447 results for author: Richard Schwartz

Outline for a New Year for Animals (Aleph b’Elul) Seder

The Seder will be divided into four parts. Each part will end with the drinking of a cup of grape juice or wine and the eating of a vegan food. If conducted via Zoom, drinking and eating would be optional and up to each participant. Since the entire Seder should be about 90 minutes, each of the four parts should be about 20 minutes, leaving some time for opening and closing statements by the moderator. Thus, the moderator should decide which quotations should be read and discussed. The Seder will start with a brief introduction by the moderator. Part 1 consists of the reading by the participants of some of the following Jewish quotations about ...

My three articles about a Zoom event that aims to restore and transform the ancient New Year for Animals as part of a campaign to increase awareness that shifts to plant-based diets are essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe and will be honoring me

Longtime Vegan To Be Honored For 50 Years of Activism Richard H. Schwartz, PhD, is to be honored for his 50 years of activism promoting vegetarianism and veganism, animal rights, and environmental sustainability by Jewish Veg and Jewish Initiative for Animals, two organizations dedicated to helping make Jewish institutions and individuals more plant-based . He taught at the College of Staten Island from 1970 until 1999.  While there he created a unique course, Mathematics and the Environment, in order to motivate liberal arts/non-science students in their study of mathematics in a course they needed to take as a graduation requirement. He ...

My three Tisha B’Av-related articles

Relating Tisha B’Av To Today’s Environmental Crises 2. A Tisha B’Av Message: Will We Fail To Heed the Warnings Again? 3. Tisha B’Av and Veganism and Vegetarianism ----------------- 1. Relating Tisha B'Av to Today’s Environmental Crises                         Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av), which we commemorate this year on August 12 -13, reminds us that over 2,600 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 many negative events that ...

Ways of Commemorating and Celebrating Rosh Hashanah LaBeheimot

 Ways of Commemorating and Celebrating Rosh Hashanah LaBeheimot Since we are trying to restore an ancient holiday and transform it from its original purpose of tithing animals for sacrifices, there is no single established way to commemorate it. Hopefully, different Jewish congregations, schools, community centers, and families will adapt approaches that best suit them, as the restored holiday continues to be developed. I would very much welcome learning about people’s ideas and experiences (at VeggieRich@gmal.com), so that the later editions of this book will be more helpful in guiding people in planning and carrying out future commemora...

Complete text of my eBook, “Restoring and Transforming the Ancient Jewish New Year for Animals: An Idea Whose Time Has Come”

Restoring and Transforming the Ancient Jewish New Year for Animals: An Idea Whose Time Has Come Richard H. Schwartz, President Emeritus, Jewish Veg Messages of Support from Rabbis and Other Jewish Leaders About Renewing the New Year for Animals and About This Book Restoring and adapting an ancient Jewish holiday to modern practice may seem insurmountable, but many Jews today believe it is possible. As Thomas Paine wrote: “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” The following rabbis and activists not only believe it can be done, but also wholeheartedly endorse the process. Lists of supporting Jewish ...

All About Shavuot: 3 articles

by Richard Schwartz, PhD 1. A Shavuot Message: Time to Apply Torah Values To Our Diets 2. Dialogue on Shavuot Night About Veganism 3. Shavuot and Vegetarianism and Veganism ============= A Shavuot Message: Time to Apply Torah Values To Our Diets  Shavuot is "z'man matan Torateinu,” the time of the giving of the Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. To honor the Torah, many dedicated religious Jews admirably stay up the entire first night of Shavuot to hear talks about and discuss Torah teachings. Yet, despite this commendable dedication, I believe that Jews, including most religious ones, are ignoring or not properly ...

Passover 2024 and Earth Day

           This year, the start of Passover and the annual Earth Day occur on April 22nd. Hence, this is an excellent time to consider environmental messages related to Passover and the events and concepts associated with the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt: 1. Today's environmental threats can be compared in many ways to the Biblical ten plagues: When considering the threats to our land, water, and air, we can easily enumerate ten modern “plagues." For example, (1) climate change, (2) deforestation, (3) increasing droughts, (4) widening deserts, (5) soil erosion and depletion, (6) loss of biodiversity (7) water pollution, (8) ...

Celebrating Passover As If Global Survival Matters

As I write this in early April 2024, the war is raging in Gaza. Hence, our main focus must be on the devastation of Hamas, bringing all the hostages home safely, and reducing antisemitism. However, we should also address climate threats since they are an existential threat to the US, Israel, and entire world. March  2024 was declared the hottest March in recorded history, making it the tenth consecutive month to break a temperature record! The last nine years were the hottest since temperature records were widely recorded. This has resulted in a substantial increase in the frequency and severity of heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and ...

Announcement of 90th Birthday Celebration for Richard Schwartz

The Judaism of Richard A Study Evening Celebrating Prof. Richard Schwartz's 90th birthday Tuesday, April 9th (Aleph B'Nisan), 7:30 pm Israeli time, 12:30 PM US Eastern time 8 Balfour Street, Jerusalem. With speakers Rabbi David Rosen, Professor Yael Shemesh, Rabbi Adam Frank and Prof. Richard Schwartz himself. "Judaism and Vegetarianism," "Judaism and Global Survival," "Vegan Revolution," and "Who Stole My Religion" are just some of the books by pioneering Jewish scholar Richard Schwartz. He also has over 300 articles at Jewish-Vegan.org. For decades Prof. Schwartz has been a leading voice advancing Jewish responses to our ...

