Dear Rabbi – How YOU Can Help Save the World

Shalom dear rabbi,     I have been fortunate to be involved with many rabbis in my 89 years, and I have always found you all to be the most dedicated people, committed to getting as many Jews as possible to live committed Jewishlives, filled with mitzvot and tikkun olam.     Because of this I very respectfully address this message to you. Your response could have an enormous and. Powerful effect on the future of Judaism and ...

A Tisha B’Av Message: How Do the Warnings Today Differ From Those of Jeremiah?

    A Tisha B’Av Message: How Do the Warnings Today Differ From Those of Jeremiah? Over 2,600 years ago, Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah about the importance of changing their ways, with the result that the first Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, one of many tragedies that occurred on that day, including the destruction of the second Temple as well.      There are comparisons between the warnings ...

Can Meat Be Humanely Produced?

A Review of Hope Bohanec’s Book, “The Humane Hoax” Hope Botanec’s wonderful book, “The Humane Hoax: Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat , Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs,” which  exposes the many lies and misrepresentation of these industries, is essential reading today for many reasons. Most importantly, it is urgent that there be a societal shift toward vegan diets because there is very little, if any, chance to avert a climate ...

How To Help the World Go Vegan       

A Tisha B’Av message: Will We Fail To Heed the Warnings Again?

Tisha B’Av, which we commemorate starting in the evening of July 26 in 2023, reminds us that over 2,600 years ago Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah about the importance of changing their ways. This resulted in destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem, one of many tragedies that occurred on that day, including the destruction of the second Temple also.       Today there are’t prophets like Jeremiah to ...

Inconsistencies Between Jewish Values and Jewish Diets

     There are significant inconsistencies between basic Jewish values and the diets of the vast majority of Jews. Please consider: 1. While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving our health and our lives, numerous medical studies in respected peer-reviewed journals have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other life-threatening diseases. Animal...

Religion, Ethics, Animals, and Choosing Vegan

     Dr. Lisa Kemmerer has made it her mission to help people to recognize that core religious teachings in every faith require that we rethink our diet and how we treat animals more generally. Toward this end, she has authored "Animals and World Religions." She is also the author of "Eating Earth, Environmental Ethics and Dietary Choices," and "Sister Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice" and over 100 related ...

What is Our ‘Natural’ Diet?

    Clearly human beings are not carnivores, but are we omnivores or herbivores? Actually we are both. We are omnivores in practice, with most people eating from both the plant and animal kingdoms. However, physiologically and emotionally  we are herbivores as explained below. The difference between our eating habits and our natural conditions and inclinations are why so many people are suffering and dying from heart disease, cancer, and other ...

Prevention: the Jewish Approach to Health

Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is among the ways of       God . . . ,  one must avoid that which harms the body and       accustom oneself to that which is helpful and helps the body become       stronger. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deot 4:1)      Contemporary western medicine has generally focused on the treatment of diseases, rather than on ...

Protein and Calcium Myths

    People increasingly wish to adopt healthier diets. However, many are prevented from necessary changes because of myths about certain nutrients. For example, it is the common wisdom that one should eat ample amounts of meat in order to get adequate protein and consume large amounts of dairy products in order to get adequate calcium to avoid osteoporosis.       But, please consider the following: Countries with the highest consum...

Two Health Studies That Could Revolutionize Health Practrices

     There are two major health studies that have the potential to radically affect medical practice. They dramatically show how dietary and other lifestyle changes can prevent and in some cases reverse diseases.      The first study, the Lifestyle Heart Trial, was conducted by Dean Ornish, M. D. of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Salusito, California, and his medical colleagues. Its aim was to study if changes in diet, ...

Should Jews Be Vegans, or at least Vegetarians?

by Richard Schwartz, PhD   The consumption of meat and other animal products  and the ways in which they are produced today seriously conflict with Judaism in at least six important areas: While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, strokes, many forms of cancer, and other life-threatening ...

The Huge Health Benefits of Vegan Diets

There is much evidence that vegan diets have many health benefits and can reduce and in some cases reverse several life-threatening diseases. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, formerly known as the American Dietetic Association, a valuable, respected source for health and nutrition information, states that, “well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, … are associated with a lower ...

My Efforts to Make Earth Day this year into an “Environmental Shabbat”

Since Earth Day (April 22) is on Shabbat this year, I am working with others to make it an "Environmental Shabbat," with rabbis all over the world encouraged to give a sermon or a class on that Shabbat about Jewish environmental teachings and how they can be applied today to reduce environmental threats, and/or to have another environmental event at their synagogue. Among the many rabbis supporting this initiative are Nathan Lopes ...

Jewish Environmental Teachings Useful for an “Environmental Shabbat”

This year, Earth Day (April 22) falls on a Saturday, providing an excellent opportunity to turn the day into an “Environmental Shabbat.” I am working with others to encourage rabbis all over the world to give sermons and/or classes on that day about Judaism’s splendid environmental teachings and how they can be applied to reduce current environmental threats.        Many relevant Jewish environmental teachings are presented ...

Passover and Vegetarianism and Veganism

Passover and vegetarianism and veganism (veg*ism henceforth)? Can they be related? After all, what is a seder without gefilte fish, chicken soup, chopped liver, chicken, and other meats? And what about the shankbone to commemorate the paschal sacrifice. And doesn't Jewish law mandate that Jews eat meat to rejoice on Passover and other Jewish festivals? Yet, an increasing number of Jews are turning to veg*ism and they are finding ways to celebrate veg*an ...

Parshat Tzav: How Meat Consumption Today Differs from  The Time of the Mishkan (Sanctuary)

And that which is left thereof [from the meal-offering] shall Aaron and his sons eat; it shall be eaten without leaven in a holy place; in the tent of meeting they shall eat it. . . . it is most holy as the sin-offering and the guilt-offering.   Leviticus 6:9.10When the Jewish people were in the wilderness before they entered the land of Israel, the consumption of meat was associated with holiness. Every piece of meat consumed came ...

Applying Passover Messages Can Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet

There are many Passover-related messages that can be applied to help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path: 1. Today’s environmental threats can be compared in many ways to the Biblical ten plagues: * When we consider the threats to our land, water, and air, we can easily enumerate ten modern “plagues.” For example: (1) climate change; (2) depletion of the ozone layer; (3) destruction of tropical rain forests; (4) acid ...

A Vegan View of the Biblical Animal Sacrifices

“Now we come to the great embarrassment.” Those were the opening words of a sermon delivered years ago by an assistant rabbi at the Young Israel of Staten Island, referring to the biblical animal sacrifices discussed in Parshat Vayikra (Leviticus). In his book, Jewish Law as Rebellion: A Plea for Religious Authenticity and Halachic Courage, Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, Dean of the David Cardozo Academy, states: “Does Judaism really need animal ...