“Torah Topics in the NY Times!?”
“Torah Topics in the NY Times!?”
In previous generations there were poskim who spoke harshly against publishing divrei Torah (words of Torah) in the newspapers. The halachic issues are many: Newspapers are eventually thrown out in the trash and the divrei Torah end up in a landfill instead of proper genizah of shaimos (cached storage of holy material)*; newspapers are often brought into the bathroom, a place that disrespects the holy content; it is a bizayon (disgrace) for Torah to be printed alongside mundane (and sometimes nonsensical) material; and finally, non-Jews read the newspapers and it is against halachah to teach gentiles Torah.
Poskim today have defended this practice: “Eis la’asos laHashem hefeiru Torasecha.” (It is a time to do for Hashem, [even] the annulling of Torah). When Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi began transcribing the Mishnah this pasuk (verse) served as a defense against the halachic prohibition of recording Torah Sheb’al Peh (the Oral Torah). He did so due to the overriding needs of his generation who were forgetting the oral teachings.
Similarly, in today’s day and age we have an unprecedented number of uninspired Jews whose only link to Hashem’s Word may be the Torah column of a secular newspaper. Even for frum (religious) Jews, this “custom” has proven to be a source of chizuk (strengthening) in their practice of Torah and mitzvos, and a boon to their yiras Shamayim (fear of Heaven).
In terms of the disrespect for Torah that is engendered by these publications, we may say, “dilugo alai ahava” (they jump on Me, [and I express My] love), which refers to a child who jumps on a sefer (holy book) in their excitement for Torah, and Hashem responds to this impertinence with love.
Though there are some heterim (halachic dispensations) for allowing the divrei Torah to be disposed of without genizah, it is proper to post a warning on the page about kedushas hagilion (the holy nature of the words of Torah) printed there. In addition, we should be careful to print Hashem’s name in abbreviated form, even when written in English (i.e., G-d) and in other languages.
*See the following Halachos on the subject of shaimos: definition—Halachah #84; disposal—Halachah #334 and Halachah #431; storage—Halachah #618.
https://halacha2go.com?number=645
https://asktherav.com/12319-would-it-be-better-to-give-out-things-on-mivtzoyim-without-a-rebbe-picture-so-that-it-shouldnt-be-thrown-out/