Since its release last December, James Cameron’s hit film “Avatar” has become something of a phenomenon. As the highest grossing film ever, “Avatar” won three Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects. The film will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on April 22, Earth Day – which is fitting, considering the environmental undertones present throughout the movie.

“I think that ‘Avatar’ does have some environmental messages. It has some interesting relation to the ecosystem,” said Block Yeshiva High School freshman Gideon Feen.

For those who have yet to see “Avatar,” the film takes place in 2154 and chronicles the journey of Jake Sully, a paraplegic who must travel light years to the human outpost on the distant planet Pandora to solve Earth’s energy crisis. Because of Pandora’s toxic atmosphere, humans who travel there must take the form of avatars, genetically engineered hybrids built from both human and Pandora native DNA.

“Avatar’s” focus on the environment also relates to Judaism.

“The movie itself doesn’t specifically mention Judaism, but the movie does bring up the eternal question about balance: society’s needs versus nature’s needs. Achieving this balance was our Biblical mandate after all,” said Rabbi Marshal Klaven, the Director of Rabbinic Services for the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. “As stated in the Book of Genesis 2:15, ‘The Lord, God, took the human and placed him in the Garden of Eden in order to work and guard it.’ We are still working out how to do both.” 

Biblical law suggests guidelines for issues such as environmental conservation, animal welfare, species preservation, sanitation and pollution. In fact, in the Torah, blessings for nature are necessary, animal cruelty is prohibited repeatedly, and hunting is frowned upon.

“Judaism emphasizes the necessary balance between consumption and preservation. In ‘Avatar,’ we see how tipping the scale can end in disaster,” Joseph Derrick, junior at Parkway Central High School said.

Through its Earth-friendly message, “Avatar” relays a warning to its audience: we must take action to save our planet, and Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to begin.