Ride a Bike

"Carcasses, cemeteries, and tanneries must be kept at fifty cubits distance from town. A tannery can only be set up on the east side of town [because the east wind is gentle and will not carry the fumes to town]." -Misnah Bab Barta 2:9

"Threshing floors must be kept far enough away from a town to prevent the husks of grains and grasses from, polluting the air of the own when the wind blows. Threshing floors must be 50 cubits outside the city-limits and away from neighbors' fields." -Mishnah Bab Barta 2:8

WHENEVER POSSIBLE, RIDE A BICYCLE (OR WALK) INSTEAD OF USING A CAR!

• Bicycling reduces dependence on scarce, polluting oil supplies almost completely!
• Bicycling creates no air pollution (other than during the manufacturing process, which is far less than an automobile). Because you do not burn any fuel but your own when you bicycle, you can ride through the environment without leaving a trace!
• Bicycling is great exercise!

(source: Diane Mac Eachern, "Save Our Planet")

So what does biking have to do with where to put a tannery or threshing floor? Well, a threshing floor was the place where the wheat was beat out of its husk, the chaff. Chaff from a threshing floor can harm people. This law shows that an individual cannot do her/his own work without thought of the good of the whole community.

The idea here is that our actions are interrelated with the quality of the environment that we all share. If we act conscientiously and responsibly in regards to the environment, then not only do we as individuals benefit, but also as a whole can we reap the reward.

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