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Here are a some recent articles from the Jewish Vegetarian, the
JVS magazine sent four times a year to members of
the Society.
Are
Jews obligated to be Vegetarians
Thoughts on Passover - "Dayenu"
Recipes
ARE JEWS OBLIGATED TO BE VEGETARIANS
by Richard H. Schwartz, Ph. D.
In promoting vegetarianism since 1977, I have been arguing that Jews have
a choice as to whether or not to be vegetarians. In support of the view
that Jews need not eat meat today is the Talmud (Pesachim 109a states that
since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews are not required
to eat meat in order to rejoice on festivals), scholarly articles by Rabbi
Alfred Cohen and Rabbi J. David Bleich that indicate additional sources
and arguments supporting the view that Jews do not need to eat meat in
this period, and the fact that several Chief Rabbis are strict vegetarians.
Through my book, Judaism and Vegetarianism, articles, and talks, I have
tried to help make Jews more aware of Jewish mandates to take care of our
health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve
resources, and help hungry people, and how far the realities related to
the production and consumption of animal products are from these mandates.
I have hoped that sensitive, committed Jews, "rachamim b'nei rachamim"
(compassionate children of compassionate ancestors), once they were aware
of these discrepancies, would switch to vegetarian diets. While this has
happened in some cases, the vast majority of Jews still consume animal
products.
Hence, I am starting to think about the argument that committed Jews
are not only permitted but are obligated to be vegetarians. This article
aims to further respectful dialogue on this question, in order to determine
a position most consistent with Jewish values.
Hence, comments and suggestions are very welcome.
First we will present the case for those who take halacha (Jewish law
as interpreted by Jewish sages and rabbis) seriously. A fundamental question
for such people is: since Jews can only kill animals for an essential human
need, and it is not necessary to consume animal products in order to maintain
good health (the contrary is the case), aren't observant
Jews obligated to be vegetarians?
Points in support of this argument include:
1. It is generally agreed by Jewish scholars that animals can only be
killed to meet a basic human need. For example, in an essay on "Animals",
in his The Jewish Encyclopaedia of Moral and Ethical Issues, Nachum Amsel,
an Israeli Orthodox rabbi, states, "Man's need
to use animals must be a legitimate and not a frivolous one". As an
example, he points out that "hunting for sport is not considered legitimate,
and is not only discouraged in the Talmud, but is also prohibited in Jewish
law."
2. There are many people who abstain completely from animal products
and yet lead very healthy lives. Many degenerative diseases, including
heart disease, stroke, and several types of cancer have been related to
animal-based diets.
3. Jewish sages and others thought that meat was necessary for proper
nutrition. Maimonides, for example, stated that it is the need of procuring
food that necessitates the slaying of animals, and thus the laws of shechita
were established in order to minimize the animal's pain during the slaughtering
process. However, modern science has found that all necessary nutrients
can be obtained from plant foods, with the possible exception of vitamin
B12, which can easily be obtained by enriched cereals, soy milk, or yeasts,
or a vegetarian vitamin supplement.
Next, we will consider the possibility of obligation for Jews who are
committed to being Jewish, but do not attempt to live their lives according
to halacha. It is assumed that these people wish to live according to Jewish
ideals and values, but do not base their practices completely on Jewish
law, although Jewish law is also based on these values. Hence, they should
be impressed by the following argument:
In view of Judaism's strong teachings with regard to preserving human
health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving
resources, and helping the hungry, and the very negative effects that the
production and consumption of meat has in each of these areas, shouldn't
committed Jews who take Jewish values seriously be vegetarians?
It should be noted that many of the values discussed in this question
are also relevant to halachic Jews, since the mandates to take care of
our health (v'nishmartem meod l'nafshotechem, Deuteronomy 4:9), to treat
animals with compassion, to conserve resources, and to help hungry people
are Torah teachings.
The above question can be reinforced with the following comparisons:
1) While Judaism mandates that people be very careful about preserving
their health and their lives, animal-centred diets have been linked to
heart disease, stroke, several forms of cancer, and other illnesses. This
has contributed to recent soaring medical expenditures in the United States
and major change in the health care system, with insurance providers having
a major voice in medical decisions.
