Joyce D’Silva’s book Animal Welfare in World Religion; Teaching and Practice points out an anomaly that is the main reason that the world is rapidly approaching a climate catastrophe and facing other environmental threats. While about 80 percent of the world’s people belong to a religion and these religions have
Because of the increasingly dire warnings of climate experts that climate change may soon reach an irreversible tipping point, the significant increase in the frequency and severity of heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, floods, and other climate-related events, and the failure so far of governments and other institutions to make
Food For Thought: Planetary Healing Begins on Our Plate Camilla Perusello, PhD Lantern Publishing and Media 2022. Food For Thought That Can Heal the Planet At a time when animal-based diets are contributing very significantly to a potential climate catastrophe and other environmental threats, risks
by Richard Schwartz The most critical issue facing the world today is the possibility of a climate catastrophe that threatens all life on our planet. This article discusses the seriousness of the threats; why they are likely to become far more severe in the future; and what needs to be
by Richard Schwartz Take a look at the following 3 articles: 1. Freeing Ourselves at Passover From Diets That Hurt Us and the Planet 2. How Applying Passover Messages Can Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet 3. Passover and Vegetarianism or Veganism ============= 1. Freeing Ourselves at Passover From Diets That
There is increasing evidence that animal-based diets are causing an epidemic of life-threatening diseases, contributing to climate change and other environmental threats to humanity, and having other negative effects. Despite the increasing need for a shift toward veganism to counteract these problems, progress has been relatively slow. It is time
Some Jews commendably go to extraordinary lengths 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 far from ideal. On Passover, Jews are prohibited from eating, owning,
Shalom dear Rabbis, Because of your collective wisdom, dedication to Jewish values, and valuable contacts, you are in a position to help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path. This would help leave a decent, habitable, environmentally sustainable world for future generations. To paraphrase Mordechai’s plea to
The French writer Victor Hugo famously wrote, “Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come.” Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers, through very insightful essays by dedicated vegan activists, provides many reasons why the time has come for a societal shift to veganism. These include: * There
When 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 the worshiper closer to God. The word korban
This article was originally published in the February 18, 2022 Jerusalem Post There is a widely accepted aspect of modern life that contradicts many Jewish teachings and harms people, communities, and the planet — the mass production of meat and other animal products and their widespread consumption. Animal-based diets conflict
Shammai’s Shabbat Sermon for Mishpatim I’m going to begin with a word of caution. Some of what I have to say may be difficult to listen to. You’ll understand why soon enough. Today’s parashah unveils the Sefer Ha-B’rit, the Book of the Covenant—the foundation document for God’s mamlechet kohanim v’goi
Judaism is all about performing mitzvot, carrying out God’s commandments. However, a mitzvah haba’ah b’aveirah – a mitzvah abetted by an aveirah (sin or “illegitimate means”) – is forbidden and is not considered a mitzvah. For example, if one uses a stolen lulav and esrog on Sukkot, it is
Shalom,I will be facilitating two Tu B’Shvat Seders using zoom:One, for Israelis and UK residents, will be on Sunday, January 16, from 9 PM to 10:30 PM, Israeli time.The other, for Americans, will be on Monday, January 17, from 1:30 PM to 3 PM, US eastern time.I have conducted many
by Richard Schwartz Tu Bishvat is the New Year for Trees. It honors trees, fruits and other aspects of nature. It is a Jewish holiday that is typically vegetarian or vegan as nuts and fruits are eaten as part of the ritual. To learn more take a look at the
Judaism stresses pikuach nefesh, the principle that everything possible must be done to save a life, even if Jewish law has to be violated to do so. Of the 613 Torah mitzvot (commandments), 610 of them can be violated if if it might help save a life. The
Shalom, I would very much welcome suggestions on all or part of my draft below of a manuscript, tentatively entitled, “Restoring and Transforming the Ancient Jewish New Year for Animals: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.” I plan to send the final draft to MANY rabbis and Jewish veg and
Please see excerpt below. Thanks.
It is vital to conduct respectful dialogues within the Jewish community on whether Jews should be vegetarians, or even vegans. In the spirit of this debate, I have imagined a dialogue as a means of encouraging readers to conduct such debates with local rabbis, educators, and other Jewish leaders. These
Below are 18 reasons why many of my fellow Jews think they should not be vegetarian or vegan (henceforth veg*an) and my rebuttals to the reasons: 1) The Torah teaches that humans are granted dominion over animals (Genesis 1:26), giving us a warrant to treat animals in any way we
