[Avodah] The halakhos of ecology

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 03:52:34PM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
: Bal tashchis doesn't just give priority to fruit trees over others,
: it doesn't assign any importance at all to the others.  There's no
: injunction not to cut down more barren trees than necessary, or to
: choose cheaper ones over more expensive ones.

The pasuq'a military case places battering the wall ahead of a fruitless
tree. However, lehalakhah bal tashchis is about needless waste in
general. And not just ecological; wasting "pareve cheescake" (which I
think are made by DuPont <g>) can be an issur bal tashchis.

Which ties in the pesaq to one's determination of the metzi'us of
needing non-fruit trees, or even a general question like whether the
current ecological balance is something we can waste.

: The way it comes down lahalacha, though, is that it's a simple economic
: calculation, and if the tree's economic value if left standing is less
: than the value one would get by cutting it down then one may do so.
: Indeed, one is allowed to destroy ones property just for the sheer joy
: of destruction, if the subjective value of that enjoyment is greater
: than the value of the property.

The value is functional, not really economic. Need is only one factor
that goes into price. I would agree that the halakhah of bal tashchis
doesn't speak of inherent value.

But if the enjoyment is short-sighted, and will cost far more in the
long run than the short-term fun, wouldn't that still be bal tashchis?

Think of is misvara: You're defining bal tashchis in a way such that
by definition no one would want to do it. Say someone wants the ease
of cutting down the nearest tree, despite it having apples, instead of
going another 30 yards to that oak. How do you avoid saying that that's
subjective value, and thus not bal tashchis?

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             One doesn't learn mussar to be a tzaddik,
micha at aishdas.org        but to become a tzaddik.
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