2) While Judaism mandates compassion for animals, most farm animals
are raised for food today under cruel conditions in small confined spaces
where they are denied fulfilment of their instinctual needs.
3) While Judaism stresses that we are to share our bread with hungry
people, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States is fed to animals
destined for slaughter, as 15 to 20 million people worldwide die annually
because of hunger and its effects.
4) While Judaism teaches that "the earth is the L-rd`s" and that we
are to be partners with G-d in preserving the world, animal-centred diets
contribute substantially to soil erosion and depletion, extensive air and
water pollution related to chemical fertilizer and pesticides, the destruction
of tropical rain forests and other habitats, and global warming.
5) While Judaism mandates bal tashchit, that we are not to waste or
unnecessarily destroy anything of value, livestock agriculture requires
far more food, land, water, energy, and other resources than plant-based
agriculture.
6) While Judaism stresses that we must seek and pursue peace and that
violence results from unjust conditions, animal-centred diets, by wasting
valuable resources, help to perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty
that frequently lead to instability and war.
Another concern for committed Jews is tikkun olam, the general mandate
to preserve and protect the world, and, when necessary, to restore it to
a less polluted state. It is becoming increasingly apparent that vegetarianism
is not only an important individual choice today, but it is a societal
imperative because of the severe economic and environmental costs of animal-based
diets. In 1993, almost 1,700 of the world's scientists from 70 countries,
including 104 Nobel laureates, signed a "World Scientists Warning to Humanity",
which stated that:
"a great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is
required if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this
planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated."
Judaism teaches that Jews are to be partners and co-workers with G-d
in preserving the earth. This requires active involvement today, and an
essential part of that involvement is a switch to vegetarian diets.
The above seems to provide a strong case for the proposition that Jews
who take Jewish values and/or Jewish law seriously should be vegetarians.
However, there may be a problem in terms of the all-or-nothing nature of
that assertion. Someone might argue that, because of the Jewish mandate
to take care of our health, we should never have a piece of cake, or because
of the Jewish mandate to preserve the environment, we should never use
a car except in cases of emergency or absolute necessity. In an ideal world
with ideal people, we can perhaps advocate such absolutes. But in our real
world, it is best to advocate that people be aware of modern realities
and apply Jewish values in a conscientious but reasonable way.
In view of these considerations, rather than stating that committed
Jews are obligated to be vegetarians, I believe that it is best to advocate
that they are obligated to be aware of how realities related to the production
and consumption of meat sharply diverge from Jewish mandates to preserve
human health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve
resources, share with hungry people, and seek and pursue peace, and then
to make a decision with regard to their diets that they believe is consistent
with that awareness. A consideration of these issues should become an important
part of the curriculum of Jewish schools, and rabbis and other Jewish leaders
should see that it becomes part of an ongoing dialogue at synagogues and
Jewish centres and in the Jewish media.
It would also be extremely helpful if a commission composed of rabbinic,
health, scientific, and agricultural experts were set up to study the many
issues related to animal-centred diets and how they impinge on halacha
and basic Jewish values, in order to assess whether Jews today should reduce
their consumption of animal products. The future of Judaism and of our
precious, but imperiled, planet is at stake.
THOUGHTS ON PASSOVER - "DAYENU"
by Julie Rosenfield
Passover is an opportunity to reflect on the good things we have been given
in life. "How numerous then and how oft repeated are the bounties which
the Almighty hath bestowed upon us" One very well known song we sing at
the seder table is Dayenu - "it would have been sufficient " We thank the
L-rd for the many gifts he gave us including feeding us with manna (a vegetarian
food!) for forty years in the wilderness, for giving us His law and for
leading us into the land of Israel.
Nowadays, in our lives, we have much to be grateful for. In a world,
where many people are starving, ill and suffering, if we have enough clean
air to breathe, fresh food to eat, shelter, and special people in our lives,
then we are very, very lucky. But do we really take time to value what
we have? Do we ever feel that we indeed have enough? Do we truly honour
the concept of dayenu?
Advertisers target us all the time, whether it is to encourage us to
book expensive holidays, buy the latest fashions or purchase new cars.
