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A selection of initiatives, blogs, resources and communities on Jewcology which focus on animals.
Blogs
Earth Etude for Elul 28 – Not One
- September 7, 2018
by David Greenstein~ There is not one blade of grass on earth without its angel descending from above, prodding it urgently: “Grow, grow!”* And, in return, the grass keeps growing. There is not one lion on earth without its angel descending from above, prodding it urgently, “Roar, roar!” And, in return, the lion keeps roaring. There is not one stream on earth without its angel descending from above, prodding it urgently, “Flow, flow!” And, in return, the stream keeps flowing. There is not one bee on earth without its angel descending from above, ...
Earth Etude for Elul 25 – The Hawk and the Kippah
- September 4, 2018
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by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen~ For the past 13 years since my ordination, I have been wearing a rainbow kippah. The kippah and its pattern hold many meanings for me: connection to family, covenant with G!d, hope for the future, acceptance of all kinds of people (including myself), and more. Periodically, I have had to make a new kippah, when the previous one wore out. Recently, when I again needed to make a new kippah, as I thought about it, I realized that I wanted to make this new kippah slightly different from all my previous rainbow kippot. I crocheted the first few ...
Earth Etude for Elul 21 – Choose Life! Whose Life?
- August 31, 2018
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by Rabbi David Seidenberg~ Every year before Rosh Hashanah we read the ultimate Torah portion about t’shuvah, returning to God, called parshat Nitzavim. Every year we are reminded that if we turn toward God, then God will circumcise our hearts. And every year, in a section of Nitzavim that Reform congregations also read on Rosh Hashanah, we are admonished, “Choose life!,” even as we pray to be inscribed in the Book of Life. How do we choose Life? A few weeks before Rosh Hashanah, in parshat Ki Teitzei, we are given concrete instruction. “When a bird’s ...
My articles on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot
- August 29, 2018
I am posting this material involving articles related to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot relatively early for the following reasons: 1 I hope that readers will use the material to create their own articles and letters and/or talking points for radio call-in programs and for other activities; 2 I plan to send the material to the Jewish media soon, and would welcome any suggestions you might have for improvements; 3 I often receive messages re kapporot (kapporus) ceremonies when it is too late to respond effectively, so I wanted the articles on that rite ...
My Two Environmental Essays Related to the Hebrew Month of Elul
- August 26, 2018
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Elul: A Time to Start Shifting Our Imperiled Planet onto a Sustainable Path Elul is here. It represents an opportunity for heightened introspection, a chance to consider teshuva, changes in our lives, before the “Days of Awe,” the days of judgment, the “High holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The shofar is blown every morning (except on Shabbat) in synagogues during the month of Elul to awaken us from slumber, to remind us to consider where we are in our lives and to urge us to consider positive changes. How should we respond to Elul ...
Earth Etude for Elul 14 – The Earth Is on Fire — And the Torah Tells Us What to Do About It
- August 24, 2018
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by Jeffrey Cohan- This summer, our precious Earth has been burning. Catastrophic wildfires have ravaged their way across several California counties. One of the fires is the largest ever in the state. In Colorado, four massive wildfires have consumed a total of almost 250,000 acres. All four rank among the Top 10 largest conflagrations in the state’s history. Even in Sweden, of all places, 50 wildfires have broke out this summer, including at least one above the Arctic Circle. Sweden is so unaccustomed to such calamities, the country doesn’t own a ...
Earth Etude for Elul 12 – The Sh’ma
- August 22, 2018
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The Sh’ma, A Jewish Invocation of the Unity: An Interpretation for the 21st Century by Rabbi Arthur Waskow~ [This might best be recited paragraph by paragraph, each one read by a member of the community until the last line, which everyone says together.] Sh’sh’sh’ma Yisra’el – Hush’sh’sh and Listen, You Godwrestlers – Pause from your wrestling and hush’sh’sh To hear -- YyyyHhhhWwwwHhhh/ Yahhhhhh. Hear in the stillness the still silent voice, The silent breathing that intertwines life; YyyyHhhhWwwwHhhh / Yahhhh elohenu B...
Earth Etude for Elul 8 – The Silence of the Frogs: Environmental Confession
- August 18, 2018
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by Rabbi Lawrence Troster~ Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are traditionally called the Ten Days of Repentance. Part of the Jewish concept of repentance is the act of confession, the Vidui. We confess publicly rather than privately, and in general terms rather than in specifics, because it allows everyone to confess without shame or embarrassment. It also binds the sins of one person to that of the whole community so that all take responsibility. While Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) said that we are only to confess in specific terms for sins between one person and ...
Earth Etude for Elul 5 – In Regard to Feathers
- August 15, 2018
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by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen~ For many years I collected feathers. Walking along the trails, near my home or far away, whenever I spotted a feather, I brought it home. Together with rocks, shells, bits of wood, and other nature memorabilia, they helped to create a sense of the outdoors inside. The feathers meant a lot to me. Then one day, while trying to identify a feather my granddaughter had found, I stumbled inadvertently across a government website with information about feathers. I learned that it is illegal in the United States to collect feathers. The reason ...
