Ignore message at our peril
FRANK VIGON MENORAH SYNAGOGUE
SOMETIMES the old testament challenges us with obscure references that seem slightly out of place with the whole context of the story of the Jewish people such as: “If the defiling mould reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mould has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mould; the house is unclean. It must be torn down….”
This is about when a house appears to have what we would call rising damp!
The implication is that the house should be properly cared for and looked after, if it is not and the mould does not go away then the house is torn down.
The question is – what can we learn from that?
We can either see this as a direct practical methodology or equally as an allegory. In this instance it is possible to see a parallel with our responsibility for the planet.
In Genesis, God places a heavy responsibility on human shoulders. We are not given dominion over the world, rather responsibility for its preservation and all life forms. If we extrapolate from the advice on care of dwellings to the greater picture, this is a cautionary description.
It is not just a house that has fallen into disrepair, it is the planet.
For us, the care of the house extends to the care of the world. If we ignore the damage that we ourselves do, through waste, pollution and self-destruction, the net result will be the same as in this obscure passage… the house will be torn down.
We can see the signs all around us in terms of floods, hurricanes, famine, starvation and the general effects of potential global warming.
It is time to take stock, the cure is so simple... we just need to care.