407 results for author: Richard Schwartz

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 rain; (5) soil erosion and depletion; (6) loss of biodiversity; (7) water pollution; (8) air pollution; (9) an increase of severity of storms and floods; (10) increased use of pesticides, chemical fertilizer, ...

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 below, but first here are some factors related to the planned Environmental Shabbat.      A list of supporting organizations is at the end of this article.       ...

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 sacrifices? Would it not be better off without them? After all, the sacrificial cult compromises Judaism. What does a highly ethical religion have to do with the collection of blood in vessels and the ...

Making Earth Day 2023 an Environmental Shabbat

Freeing Ourselves at Passover From Diets That Harm Us and the Planet

Many Jews commendably go to extraordinary lengths before and during Passover to avoid certain foods, in keeping with Torah mitzvot. But at the same time, many continue eating other foods that, by Torah standards, are hardly ideal.      On Passover, Jews are prohibited from eating, owning, or otherwise benefiting from chometz, foods such as breads, cakes, and cereals, that are made from one of the five grains (wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and oats) that ferment from contact with liquid. These prohibitions are based on several Torah verses and are observed with great care by religious Jews.      Many Jews spend ...

Purim and Veganism

The joyous festival of Purim shares many connections with veganism.      According to the Talmud (Megilla 13a), Queen Esther, the heroine of the Purim story, refrained from eating meat while she lived in the palace of King Achashveriosh. She was thus able to avoid violating the kosher dietary laws while keeping her Jewish identity secret.      During Purim it is a mitzvah to give mat’not evyonim (charity to poor people). In contrast to these acts of sharing and compassion, animal-based diets involve the feeding of about 70 percent of the grain in the United States and over a third of the ...

Everything you need to know about Tu B’Shvat

by Richard Schwartz 8 articles about Tu B'Shvat: 1. Why Is This Night Different: Thoughts on Tu B’Shvat 2. Tu B'Shvat and Vegetarianism and Veganism 3. Preserving the Sacred Environment: A Religious Imperative – A Tu B'Shvat Message 4. Lessons From Trees: a Tu B'Shvat Message 5. Celebrating Tu B'Shvat as if Environmental Sustainability Matters  6. Lessons From Trees that Can Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet 7. For Tu B'i'Shvat: 36 Jewish Quotations About Trees 8. Questions That Can Be Considered At a Tu B’Shvat Seder ---------------- 1. Why Is This Night Different?: Thoughts on Tu B’Shvat One of the ...

An Open Letter To Rabbis About Climate Threats  

Shalom Rabbi, Over my 88 years, I have had many positive interactions with rabbis. I have been impressed with their inquisitiveness, thoughtfulness, and openness to new ways to interpret and understand our Jewish scriptures. It is because of these and other positive attributes that I have written this open letter appealing to you and other rabbis to come out very strongly against a very common practice in the Jewish community (and others) that violates basic Jewish teachings and is the main reason the world is rapidly approaching a climate catastrophe.      Please consider: Climate experts have issued increasingly dire ...

Should Jews Be Eating Meat Today? A Book Review

  Israeli Rabbi Asa Keisar is on a mission. He wants to increase awareness of Jewish teachings about compassion for animals and how far the realities for animals on modern, intensive factory farms are from these teachings. To accomplish this, he has given away about 35,000 complimentary copies of the Hebrew version of his book, Before the Blind, mostly to students at yeshivas and other schools throughout Israel. Now the book has been published in English and Rabbi Keisar is continuing his efforts to get his book to as many people as possible. He is considered by many as the national voice for veganism in Israel and his many passionate talks about ...

Chanukah and Plant-based Diets 

By Richard Schwartz      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 ...

    How a Climate Catastrophe Can Be Averted

    It is becoming increasingly apparent that the world is rapidly approaching an unprecedented climate catastrophe, so severe that all of human life would be very negatively affected and possibly even eliminated before the end of this century, unless major positive changes soon occur.     This article discusses why the situation is so serious and then the one possibility of averting the catastrophe and shifting our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path.       Climate groups have been issuing increasingly dire warnings of the seriousness of climate threats. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ...

