Chapter 2: Summoning the Will Not to Waste
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SUMMARY ARTICLE
By Rabbi Yonatan Neril
The commandment of Bal Tashchit– do not destroy or waste– has long been considered central to a Jewish environmental ethic. Indeed, Rabbi Norman Lamm understands it to be “the biblical norm which most directly addresses itself to the ecological situation[1].” What is the basis for the commandment not to waste? We will explore what Bal Tashchit is, how it applies to food, and how it relates to our lives.
The Torah teaches:
“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[2].” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20)
From these verses we can see that a Jewish army is forbidden from cutting down fruit trees in war. Yet the rabbis of the Talmud (200 C.E.-~500 C.E.) understood this as communicating a general prohibition against needless destruction. According to our sages, this mitzvah concerns not destroying directly or indirectly anything that may be of use to people. Our sources teach that it applies to wasting energy, clothing, water, money, and more [3].
Beyond the letter of the law, Bal Tashchit is a warning for how we are to relate to the world. Rabbi Sampson Rafael Hirsch taught that it is “the most comprehensive warning to human beings not to misuse the position which G-d has given them as masters of the world and its matter through capricious, passionate, or merely thoughtless wasteful destruction of anything on earth [4].” So this is a big Jewish mitzvah, this commandment not to waste or destroy.
One type of waste that’s rampant in our society is the waste of food. According to a 2011 study commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost or wasted [5].” In the United States, less than three percent of this waste is recovered and recycled [6]. While some of this food waste was inedible, part of it was good food discarded by satiated diners or edible leftovers thrown away from the refrigerator.
The Talmudic sage Rabbi Ishmael taught: if the Torah warns us not to destroy fruit trees, then we should be even more careful about not destroying the fruit itself [7]. This applies to all food that is fit to be eaten, and not only the fruit of trees [8].
Wasted food is a waste of money, energy and water, and causes environmental impacts. This disposal of food costs about one billion dollars annually in the United States [9]. In garbage dumps, this decomposing food waste produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Fossil fuels, water, and land are all required to produce food, and in the case of meat, exceptional amounts. One study examined the energy embedded in wasted food–from agriculture, transportation, processing, food sales, storage, and preparation. It concluded that this energy “represents approximately 2% of annual energy consumption in the United States [10].”
By not wasting food, we can produce ecological, social, financial and spiritual benefits.
Food waste occurs at many stages, including on farms, in transport, and at stores and restaurants. In terms of food consumption at home, buying and preparing too much food and letting the leftovers in one’s fridge go to waste is a possible violation of Bal Tashchit. One practical action is to be mindful about how much food we buy and put in our refrigerators, and finishing the food that does get refrigerated. For example, try going for a week without any of the food in your fridge going bad.
The verses that introduce this mitzvah describe a war against an external enemy. But the rabbis make clear that the real battle to be waged is within ourselves, against a human tendency to be wasteful. By strengthening our ability to avoid waste, we become holier, stronger people. This strength can help us approach other spiritual and environmental challenges. May the changes we make in our own lives ripple outward to our families, our community, and our planet.
Rabbi Yonatan Neril is the founder and director of Jewish Eco Seminars and the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. He holds an MA and BA from Stanford University and engaged in Jewish learning for seven years at multiple institutions of Jewish studies in Israel. He lives with his wife and son in Jerusalem.
Notes
[1] “Ecology in Jewish Law and Theology” in Faith and Doubt, by Rabbi Norman Lamm, 2006, KTAV Publishing House: Jersey City, NJ. Rabbi Lamm is former president and former chancellor of Yeshiva University.
[2] Judaica Press translation
[3] For more on Bal Tashchit of energy, see the Jewcology article on energy.
[4] Commentary to Deuteronomy 20:19
[5] The study, “Global Food Losses and Food Waste“, was commissioned by FAO from the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK).
[6] “Basic Information about Food Waste,” US EPA.
[7] Sifrei (a halachic Midrash), end of Parshat Shoftim
[8] Rabbi Moshe Yitzhak Forehand notes that all rabbinic authorities agree, based on this teaching, that it is forbidden from the Torah to destroy edible fruit, and by extension, all food. See Bircat Hashem, Jerusalem, 2000, p. 211 He cites the views of R’ Shmuel Heller in Kuntras Cavod Melachim, p. 5a, Rabbi Moshe Aaron Poleyeff in Orach Mesharim section 29 subsection 4, and that of Shut Mahari Esad (Yoreh De’ah section 164).
