Halachic Highlights

Question: Is there any basis in halachah to discard old s’farim without burial?

Short Answer: Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l suggested that one may discard into the garbage old s’farim of Torah SheB’al Peh that do not contain Hashem’s name. However, many poskim disagree and hold that even Rav Moshe did not rely on this leniency.

Question: May one erase or throw out a paper that contains the English word “G-d” (with a hyphen)?

Short Answer: There is certainly room to be lenient and throw out a paper containing the English word “G-d” (with a hyphen).

Question: May one throw out an old, worn-out sefer that does not have the name of Hashem written in it? What about the binding or cover of such a sefer?

Hashem’s Other Names

Question: May one erase or throw out a paper that contains a name of Hashem other than the seven main names?

Short Answer: Certain names of Hashem require burial and may not be discarded into the garbage. However, many poskim are lenient with these names for various reasons.

Question: May one erase or throw out a paper with the name of a person who has Hashem’s name (such as alef and lamed) within the letters of his name (e.g., Shmuel, Yechezkel, etc.)?

Question: May one write and then erase the letters alef and daled of Hashem’s name (sheim “adnus” – i.e., alef, daled, nun, yud)?