In search of a low-waste frum life.
One thing that often happens when people get interested in lowering their environmental impact is that they will run into a lot of bloggers, Instagrammers, and ads telling them about products they have to have for their low-waste efforts.
At the beginning of November, I set an intention not to buy anything except food and household necessities that month. I called it a "Mostly No-Buy November Challenge," and it's good that I included the word "mostly," because I mostly accomplished my goal.
When I trimmed the hose to right before the first kink, the remainder was just long enough to water all but a pot of sage and two tomato plants. Was it perfect? No, but it’s a good reminder that “perfect” is the enemy of “good enough.” As Ben Zoma taught, “Who is rich? The one who is happy with what he has.”
“It would have been enough,” we sing each year at the seder table. At our seder, it’s one of the most spirited songs. Probably at your seder, too. But I wonder, have modern Jews, especially those of us in America, where consumption is a national pastime, lost the ability to tell what “enough” looks like?... Continue Reading →
The Bal Tashchit Balabusta 