My six Chanukah-related articles
The titles are:
- Chanukah and Vegetarianism and Veganism
2. Miraculously Stretching the Oil: Dietary Connections to Energy Use
3. Celebrating Miracles at Chanukah
4. Eight Reasons to Become Vegan During Chanukah
5. Chrismukah: Giving Thanks for Miracles!
6. Chanukah and Veganism
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1. Chanukah and Vegetarianism and Veganism
Many connections can be made between vegetarianism and veganism (henceforth veg*ism) and the Jewish festival of Chanukah:
1. According to the Book of Maccabees, the Maccabees lived on plant foods since they were unable to get kosher meat when they hid in the mountains to avoid capture.
2. The foods associated with Chanukah, latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried donuts) are vegetarian foods (and would be vegan foods if egg substitutes were used), and the oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the oil used in the lighting of the Menorah at the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean victory.
3. Chanukah represents the triumph of nonconformity. The Maccabees stuck to their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to say: This I believe, this I stand for, this I am willing to struggle for. Today, veg*ans represent non-conformity. At a time when most people in the wealthier countries think of animal products as the main part of their meals, when the number of fast food establishments is growing rapidly, when almost all celebrations involve an abundance of animal products, veg*ans are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more compassionate, more environmentally sustainable diet.
4. Chanukah represents the victory of the few, who practiced God’s teachings, over the many, who acted according to the values of the surrounding society. Today veg*ans are a very small minority in most countries, but they believe that veg*ism is the dietary approach most consistent with Jewish values, since it is consistent with God’s original dietary regimen (Genesis 1:29) and with religious mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, preserve natural resources, and share with hungry people.
5. Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day, but miraculously lasted for eight days. A switch to veg*ism on the part of the world’s people could help cause an even greater miracle: the end of the scandal of world hunger which results in the death of an estimated nine million people annually and almost 10 percent of the world’s people being chronically hungry, while about 70 percent of the grain produced in the US and over a third of the world’s grain is fed to animals destined for slaughter.
6. The ratio of eight days that the oil burned compared to the one day of burning capacity that the oil had is the same ratio (8 to 1) that is given for the pounds of grain that are necessary to produce a pound of beef in a feedlot. The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus, and veg*an diets make resources go much further, since far less water, fuel, land, pesticides, fertilizer, and other agricultural resources are required for veg*an diets than for animal-based diets.
7. Chanukah also commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was defiled by the Syrian-Greeks. The Hebrew root of the word Chanukah means dedication. Today, a shift to veg*ism can be a major factor in the rededication and renewal of Judaism, because it would show that eternal Jewish values are relevant to everyday Jewish life and to addressing current problems, such as hunger, pollution, resource scarcity, global climate change, and huge health care expenditures.
8. Candles are lit during each night of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). For many Jews, veg*ism is a way of adding light to the darkness of a world with slaughterhouses, factory farms, and other examples of oppression.
9. Chanukah commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the Syrian Greeks. So, today, veg*ism can be a step toward deliverance from modern problems such as hunger, pollution, and resource scarcities.
10. The prophetic portion read on the Shabbat of Chanukah indicates that difficulties can best be overcome “not by might and not by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Today, Jewish veg*ans are arguing that the way to a better world is not by exercising our power over animals, but by applying the spirit of God, “Whose compassion is over all of His works.” (Psalm 145:9)
11. The Hebrew root of the word Chanukah also means education, Jewish veg*ans believe that if Jews were compassionately educated about the horrible realities of factory farming and the powerful Jewish teachings about taking care of our health, showing compassion to animals, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, and helping hungry people, they would feel motivated to switch toward veg*an diets.
12. At the morning services during each day of Chanukah, there is a recitation of Hallel, the psalms of praise from Psalm 113 to 118. During the Sabbath of Chanukah and every other Sabbath during the year, the morning service has a prayer that begins, “The soul of all living creatures shall praise God’s name.” Yet, it is hard for animals to join in the praise of God when about nine billion animals are killed annually in the U. S. for their flesh after suffering from cruel treatment.
