I had a little Dreidel - I made it out of Candy!

It's a Mitzvah!

It's a mitzvah!


"Lo alecha ham'lacha ligmor, V'lo ata ben chorim l'hibatil mimena ­ It is not your duty to complete the task but neither are you free to desist from it"
-Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the fathers) 2:21

Next month is Tu Bishevat, the new year of the trees (Jewish Arbor Day) so I figured I would finally sit down and write an article that has been rolling around in my head for a while. Is using cloth diapers a mitzvah? From most Jewish texts it appears that the taking care of the earth we live on is something that is expected of us.

When humans were placed in the Garden of Eden the stated purpose was for them to till it and tend it "Le ovda U Leshomra" (Genesis 2:15). So it is our job to be stewards of the earth.

Additionally the torah prohibits bal tashchit, the waste or unnecessary destruction of any useful resources. (deut 20:19-20). The rabbis teach us not to use more than we need and not to needlessly destroy anything, Therefore, when we create and use disposable diapers we are adding to the environmental burden, as well as breaking a commandment.

Disposable diapers are the 3rd largest single consumer item in landfills. Each disposable diapered baby creates an additional 1 ton of garbage! When my family switched from disposable diapers to cloth the amount of garbage we threw away each week was literally cut in half. Additionally, it takes more than 60x the resources to create the disposable diapers that one baby will use for one year then it does to create the cloth diapers that one baby would use in one year.

There is a middrash that says, "When the Holy One Blessed Be He created the first man he took him and showed him all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him - "see my works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are; and I created all of it for you. Be careful not to spoil or destroy my world because if you spoil it, there will be no one after you to repair it." We were entrusted with the Earth as its stewards. It is our job to repair the world, tikkun olam, and the Torah was given to us as our guide.

Most importantly, in Judaism we are told to be "a light unto the nations". The more people that cloth diaper, the better for the environment! So lead by example and make the switch ­ you will be glad you did. And you will be doing a mitzvah!

Copyright ©Andrea Mass, owner Babies in the Sun 2005.