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A selection of initiatives, blogs, resources and communities on Jewcology which focus on consumption.

Blogs

Honors thesis on the beginnings of Jewish environmental and vegetarian activism in the 1970s and 1980s

Renewing and Recycling: The Formation of American Jewish Environmentalism in the 1970s and 1980s Gabrielle Plotkin Advisor: Keith Woodhouse B.A. Thesis for Honors in History Northwestern University May 3, 2021 ii Abstract Few environmental historians have considered how American Jews interacted with the postwar environmental movement. Those that have, often characterize American Jews as “urban” and separate from nature. However, I demonstrate that American Jewry’s involvement in left-leaning politics and inclination to both ...

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Video of amazing Earth Day teach-in that involved talks by 22 fabulous speakers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ck72NqkUAA      Earth Day teach-in I aranged (on Earth Day, April 22, 2021), which involved 22 fabulous speakers .      The  theme was "Applying Religiouis Values To Help Save the World."      Here is the list of speakers the order of their appearance. Richard Schwartz : President emeritus of Jewish Veg and author of       “Judaism and Vegetarianism”and “Vegan Revolution” Rev. Fletcher Harper: Founder and director of GreenFaith, a  &...

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My Three Shavuot Articles Related To Vegetarianism and Veganism

Below are three Shavuot-related articles. They are: 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 ...

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Unique, potentially transformative Earth Day zoom event scheduled

In commemoration of the 51st Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, there will be a zoom teach-in, with the theme, “Applying Jewish and Other Religion’s Values to Help Save the World.” The teach-in aims to increase awareness of the seriousness of climate and other environmental threats, and the urgency of applying religious Values to help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path. It also aims to initiate the creation of a coalition of veg, animal rights, environmental, and other organizations and individuals that will work together to address the threats, ...

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Jewish quotations about animals

1. God’s original dietary lawAnd God said: "Behold, I have given you every herb-yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit - to you it shall be for food."Genesis 1:29God did not permit Adam and his wife to kill a creature to eat its flesh. Only every green herb shall they all eat together.Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 1:29You are permitted to use the animals and employ them for work, have dominion over them in order to utilize their services for your subsistence, but must not hold their life cheap nor slaughter ...

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Parshat Tzav: How Meat Consumption Today Differs from The Time of the Mishkan (Sanctuary) in the Wilderness

And that which is left thereof [from the meal-offering] shall Aaron and his sons eat; it shall be eaten without leaven in a holy place; in the tent of meeting they shall eat it. . . . it is most holy as the sin-offering and the guilt-offering.    Leviticus 6:9.10When the Jewish people were in the wilderness before they entered the land of Israel, the consumption of meat was associated with holiness. Every piece of meat consumed came from an animal sacrificed in the Mishkan (Sanctuary), an act meant to bring ...

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1,600 word excerpt from my book, VEGAN REVOLUTION, SAVING OUR WORLD, REVITALIZING JUDAISM

 LIVING AS A JEWISH VEGAN In this book, I have attempted to present evidence that the world is in the throes of a climate catastrophe. Selfreinforcing positive feedback loops (vicious cycles) are moving the climate system toward irreversible tipping points. If we fail to act rapidly and decisively, these will bring massive climate disruptions, with calamitous results for all life on Earth.      Because animal agriculture is a major cause of global warming, a shift toward veganism is key to the effort to avert this climate catastrophe. Such a shift is becoming ...

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My three Passover related articles

The titles of the articles are: Freeing Ourselves at Passover From Diets That Hurt Us and the Planet 2. Applying Passover Messages Can Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet 3. Passover and Vegetarianism or Veganism ============= 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, ...

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Complete text of my latest book, VEGAN REVOLUTION: SAVING OUR WORLD, REVITALIZING JUDAISM

“I consider it an honor and a mitzvah to commend Professor Richard Schwartz’s work and all his endeavors to bring Jewish teachings on diet, health, the environment, and related issues to public attention, especially to those of us who seek to lead a religiously observant lifestyle, in keeping with the precepts and goals of the Torah. May his efforts merit Divine blessing and success.”—Rabbi David Rosen, Former Chief Rabbi of Ireland; President for Israel of the International Jewish Vegetarian Society“Few books have ever been more timely or more needed than this ...

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Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal the World: Review of Rabbi Arthur Waskow’s book, “Dancing in God’s Earthquake”

            Dancing in God’s Earthquake: The Coming Transformation of Religion Rabbi Arthur Ocean Waskow Orbis Books, 2020 US $25      I looked forward eagerly to reading Rabbi Arthur Ocean Waskow’s latest book, Dancing in God’s Earthquake, for two reasons. First, as one who has long argued that Jews should be doing far more to apply Jewish teachings in response to current environmental and other threats, I was intrigued by the book’s subtitle, “The Coming Transformation of Religion.”  Second, I have been reading many ...