In view of these and other connections, I hope that Jews will enhance their celebrations of the beautiful and spiritually meaningful holiday of Chanukah by making it a time to begin striving even harder to live up to Judaism’s highest moral values and teachings by moving toward a veg*an diet.
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Miraculously Stretching the Oil: Dietary Connections to Energy Use
The Jewish festival of Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day, but miraculously lasted for eight days in the liberated Temple in Jerusalem. Hence, this holiday is a good time to consider our use of fuel and other resources.
Like Chanukah’s miraculous extension of scarce resources, vegetarianism, and even more so veganism, also allows the increasingly scarce resources of our contemporary world to go much further. This is no trivial matter since it is expected that many future conflicts between nations will involve scarcities of oil, water, and other resources. Seeing that the Hebrew words for bread (lechem) and war (milchamah) come from the same root, the Jewish sages deduced that when there is a shortage of grain and other resources, people are more likely to go to war. History has borne out this hypothesis in struggles over water in biblical times or struggles over oil in modern times.
Far less oil, water, land, topsoil, chemicals, labor, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets, and far less waste and pollution are produced. To produce one pound of steak (500 calories of food energy) requires 20,000 calories of fossil fuels, most of which is expended in producing and providing feed crops. It requires 78 calories of fossil fuel for each calorie of protein obtained from feedlot-produced beef, but only 2 calories of fossil fuel to produce a calorie of protein from soybeans. Grains and beans require only two to five percent as much fossil fuel as beef. The energy needed to produce a pound of grain-fed beef is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline.
It is interesting that the ratio of eight days that the oil burned compared to the one day of burning capacity that the oil had in the restored Temple is the same ratio (8 to 1) that is given for the pounds of grain that are necessary to add a pound of flesh to a cow raised in a feedlot.
Based on the oil lasting an additional seven days, the Shalom Center, a Jewish environmental, social justice and peace organization (www.shalomctr.org) has urged that US oil consumption be reduced by seven-eighths and replaced by conservation and the use of non-fossil, non-CO2-producing, non-nuclear sources of renewable, sustainable energy. The Shalom Center and some other groups are increasingly considering the adverse and dramatic impacts of animal-based agriculture on energy usage, climate change, and other environmental issues.
Reducing our use of oil by shifting away from the mass production and consumption of meat makes our oil supplies last longer. It frees us from our dangerous dependence on oil, and on oil-producing authoritarian governments. Surely this would be a fitting way to celebrate the miracles of Chanukah, while simultaneously improving our health and helping to shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path.
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Celebrating Miracles at Chanukah
Daniel Brook, PhD & Richard H. Schwartz, PhD
Hope springs eternal. Indeed, it’s always been an integral part of Jewish history, spirituality, and politics. Without hope, there wouldn’t be a Chanukah; without hope, there might not even be a Jewish community. That’s the power of radical hope!
Jewish survival is a miracle of hope. Increasing light at the darkest time of the year to celebrate Chanukah and Jewish survival is also a miracle. Each year, we should work and hope for further miracles.
We sincerely hope that Jews will enhance their celebrations of this ancient, beautiful, and spiritually meaningful holiday of Chanukah by making it a time to strive even harder to live up to Judaism’s highest moral values and teachings. For most of us, we certainly don’t need more “things” in our homes; instead, we need more meaning, purpose, and spirit in our lives. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this. One significant way we can do this, daily, is by moving towards vegetarian or vegan lifestyles.
Chanukah commemorates the single small container of pure olive oil — expected to be enough for only one day — which, according to the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), miraculously lasted for eight days in the rededicated Temple on the 25th of Kislev 165 BCE, exactly two years after it was defiled by the Syrian-Greeks, who were ruled by the tyrannical King Antiochus IV.