[9] “Waste Not, Want Not,” A joint publication of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the USDA.
[10] “Wasted Food, Wasted Energy: The Embedded Energy in Food Waste in the United States,” Amanda D. Cuellar, Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, The University of Texas at Austin, and Michael E. Webber, Mechanical Engineering, Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, The University of Texas at Austin.Environ. Sci. Technol., 2010, 44 (16), pp 6464–6469
Experiential Activities
Reprinted with permission from Behrman House Publishers from Spirit in Nature, by Matt Biers-Ariel, Deborah Newbrun, and Michal Fox Smart, p. 15-16, with minor alterations.
The prudent use of natural resources is a strong Jewish value. The mitzvah bal tash'hit (literally, "do not destroy") commands us not to waste natural resources or anything else and only to use that which we truly need. Bal tash'hit also commands us not to pollute the earth. Hikers can practice bal tash'hit not only by not littering, but also by picking up trash left by others. In this way, they are also practicing tikkun olam- helping to repair the world.
Ages: 4+
Hikers' Goals:
to sharpen observation skills while walking slowly in the wilderness
to better understand the mitzvah of bal tashchit
Time: near the beginning of a hike
Materials:
fifty-foot length of rope or string
fifteen to forty objects not normally found in natural settings-some should be obvious, like aluminum cans, others more subtle, like toothpicks or pennies
garbage bag
Procedure:
This activity relates to the discussion toward the end of the essay on municipal solid waste, and
involves placing garbage in nature to illustrate the point. In advance of the activity and out of sight of the participants, mark a course by laying a fifty-foot length rope or string alongside trees and/or bushes. Place fifteen to forty objects not normally found in nature (some should be obvious, like aluminum cans, others more subtle, like toothpicks or pennies) on one side of the rope, on the ground and in bushes and trees. Some should be plainly visible and others partially hidden. All the items should be visible from the other side of the rope.
Bring the participants to one end of the rope and explain that they must walk along the rope, on the side without the objects, and silently count how many objects they see. At the end of the rope, have them whisper to you how many items they saw. After everyone has a turn, ask those who found five or more objects to raise their hands; then ten or more, fifteen, twenty, and so on. Most likely all the hikers will have their hands up at the start and will soon become surprised that they missed so many items. At this point, have them go through a second time. At the end of the second time, instruct them to pick up all the objects.
Variation: Put only ten to fifteen objects on the trail, and go through the procedure only once.
Debriefing:
Discuss the differences in the participants' approach to looking for objects each time they walked
through. The second time, the hikers most likely walked more slowly and were more observant.
Stress that this is how they should always hike along the trail.
Talk about how camouflage helps animals hide from prey by blending into the environment.
Discuss the hasidic idea that God is hidden in works of creation. How can walking through
nature with an enhanced awareness help us find God in works of creation? Ask what we can do
to fulfill the mitzvah of bal tash'hit.
Take out the garbage bag and encourage the hikers to pick up litter as they continue the hike.
In-Depth Study
By Rabbi Yonatan Neril[1]
The commandment of Bal Tashchit– do not destroy or waste– has long been considered central to a Jewish environmental ethic. Indeed, Rabbi Norman Lamm understands it to be “the biblical norm which most directly addresses itself to the ecological situation.[2]” What is the basis for the commandment not to waste? We will explore how the Jewish tradition widely forbids wasteful acts, how wasting contributes to degradation of the planet, and how not wasting can help us improve our lives both physically and spiritually.
“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.[3]” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20)
The Torah teaches us that we are not to cut down fruit trees in wartime. Yet the rabbis in the Babylonian Talmud (200 C.E.-~500 C.E.) understand verse nineteen above to be a general principle beyond war and fruit trees. They employ a common form of Rabbinic interpretation, making a logical inference from a more stringent to a less stringent case. If Jews must not cut down fruit trees in the extreme case of a war of conquest, when destruction is the norm, how much the more so does this apply to normal life.