We only need to take a visit to the January sales to see people fighting
over bargains, for more and more acquisitions. This need for material things
is also being inculcated into our children at a very early age. We are
becoming accustomed to the annual December frenzies where fashionable toys
suddenly become available in such short supply that, in order not to disappoint
their children, normally sensible parents are prepared to queue outside
shops overnight in order to secure the necessary doll/robot/cuddly toy.
Pure folly, when not only will many of these toys be broken or forgotten
by their owners in a very short time, but by the next time the giving season
comes around, last year's favourites will be left piled high on shelves
in favour of the products of the next craze.
Yes, many of us do feel the need for material comforts in our lives
and certainly as vegetarians there is no requirement to live an austere
kind of life in any respect. One of the verses in dayenu celebrates that,
"If He had given us their wealth, and not divided the sea for us, it would
have sufficed." Why should this be? Of what use could wealth have been
in the desert? Surely our wealth was rather that we escaped with our families
from Egypt whereas the Egyptians had to endure the slaying of their first-born
sons? But no, it does seem apparent that wealth in terms of material riches
is being quoted here. This concession to wealth or the need for material
possessions is perhaps just a way of acknowledging one of the more basic
aspects of human nature.
The experience of being in the desert gives a very clear example of
what happens when we do not give thanks to G-d for the abundance Hc has
provided but instead view His provisions as being insufficient. We see
how although the Israelites were fed on heaven-sent vegetarian manna, they
and the mixed multitude who travelled with them were not content with this
and rather longed for the meat that they had eaten in Egypt. Numbers Ch
11, v 4-6 states: "Would that we were given flesh to eat! We remember the
fish, which we severe wont to eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers, and
the melons and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; but now our soul
is dried away; there is nothing at all; we have nought save this manna
to look to."
The Israelites paid the price for their ingratitude. Their complaints
were not well received as we learn in Numbers Ch 1l, v 10, "And Moses heard
the people weeping, family by family, every man at the door of his tent;
and the anger of the L-rd was kindled greatly; and Moses was displeased:'
However, the L-rd agreed to give them meat to eat: Numbers Ch 11, v 19-
20, "Y shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten
days, nor twenty days; but a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils,
and it be loathsome unto you; because that ye have rejected the L-rd who
is among you, and have troubled Him with weeping, saying: Why, now, came
we forth out of Egypt`?"
However, there was a very great penalty to pay for the greed of the
people: Numbers Ch 11, v 33, 34, "While the flesh was yet between their
teeth, ere it was chewed, the anger of the L-rd was kindled against the
people, and the L-rd smote the people with a very great plague. And the
name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried
the people that lusted."
The ingratitude of the children of Israel towards the vegetarian manna,
an ideal food perfect for satisfying all their nutritional requirements,
is particularly shameful when we consider today that 15-20 million people
on our planet die annually due to hunger and its effects whilst many people
still eat meat. It takes 16 pounds of grain to produce one edible pound
of beef, by feeding the grains direct to the people we could feed many
more people.
On Pesach, we are given restrictions on what we may eat. We do not eat
bread or anything containing chametz, and, unless we are Sephardim, we
do not eat grains or beans. This could also seem as being very difficult
and limiting - especially for those of us who are vegetarians and vegans.
But no, we are still able to make good, tasty nutritious fare from fruits,
vegetables, and nuts. The food we may eat at Pesach is not only sufficient
but there is still enough to share with anyone who needs to: "Let all who
are hungry come and eat,"
This Pesach let us consider what sort of world we will have left if
as consumers we do not say dayenu - enough - and instead carry on thc perpetual
cycle of buying without care and discarding without thought'?
We need to act - the world's natural resources are fast running out.
The tropical rain forests are being bulldozed at a rate of 100 acres per
minute, half of them are gone forever and if we keep up thc current trend,
the rest will have gone by the middle of the next century.
It is sobering to note that twenty per cent of the world's population,
particularly Western countries such as the United States, Canada, Western
Europe, Australia and Japan consume over seventy per cent of its material
resources. This same "consumer class" is responsible for producing over
50% of its `greenhouse effect' atmospheric pollutants, 90% of its ozone
depleting CFC gases, and 96% of its radioactive waste.