A switch to plant-based diets would be using our wisdom and compassion to help inspire another great miracle: the end of the tragedy of world hunger, therefore ensuring the survival of millions of people annually. Currently, about 70 percent of the grain produced in the US and over a third of the grain produced worldwide is fed to animals destined for slaughter, while almost 10 percent of the world’s people suffer from malnutrition and its debilitating effects, with about nine million people dying annually.
Maimonides, the great rabbi, physician, and scholar known as the Rambam, who wrote that the pain of people is the same as the pain of other animals (Guide for the Perplexed), ruled that one must literally sell the clothes one is wearing, if necessary, to fulfill the mitzvah of lighting the menorah and celebrating the miracle (Hil. Chanukah 4:12). Uniting physical needs and spiritual needs is vitally important for the body, the mind, and the spirit. In the joyous process of celebrating our festival of freedom and light, other beings shouldn’t have to be enslaved and killed by our tyranny over them. No one should ever have to die on our account.
Chanukah represents the victory of the idealistic and courageous few, over the seemingly invincible power and dominant values of the surrounding society. We learn through both our religious studies and history that might does not make right, even if it sometimes rules the moment. Therefore, quality is more important than quantity; spirituality is more vital than materialism, though each is necessary. “Not by might and not by power, but by spirit”, says Zechariah 4:6, part of the prophetic reading for Shabbat Chanukah. Today, vegetarians and vegans are relatively few in number, though growing, and billions of captive factory farm animals are powerless to defend themselves, but the highest ideals and spirit of Judaism are on their side.
The Jewish anti-imperialist insurgency, led by the Macabees, was sparked when a pig was killed and Rabbi Eleazar and other Jews were ordered to eat its non-kosher meat. Those who refused, including nonagenarian Rabbi Eleazar, were summarily killed. According to the Book of Maccabees, the Maccabees lived on plant foods — to “avoid being polluted” by eating non-kosher foods— when they hid in caves and in the mountains to escape capture. Further, the major foods associated with Chanukah, latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts), are vegetarian foods and the vegetable oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the pure vegetable (olive) (olive) used in the lighting of the Temple’s Menorah.
The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus. One day’s oil was able to last for eight days in the Temple, a miracle of resource conservation. Conservation and energy-efficiency are sacred acts and vegetarianism and veganism allow resources to go much further, since far less oil, water, land, topsoil, chemicals, labor, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets, while far less waste, pollution, and greenhouse gases are produced. For example, it can require up to 78 calories of non-renewable fossil fuel for each calorie of protein obtained from factory-farmed beef, whether kosher or otherwise, but only 2 calories of fossil fuel to produce a calorie of protein from soybeans.
Reducing our use of oil by shifting away from the mass production and consumption of meat — thereby making supplies last longer, freeing us from dependence on oil as well as oily authoritarian governments, and diminishing the availability of petro-dollar funds for terrorists and others — would surely be a fitting way to celebrate the miracles of Chanukah. By conserving oil, commemorating how one’s day’s worth of oil lasted for eight, and by reducing our dependence on it, we can create what Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center calls a “green menorah” and a green Chanukah. In this way, we support ethical lifestyles and holy communities on this festival and throughout the year.
In addition to resource conservation and economic efficiency, a switch toward vegetarianism and, even more so, veganism would greatly benefit the health of individuals and the condition of our environment and would sharply reduce the suffering and death of billions of animals. Further, the social, psychological, and spiritual benefits should not be underestimated. Many people who switch to a plant-based diet report feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually better. And more and more Jews and others are doing just that!
Chanukah also represents the triumph of idealistic non-conformity. Like the Hebrew prophets, the Macabees fought for their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to proudly exclaim: this we believe, this we stand for, this we are willing to struggle for. Like the great Prophets and the celebrated Maccabees, vegetarians represent this type of progressive non-conformity by an inspired minority. At a time when most people, especially in wealthier countries, think of animal products as the main part of their meals, vegetarians are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more compassionate, more environmentally sustainable, and ethical choice, one that better fits with our religious values and philosophical beliefs.
