Adath Shalom Congregation's Morris and Leah Schnitzer Shabbaton will feature Professor Tanhum Yorah giing a Dvar Torah during services followed by a presentation after kiddush. The topic is Halakhic Environmental Decision-Making and the Jewish Prohibition Against Wastefulness. Looking at the development of bal tashḥit (waste not) - the classic Jewish prohibition against wastefulness - we will trace the different interpretations of this concept, how they shaped Jewish approaches to environmental responsibility, and the resulting influences on the place of environmental concerns within halakhic discourse.

Drawing on both classical texts and contemporary examples of halakhic decision-making, hw will argue that the history of bal tashḥit reveals more than changing attitudes toward waste. It uncovers competing visions of the relationship between human beings and the natural world, one of which offers an underappreciated pathway for bringing environmental concerns into the heart of Jewish law. Along the way, we will examine pivotal moments in the evolution of bal tashḥit, its promise as a contemporary environmental ethic, and the challenges it faces in an age of ecological crisis.