The seriousness of this situation was addressed by The Kyoto Protocol,
passed last December, where the nations of the world were compelled to
introduce a 5.2 per cent cut in annual emissions of greenhouse gases from
the developed world by 2012, thereby beginning to tackle the threat of
manmade climate change.
Gandhi said: "There is enough in the world for man's need but not for
man's greed."
We need to return to a more modest, humble lifestyle and there are a
number of ways in which we can slow down our own over-consumption of products.
Some suggestions include:
Recycle products which we no longer need or give them to charity shops
rather than just throwing things away only to end in landfill sites.
Think before we buy a product whether we really need it and buy less. Let
us not be so ready to believe the myths propagated by advertisers that
their products will make us happier, more popular or successful.
Share items wherever possible such as cars, lawnmowers, and deep freezers.
Buy goods with little or no packaging and encourage supermarkets to cut
down on their packaging. One particularly wasteful example is where organic
vegetables are over-packaged in glossy plastic containers.
Buy more durable goods, look after them well and seek to repair rather
than discard them.
Look for fairly traded products which give exploited producers a higher
price for their goods.
A good example for us to follow is the slogan of the Lifestyle Movement
which sums up these ideas very neatly: "Live simply so that all may simply
live."
This Passover, let us remember and be thankful for our abundance as
we say, "Blessed art thou, O Eternal, our L-rd, King of the universe, who
feedeth the whole world with His goodness, and with grace, mercy and compassion,
He giveth food to every creature, for His mercy endureth for ever. His
abundant goodness has never been deficient towards us and may we never
be in want of sustenance for ever and ever."
Surely then this Pesach we have much to be grateful for - let it be
sufficient! We wish all our readers a happy, healthy and peaceful Passover.
Next year in Jerusalem!
------------------------------------
Those of us planning our vegetarian sederim this year would be well
advised to look at Robert and Roberta Kalechofsky's Haggadah for the Vegetarian
Family. This haggadah follows on from an earlier work, Haggadah for the
Liberated Lamb, available in two versions.
The Haggadah for the Vegetarian Family is available by mail order from
Micah Publications Inc., 255 Humphrey Street, Marblehead, MA 01945, USA.
Price $9.95 plus postage & packing.
RECIPES
The following recipes are taken from Jewish Vegetarian Cooking by
Rose Friedman, available from the JVS from £6.99 plus postage and
packing.
Taking care to use only 'Supervised for Passover' ingredients
during Passover.
VEGETABLE SOUP
INGREDIENTS
1 large ripe tomato, skinned and chopped; 2 carrots, grated /shredded;
1 small onion, chopped;1 leek, chopped; 2 sticks celery/celery stalks,
chopped;1 small parsnip, chopped;1 potato, chopped; 6-8 cups water; 2 tbsp
chopped fresh parsley; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;1 vegetable
stock/bouillon cube (optional);1 tbsp tomato puree/paste.
METHOD
Simmer the vegetables gently in the water for approximately 1-1'/z
hours or until the vegetables are soft. Add the parsley season to taste
with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the cube at this point
if using.
VEGETABLE BAKE
INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb (225g) fresh or frozen spinach; 2 medium onions, grated/ shredded
or chopped; 1 small green pepper, deseeded and chopped; 1 clove garlic,
crushed/minced; vegetable oil, for frying;1 stick celery/celery stalk chopped;
3-4 medium carrots, grated/shredded; sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper; pinch ground ginger;1 tbsp tomato puree/paste; 2 oz (55g) ground
mixed nuts; 2 oz (55g) matzo meal; 3 fl oz (90ml) vegetable stock.
METHOD
Wash the spinach well, cook it in a little water and then chop it finely.
(Cook frozen spinach until soft.) Sauté the onion, green pepper
and garlic in a little oil until they have softened. Pre-heat the oven
to 350oF/180oC/gas mark 4. Add the celery and carrot and cook for about
10 minutes, stirring frequently. Mix all the vegetables together, season
to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the ginger,
tomato puree, nuts and the matzo meal, mixing all the ingredients together
well. Spoon the mixture into a greased ovenproof casserole dish and pour
the hot stock over. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until
the top has browned.
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