Jewish sages compared candles to our souls and the light to the Torah (Proverbs 20:27), noting that the fire of a candle always strives to go upward. In this way, we kindle souls with the ethical light of our tradition. Candles are lit for each of the eight nights of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope, from oppression to miracles. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalm 97:11) and, as our sages have said, it only takes a little light to dispel much darkness. Veg activists are like the shamesh, the servant candle, which helps to spread light. We do not lose anything by helping ourselves and others; indeed, we gain in righteousness. Plant-based lifestyles can be an effective way of adding light and hope to the darkness of a world still suffering with factory farms and slaughterhouses — and their attendant negative consequences — as well as with other systems and symbols of violence and oppression.
The word Chanukah means dedication, while the Hebrew root of the word means education. Each year, we should re-educate ourselves about the horrible realities of factory farming and slaughterhouses, as well as re-dedicate and beautify our inner temples. We can do this by practicing the powerful Jewish teachings and highest value0s of Judaism, as another way to “proclaim the miracle” of Chanukah and Jewish renewal. These sacred values and holy deeds (mitzvot) include compassion for others, including animals (tsa’ar ba’alei chayim), preserving one’s health (pikuach nefesh), conservation of resources (bal tashchit), proper spiritual intention (kavanah), righteousness and charity (tzedakah), peace and justice (shalom v’tzedek), being partners in creation (shomrei adamah), healing our world (tikun olam), and increasing in matters of holiness (ma’alin bakodesh v’ayn moridim, going from strength to strength, just as Hillel successfully argued that we should light the menorah for the eight days in ascending order).
Chanukah commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the Syrian-Greeks. In our time, being vegetarian or vegan can be a step toward the deliverance of society from various modern plagues and tragedies, including global warming, world hunger, deforestation, air and water pollution, species extinction, resource depletion, heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, obesity, rising health care costs, and lost productivity, among others.
One way to achieve the wonderful aspirations of Judaism is by switching to a veg diet. A shift toward plant-based lifestyles can also be a major factor in the rededication and renewal of Judaism, as it would further demonstrate that Jewish values are not only relevant but essential to everyday personal life and global survival.
The letters on a diaspora dreidel are an acronym for nes gadol hayah sham, a great miracle happened there. May the celebration of this joyous holiday inspire another miracle within each of us.
May we all have a happy, healthy, and miraculous Chanukah!
Daniel Brook, PhD, teaches sociology and his e-books, including An Alef-Bet Kabalah and Eco-Eating, can be found at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/brook. He also maintains The Vegetarian Mitzvah at www.brook.com/jveg is a Board member of San Francisco Veg Society Dan can be contacted via brook@brook.com.
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4. Eight Reasons to Shift To a Vegan Diet During Chanukah
Jews can enhance their celebrations of the beautiful and spiritually meaningful holiday of Chanukah by making it a time to begin striving even harder to live up to Judaism’s highest moral values and teachings by moving toward a vegan diet, or at least a vegetarian diet.
Here are eight reasons, one for each night of Chanukah:
1. Chanukah represents the triumph of non-conformity. The Maccabees stuck to their inner beliefs rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to say: This I believe, this I stand for, this I am willing to struggle for. Today, vegetarians, and even more so vegans, represent nonconformity. At a time when most people in wealthier countries think of animal products as the main part of their meals, when the number of fast food establishments is growing rapidly, when almost all Jewish celebrations involve an abundance of animal foods, vegans are resisting and insisting tha0t there is a better, healthier, more humane diet.