The general prohibition against needless destruction, derived from the verses on fruit trees, concerns not destroying directly or indirectly anything that may be of use to people. It applies to wasting energy, clothing, water, money, and more. According to the Talmud, this prohibition includes wastefully burning oil or fuel [4]. Many Rishonim (commentators between 1000 and 1500 C.E.) conclude that wasting any resources of benefit to humans is a Torah prohibition. For example, Maimonides (1135-1204, Spain) explains that a Jew is forbidden to “smash household goods, tear clothes, demolish a building, stop up a spring, or destroy articles of food [5].” Rabeinu Yerucham (1280-1350, Spain) rails against wasting water when others are in need.
The Talmudic sage Rabbi Yishmael makes another logical inference: if the Torah warns us not to destroy fruit trees, then we should be even more careful about not destroying the fruit itself [6]. Currently, in Israel, Rabbi Moshe Yitzhak Forehand notes that all rabbinic authorities agree, based on this teaching, that it is forbidden from the Torah to destroy edible fruit [7]. This applies to all food that is fit to be eaten, and not only the fruit of trees [8].
Rabbi Menachem Treves (19th century, Germany) wrote that overeating may be a double transgression of Bal Tashchit—first by wasting food, and second by harming one’s body [9]. Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky, (present-day, Israel), considers taking more food than one can eat at a buffet to be Bal Tashchit [10].
There are limitations to what is considered “needless” destruction. Observance of a mitzvah, like tearing clothes in mourning, or preservation of human life or health overrule Bal Tashchit when the two come in conflict. Also, one does not violate Bal Tashchit when destroying an object is of more benefit than preserving it. For example, if a tree’s wood is worth more than its fruit, then it may be permitted to cut it down.
That said, the Jewish Sages reveal a high degree of sensitivity when it comes to waste. According to the Sefer Ha-Hinukh (13th century, Spain, author unknown), righteous Jews “do not allow the loss of even a grain of mustard, being distressed at the sight of any loss or destruction. If they can help it, they prevent any destruction with all the means at their disposal [11]” Quite a level to which to aspire.
Rabbi Sampson Rafael Hirsch (1808-1888, Germany) explains in very strong language that “lo tashchit,” do not destroy, is “the most comprehensive warning to human beings not to misuse the position which G-d has given them as masters of the world and its matter through capricious, passionate, or merely thoughtless wasteful destruction of anything on earth [12]” He continues in his book Horeb,
“If …you should regard the beings beneath you as objects without rights, not perceiving G-d Who created them, and therefore desire that they feel the might of your presumptuous mood, instead of using them only as the means of wise human activity—then Gd’s call proclaims to you, ‘Do not destroy anything!’ Be a mensch! Only if you use the things around you for wise human purposes, sanctified by the word of My teaching, only then are you a mensch and have the right over them which I have given you as a human…However, if you destroy, if you ruin, at that moment you are not a human…and have no right to the things around you. I lent them to you for wise use only; never forget that I lent them to you. As soon as you use them unwisely, be it the greatest or the smallest, you commit treachery against my world, you commit murder and robbery against my property, you sin against Me!… In truth, there is no one nearer to idolatry than one who can disregard the fact that all things are the creatures and property of Gd, and who then presumes to have the right, because he has the might, to destroy them according to a presumptuous act of will. Yes, that one is already serving the most powerful idols—anger, pride, and above all ego, which in its passion regards itself as the master of things [13]”
Today, we use and waste vast amounts of resources. Indeed, certain practices in Western society directly conflict with the principle of “Bal Tashchit.” Let us examine one modern-day example of Bal Tashchit mentioned above—the throwing out of edible food.According to a 2011 study commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost or wasted [14].” In the United States, less than three percent of this waste was recovered and recycled [15]. While some of this food waste was inedible, part of it was good food discarded by satiated diners or edible leftovers thrown away from the refrigerator. Disposing of food costs money: about one billion dollars spent annually in the United States [16]. In garbage dumps, this decomposing food waste produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The environmental impact of this waste occurs not only in the garbage dumps where it is deposited, but also in the resources used to produce it. Fossil fuels, water, and land are all required to produce food, and in the case of meat, exceptional amounts. For example, over 5,000 gallons of water are calculated as being required to produce one pound of beef [17]. One study examined the energy embedded in wasted food–from agriculture, transportation, processing, food sales, storage, and preparation. It concluded that this energy “represents approximately 2% of annual energy consumption in the United States [18].” By wasting food, we squander a tremendous amount of resources, reduce the food available for the world’s poor, and waste money that could be used for important purposes. By heeding the Torah’s call not to waste, we can, therefore, generate ecological, social, and financial benefits.