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Request That People Share PDFs of My Latest Book, VEGAN REVOLUTION: SAVING OUR WORLD, REVITALIZING JUDAISM With Many of Their Contacts

Shalom Please do me a big, important favor that would take you just a few minutes, cost you nothing, and have a potentially transformative positive impact on our imperiled planet/MANY thanks/KOL tuv/Richard (schwartz) Please forward the PDFs of the complete text and the cover picture of my latest book, VEGAN REVOLUTION: SAVING OUR WORLD, REVITALIZING JUDAISM, to all your contacts, or at least those you think would be interested in it,  perhaps along with this message. [You can get the Pdfs by emailing me at VeggieRich@gmail.com.] Also, please consider using ...

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A very comprehensive interview of me about theJewish case for vegetarianism and veganism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR2ZIPT0rrFcL23uC-7N-P9B_aQjKx8FXkxh9gyQO4JUEg6_E7PwBLdEAS8&v=IY85JN0Iifk&feature=youtu.be

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A “Green Sabbath Project” aiming to combat climate threats

A message from Jonathan Schorsch: Dear Friend,I would like to introduce you to my initiative, the Green Sabbath Project (www.greensabbathproject.net).  In brief, the Green Sabbath Project sees a weekly green sabbath or earth day as a day on which we strive to minimize our environmental impact as much as possible -- leaving things alone, “doing nothing” -- based on the biblical command to “do no work of any kind,” which was elaborated in the rabbinic concept of the 39 types of forbidden labors.  Whether commemorated as a secular, spiritual or ...

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Review of my latest book, “Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism,” the 8th review of the book

Vegan Revolution, Saving our World, Revitalizing Judaism by Richard H. Schwartz is primarily directed toward a Jewish audience, but its message is for everyone in the world. In Vegan Revolution, Richard Schwartz proves from both the Hebrew Bible and other texts, and scientific evidence that a vegan lifestyle saves the whole of God's creation, and that it has been God's intent since the beginning. He shows how a vegan livestyle not only saves billions of animals, but also saves human lives by preventing many diseases, and by feeding the hungry of the world, and ...

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Jerusalem Post writeup of my Tu Bishvat activities

■ REGULAR READERS of The Jerusalem Post may have last Friday read the review of the latest book by Richard Schwartz, PhD, Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism. Just in time for Tu Bishvat which is a celebration of nature and its bounty, Schwartz has initiated an international campaign to “Celebrate Tu Bishvat as if Global Survival Matters.” A fervent vegan, Schwartz believes that Tu Bishvat, the most vegan and the most environmental Jewish holiday, should become a Jewish Earth Day and that Tu Bishvat Seders should be used, among other ...

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Article in the next issue of the Jerusalem Report about my Tu Bishvat activities

Celebrating Tu Bishvat as if global survival matters By Abigail Klein Leichman TU BISHVAT, the Jewish new year for trees– beginning this year at sundown on January 27 – has become a sort of Jewish Earth Daycomplete with its own Seder celebrating the produce and wines of the Land of Israel. For environmental and vegan activist Prof. Richard H. Schwartz, Tu Bishvat presents a perfect opportunity to promote plant-based diets and environmental stewardship as expressions of traditional Jewish values. The retired college professor plans to lead a Tu Bishvat ...

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My review of the recently published book, “Animal Agriculture is Immoral,” published in Animals 24-7

Black Health Matters

Black lives do indeed matter and we stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. It is essential to end police brutality and all other forms of white supremacy, institutionalized racism, and systemic injustice against Blacks and other people of color, who have been disproportionately victimized, including in terms of disease, health, and healthcare. Because Black lives matter, Black health matters. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who described racism as “maximum hate for minimum reason” with the “maximum of cruelty for a minimum of ...

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My Latest Interview

I and Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz are interviewed by Carissa Kranz of BeVeg on my latest book, "Vegan Revolutioin: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism, and much more.https://www.facebook.com/JaneVelezMitchell/videos/402027970860234/

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Latest Review of My Book, VEGAN REVOLUTION: “Jewish Scholar Pens Book About a Vegan Revolution in Israel.”

Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., the president emeritus of Jewish Veg and president of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians, has written a new book, Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism. It explains how Jewish laws pertain to animal rights issues and will surely appeal to Jewish people and anyone with an interest in theology or animal rights. The book is very positive, especially the section about the growing popularity of vegan living around the world. It thoroughly delves into many topics, from factory farms and slaughter...

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