2. Chanukah represents the victory of the few, who practiced God’s teachings, over the many, who acted according to the values of the surrounding society. Today, vegans are a small minority in most countries, but Jewish vegans believe that veganism is the dietary approach most consistent with God’s original diet (Genesis 1:29) and with Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, preserve natural resources, and share with hungry people.
3. Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day, but miraculously lasted for eight days. Today, with science academies worldwide and the vast majority of climate scientists warning of an impending climate catastrophe, it sometimes seems as if only a miracle will prevent it. However, many recent studies have shown that animal-based agriculture is a major contributor to the warming of the planet, so shifts to vegan diets can make a major difference.
4. The ratio of eight days that the oil burned compared to the one day of burning capacity that the oil had is the same ratio (8 to 1) that is often given for the pounds of grain that are necessary as feed crops for animals o produce a pound of beef. The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus, and vegetarian diets make resources go much further, since far less water, fuel, land, pesticides, fertilizer, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets.
5. Chanukah also commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Syrian Greeks defiled it. The Hebrew root of the word Chanukah means dedication. Today, a shift to veganism would be a significant factor in the rededication and renewal of Judaism because it would show that Jewish values are relevant to everyday Jewish life and to addressing current problems, such as hunger, pollution, resource scarcity, climate change, and huge health care expenditures.
6. Candles are lit during each night of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). Veganism is a way of adding light to the darkness of a world with slaughterhouses and factory farms, as well as other places of oppression.
7. On the Sabbath during Chanukah, the prophetic portion indicates that difficulties can best be overcome “not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Today, Jewish vegans are stressing that the way to a better world is not by exercising our power over animals, but by applying the spirit of God, “Whose compassion is over all His works” (Psalm 145:9).
8. At the morning services during each day of Chanukah, there is a recitation of Hallel, the psalms of praise from Psalms 113 to 118. During the Sabbath of Chanukah and every other Sabbath during the year, the morning service has a prayer that begins, “The soul of all living creatures shall praise God’s name.” Yet, it is hard for animals to join in the praise of God when about nine billion animals are killed annually in the U. S. for their flesh after suffering greatly on factory farms.
In conclusion, there are many reasons to shift to veganism during Chanukah.
5. Chrismukah: Giving Thanks for Miracles!
Dan Brook & Richard H. Schwartz
Christmas on December 25 and Chanukah on 25 Kislev periodically coincide and do so in 2024 on Christmas Day, the first night of Chanukah. Some are calling it Chrismukah.
Hope springs eternal. Indeed, it’s always been an integral part of Jewish and American history, spirituality, and politics. Without hope, there wouldn’t be a Chanukah; without hope, there might not even be a Jewish community; without hope, there might not be America or Israel. That’s the power of radical hope!
Christmas has been celebrated for over 1600 years and Chanukah has been celebrated for 2100 years since the 2nd century BCE. The two holidays may be united in our gratitude for Light, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Latkes. We don’t know if Jesus ever ate latkes, but as a Jew, he celebrated Chanukah, which is mentioned in the Christian Bible as the Feast of Dedication, its former name.
Jewish survival is a miracle of hope. Increasing light at the darkest time of the year to celebrate Chanukah and Jewish survival is also a miracle. Each year, we should be grateful for our miracles and we should work and hope for further miracles.
We sincerely hope that Jews and Christians will enhance their celebrations of this spiritually meaningful Judeo-Christian holiday of Chrismukah by making it a time to strive even harder to live up to Judaism’s and Christianity’s highest moral values and teachings. For most of us, we certainly don’t need more “things” in our homes or more food in our bellies; instead, we need more meaning, purpose, gratitude, peace, love, and spirit in our lives. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this. One significant way we can do this, on a daily basis, is by moving towards plant-based lifestyles.
Chanukah commemorates the single small container of pure olive oil — expected to be enough for only one day — which, according to the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), miraculously lasted for eight days in the rededicated Temple on the 25th of Kislev, two years after it was defiled by the Syrian-Greeks, who were ruled by the tyrannical King Antiochus IV. In kabalistic (Jewish mystical) thought, according to Avi Lazerson, “oil is symbolic of chochmah (wisdom), the highest aspect of the intellect from which inspirational thought is derived”.
