Bal Taschit – the Three R’s of Jewish Law

Even though over-consumption and waste production are relatively recent environmental

issues, Judaism has been tackling these problems since Talmudic times!

The Jewish law of Bal Tashchit, which prohibits us from being wasteful or unnecessarily

destructive, is rooted in the Biblical commandment to not destroy fruit-bearing trees

while laying siege to a city:

יט כִּי-תָצוּר אֶל-עִיר יָמִים רַבִּים לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ   

לְתָפְשָׂהּ, לֹא-תַשְׁחִית אֶת-עֵצָהּ לִנְדֹּחַ עָלָיו

גַּרְזֶן--כִּי מִמֶּנּוּ תֹאכֵל, וְאֹתוֹ לֹא תִכְרֹת: כִּי

הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה, לָבֹא מִפָּנֶיךָ בַּמָּצוֹר.

19 When, in your war against a city, you have

to besiege it a long time in order to capture it,

you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax

against them. You may eat of them, but you

must not cut them down. Are the trees of the

field human to withdraw before you into the

besieged city? Dvarim (Deuteronomy) 20:19

The Talmudic rabbis understood these verses as a prohibition against any type of willful

destruction and expanded this injunction into the general law of Bal Tashchit, which

disallows wasteful or destructive behaviour. We are instructed by the rabbis to not use

more than what we need, to not needlessly destroy anything, to not use something of

greater value when something of lesser value will suffice, and to not use something in a

way that it was not meant to be used (which would increase the likelihood of it being

broken or destroyed). 

(Excerpted with permission from Waste Minimization, Bal Tashchit and Beyond by Risa Alyson Strauss) 

For the full text of this article go to: http://more.masortiworld.org/environment/space/community/Waste_Minimization_Bal_Tashchit_and_Beyond.pdf.

A winter Bal Taschit project:

The inefficient use of resources in forbidden under Jewish law.  The Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 67b) says that anyone who does not properly adjust the air flow of a lamp, thus causing unnecessary fuel consumption, is guilty of Bal Taschit. (from Ecology and the Jewish Spirit, edited by Ellen Bernstein)

Beth Tzedec is doing its part to save electricity and has embarked on an audit of all its electrical fixtures. By changing the fixtures to more efficient types, the payback period will be 6 months and will result in an annual savings of over $8 000 based on today’s electricity costs. 

This winter in our homes we can concentrate on saving oil or gas. Try lowering the thermostat to 19 degrees during the day and 16 degrees at night using a programmable thermostat.  Keeping the heat in will be easier if the air leaks are sealed.   An energy audit by a certified auditor will pinpoint the most important areas.

For more information on air leakage in your home go to: http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/air-leakage-control.cfm.

For more information on home energy audits go to:

http://www.mei.gov.on.ca/en/energy/conservation/?page=home-energy-audit-and-retrofit-rebate-programs

Questions? Call or email Debra Anthony at 416-787-6932 or debra.anthony@hotmail.com