Review of “Replenish the Earth” by Lewis Regenstein

There is an apparent contradiction between two verses in Psalms: "The earth is the Lord's" (Ps. 24:1) and "The heavens are the heavens of God, but the earth has given by God to human beings" (Ps. 115:16). According to the Talmud, the apparent discrepancy is cleared up in the following way: Before a person says a b'racha (a blessing), before he/she acknowledges God's ownership of the land and its products, then "the earth is the Lord's"; after a person has said a b'racha, acknowledging God's ownership and that we are stewards to see that God's works are properly used and shared, then "the earth has been given by God to human beings."Unfortunately, few ...

Celebrating Purim As If Global Survival Matters

As I write this in mid-March 2024, the war is raging in Gaza. Hence, our primary focus must be on the devastation of Hamas, bringing all the hostages home safely, and reducing antisemitism. However, we should also address climate threats since they are an existential threat to the  US, Israel, and, indeed, the entire world.     February was declared the hottest February worldwide in recorded history, making it the ninth consecutive month to break a temperature record. The last nine years were the hottest since temperature records were widely recorded. This has resulted in a substantial increase in the frequency and severity of heatwav...

Purim Lessons That Can Help Save Our Imperiled Planet

     Megillat Esther, which is read twice on Purim,  tells how the Jews of ancient Persia were threatened with extinction and how they were miraculously saved. Today, it is the entire world that is threatened by climate change, and we have to find a way to avert an unprecedented catastrophe.      In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an organization composed of climate experts from many countries, warned that “unprecedented changes” were needed by 2030 for the world to have a chance to avert a climate catastrophe. Despite that warning, in May 2022 it was announced that atmospheric ...

Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

                          A Purimshpiel       Reb Henna taught: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Clearly, the chicken.  How do we know this?  We learn from the Book of Esther that when Mordecai asked Esther to go before King Ahashveros to plead for the Jewish people, she was 'chicken,' fearing for her life. Only when Mordecai 'Egged' her on, telling her that perhaps she was enabled to be queen for just this EGGcelent purpose, did she muster the courage and 'scrambled' to appear before the king."     Reb Roosta said, "Speaking of birds, I heard that a ...

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 ...

How not being vegan makes war more likely

by Richard Schwartz Article in the Jerusalem Post--January 28, 2024 Tu Bishvat, the New Year for Trees, celebrated on January 25 this year, has many environmental connections. It is the most vegan Jewish holiday, since all the traditional foods at Tu Bishvat seders are vegan. The values of Tu Bishvat conflict dramatically with modern animal-based agriculture. Almost all of the 80 billion farmed animals slaughtered annually experience horrible lives on factory farms. Producing meat also has very negative environmental effects, and these greatly increase the chances for war in at a least two ways. How eating meat can increase the chances ...

My Eight Articles About Many Aspects of Tu Bishvat

Tu Bishvat is the New Year for Trees. It honors trees, fruits and other aspects of nature. It is a Jewish holiday that is typically vegetarian or vegan as nuts and fruits are eaten as part of the ritual. To learn more take a look at the eight articles that follow: 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 Bishvat Message 4. Lessons From Trees: a Tu Bishvat Message 5. Celebrating Tu Bishvat as if Environmental Sustainability Matters  6. Lessons From Quotations About Trees that Can ...

3 Ways to Celebrate Chanukah

(NOTE: A vegetarian diet is mostly vegetables, fruits, grains, beans (i.e. tofu) and nuts but no meat, poultry or fish. A vegetarian may eat dairy products and eggs. A vegan diet usually eliminates all dairy products and eggs. How a person eats can be changed gradually; for example you can start by trying one vegetarian day a week and when you feel comfortable, you can add more. There are many resources for vegetarian meals--see the end of this article for the link to Meatless Monday website)** Think about the connection between Chanukah and a Vegetarian/Vegan Diet      Many connections can be made between vegetarianism and ...

Is Eating Meat and Other Animal Products Halachically Justifiable Today?

Based on increasingly dire warnings from climate experts and a significant increase in the frequency and severity of  climate events, it is clear that the world faces great danger from climate change. As discussed below, averting a climate catastrophe depends very much on a major societal shift to plant-based diets. That would be helped significantly if rabbis declared that eating meat and other animal products is halachically unjustifiable today. Based on Jewish teachings, there are at least six halachic reasons for rabbis to do this:                                                                 1. While ...

Dvar Torah for Parshat Ki Taitzi: Can Compassion to a Bird Help Bring Moshiach?

  If you come across a bird's nest on any tree or on the ground, and it contains baby birds or eggs, then, if the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with her young. You must first chase away the mother, and only then may take the young. (Deuteronomy 22:6- 7) What is the reason for this unusual mitzvah? Maimonides argues that we send away the mother bird to teach us compassion. He insists that animal mothers, just as human mothers, suffer when their offspring are harmed. In Part 3, Chapter 48 of the Guide to the Perplexed, Maimonides writes: As far as pain is concerned, there is no real ...

     Applying Religious Teachings To Reduce Abuses of Animals

                                Review of Animal Theologians     Animal Theologians, edited by long time British animal rights activists Andrew and Clair Linzey, has the potential to help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path. Why? It can help move people, especially religious ones, to plant-based diets at a time when the world is rapidly heading inward a climate catastrophe and a major societal change to such diets is essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe.          Such a shift would sharply reduce ...