In halakha /Jewish law there are two categories of commandments—those between us and other human beings and those between us and God. The first category urges us to have compassion toward others and strive to be better people., but what does the second category mean to us today especially if we struggle with the notion of whether we believe in God or even if we do –do we believe in a God that really cares whether we mix milk and meat? 

      A different understanding of sinning against God could be failing to live up to the values represented by God. If we fail to live up to being an image of God, haven’t we besmirched God’s name or God’s honor? There is a traditional notion of hillul hashem, desecrating God’s name. It is not only other human beings we can hurt with our actions, but also God’s name or at least the values of Judaism. 

      A place to begin our rethinking is the traditional name for this category-- mitzvot bein adam la-makom—commandments between a person and God. The name used for God in describing this category is makom/ place. It is a rabbinic name for God, not a biblical one. Midrash Rabbah (68:9) states: God is the place (makom) of the world, and the world is not God’s place. The midrashic comment is usually understood to mean that God is everywhere in the universe, which is also the creation of God. Yet, God is also not limited by the universe.

      It is not an accident that mitzvot bein adam la-makom---commandments between people and God--use the name of God that means place. As the midrash says, God is the place of the world. Being careless about how we treat this planet is being disrespectful to God. In fact, I would suggest that today it is a primary way that humans are desecrating the name of God. Instead of being co-creators of the world, we are destroying makom-God as manifest in the diverse world of creation. Each time a species disappears from this world, haven’t we in effect diminished God’s name?

Instead, we need to preserve God’s name, which is the same as our planet. At the beginning of creation, God took Adam and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and to protect it (le-avdah u-leshamrah Gen. 2:15). During the holiday of Sukkot, we eat outside in a structure that is open to the elements. We re-engage with nature. Taking on our responsibility to be guardians of creation has become essential for the future of humans and for the earth, God’s greatest creation.