The verses that introduce this mitzvah describe a war against an external enemy, but the rabbis make clear that the real battle to be waged is within ourselves, against a tendency to be wasteful. Rabbi Hirsch identifies the key traits that lead to wasteful behavior—anger, pride, and most of all, ego. To tread lightly and live without wasting, one must cultivate the opposite of these traits—inner peace, humility, and selflessness.
By consuming in a mindful way and not wasting, we can become healthier, more balanced human beings and also promote a healthier and more balanced world. May the changes we make in our own lives ripple outward to our families, our community, and our planet.
Notes
[1] The author would like to thank Evonne Marzouk for her helpful editorial comments.
[2] “Ecology in Jewish Law and Theology” in Faith and Doubt, by Rabbi Norman Lamm, 2006, KTAV Publishing House: Jersey City, NJ. Rabbi Lamm is chancellor and former president of Yeshiva University.
[3] Judaica Press translation
[4] Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat p. 67b. For more on Bal Tashchit of energy and an explanation of this source, see the Jewcology article on energy.
[5] Mishna Tora, Hilchot Malachim, 6:10
[6] Sifrei (a halachic Midrash), end of Parshat Shoftim.
[7]Bircat Hashem, Jerusalem, 2000, p. 211 He cites the views of R’ Shmuel Heller in Kuntras Cavod Melachim, p. 5a, Rabbi Moshe Aaron Poleyeff in Orach Mesharim section 29 subsection 4, and that of Shut Mahari Esad (Yoreh De’ah section 164).
[8] Ibid, Bircat Hashem, p. 213 and footnote bet there. Again, he cites the views of R’ Shmuel Heller in Kuntras Cavod Melachim, that of Shut Mahari Esad, and that of Chazit Ra’anan.
[9] Orach Mesharim 29:6. Orach Mesharim, Rabbi Menachem Treves, published in Mainz, Germany, 1878, sect. 29.6, p.153 as cited in Bal Tashchit: The Jewish Prohibition Against Needless Destruction, Dr. Akiva Wolff, Jerusalem, 2009, p.67.
[10] Written response to questions on Bal Tashchit submitted by the author, spring 2005.
[11] Sefer Ha-Hinukh:The Book of [Mitzvah] Education, evidently by Rabbi Pinhas haLevi of Barcelona, 16th century, translated by Charles Wengrov. Feldheim Publishers: Jerusalem, vol. 5 p. 145
[12] Commentary to Deuteronomy 20:19
[14] The study, Global Food Losses and Food Waste, was commissioned by FAO from the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK).
[15] “Basic Information about Food Waste,” US EPA.
[16] “Waste Not, Want Not,” A joint publication of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the USDA.
[17]This estimate, by John Robbins in his book Food Revolution (2001), is based on Dr. David Pimentel, et. Al. inEcological Integrity: Integrating Environment, Conservation and Health (Island Press, Washington DC, 2001). Pimentel is professor of ecology and agricultural science at Cornell University. The estimate is based on 100 units of hay and four units of grain being fed to cattle to produce one unit of beef. Robbins’ book also contains statistics on how much fossil fuels, water, and land are required to produce a number of different foods.
[18]“Wasted Food, Wasted Energy: The Embedded Energy in Food Waste in the United States,” Amanda D. Cuellar, Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, The University of Texas at Austin, and Michael E. Webber, Mechanical Engineering, Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, The University of Texas at Austin.Environ. Sci. Technol., 2010, 44 (16), p 6464–6469
Speaker’s Notes
Compiled by Rabbi Yonatan Neril
Outline:
Examining the Torah verses and their context
Commentaries on the verse: Rashi, Rabeinu Bachaye, and Sforno
Waste in Industrial Consumer Society and Possible Applications of Bal Tashchit
Actions with Relevance to the Underlying Message of Bal Tashchit
Practical Halakhic (Jewish Law) Examples of Bal Tashchit
Introduction:
In a society of such material abundance, the message underlying bal tashchit can awaken us to the waste that our lifestyles generate. The mitzva applies not only to fruit trees, but also to money, food, material objects, and one’s body.
