408 results for tag: Climate Change

Questions and Answers Re Judaism and Vegetarianism

This is chapter 7 of the 3rd edition of my book, "Judaism and Vegetarianism." The complete text can be found at www.JewishVeg.org/schwartz. ----------------- I keep six honest serving men, They taught me all I knew; Their names are what, and why, and when, And where, and how, and who. (Rudyard Kipling) DON’T JEWS HAVE TO EAT MEAT TO HONOR THE Sabbath and to rejoice on Jewish holidays? Rabbi Yehuda Ben Batheira, the Talmudic sage, states that the obligation to eat meat for rejoicing only applied at the time when the Holy Temple was in existence.1 He adds that after the destruction of the Temple one can rejoice with wine. Based on this, ...

Judaism, Vegetarianism, and the Environment

This posting is from the 2001 3rd edition of my book, "Judaism and Vegetarianism." The complete text of the book can be freely read online, along with my over 250 related articles at www.JewishVeg.org/schwartz . ------------------- THERE ARE MANY FUNDAMENTAL TORAH PRINCIPLES that express and make concrete the biblical concept: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalms 24:1). 1. People are to be co-workers with God in helping to preserve and improve the world. The Talmudic sages assert that the role of humanity is to enhance the world as “co-partners of God in the work of creation.”1 There is a midrash ...

Animal-based Diets are Madness and Sheer Insanity

While vegetarians and vegans have truth, morality, justice, and other positive values on our side, that our case is rooted in basic Jewish teachings because animal-based diets and agriculture sharply violate at least six basic Jewish values, the Jewish community continues to generally ignore the issues and refuses to engage in dialogs and debates on “Should Jews Be Vegetarians or vegans?” As is well known, it is unlawful to shout “FIRE” in a crowded theater. EXCEPT if there really is a fire. And there is increasing evidence that the world is burning today, rapidly approaching an unprecedented catastrophe from global warming and other ...

Judaism and Climate Change

This posting is from chapter 10 of the 2nd edition of my book, "Judaism and Global Survival." While it was initially written about 16 years ago, I am posting it for its historical value, the concepts and ideas are still valid, and it has some insights that are relevant and seldom considered today. ------------ "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29: 18 Global climate change may be the most critical problem the world will face in the next few decades.There is a growing scientific consensus that we are already experiencing the effects of global warming, and that human actions are playing a significant role.[i] Global average ...

Jewish Teachings on Energy

This posting is chapter 9 of the 2nd edition of my book, "Judaism and Global Survival." While written in 2011, 16 years ago, it is perhaps even more relevant today as it makes a strong case that the Jewish approach to energy is CARE, conservation and renewable energy, an approach that can help slow or reverse climate change and other environmental threats. --------------- "A generation goes and a generation comes but the earth endures forever. And the sun rises and the sun sets -- then to its place it rushes;  there it rises again. It goes toward the south and veers toward  the north. The wind goes round and round, and on its rounds the wind ...

Relating Parshat Noach to Climate Change Threats

There are many lessons from Parshat Noach (Noah) that can be applied in response to today's climate crisis. Noach built an ark for 120 years but people did not believe that a catastrophic flood was coming. After all, why would anyone believe a crazy idea from a seemingly obsessed, delusional person when there was no other warning or indication of an impending flood? Today, we do not have a Noach, or a Jeremiah, who also had no success in warning people to change there ways in order to avoid destruction, and, to the best of my knowledge, nobody has been building an ark. But we do have science academies worldwide, an estimated 97 percent of climate ...

Jewish Teachings on Ecology

This post is chapter 4 of the 1982 second edition of my book,"Judaism and Global Survival." The complete text can be read freely at www.JewishVeg.org/schwartz, where I also have over 250 articles. Comments and suggestions always welcome. . ============ "In the hour when the Holy one, blessed be He, created the first human being (Adam), He took him and let him pass before all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: 'See my works, how fine and excellent they are! All that I have created, for you have I created them. Think upon this and do not dispoil and destroy My world, For if you do, there is no one to set it right after you.' ...

Jewish teachings on Involvement and Protest

This material is chapter one from my book, "Judaism and Global Survival" "Whoever is able to protest against the transgressions of his own family and does not do so is punished [liable, held responsible] for the transgressions of his family. Whoever is able to protest against the transgressions of the people of his community and does not do so is punished for the transgressions of his community. Whoever is able to protest against the transgressions of the entire world and does not do so is punished for the transgressions of the entire world." Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 54b Judaism urges active involvement in issues facing society. A Jew must ...

A Dialogue Between a Jewish Vegetarian Activist and a Rabbi

  For a long time, I have been trying to start a respectful dialogue in the Jewish community. Because I have had very little success, I am presenting the fictional dialogue below. I hope that many readers will use it as the basis of similar dialogues with local rabbis, educators, and community leaders. Jewish Vegetarian Activist: Shalom rabbi. Rabbi: Shalom. Good to see you. JVA: Rabbi, I have been meaning to speak to you for some time about an issue, but I have hesitated because I know how busy you are, but I think this issue is very important. Rabbi: Well, that sounds interesting. I am never too busy to consider important ...

Sukkot and Vegetarianism

by Richard Schwartz, Ph.D. ~The Sukkot holiday, including Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, is known as the "Season of Rejoicing", because people's worries about the success of the harvest are over. Since one must be in good health in order to fully rejoice, the many health benefits of vegetarian diets and the knowledge that such diets are less harmful than animal-based diets to the environment, hungry people, and animals are factors that can enhance rejoicing. There are many other connections that can be made between vegetarianism and these joyous Jewish festivals: 1. Sukkot commemorates the 40 years when the ancient Israelites lived in ...

