444 results for author: Richard Schwartz
Celebrating Miracles: A Chanukah Message
Celebrating Miracles: A Chanukah Message
Daniel Brook, Ph.D. & Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
[A longer version of this article can be found in the holidays’ section at JewishVeg.com/schwartz]
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.
A switch to vegetarianism 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 ...
Connections Between Chanukah and Vegetarianism
Chanukah and Vegetarianism
While few people associate Chanukah with vegetarianism, there are many connections between plant-based diets and the Festival of Lights:
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
1. According to the Book of Maccabees, some Maccabees lived on plant foods to "avoid being polluted like the rest" by eating non-kosher foods, when they hid in the mountains to avoid capture.
2. The foods associated with Channukah, latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried donuts) are vegetarian foods, and the oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the oil used in the lighting of the Menorah in the rededication of the ...
MIRACULOUSLY STRETCHING THE OIL: CHANUKAH AND VEGETARIANISM
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 own use of fuel and other resources.
Like Chanukah’s miraculous extension of scarce resources, vegetarianism 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 ...
Making Hurricane Sandy a Teachable Moment
How to Make Hurricane Sandy a Teachable Moment
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the prime concern of course must be to help the many people who are suffering greatly from its effects.
At the same time we should not miss an opportunity when appropriate to respectfully and cordially increase awareness of the many important lessons related to the monstrous storm. For example:
Climate change can have disastrous consequences. In addition to the tens of millions of people who are greatly suffering due to Hurricane Sandy, please also consider how food prices are spiking because the US corn crop was devastated as almost 2/3 of ...