Search results for: ""Tanach""
Sheimot: Disposal
These holy writings (tashmishei kedusha) may not be thrown directly into the trash, but should ideally be buried with like items (sheimot):
- Holy writings that contain God's name.
- Parts of Tanach (24-book Jewish Bible).
- Explanations of the Torah or commandments.
Reason It would be a disgrace to bury Torah words with secular content.
Note You may find collection boxes (marked “sheimot/sheimos” or “geniza”) at a local Jewish school or synagogue into which you can deposit your sheimot items.
Note Tashmishei mitzva—items used to do a mitzva (such as talit or tzitzit)—must be wrapped in:
Note You may find collection boxes (marked “sheimot/sheimos” or “geniza”) at a local Jewish school or synagogue into which you can deposit your sheimot items.
Note Tashmishei mitzva—items used to do a mitzva (such as talit or tzitzit)—must be wrapped in:
- One layer of plastic if they will be thrown away in dry trash, or
- Double layer of plastic if they will be thrown away into wet garbage.
Sheimot/Bury
Do not throw into trash, even if double wrapped:- Handwritten scrolls of Torah, tefilin, mezuza.
- Printed Torah, Talmud, siddur, books of halacha, or Torah commentaries.
Double Wrap and Throw into Trash
Double wrap and throw into trash:-
Newspapers and flyers that have Torah psukim or Torah commentaries and also have non-Torah content.
Reason Non-Torah material should not be buried as sheimot.
- Children's school handouts with psukim from the Torah or halachot that also contain non-Torah content (if they ONLY contain words of Torah, they should be buried as sheimot).
Single Wrap and Throw into Trash
For disposal of items used for mitzvot (tashmishei mitzva), you may wrap in one layer of plastic and throw it in normal garbage:- Lulav,
- Etrog, or
- Talit/tzitzit (but NOT tefilin!)
Women: Torah or Tehillim
If a woman can either study Torah or say Tehilim (Psalms; recited as prayers), the priority is for her to study any halachot that she needs to observe before saying Tehilim or other prayers.
Note However, for the purposes of prayer, saying Tehilim is more important than “saying” (or reading) other parts of Tanach.