Yom Kippur and Vegetarianism and Veganism

by Richard Schwartz, Ph.D. ~Yom Kippur, the culmination of the Aseret Y’mei Teshuva (the Ten Days of Repentance) that begins on Rosh Hashanah, is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. On this day, Jews refrain completely from food and water and spend many hours in synagogues, examining their deeds, vowing to repent for past transgressions, and seeking God’s blessings for a coming year of good health and positive outcomes. Yet, after Yom Kippur, most Jews return to animal-based diets that are arguably inconsistent with the values of Yom Kippur and Judaism in general. Please consider: 1.  On Yom Kippur, Jews pray to the "Living God," ...

Our 2017 (5777) Collection of Earth Etudes for Elul

Introduction by Susan Levine~ Elul is the month before Rosh Hashanah, a time when we review our lives and think about how we will live the coming year. And during Elul this year, we have seen three category 4 hurricanes (Harvey, Irma, and Maria) wreak havoc in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and several other Caribbean islands. The scientists have blamed increased ocean temperatures for the high winds and rising floodwaters. What other evidence do we need to believe that climate change is real? Our earth etudes actually connect our earth with the spirit of Judaism--Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. We would like to thank Rabbi Katy Z. Allen for ...

The Human Impacts on Global Warming

Global Warming is perhaps the biggest concern our generation is experiencing. Its’ effects are obviously frightening and dramatically urgent. Even though often debated in global politics and the media, we can’t deny that the causes and effects of global warming are real, global and calculable. Global warming is primarily a problem of excess of  carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere—which acts as a blanket or a cloak, by trapping heat and warming the planet. As we burn fossil fuels for energy or cut down and burn forests to create pastures and plantations, carbon gathers and stacks up in our atmosphere. Certain waste management and agricul...

Rosh Hashanah Message: Is God’s ‘Very Good’ World Approaching an Unprecedented Climate Catastrophe? Richard H. Schwartz Rosh Hashanah commemorates God’s creation of the world. The “Ten Days of Repentance” from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is a period to evaluate our deeds and to do teshuvah (repentance) for cases where we have missed the mark. Sukkot is a holiday in which we leave our fine houses and live in temporary shelters (sukkahs) to commemorate our ancestors journey in the wilderness. Hence, the upcoming weeks provide an excellent time to consider the state of the planet’s environment and what we might do to make sure that ...

Inconsistencies Between Animal-Based Diets and Rosh Hashanah-Related Teachings

Rosh Hashanah is the time when Jews take stock of their lives and consider new beginnings. Perhaps the most significant and meaningful change that Jews should consider this year is a shift away from diets that have been having devastating effects on human health and the health of our increasingly imperiled planet. While many Jews seem to feel that the holiday's celebration can be enhanced by the consumption of chopped liver, gefilte fish, chicken soup, and roast chicken, there are many inconsistencies between the values of Rosh Hashanah and the realities of animal-centered diets: 1. While Jews ask God on Rosh Hashanah for a healthy year, non-veg...

Earth Etude for Elul 19 – Keeping Agreements as a Spiritual Practice

by Rabbi David Jaffe~ I am a people pleaser. On the surface that may sound just fine. I get along well with people, care about people and want to give them what they want. But the motivations for my people pleasing reveal its dark underside. I don’t like conflict, so I will do whatever is necessary to make sure people like me. For example, I will say yes to things I know I will never do, sacrificing my integrity to avoid the momentary discomfort and hard feelings of saying no. I am not sharing this publicaly to self-flagellate. Rather, my own condition is instructive for many people because these patterns of behavior are not of my own ...

Rosh Hashanah: A Time to Start Shifting Our Imperiled Planet Onto a Sustainable Path

Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of the creation of the world, is a good time to assess how we are doing in fulfilling our mandated role of being co-workers with God in preserving the environment. When God created the world, He was able to say, "It is very good." (Genesis 1:31) Everything was in harmony as God had planned, the waters were clean, and the air was pure. But what must God think about the world today? What must God think when the rain God provided to nourish our crops is often acid rain, due to the many chemicals emitted into the air by industries and automobiles; when the abundant fertile soil God provided is quickly being eroded; ...

Earth Etude for Elul 16 – Ram in the Bushes

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen~ And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham;” and he said, “Hineni, here I am.” And he said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you.” (Gen. 22:1-2) We are being tested.  But not by G!d.  We are being tested by the world in which we live.  We are being tested by the actions of humans past and present.  We are being tested by the changing climate. We are being tested by the racism built into our institutions, our ...

An Acclaimed Documentary That Can Help Save the World”

Our planet is imperiled as perhaps never before by climate change and other environmental threats. It is urgent that steps be taken immediately to avoid the unprecedented catastrophe toward which the world is rapidly heading. Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA), now named Jewish Veg, has produced a major documentary about how Jewish teachings can help address current environmental crises. While this one-hour documentary -- entitled "A SACRED DUTY: Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal the World" -- is especially suitable for synagogues, temples, JCCs, Jewish schools and other Jewish institutions, its universal message also makes it approp...

Earth Etude for Elul 5 – Where Are We Going

  by Thea Iberall, Ph.D. A while ago, I started writing a book that contained everything I had learned about love, life, Jewish ethics, and about making peace with the past. And I made up a science fiction world of bad things happening. And one day, my sister Norrie said, “You don’t have to make it up. There’s bad things happening already.” I asked what she meant. She sat me down in front of her computer screen and showed me some charts. How the carbon dioxide is rising and with it the temperature in the air and in the oceans. She showed me how the waters are rising and how droughts are getting worse. I reached my finger up to the ...