Examining the Torah verses and their context: the prohibition against cutting fruit trees in wartime
Examining the underlying Torah and Rabbinic sources on Bal Tashchit will enable us to better understand the commandment and its relevance today
Deuteronomy, 20:19-20: The rabbis in the Babylonian Talmud (200 C.E.-~500 C.E.) understand these verses as articulating a general principle beyond war and fruit trees. They make a logical inference from a more stringent to a less stringent case. If Jews can’t cut down fruit trees in the extreme case of a war of conquest, when destruction is the norm, how much the more so does this apply to normal life. This general principle is the mitzvah of Bal Tashchit, or the prohibition of destroying directly or indirectly anything that may be of use to people.
1) Rabbi Yehoshua Kahan notes that “The context is war - and not just any war, but rather the war for the initial conquest of Eretz Yisrael, an obligatory war (milchemet mitzvah), from which not even those usually exempt from military duty are excused ("even the groom from his chamber and the bride from her canopy” - Mishnah Sota 8:7). If ever there were extenuating circumstances in which the expectations of civilized society take a back seat to the exigencies of the present moment, this should be it. After all, as the universally invoked saying goes, "all's fair in love and war" And yet, it is precisely here that the Torah prohibits the chopping down of trees.”
Nachmanides (Ramban) cites a verse from the Book of Kings which says that the way of war is to make desolate the surroundings of the city. The Ramban explains that Jews shouldn't do because they should trust in God to prevail without excess destruction and then they should live off those trees after the land has been conquered.
Such an approach contrasts, for example, with Napolean's scorched-earth policy, Sherman's march to the sea in the Civil War, and the US military's defoliation policy during the Vietnam War using napalm.
2) Rav Yehoshua Kahan: writes: “We are provided by the Torah with an explanation and a justification of the prohibition. In fact, it would seem we are provided with two such justifications, both introduced with the word "ki" (because).” These are: ' for you may eat from them' and ' Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you?'”
Commentaries on the verse: Rashi, Rabeinu Bachaye, and Sforno
a) “Enlightened self-interest or Conservation” perspective – we save trees because we depend on them for our survival
Rabeinu Bachaya (Spain, 1255-1340 C.E.), commentary to Deuteronomy 20:19:
His approach could be described as anthropocentric and utilitarian. He sees the Torah's concern about fruit trees as related to the trees' value and usefulness to people. That is, the importance of a fruit tree is the food it provides to people.
Rabbi Norman Lamm comments, “the fruit tree was created to prolong man’s life and this purpose therefore may not be subverted by using the tree to make war and destroy life.”
We are not permitted to disregard the future in order to satisfy present demands. If the Israelite army were to cut down trees for ramparts, and then capture the city, they might ultimately go hungry because they destroyed the fruit trees which take many years to grow and produce substantial fruit.
Furthermore, Rabbi Natan Greenberg, Rosh Yeshivat Bat Ayin, said that he agreed about expanding the definition today of the prohibition of cutting down fruit trees to trees that do not produce fruit that humans eat. Such trees like cedars and willows provide oxygen, which is key to the climatic balance of the planet.
b) 'Covenant-based compassion' or 'preservationist' perspective – we save trees because we have no right to destroy other living beings without cause.
Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, France, 1040-1105 C.E.), Deuteronomy 20:19:
Rashi reads the verse as articulating a concern for the needless destruction of a tree. It deserves to live and not by destroyed by human whim. To him, the Torah is stressing that trees should not be denied food or water or destroyed in a siege on a human enemy.
Rabbi Yehoshua Kahan explains: “Rashi understands this second justificatory clause as a rhetorical question: since the tree is not your enemy, you have no business making it suffer. Rashi seems to view the tree as a actor in a moral situation. The fact that it can suffer, but cannot flee, has implication for the one who would chop it down even in extremis. Rashi here makes no reference to the previous justification - that we can/should eat of these trees. The invocation of the tree as object of our sympathy is a completely independent consideration.”
Rav Yehoshua Kahan teaches that the Torah is intentionally ambiguous in order that we take both possibilities seriously.