Why Jews Should Not Support Republicans in the US Midterm Elections

There are many reasons why Jews should not support Republican candidates in the potentially very consequential US midterm elections. They include: 1. Republican politicians have become like a cult, supporting former President Trump’s “big lie” that he won the 2020 presidential election and his many other lies, misrepresentations, and conspiracy theories. They contend that Trump won despite the very strong evidence to the contrary, including: (1) all of the pre-election polls, including those conducted by Fox News, showed Joe Biden with major leads, (2) Republican claims of fraud were denied by 61 US judges, including many appointed by ...

Can Climate Change Be a Decisive Issue for Democrats in the US Midterms?

    The many very severe climate events this summer and the increasingly dire warnings of climate experts have made people more aware of the seriousness of climate threats. Yet, polls have shown that the climate issue is way down on the list of people’s concerns when deciding how to vote in the midterm elections.      The Democrats can gain greatly in these very consequential  elections by emphasizing the seriousness of climate threats and why they are likely to soon become far worse and the potential harm if Republicans regain power due to their resistance to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.    ...

Do Republicans Support the Truth or Donald Trump?

Most Republicans running for office in the US midterms are claiming that Donald Trump won the US 2020 presidential election, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. And many other Republicans who may not believe that big lie are supporting politicians who do. Trump constantly repeats his assertion that he won the election and polls indicate that about 70 percent of Republicans believe him.       Democrats running for office can gain significantly by asking their opponents whether or not they believe that Trump won by a landslide, as he has often claimed. Their responses would alienate either hard core Trump supporters or ...

Restoring and Transforming the Ancient Jewish New Year for Animals: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

The conditions under which animals are raised for food today are completely contrary to Jewish teachings about compassion for animals: While Judaism teaches that Jews are to be rachmanim b’nei rachmanim, compassionate children of compassionate ancestors, imitating  God, Whose “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 by pecking from frustration in their very unnatural conditions. Male chicks fare even worse as they are killed almost immediately after birth, since ...

Tisha B’Av and Veganism

There are many connections between the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av and veganism: 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 an irreversible ...

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

Tisha B’Av, which we commemorate this year starting in the evening of August 6, 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, 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.       Today there are no prophets like Jeremiah to issue warnings, but there areincreasingly dire warnings from climate scientists that now it is not just Jerusalem but the entire world that is threatened by climate change. A strong consensus is ...

    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 and threats in Jeremiah’s lifetime and those today that can provide insights that can be valuable in responding to current threats. 1. There are no prophets today like Jeremiah warning of the potential dangers. Instead, we are getting increasingly dire warnings from climate scientists. A ...

Book Review of “Food For Thought: Planetary Healing Begins on Our Plate”

  Food For Thought: Planetary Healing Begins on Our Plate Camilla Perusello, PhD Lantern Publishing and Media 2022.       Food For Thought That Can Heal the Planet      At a time when animal-based diets are contributing very significantly to a potential climate catastrophe and other environmental threats, risks of future pandemics, the very wasteful use of increasingly scarce land, water, energy, and other resources, and the massive mistreatment of farmed animals, Dr. Camila Perussello’s wonderful book, Food for Thought: Planetary Healing Begins on Our Plate, is a very welcome addition to the ...

Can We Avert a Climate Catastrophe?

by Richard Schwartz The most critical issue facing the world today is the possibility of a climate catastrophe that threatens all life on our planet. This article discusses the seriousness of the threats; why they are likely to become far more severe in the future; and what needs to be done to provide a chance to avert the looming catastrophe.      First, it is important to recognize how strong the scientific consensus about climate change is. Science academies worldwide, 97% of climate scientists, and virtually all the peer-reviewed papers on the issue in respected scientific journals agree that climate change is largely caused ...