A switch to vegetarianism or veganism would be using our wisdom and compassion to help inspire another great miracle: the end of the tragedy of world hunger, therefore ensuring the survival of tens of millions of people annually. Currently, from one-third to one-half of the world’s grain, and about three-quarters of major food crops in the U.S. (e.g., corn, wheat, soybeans, oats, alfalfa), is fed to animals destined for slaughter, while about one billion poor people chronically suffer from hunger and malnutrition and their debilitating effects, tens of thousands of them consequently dying each day, one every few seconds.
Billions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and others are bred in unnatural and brutal conditions, leading to injuries and ill health, first for them and eventually for their consumers. Maimonides, the great rabbi, physician, and scholar known as the Rambam, who wrote that the pain of people is the same as the pain of other animals (Guide for the Perplexed), ruled that one must literally sell the clothes one is wearing, if necessary, to fulfill the mitzvah of lighting the menorah and celebrating the miracle (Hil. Chanukah 4:12).
Uniting physical needs and spiritual needs is vitally important for the body, the mind, and the spirit. In the joyous process of celebrating our holidays — including Christmas, Chanukah, and Chrismukah — other beings shouldn’t have to be enslaved, tortured, and killed by our tyranny over them for a passing pleasure. No one should ever have to die on our account or in our name, especially for the purpose of celebration.
Chanukah represents the victory of the idealistic and courageous few, over the seemingly invincible power and dominant values of the surrounding society. We learn through both our religious studies and history that might does not make right, even if it sometimes rules the moment. Therefore, quality is more important than quantity; spirituality is more vital than materialism, though each is necessary. “Not by might and not by power, but by spirit”, says Zechariah 4:6, part of the prophetic reading for Shabbat Chanukah. Today, vegetarians and vegans are relatively few in number — though growing — and billions of captive factory farm animals are powerless to defend themselves, but the highest ideals and spirit of Judaism and Christianity — namely, peace, justice, and liberation — are on their side.
Still believing in brute force, materialism, greed, and gluttony, the world presently wastes a staggering and nearly unimaginable amount on total military might annually (with about half of that amount by the U.S. alone), while half the world’s population barely survives on $2 a day or less and, as noted, some don’t even survive. Security does not come from superior physical forces or from authoritarian political conditions, as the Chanukah and Christmas stories and contemporary events remind us. Collective security lies in a peaceful, just, sustainable, and beloved society, what Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. described as the justice of “positive peace”, just as personal security lies in a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. These are deeply and intimately related. (Rev. King’s widow said she thought he would have become vegan had he lived longer as a logical extension of his philosophy of non-violence.)
The Jewish anti-imperialist insurgency that inspired the Chanukah story, led by the Macabees, was sparked when a pig was killed and Rabbi Eleazar and other Jews were ordered to eat its non-kosher meat. Those who refused, including nonagenarian Rabbi Eleazar, were summarily killed. According to the Book of Macabees, some Macabees lived on plant foods — to “avoid being polluted” by eating non-kosher food — when they hid in caves and in the mountains to escape capture. Further, the major foods associated with Chanukah, latkes (potato pancakes), sufganiyot (jelly donuts), and chocolate gelt are vegetarian foods and the vegetable oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the pure olive oil used in the lighting of the Temple’s Menorah.
The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus. One day’s oil lasted for eight days in the Temple, a miracle of resource conservation. Conservation and energy efficiency are sacred acts; plant-based living allows resources to go much further since far less oil, water, land, topsoil, chemicals, labor, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-centered diets, while far less waste, pollution, and greenhouse gases are produced. For example, it can require up to 78 calories of non-renewable fossil fuel for each calorie of protein obtained from factory-farmed beef, whether kosher or otherwise, but only two calories of fossil fuel to produce a calorie of protein from soybeans. We must increasingly incorporate this ecological ethic into the fabric of America, Israel, and everywhere else.
