Chapter 12 | Geniza and Recycling

Introduction

In the last few decades, we are witnesses to a staggering increase in the amount of printed divrei torah. The low cost of printing led to the unprecedented appearance of disposable leaflets, compilations, and source sheets, within which there are divrei torah designed for short term use. As a result, each year Israel engages in the ritual burial of holy works (geniza) at a rate of 30,000 tons of paper, leading to the release of the greenhouse gas methane into the environment in the process ¹. On this backdrop one must ask: is it permissible to send these papers to a recycling facility?

The Halachic Discussion

Writings that have sanctity can be divided into three descending categories:

1. The Name of God: it is biblically prohibited to erase it, destroy it, or defile it, and it requires geniza ².
2. Bible Verses: it is prohibited to erase it, destroy it, or defile it and it requires geniza. There is disagreement regarding whether the prohibition is rabbinic or biblical ³. This prohibition applies for verses that do not contain the name of God as well, and it applies to partial verses as well if they contain at least three words that together have meaning ⁴.
3. Divrei Torah: it is rabbinically prohibited to erase them, destroy them, or defile ‘explanations and interpretations’, i.e. writings dealing with words of Torah even when they do not mention the name of God or quote verses from the bible. There are authorities who wrote that they do not require geniza and it is permissible to throw them away if they are wrapped in something ⁵. However, the more accepted opinion is that they require geniza ⁶.

From here, we can say that the simple understanding is to bury any paper that has biblical verses or divrei torah printed on it, and this is indeed what is brought down by many halachic authorities ⁷. Despite this, there are a few aspects that can provide the basis for the permit to place these papers in the recycling bin:

• The Sanctity of Printed Paper: according to Rabbi Yaakov Weil, there is no halachic status in printed works, especially if they were printed by a gentile ⁸. However, according to almost every other authority, the prohibition of destroying them and the obligation to bury them apply to printed works as well ⁹.
• The Sanctity of Leaflets Printed for Temporary Use: Rabbi Moshe Feinstein innovated that when Oral Torah is printed onto paper, without any biblical verses, their sanctity remains only as long as they are ready for use and learning. Because of this, “when they are torn or worn out in a manner in which learning is not fitting for it”, it is permissible to place them in the recycling bin ¹⁰. It seems that this also applies to newspapers from previous dates. However, the majority of authorities do not accept his innovation ¹¹.
• Nullification by Majority (Batel BaRov): there are those who write that since the divrei torah are nullified by the majority of other papers in the recycling facility, it is permissible to destroy the entire stack of papers without removing the things that require geniza ¹². However, the majority write that when it is known that there are divrei torah within the pile they are not nullified by majority ¹³.
• When it is not possible: Some of the great halachic authorities, led by the Shvut Yaakov (volume 3, article 12), permitting burning worn out holy works when there is no place for geniza and the papers could possible end up in a place of filth and be disgraced, and there are those who permit in light of this to place leaflets in recycling ¹⁴. However, the permit was given initially only in situations where it is impossible to bury the works in the earth.

In light of what we have stated, and with the understanding that the ecological reality nowadays is close to ‘impossible to bury’ which the authorities were lenient about ¹⁵, one should rely on the lenient opinions and permit this, perhaps even obligating the recycling of leaflets and source sheets, when it is not confirmed that there is a name of God within them ¹⁶.

In Practice:

At the level of the individual: it is permissible to place leaflets that do not have the explicit names of God within them in a recycling facility, and to be stringent only regarding sources where the explicit name of God appears. This will lead to a palpable decrease in the toll that the geniza system places on the environment.

At the level of the community: it is appropriate to limit the use of paper altogether, prioritizing publications that do not require geniza of any sort ¹⁷. In addition, one should encourage publishers to print the various publications from the onset without any names of God or quotes from biblical verses, thereby enables their recycling without any concern. The foundations that this obligatory approach towards preserving sustainability relies on must guide them in their work.

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