Question
Recently there has been publicity over the burning of Missionary pamphlets aimed at converting Jews. While I agree with the aims of those doing this, I wonder if there is a Halachic issue here.
Now, burning items related to Avodah Zara is obviously commendable- but the Missionary pamphlets I have seen frequently quote directly from the Torah, in Hebrew, and have the Shem Kadosh on them. So this raises my question- does the prohibition against burning something with the Shem Kadosh override the positive commandment to destroy items related to Avodah Zara thus meaning we should not burn these pamphlets, or are people acting correctly in burning these pamphlets?
Answer
There is absolutely no problem burning those Pamphlets even if they have quotes from the Torah and Heshem's name written on them since they were written for missionary reasons.
Rabbi Binyamin Bamberger
