[Avodah] The halakhos of ecology

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 12:19:17AM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
: >But lehalakhah, it includes wasting food rather than saving it for later
: >or sharing with others. Your description doesn't match the din.

: Does it include that?  Makor?

See Shabbot 129a, 140b, Qiddushin 32a -- it's the pointless destruction
of anything in general. See also Hilkhos Melakhim 6:8, Tosafos Qiddishin
32 "Rav Yehudah" is meiqil about breaking things for a chiunch point,
the Chinuch (529) and Semaq (175) are machmir. The Chinukh goes so
far as to say the mitzvah includes not even wasting one seed of mustard
without cause.

I also recall bal tashchis invoked in the discussion of overdoing
tachrichim and aronos, but I can't find it right now.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Nothing so soothes our vanity as a display of
micha at aishdas.org        greater vanity in others; it makes us vain,
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