Reducing our use of oil by shifting away from the mass production and consumption of meat and other animal products — thereby making supplies last longer, freeing us from our dangerous dependence on oil as well as oily authoritarian governments, and diminishing the availability of petro-dollar funds for dictators, terrorists, and others — would surely be a fitting way to celebrate Chrismukah. By conserving oil, commemorating how one’s day’s worth of oil lasted for eight, and by reducing our dependence on it, we can create what Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center calls a “green menorah” for a green Chanukah, a green Christmas, and a green Chrismukah. In this way, we support ethical lifestyles and holy communities on this holiday and throughout the year.
In addition to resource conservation and economic efficiency, a switch toward vegetarianism or veganism would greatly benefit the health of individuals and the condition of our environment and would sharply reduce the suffering and death of billions of animals and millions of people. Further, the social, psychological, and spiritual benefits should not be underestimated. Many people who switch to a plant-based diet report feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually better. And more and more Jews, Christians, and others are doing just that!
Chanukah also represents the triumph of idealistic non-conformity. Like the Hebrew prophets and Jesus, the Macabees fought for their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to proudly exclaim: this we believe, this we stand for, this we are willing to struggle for. Like the great Prophets and the celebrated Macabees, like Jesus and St. Francis (who was an animal-loving vegetarian and is a patron saint of Italy), and like our revolutionary activists and abolitionists, vegetarians and vegans represent this type of progressive non-conformity by an inspired minority. At a time when most people, especially in wealthier countries, think of animal products as the main part of their meals, vegetarians and vegans are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, compassionate, environmentally sustainable, and ethical choice, one that better fits with our religious values, spiritual feelings, philosophical beliefs, and physical needs.
Jewish sages compare candles to our souls and the light to the Torah (Proverbs 20:27), noting that the fire of a candle always strives to go upward. In this way, we kindle souls with the ethical light of our tradition. Candles are lit for each of the eight nights of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope, from oppression to liberation, and from the mundane to the miraculous. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalm 97:11) and, as our sages have said, it only takes a little light to dispel much darkness. Vegetarian and vegan activists are like the shamesh, the servant candle, which helps to spread light without itself being diminished. We do not lose anything by helping ourselves and others; indeed, we gain in righteousness and holiness. Vegetarianism and veganism can be effective ways of adding light and hope to the darkness of a world still suffering with factory farms and slaughterhouses — and their attendant negative consequences — as well as with other systems and symbols of violence, destruction, death, and oppression.
The word Chanukah means dedication, while the Hebrew root of the word means education. Each year, we should re-educate ourselves about the horrible realities of factory farming and slaughterhouses, as well as re-dedicate and beautify our inner temples, humbly giving gratitude for what we have while striving to make the world a better place for all. We can do this by practicing the powerful Jewish and Christian teachings and highest values of Judaism and Christianity as another way to “proclaim the miracle” of Chrismukah.
These Jewish sacred values and holy deeds (mitzvot) include compassion for others, including animals (tsa’ar ba’alei chayim), preserving one’s health (pekuach nefesh), conservation of resources (bal tashchit), proper spiritual intention (kavanah), righteousness and charity (tzedakah), peace and justice (shalom v’tzedek), being partners in creation (shomrei adamah), healing our world (tikkun olam), and increasing in matters of holiness (ma’alin bakodesh v’ayn moridim}, going from strength to strength, just as Hillel successfully argued that we should light the menorah for the eight days in ascending order).
Chanukah commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the Syrian Greeks. In our time, vegetarianism and veganism can be steps toward the deliverance of society from various modern plagues and tragedies, including our climate crisis, world hunger, deforestation, air and water pollution, species extinction, resource depletion, heart disease, various cancers, stroke, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, rising health care costs, and lost productivity, among others.
