368 results for tag: Food Justice
Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah and Vegetarianism
The Sukkot holiday, including Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, is known as the "Season of Rejoicing," because people's worries about the success of the harvest are over. Since one must be in good health in order to fully rejoice, the many health benefits of vegetarian diets and the knowledge that such diets are less harmful than animal-based diets to the environment, hungry people, and animals are factors that can enhance rejoicing. There are many other connections that can be made between vegetarianism (and veganism) and these joyous Jewish festivals:
1. Sukkot commemorates the 40 years when the ancient Israelites lived in the wilderness in frail ...
Yom Kippur and Vegetarianism
Yom Kippur, the culmination of the Aseret Y’mei Teshuva (the Ten Days of Penitence) that begins on Rosh Hashanah, is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. On this day, Jews refrain completely from consuming food and water and spend many hours in synagogues, examining their deeds, vowing to repent of past transgressions, and seeking God’s blessings for a coming year of good health and positive outcomes. Yet, after Yom Kippur, most Jews return to animal-based diets that are arguably inconsistent with the values of Yom Kippur and Judaism in general. Please consider:
1. On Yom Kippur, Jews pray to the "Living God," the "King Who delights in ...
Our Earth Etudes for Elul: Thank you to our contributors!
By Susan Levine
A special thank you to Rabbi Katy Z. Allen for organizing this project and to our contributing writers with their meaningful essays, poems and thoughts. Elul is the month that leads up to Rosh Hashanah, but these Earth Etudes are insightful windows into the meaning of life and the interconnection between our lives, our Earth and our spiritual existence at any time.
~ Etude Elul 1 by Andy Oram: Save the Earth to Save Our children. Read more...
~ Etude Elul 2 by Rabbi Robin Damsky: Oh Deer What Can the Matter Be? Read more…
~ Etude Elul 3 by Moshe Givental: G-d’s Might, Detroit, and coming back to Life. R...
May it bee a sweet new year
"May you bee inscribed and sealed in the book of life for a good and sweet new year. May all your offspring survive to see adulthood and may you successfully pollinate our crops so that we will have sufficient to eat."
It's not that I'm actually suggesting this prayer is added to our Rosh HaShanah prayer books - heaven know the services last long enough already - but the words did spring to mind now that we are surrounded by pictures of fluffy cute bumblebees in the run up to the Jewish New Year. These yellow and black critters have become as much symbols of the coming festival as are Shofars and pomegranates, due to the slightly tenuous link ...
Blurbs for “Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet”
• What People Are Saying about "Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet"
The many endorsements below show that it is not just the author, but also many other people – of various perspectives – who think their religion has been “stolen,” but who still believe that religious values have relevance to current issues. It is our hope that the voices of the people who submitted the statements below, as well as many more voices, will be raised to help revitalize Judaism and other religions and to apply religious values effectively in response to the many threats to ...
Latest Book Review of “Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet”
WHO STOLE MY RELIGION: Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet. By Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., With Rabbi Yonassan Gershom and Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz.
BOOK REVIEW by Judy Carmen:
Like some of the prophets of ancient times, Dr. Schwartz is courageously calling on the Jewish people to return to their core values and take up the challenge of healing the earth and bringing peace and justice to all living beings. This is no casual reprimand. Dr. Schwartz is warning his Jewish readers, as well as people of all faiths, that if we do not do our part to stop the relentless destruction of earth and ...
A Rosh Hashanah Message: Is God’s ‘Very Good’ World Approaching a Catastrophe?
Rosh Hashanah commemorates God's creation of the world. The “Ten Days of Repentance” from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is a period to evaluate our deeds and to do teshuvah (repentance) for cases where we have missed the mark. Sukkot, which starts a few days after Yom Kippur, is a holiday in which we leave our fine houses and live in temporary shelters (sukkahs) to commemorate our ancestors’ journey in the wilderness. Hence, the upcoming weeks provide an excellent time to consider the state of the planet's environment and what we might do to help shift the world onto a sustainable path.
When God created the world, He was able to say, "It is tov ...
Tips for a Native Garden
~ Although late summer or early fall may seem like an odd time to begin a garden, it is a great time to plan the garden and get plants and flowers into the ground before cold weather hits. If you are thinking about planting a garden, consider creating a native garden as the best way to restore native ecosystems and be kind to the environment. What better way to follow the important goal that Judaism teaches to "till and tend God's creation, the Earth."
Why Use Native Plants?
Before planting a native garden, it is important to have a grasp of what native plants are. By definition, native plants are plants that have existed in a particular region for ...
Rosh Hashanah is the time when we take stock of our lives and consider new beginnings. Perhaps the most significant and meaningful change that Jews should consider this year is a shift away from diets that have been having devastating effects on human health and the health of our increasingly imperiled planet. While many Jews seem to feel that its celebration can be enhanced by the consumption of chopped liver, gefilte fish, chicken soup, and roast chicken, there are many inconsistencies between the values of Rosh Hashanah and the realities of animal-centered diets. Please consider:
1. While Jews ask God on Rosh Hashanah for a healthy year, ...
Earth Etude for Elul 2: Oh Deer, What Can the Matter Be?
by Rabbi Robin Damsky
I am sitting with the concept of brokenness as it relates to Tisha B’Av and the ensuing unfolding of the High Holy Day season. We often have trouble connecting with this day; our lives are so distant from the First and Second Temple periods, but its central theme is one with which we can all relate: brokenness. In this day of weeping, we weep not only for the brokenness and destruction in the past, we weep for our own brokenness today, and this brings me back to the garden.
Growing food most closely informs my relationship with the earth so that is where I go to source these writings. Each year there are ...
