that it is difficult to imagine that the Torah is prohibiting us from finding material goods that are not ours or other people’s spouses attractive. One cannot turn off the part of the mind that looks at and is drawn to people and objects. Rather, explains ibn Ezra, the prohibition is against obsessing about these desires. This can manifest itself in constant fantasizing about the object of one’s desires or in the preoccupation wit h how that which I covet could be mine.
There are two possible victims when I covet. One is the person whose possessions I want for myself. Obsessive desire can lead to a violation of any or all of the previous commandments. Some people will lie, steal, violate the integrity of marriage, or even murder in order to get what they want. Rambam, in his discussion of this commandment, points out that the biblical king Ahab desired the vineyard of his neighbor Naboth, who would not sell it to him. Ahab was so possessed by the desire to own this vineyard that he was willing to hire false witnesses who led to Naboth’s execution, whereupon Ahab claimed the vineyard for himself. See, says Rambam, how the covetous Ahab was willing to steal, lie and murder in order to attain his objectives.
But that person is not the only one who suffers. I also do damage to myself. Our rabbis tell us that the truly wealthy individual is one who is satisfied with one’s lot. Some one plagued by greed or lust lives a life of perpetual unhappiness. He can never truly enjoy what he has because his focus is on what he doesn’t have. No matter how much wealth he acquires, regardless of his status or the attractiveness of his wife, a coveting person will always experience poverty and deprivation. Moreover, there is a great irony inherent in the act of coveting. To covet is to have the desire to be a possessor; yet someone who is consumed with jealousy and desire is himself or herself possessed by those longings and emotions.
It is worth noting that the very first human sin was the result of coveting. When the serpent urges Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, the Torah tells us that the saw that the tree was nehmad… le-haskil ,”desirable as a source of wisdom.” The root of the word nehmad is identical with that of the word tahmod. Genesis is telling us that coveting is the beginning of all sin.
Contemporary society has created a new form of coveting. The British scholar Colin Campbell has explained that the nature of modern coveting is different from that of the pre-industrial era. In former times people desired things. Today we desire experiences that we imagine will result from our possession of those things. When I see an ad for a Jaguar I don’t only admire and desire the car itself but also the vision presented on TV of the Jaguar speeding through the verdant countryside. However, when I purchase that Jaguar, I will have to drive it in the real world, in traffic and down gritty streets. The reality will never match our fantasy. And so we go on to the next obsession.
Our insatiable desires have created a world of excess, where nature and much else is sacrificed to the production of ever more goods and services. When we speak of the environmental challenges of our age we should acknowledge that, in the words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Yes, we must demand stricter controls over emissions, more recycling, and the greater use of renewable energy. Yet as long as we demand an andless stream of “things” environmental depradation will continue.
One of the reasons that I enjoy being at Ramah Berkshires each summer is that I am reminded of the beauty and importance of nature. I also am reminded that one can live in relative simplicity and be happy with one’s lot. These are two of the great gifts, among many others, that we give our campers at Ramah Berkshires. They are fortunate to receive these gifts and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to give it to them.