Earth Etude for Elul 1 – A Pilgrimage to Honor the Earth
- August 11, 2018
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by Rabbi Moshe Givental~ Over a decade ago now, I was sitting in a Parshah HaShavua (weekly Torah Portion) class and my teacher asked the following question: Why are human beings called ADAM in our holy Torah? ADAMAH, after all, is our Hebrew word for the Earth. So ADAM would mean something like Earth-ling. However, human beings are no more from the earth than any other life on our majestic planet. When we name something, we pick a name to highlight some unique quality of that being before us. Names are not chosen at random. Rabbi Yehoshua Karsh then paused for a ...
Summary of my key activities to promote veganism during the two years I have been living in Israel
- August 7, 2018
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Shalom, I would like to update you on some of the things I have been doing to promote veganism in the now two years that I have been living in Israel, with the hope that it might inspire others to take similar actions. With many of the areas of my involvement I have added a suggestion of how it could be applied more widely to break through the current widespread denial, apathy, misinformation, and resistance and help get veganism and related issues onto the Jewish agenda.I am sorry that this message is very long but I hope the examples and suggestions I include make it ...
Four articles advocating restoring and transforming the ancient New Year for Animals
- August 5, 2018
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by Richard Schwartz Shalom, The ancient New Year for Animals falls on Rosh Chodesh Elul, (on August 11 - 12 in 2018). Included below are my 4 articles on why the holiday should be restored into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Judaism’s compassionate teachings on animals and why these teachings should be applied to reduce current abuses of animals. The titles of the four articles are: Why an Ancient Jewish Holiday Should Be Restored and transformed. An Auditious Initiative to Restore the Ancient New Year for Animals An ...
Ten Ways to Help Create a Vegan-Conscious World
- July 18, 2018
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Eating meat and other animal products is destroying the planet, ruining our health, mistreating billions of farmed animals, and contributing to hunger and the wasteful use of water, energy, and other valuable natural resources. Despite the increasing need for a shift toward veganism to counteract the present epidemic of diseases and the many environmental threats caused by the production and consumption of animal products, progress has been relatively slow. It is time for a consideration of new strategies to promote veganism more effectively. The ten ideas suggested ...
Two Articles Relating Tisha B’Av to Current Environmental Issues and Threats
- July 17, 2018
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1. Relating Tisha B'Av to Today’s Environmental Crises Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) which we commemorate in 2018 on July 21 - 22, reminds us that over 2,000 years ago Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, with the result that the first Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed--the first of many negative things that occurred on that day, including the destruction of the second Temple as well. Today there is no Jeremiah or other prophet, but it is thousands of climate exerts warning us that now ...
Acclaimed documentary, “A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet,” to be shown in Jerusalem
- July 1, 2018
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Please forward the message below to Israelis you know who might be interested. Thanks. If you have not yet seen the documentary mentioned or haven’t seen it in many years, I strongly suggest you see it and consider how you might use it to promote veganism in Jewish communities. A complimentary DVD will be sent to you if you would like to arrange a showing. You can freely see the one-hour video at www.ASacredDuty.com or by going to You Tube and searching for A Sacred Duty. Thanks. Kol tuv, Richard ======== Thursday July 5th Gathering and ...
My challenge to Chabad, the Lubavitch chasidic movement
- June 11, 2018
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I recently completed a Chabad course, 'Faith and Food,' which discussed how to sanctify eating. I was very disappointed because the moral and halachic (Jewish law) issues related to the production and consumption of meat and other animal-sourced foods were not addressed. I felt that Chabad missed a great opportunity. So I posted the message below when asked to evaluate the course: Kol hakavod to Chabad, Rabbi Kaplan and everyone else involved in preparing and presenting this course. However, as president emeritus of Jewish Veg, formerly Jewish Vegetarians of North ...
Three Shavuot Articles Related to Vegetarianism
- May 3, 2018
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~Please feel free to share these articles widely. Thanks. By Richard Schwartz. A Shavuot Message: Applying Torah Values To Our Diets Since Shavuot is z'man matan Torateinu (the commemoration of the giving of the Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai), many dedicated religious Jews admirably stay up the entire first night of Shavuot to hear talks about and discuss Torah teachings. Among these Torah teachings are that Jews should preserve human health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, ...
Summary of my efforts to help revitalise Judaism and heal the world
- May 1, 2018
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Below is a summary of my writings and activities that aim to revitalise judaism and help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path.They are based on my strong belief that Jewish values can make major differences and are needed perhaps more than ever before. I welcome your comments and suggestions and would be very happy if you would join in my efforts and/or suggest others who might be interested in doing so. The second edition of my book, “Judaism and Global Survival,” can be freely read at www.jewishVeg.org/schwartz. It discusses ...
Three Updated Passover-Related Articles
- March 18, 2018
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1. Freeing Ourselves at Passover from diets that hurt us and the Planet. 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 ...
What People Are Saying About My Book, “Who Stole My Religion?”
- February 11, 2018
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The many endorsements below are included to show that it is not just the author, but many other people also - including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist Jews, as well as Christians, and Muslims - who think their religion has been "stolen" by right-wing politics, but who still believe that compassionate religious values have relevance to current crises. Provision of a blurb here does not imply that the person who provided it agrees with everything in my book. However, it is hoped that the voices of the people who submitted the statem...