Rabbi Ovadia of Sforno (Italy, 15th century), from Artscroll translation of and commentary on Sforno, relates to both interpretations explained above:
לא תַשְׁחִית אֶת עֵצָהּ ...כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה
You shall not destroy its trees… is then the tree of the field a man?
The Sforno interprets this verse, which prohibits the wanton destruction of fruit-bearing trees when a city is under siege, as a reasoned two-fold argument. It would be foolhardy to deprive oneself of the produce of the land which is beneficial for the sustenance of its inhabitants, and since Israel is assured of conquering and settling the land, there would be no reason to destroy these fruit-bearing trees. To do so would demonstrate a lack of faith and trust in God's promise that they will conquer the Land of Israel. Secondly, the Torah argues that a tree, unlike a person,cannot be intimidated into surrendering; hence, what will be accomplished by destroying it? The sense of the words כי הֶדָשַּׂה ץֵע םָאָדָה is, 'Certainly a tree is not a person whose destruction can be justified.'
Other commentaries continue in the line Rashi began for us:
Shai Spetgang, 2004/5764, for the Jewish Nature Center of Canada
“The fundamental question of Deut. 20:19 is “How is a person like a tree of the field?” The midrash Yalkut Me’am Loez, a compilation of midrashim, with the help of another text, Pirkei of Rabbi Eliezer, helps us to answer this question. First we must establish the idea that each blade of grass, each leaf has an ‘angel’ in heaven that hits it and orders it to grow. If one rips the grass up or cuts the leaf off, without a substantial purpose, then they are interfering in this Mitzvah for the vegetation to grow. If, however, the plant or tree does not bear fruit, that means that its energy has already waned and it is a less serious issue. That is why preference is given to trees which no longer bear fruit to be used for preparing a siege.
Pirkei of Rabbi Elizer mentions that when a tree is cut down its cry is heard to the ends of the earth. This is not a normal loud cry such as that of a child, but a silent cry. Similarly, when a soul leaves the body of a human being, a cry is also let out, a similar silent cry is heard. In both cases, the energy which has helped with growth up to this point has been stopped from connecting with the living organism. This is how humans are like the tree of the field.”
Waste in Industrial Consumer Society and Possible Applications of Bal Tashchit
The following link provides a picture graphic depicting food waste in American society:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18martin-popup.html
“A study by the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that Americans generate roughly 30 million tons of food waste each year, which is about 12 percent of the total waste stream. All but about 2 percent of that food waste ends up in landfills; by comparison, 62 percent of yard waste is composted. .. And consider this: the rotting food that ends up in landfills produces methane, a major source of greenhouse gases (1).”
Actions with Relevance to the Underlying Message of Bal Tashchit
Household functions:
Long hot showers, disposable dishes and utensils, watering grass during daytime hours, washing car with running hose, leaving lights on in rooms which are not occupied, leaving lights on all of Shabbat instead of using a timer.
Eating and Food:
Taking too much food and throwing it out from one's plate, overeating, catering and throwing away large amounts of food at weddings and events.
Transportation:
Driving a car short distances when one could walk or bike, driving an SUV or other energy inefficient vehicle,
Positive Actions:
Purchasing a more efficient air conditioner or heater or low flush toilet or shower flow device, building one's home in a more environmentally sensitive way, taking bus/train when possible, ridesharing
Practical Halakhic (Jewish Law) Examples of Bal Tashchit:
a) Wasting food: Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Darche Noam, throwing away food that is perfectly edible, when there is an effective way to utilize/reuse it, ordering too much food at a restaurant, or taking more food than you can eat at a buffet all violate the prohibition of Bal Tashchit.
b) Recycling: According to both Rabbi Karlinsky and Rabbi Aryeh Strikovsky of Jerusalem, a person who throws in the garbage an object that could have been recycled without any additional effort transgresses the prohibition of Bal Tashchit.
General Advice on Bal Tashchit:
According to Rabbi Strikovsky, a person can be especially mindful regarding the mitzvah of Bal Tashchit and go beyond what is called for by the halakha. Examples include
buying a more efficient car or air-conditioner, even if it were more expensive
designing and building one’s house in an environmentally-friendly way.
This material was produced as part of the Jewcology project. Jewcology.com is a new web portal for the global Jewish environmental community. Thanks to the ROI community for their generous support, which made the Jewcology project possible.