A good environmental reason TB Pesakhim 75

Today’s daf TB Pesakhim 75 analyzes the contradiction between the first part of the Mishnah found on yesterday’s daf and the story told about  Rabban Gamliel’s roasting the korban Pesakh. The solution is simple. The story told in the Mishna is an incomplete retelling.

“It was taught in the mishna that one may not roast the Paschal lamb on a grill. Subsequently, the mishna quotes an incident in which Rabban Gamliel instructed his servant to roast the Paschal lamb for him on a grill. The Gemara expresses surprise: Was an incident cited to contradict what was previously stated? The Gemara responds: The mishna is incomplete and is teaching the following: And if it is a perforated grill, so that the fire reaches each part of the meat and the animal will not be roasted from the heat of the grill itself, it is permitted. And with regard to this Rabbi Tzadok said that there was an incident with Rabban Gamliel, who said to his slave Tavi: Go and roast the Paschal lamb for us on the perforated grill.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rashi and Rambam disagree on the description this grill. Rashi  (ד"ה מנוקבת) says that this grill was made of bricks with a large open space between the bricks. The lamb was roasted in between the bricks over the open fire. The lamb must never touch the sides of the bricks because that would not be considered roasting over a fire. Rambam poskins that one is allowed to roast the korban Pesakh on the perforated grill. (Sefer Korbanot, Hilkhot Pesakh, Chapter 8 Halakha 9)

What was Rabban Gamliel’s motivation to use the  perforated grill? The Torah forbids cutting down fruit trees in Deuteronomy 20:19-20) "When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you? However, a tree you know is not a food tree, you may destroy and cut down, and you shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until its submission.” Imagine how many pomegranate trees had to be cut down each year to make these korban Pesakh spits! According to the Hatom Sofer, Rabban Gamliel was motivated to use the grill over the pomegranate spit for the sake of the land of Israel and its inhabitants. The land of Israel and its inhabitants should not be bereft of pomegranate trees. Not only is Rabban Gamliel fulfilling the commandment in Deuteronomy, he is using good ecological reasons to prefer that perforated grill!