Should Jews be Animal Rights Advocates/A Message for Rosh Chodesh Elul, the ‘New Year for Animals’
This is submitted on Rosh Chodeh Elul, which in the days of the Temple was considered the New Year for Animals, a day for the tithing of animals for sacrifices. Today some Jews are working to restore this ancient holiday and convert it into a day to increase awareness of Judaism's powerful teachings about compasion to animals and how far the current mistreatment of animals on factory farms and in other settings is from these teachings.
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Jews should be animal rights advocates for at least 3 reasons:
1. Although it is not well known, Judaism has very powerful teachings about the proper treatment of animals. If Jews took ...
Restoring The Overlooked Mitzvah Of Tsa’ar Ba’alei Chaim
While tsa’ar ba’alei chaim (the mandate not to cause “sorrow to living creatures”) is a Torah prohibition, many religious Jews seem to be unaware of it or to not consider it of any great importance. Some examples reinforce this assertion:
Upon reading an article about my efforts to get Jewish teachings on animals onto the Jewish agenda, a member of my modern Orthodox congregation was incredulous. “What? Jews should be concerned about animals?” she exclaimed.
Some years ago, I was at a Sukkot gathering at which there were some ducks in an adjacent backyard. Upon seeing them, two youngsters of about 8 years of age ran toward them, ...
An Audacious Proposal to Restore and Transform the Ancient New Year for Animals
The conditions under which animals are raised for food today are completely contrary to Jewish teachings about compassion to animals:
* While Judaism teaches that “God’s compassion is over all His works” (Psalms 145:9), egg laying hens are kept in cages so small that they can’t raise even one wing and they are debeaked without anesthetic to prevent them from harming other birds due to pecking from frustration in their very unnatural conditions. Male chicks fare even worse as they are killed almost immediately after birth, since they can’t lay eggs and have not been genetically programmed to produce much flesh;
* While Judaism asserts that ...
Restoring and transforming the ancient “New Year for Animals”
The current widespread mistreatment of animals on factory farms is very inconsistent with Judaism’s beautiful teachings about compassion to animals. One way for Jews to respond to these inconsistencies is to restore and transform the ancient and largely forgotten Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah LaBeheimot (New Year's Day for Tithing Animals) into a day devoted to considering how to improve our relationships with animals. The holiday occurs on the first day of the month of Elul and was initially devoted to counting domesticated animals intended for sacrificial offerings (Mishna, Seder Moed, Tractate Rosh Hashana 1:1).
Rosh Hashanah LaIlanot ...
Ten Reasons for Restoring and Transforming the Ancient New Year for Animals
Recently there have been efforts to restore and transform the ancient and largely forgotten Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana L’Ma’aser BeHeima (New Year's Day for Tithing Animals) into a day devoted to considering how to improve our relationships with animals. The holiday occurs on the first day of the month of Elul and was initially devoted to counting domesticated animals intended for sacrificial offerings (Mishna, Seder Moed, Tractate Rosh Hashana 1:1).
Below are ten reasons why renewing this holiday as a Rosh Hashanah LaBeheimot (a New Year for Animals) is an idea whose time has come:
1.Observing the holiday would increase awareness of ...
What A Wonderful Path Judaism Is!
The following is an excerpt from my recently published book, "Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judiasm and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet."
What A Wonderful Path Judaism Is!
· _Judaism proclaims a God who is the Creator of all life, whose attributes of kindness, compassion, and justice are to serve as examples for all our actions.
· _Judaism stresses that every person is created in God’s image and therefore is of supreme value.
· _Judaism teaches that people are to be co-workers with God in preserving and improving the world. We are mandated to serve as stewards of the world’s resources to see that ...
Relating Tisha B’Av to Today’s Environmental Crises
Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) reminds us that over 2,000 years ago Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, with the result that the first Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, one of the many negative things that occurred on that day, including the destruction of the second Temple as well.
Today there are many “Jeremiahs” warning us that now it is not only a temple in Jerusalem, but the entire world that is threatened by climate change and its effects, species extinction, soil erosion, destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats, and many other environmental problems. As long ago as 1992, over ...
Tisha B’Av and Vegetarianism
There are many connections between vegetarianism (and veganism) and the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av:
1. Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem. Today the entire world is threatened by climate change, and modern intensive livestock agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
2. In Megilat Eichah (Lamentations), which is read on Tisha B'Av, the prophet Jeremiah warned the Jewish people of the need to change their unjust ways in order to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem. Today, climate scientists are warning that the world may be very close to a ...
10 Top Reasons to Read “Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet”
Who Stole My Religion?:
1. Generates interest and discourse on the future of Judaism and our imperiled planet because of its challenging analyses.
2. Delivers a critical analysis of Orthodox Judaism’s views on climate change and politics.
3. Argues that vegetarianism, and especially veganism, is the diet most consistent with Jewish teachings and is essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe.
4. Offers a possible viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
5. Provides a radical approach to reducing terrorism.
6. Discusses how to reduce anti-Semitism and the current demonization of Islam.
7. Explains why ...
Richard Schwartz Interviewed by Charles Patterson about his book, “Who Stole My Religion?”
New edition “Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet, by Richard Schwartz (written with Rabbi Yonassan Gershom and Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz).
Interview conducted by Charles Patterson, author of Eternal Treblinka.
Charles Patterson: Who stole your religion?
Richard Schwartz: I have been a member of an Orthodox community for almost 50 years. I have found the members of this community to excel in acts of kindness, charity, and learning. Their dedication to Judaism is outstanding. However, they are generally in denial about vegan diets and climate change and other environ...