Rabbi Rules It's Better to Swallow Gum

Rabbi Rules It's Better to Swallow Gum
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Your chewing gum has just lost its flavor, but there is no garbage can in sight. What do you do? According to Jewish law, get ready to swallow it.
A prominent Israeli rabbi has ruled that spitting gum on a sidewalk or hiding it under a desk is a violation of Halacha or Jewish law, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported Thursday.
"Gum cannot be thrown where others are liable to be disgusted by it," said Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the rabbi of the holy city of Safed.
Improperly discarded gum may appear to be hidden, but "God knows" where it is, Eliyahu said, according to the newspaper.


Swallowing the gum is a better solution, the rabbi said, though he criticized the use of chewing gum in general.
"Chewing gum is the practice of lower forms of life. It expresses inner tension and lack of control. People with self-respect do not chew gum except on special occasions because of special circumstances," he said.