The letters on a diaspora dreidel, those we use outside of Israel, are an acronym for nes gadol hayah sham, a great miracle happened there. May the celebration of this joyous holiday inspire another miracle and deepened reflection within each of us.
May we all have a happy, healthy, thankful, and miraculous Chrismukah!
For more information, please visit the Center for Jewish Food Ethics. and/or Jewish Vegan Life
Dan Brook, Ph.D. is Senior Lecturer Emeritus at San Jose State University. Dan is the author of An Alef-Bet Kabalah, editor of Justice in the Kitchen, was a member of the Board of San Francisco Veg Society and Advisory Board of Jewish Veg, and can be contacted via brook@brook.com. More info at https://about.me/danbrook.
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6. Chanukah and Veganism
Jews can enhance their celebrations of Chanukah’s beautiful and spiritually meaningful holiday by making it a time to strive even harder to live up to Judaism’s highest moral values and teachings. One important way to do this is by moving toward a vegan diet. Here are eight reasons, one for each night of Chanukah:
- Chanukah represents the triumph of non-conformity. The Maccabees adhered to their inner beliefs rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to say: This I believe, this I stand for, this I am willing to struggle for. Today, vegans represent non-conformity. At a time when most people in the wealthier countries think of animal products as the central part of their meals, when the number of fast food establishments is growing rapidly, when almost all celebrations involve an abundance of animal foods, veg*ans are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more humane, environmentally sustainable diet.
2. Chanukah represents the victory of the few, who practiced God’s teachings, over the many, who acted according to the values of the surrounding society. Today, vegans are a small minority in most countries, but Jewish vegans believe that veganism is the dietary most consistent with God’s original diet (Genesis 1:29) and with Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, preserve natural resources, and share with hungry people.
3. Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day but miraculously lasted for eight days. Today, with science academies worldwide and the vast majority of climate scientists warning of an impending climate catastrophe, it sometimes seems that only a miracle will prevent it. However, many recent studies have shown that animal-based agriculture is a major contributor to the planet’s warming, primarily due to emissions from cows and other farmed animals of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas, and the destruction of carbon-sequestering trees to create land for grazing and growing feed crops for animals. Reforestation of the vast areas now used for animal-based agriculture would sequester much atmospheric CO2, bringing it to a safer level.
4. The ratio of eight days that the oil burned compared to the one day of burning capacity that the oil had is the same ratio (8 to 1) often given for the pounds of grain necessary to produce a pound of beef in a feedlot. The oil miracle brings fuel and other resources into focus, and vegan diets make resources go much further since far less water, fuel, land, pesticides, fertilizer, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-based diets.
5. Chanukah also commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Syrian Greeks defiled it. The Hebrew root of the word Chanukah means dedication. Today, a shift to veg*ism can be a significant factor in the rededication and renewal of Judaism because it would show that Jewish values are relevant to everyday Jewish life and to addressing current problems, such as hunger, pollution, resource scarcity, climate change, and enormous health care expenditures.
6. Candles are lit during each night of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). Veganism is a way of adding light to the darkness of a world with slaughterhouses and factory farms, as well as other places of oppression.
7. On the Sabbath during Chanukah, the prophetic portion indicates that difficulties can best be overcome “not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Today, Jewish vegans are arguing that the way to a better world is not by exercising our power over animals, but by applying the spirit of God, “whose compassion over all His works” (Psalm 145:9).
8. At the morning services during each day of Chanukah, there is a recitation of Hallel, the psalms of praise from Psalm 113 to 118. During the Sabbath of Chanukah and every other Sabbath during the year, the morning service has a prayer that begins, “The soul of all living creatures shall praise God’s name.” Yet, it is hard for animals to join in the praise of God when almost 80 billion animals are killed annually worldwide for their flesh after suffering greatly on factory farms.
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