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
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,
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
The catastrophic effects of Hurricane and now Tropical Storm Harvey should be the latest and strongest of wakeup-calls to the fact that the world is heading toward a climate catastrophe. Of course there have always been severe storms, but we have now had three (Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey) in 13
What People Are Saying about A Sacred Duty “We at CLAL believe that if Judaism is going to be taken seriously by American Jews and for that matter by all Americans, Jewish wisdom needs to contribute to and to add value to the debates at the center of our culture
Below are Links to various aspects related to a July 26 inter-religious climate change forum/press conference at the Jerusalem Press Club on July 26, 2017. Video of the complete event 2. Statement on climate change and the list of 37 Israeli Orthodox rabbis who signed it Statement By Israel Orthodox Rabbis On
It’s a mystery — we lost our Aytzim facebook page and all our facebook friends. So we will be sending out new invites to like our page. In case you have forgotten, we are all about the environment — saving our world. And these days, it has become more important
Tisha B’Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) which we commemorate this year (2017) on July 31 – August 1, reminds us that over 2,000 years ago Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah about the importance of changing their ways, with the result that
President Donald J. Trump has received well-deserved condemnation from leaders of many nations, many governors and mayors, environmentalists, corporate CEOs, Jewish and other religious organisations, and others, for withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Paris climate change pact that was agreed to by all the 195 nations that attended,
There are many connections between vegetarianism and the important Jewish festival of Shavuot: 1. Shavuot is described as “z’man matan Toratenu” (the season of the giving of our law (the Torah). It is this Torah that has in its very first chapter God’s original, strictly vegetarian, dietary regimen: “And God
This article initially appeared in the May 3 Jerusalem Post. I generally find articles by Seth Frantzman to be well-reasoned, insightful, and informative. So I was disappointed and saddened to read his April 25 article, “Plan for, don’t gripe about, climate change,” in which he argues that we should accept
This article initially was published in the May 3 issue of the Jerusalem Post Environmentalists demonstrate near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, as the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) meets, December 12, 2015. (photo credit: REUTERS) ————- I generally find articles by Jerusalem Post op-ed editor Seth
In this hour we, the living [post-Holocaust Jews], are “the people of Israel.” The tasks begun by the patriarchs and prophets and continued by their descendants are now entrusted to us. We are either the last Jews or those who will hand over the entire past to generations to come.
This is chapter 11 of my book, “Who Stole My Religion? Revitalising Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperilled Planet” And the Lord God took the man [Adam] and put him into the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it. – Genesis 2:15 The
This is chapter 2 of my book, “Who Stole My Relgion?” There is no precedent, whether in the European experience or Israel, for the nasty political and ideological writing that has become standard fare in U.S. fervently Orthodox publications, particularly the stream of vituperation directed against the Obama administration and
In this hour we, the living [post-Holocaust Jews], are “the people of Israel.” The tasks begun by the patriarchs and prophets and continued by their descendants are now entrusted to us. We are either the last Jews or those who will hand over the entire past to generations to come.
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
There are many Passover-related messages that can be applied to help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path: 1. Today’s environmental threats can be compared in many ways to the Biblical ten plagues: * When we consider the threats to our land, water, and air, we can easily enumerate ten
Aytzim supports the People’s Climate Movement this April 29th in Washington, D.C. (and across the country) to stand up for our communities and climate. The People’s Climate Movement is organizing a country-wide arc of action, culminating on April 29th in Washington DC in a powerful mobilization to unite all of
The Third Annual Barbara Siegel Memorial Israel Program will be on Sunday, April 2 at 11:00 am at Congregation Or Hadash in Fort Washington, PA. Our speaker, David Krantz, is a National Science Foundation IGERT Fellow and a Wrigley Fellow researching solar-energy policy and faith-based environmentalism. He also runs the environmental
