In a previous article, “What is the Main Cause of Climate Change” (http://jewcology.org/2019/01/capitalism-is-leading-the-world-to-a-climate-catastrophe/), I argued that capitalism’s need for continued growth and maximization of profits, with environmental considerations a secondary consideration, is leading the world toward a climate catastrophe. That we are on a very perilous path is indicated by the increasingly dire reports of climate experts and academies and by the increasing frequency and severity of heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and ...
My 6 articles related to Tu Bishvat are below. You can scroll down to read each one.
1. Why Is This Night Different?: Thoughts on Tu Bishvat
2. Preserving the Sacred Environment: A Religious Imperative – A Tu Bishvat Message
3. Lessons From Trees: a Tu Bishvat Message
4. Celebrating Tu Bishvat as if Environmental Sustainability Matters
5. For Tu Bishvat: 36 Jewish Quotations About Trees
6. Tu Bishvat and Veganism
(Suggestions very welcome)
1. Why Is This Night Different?: Thoughts on Tu Bishvat
One of the highlights of the Passover ...
It is becoming increasingly clear that the world is heading toward a climate catastrophe. Warnings from climate experts are becoming increasingly dire. Recently a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange by 91 of the world’s leading climate experts from 40 countries argued that the world has only until 2030 to make ‘unprecedented changes’ to avert frequent extreme climate events. The Bulletin of Climate Scientists argued that the IPCC report, as frightening as it is, was not sufficiently alarming, because it failed to give sufficient attention to the ...
Parshat Sh’mot begins the story of Moshe (Moses), the greatest Jewish leader, prophet, teacher, and inspiration. It is instructive and important to consider why he was deemed fit to lead the Jewish people. After all, when he was chosen, unlike other leaders, he was not a military hero or leader, a major legislator, or an eloquent speaker - actually he initially had difficulty speaking and he had to rely on his brother Aaron for help in communicating.
So why was he chosen? The following midrash, rabbinic commentary on the bible, provides some insight:...
The pursuit of profit has led to the condition where the great treasures of natural resources are accumulated in the hands of the few individuals who, because of further profits, have brought to tens of millions of human beings pain, hunger and want. Does this not show clearly the wickedness of the present capitalist order, which is in glaring contradiction to the religious ethical tendencies of Judaism? ... The fight for Socialism is the fight for human liberation.... Moral rebirth and not mere economic reconstruction. The fight for Socialism ... must be firstly a fight ...
The greatest threat to humanity today is climate change. The world is on a path that could lead to an uninhabitable world by the end of the century unless major changes soon occur. And it might happen much sooner because of self-reinforcing positive feedback loops (vicious cycles) that could result in an irreversible tipping point when climate change spins out of control.
An outrageous exaggeration, like those in the past that predicted an end to the world? Not according to science academies worldwide, 97% of climate scientists, and virtually all peer-reviewed papers on ...
This post is part three of a three part series on Hanukkah. You can find the first post here and the second post here.
Far from being “hypocrisy” as the New York Times opinion page called it last Sunday, Hanukkah can teach us deeply important lessons for our world. Albert Einstein changed the world, and he knew something about thinking creatively. He famously said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
In these short, dark days of winter, we look back on the past year and see a bleak picture of ...
This post is part two of a three part series on Hanukkah. As we move through this eight day holiday, Rabbi Margalit will be sharing thoughts on the emergent and dynamic aspects of Hanukkah. You can find the first post here.
I wrote in Part One that Hanukkah isn’t mentioned in the Torah, that it is a holiday that was started by us, the people, and it didn’t really focus on God’s explicit miracles but more on the people’s courage in the war against the Greeks and their initiative in declaring this a new holiday. But, hold on! Of course, Hanukkah has miracles! ...
This debate initially appeared in the Jerusalem Post on October 25, 1999, but it is still very relevant today.
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SHOULD JEWS BE VEGETARIANS? A DEBATE
(Richard H.Schwartz, PhD's debate with Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, which appeared years ago in the Jerusalem Report)
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Introduction:
In addition to its benefits for health, animals, and the environment, vegetarianism may be called for by some of Judaism's most cherished tenets. Is it time to reconsider our dietary traditions?
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, Rabbinic Coordinator of the Kashrut ...
This post is part one of a three part series on Hanukkah. As we move through this eight day holiday, Rabbi Margalit will be sharing thoughts on the emergent and dynamic aspects of Hanukkah..
“Emergence is our inheritance as a part of the universe; it is how we change.”
--adrienne marie brown, Emergent Strategy
Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Torah at all. It is the first Jewish holiday created completely by the people (Purim is a kind of hybrid case: Esther and Mordecai declared it a holiday, and they weren’t prophets. But, their scroll, The Scroll of ...
The consumption of meat and other animal products and the ways in which they are produced today conflict seriously 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 diseases.
2. While Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals, most farm animals -- including those raised for kosher ...
There is much evidence that vegetarian diets (and even more so 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 risk of death from heart disease, … [result in] lower low-density ...
"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 their prevention. Medical schools teach that prescription drugs are the most powerful tools doctors have for treating disease; diet and other lifestyle changes are seldom stressed as ...
1. Article by Richard Schwartz: Climate Change: An Existential Threat to the US, Israel, and the World
http://jewcology.org/2018/10/climate-change-an-existential-threat-to-the-u-s-israel-and-the-world/
2. Article about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s October 2018 warning :that the world has until 2030 to make major, unprecedented changes to avert catastrophic climate events by 2040
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-report-2040.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
3. Report in November 2018 from ...
When you heat up a pot of water it will boil when it gets to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. But which of the H²O molecules will be the first to transform into gas form and start to bubble up? That we can’t know. In scientific lingo it’s called a stochastic process: it follows a statistically predictable pattern, but the individual events can’t be precisely predicted.
In recent months my friend, Fordham law professor and political blogger Jed Shugerman, has been writing and tweeting about “stochastic terrorism” (#stochasticterrorism). He defines it as “the public ...
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. 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 ...
My article is co-authored with Daniel Brook, Ph.D.
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, and even more so 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 ...
The evening of November 8 was the first of the month of Kislev, which means Chanukkah (there are many English spellings!) isn't far away - it begins on the 25th of Kislev and ends on the 2nd of the month of Tevet.
During these days, from today until the end of Chanukkah, I invite you to be part of the Chanukkah Chesed Challenge.
Chesed means "kindness," and the idea of the Chanukkah Chesed Challenge is to work consciously, every day, to do one act of chesed, or kindness, to someone you encounter throughout the day. This act should be something that does not ...
We are all devastated and shocked by yesterday’s murders of eleven Jews in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Our hearts go out to the families and Jewish community of Pittsburgh as many of us gather today in vigils and services around the country. Many of us are also gripped by fear as we wonder whether we are safe in this country which we thought was a haven of freedom and security.
Of course, every community will do what it needs to make sure that they feel safe and secure. Sadly, it is likely that many of us will become more wary of strangers, more likely ...
The U.S. mid-term elections could greatly influence the future of the U.S., Israel, and, indeed, the entire world. While it is often said that “elections have consequences,” and every national election is touted as extremely important, in efforts to increase voting, there are reasons why the upcoming election is really especially important, a potential game changer.
Why? The Republicans currently hold the presidency, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court. They have been doing everything they can to retain that power through gerrymandering ...
