Not Mistreating Former Mitzvot and Rules of Removing Blood
Parshat Chayei Sarah, 5784: Orach Chaim 21 and Yoreh De’ah 22
In our physical world, anything wears out, including objects we have used for mitzvot and other valuable Jewish purposes. Orach Chaim 21 discusses how to dispose of such items, an example of an agreed-upon principle—we may not be mevazeh a mitzvah, treat it insultingly—without clear source-based guidance on the details. Bringing disagreement.
Leftovers are the Challenge
AH Orach Chaim 21 starts with the ruling of Megillah 26b, we may discard tashmishei mitzvah, objects used to perform a mitzvah, such as a sukkah, lulav, shofar, or tzitzit, where tashmishei kedushah, such as a cover for a sefer Torah or a container for tefillin, used to support sanctified objects, must be buried.
AH in se’if 2 thinks the ruling somewhat obvious, because mitzvot have no inherent sanctity (where Torah does). [He doesn’t quite say it, but he seems to mean Torah writing is always significant, regardless of current use, where mitzvah items’ importance stems only from their active employment. Once a set of tzitzit will no longer be worn, they lose their status.]
She’iltot 126 explains, this halachah tells us we may not use these tashmishei mitzvah for our own needs, the strings of tzitzit as ordinary string, for example. All we can do is throw them out. She’iltot likened it to kisui ha-dam, the obligation to cover the blood of birds and certain animals after killed for food. The one covering the blood may not kick the dirt onto the blood, that is disrespectful to the mitzvah.
What Constitutes Mistreatment
Tur disliked the comparison, because kicking the dirt actively denigrates the mitzvah, where using a string for other purposes does not. AH defends She’iltot, but the details are not relevant to us: once we have a debate among reputable authorities, we’re not going to settle it here.
For a third view, se’if three cites Rambam, Laws of Tzitzit 3;9, who allows wearing tzitzit into a bathroom (remember “tzitzit” generally means what we call a tallit; men today do not wear their tallit into the bathroom, and probably would instinctively agree with Tur, it denigrates the mitzvah if we did). Rambam also allows throwing them away if they break, although AH thinks he, too, would not have allowed using them for one’s own purposes.
Se’if four of our siman has Beit Yosef’s summary, we may throw them out after they can no longer be used,
