Burying Religious Articles: Difference between revisions

==What must be Buried?==

#A paper that says God in English may be thrown away and does not need to be buried. <ref>Mishna Brurah 85:10 </ref> The same is true of writing Hashem whether in English or in Hebrew. <ref>Iggerot Moshe YD 2:138, Ginzei Hakodesh 7: footnote 8 </ref>

#Marah Mekomot, which are a list of references, and even if some words are jotted down but it is only understood by the one who wrote it, doesn't have kedusha and can be thrown out.<ref>Igrot Moshe YD 2:75</ref>

#The [[schach]], [[etrog]], [[lulav]], [[hadasim]] and [[aravot]] do not need to be buried, they can be thrown into the trash after being wrapped within a plastic bag.<ref>Mishna Brurah 21:6. See [[Order_of_Taking_the_Four_Minim#After_Sukkot]].</ref>

#A yarmulke does not need to be buried. <ref>[https://www.star-k.org/articles/kashrus-kurrents/4476/shaimos-guidelines/ Star-K] </ref>

#A Tallit gadol or Tallit katan should ideally not be thrown out in a disgraceful manner. Therefore one should wrap it or place it in a bag before placing it in the garbage. <ref>Ginzei Hakodesh 17: footnote 22 quoting Rav Elyashiv </ref>

#A cabinet or book shelf designated for sefarim may be used for mundane purposes. If it wore out and you want to throw it out, you should redeem it with money and use that money to buy sefarim and then it is permitted to throw it out.<ref>Chida in Shiurei Bracha 154:1 writes that cabinets for sefarim today aren’t tashmishei kedusha since the sefarim are bound and so they are a tashmish d’tashmish d’kedusha which may be thrown out. Mishna Brurah 154:9 and Kaf Hachaim 154:21 agree. However, Ginzei Hakodesh 8:18 fnt. 45 quotes Rav Nissim Karelitz and Rav Elyashiv that potentially we look at the binding of a sefer as the sefer itself and if so, the cabinet should be a tashmish d’kedusha. Rav Elyashiv and Chelkat Yakov OC 41 suggested that it is sufficient to sell the cabinet and use that money for buying sefarim and then throw out the cabinet. In general, redeeming a tashmish d’kedusha with money is discussed in S”A YD 282:16 and Magen Avraham 153:14.</ref>

#A shtender when it is in use for the shul it may not be used for a mundane purpose, however, if there was a stipulation that they could be used for a mundane purpose they are permitted to be used for that purpose but can't be used for a degrading use. Once it is worn out, they can be thrown out.<ref>Ginzei Hakodesh 13:2</ref>.

#A sefer Torah that is worn out must be buried, which is genizah. It should be put in a earthenware vessel in the ground buried together with a Talmid Chacham.<ref>Gemara Megillah 26b, Shulchan Aruch O.C. 154:3</ref>

#An Aron Kodesh that is worn out should be buried.<ref>Rava in Gemara Megillah 26b states that an Aron Kodesh is a tashmishei kedusha and can't be converted into a chair for a sefer Torah. This is codified in Shulchan Aruch O.C. 154:6 and Y.D. 282:13. Ginzei Hakodesh 5:8 writes that an Aron Kodesh that is worn out needs to be buried like every tashmishei kedusha. See Chatom Sofer 6:10 who explains that originally it was considered a tashmishei kedusha when the covering of the sefer torah was too short and didn't fully cover the klaf. </ref> It shouldn't be used to bury a person in it.<ref>The Chatom Sofer 6:10 writes that it is forbidden for a person to be buried in an Aron Kodesh since that is considered a mundane use of a tashmishei kedusha. He explains that even though the Gemara Megillah 26a permits burying a person with clothes that were used to wrap a sefer torah that is because a Jew after he dies has kedusha. Yet, burying a person with clothes is a valid use of kedusha for a cloth that used to wrap a sefer torah, but having an aron kodesh hold a person isn't being used for kedusha if the person is buried inside it since he is buried with clothing. Alternatively, it doesn't really enhance the burial to have the person buried in a coffin (see Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 362:1). Kaf Hachaim 154:39 quotes the Pitchei Teshuva who argues that the distinction of the Chatom Sofer isn't compelling. He adds that it is certainly forbidden to use an aron kodesh to transport a corpse if it isn't going to be used to bury him. </ref>

#A parochet is something used for a secondary degree of kedusha, that is, it adorns the Aron which houses the Torah, therefore it doesn't require genizah. As long as it is in use it can't be used for mundane purposes.<ref>Ginzei Hakodesh 5:14 clarifies that today when the parochet isn't used for covering the bimah, when a sefer Torah is brought to the bimah it isn't considereed a tashmish of kedusha, rather it is a tashmish d'tashmish d'kedusha which doesn't require geniza. He adds that it has kedusha of the shul which, while it is being used, can't be used for mundane purposes.</ref>