326 results for tag: Vegetarian / Vegan

New Year for Animals Zoom Discussion in Israel

You are cordially invited to attend a Zoom discussion of the historic, potentially transformative initiative to restore the ancient New Year for Animals and to transform it into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Jewish teachings about compassion to animals and how far current realities are from these teachings. It will also consider how animal-based diets and agriculture seriously violate basic Jewish teachings about preserving human health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, helping hungry people, and pursuing peace. The event will take place on August 20, Rosh Chodesh Elul, when the ...

New Year for Animals Zoom Discussion in USA

You are cordially invited to attend a Zoom discussion of the historic, potentially transformative initiative to restore the ancient New Year for Animals and to transform it into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Jewish teachings about compassion to animals and how far current realities are from these teachings. It will also consider how animal-based diets and agriculture seriously violate basic Jewish teachings about preserving human health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, helping hungry people, and pursuing peace. The event will take place on August 20, Rosh Chodesh Elul, when the ...

Proper Nutrition Can Reduce the Severity of Coronavirus Infections

There are currently daily reports of record-breaking incidents of coronavirus worldwide. As the Coronavirus epidemic escalates, it is important to recognize a generally overlooked possibility of taking steps now to reduce the severity of symptoms, should one have the misfortune of getting the disease.      According to T. Colin Campbell, PhD, director of the China-Cornell-Oxford study, deemed the Grand Prix of epidemiology by the NY Times, shifting to a nutritious, well-balanced, plant-based diet can greatly reduce the effects of COVID-19.       Based on his extensive research, he stated, “antibody prevalence was highly correlated with ...

Get Used to Wearing Masks.

by Rabbi Dr. Eric Lankin Get Used to Wearing Masks. (courtesy of the United Nations). I am afraid that we will be wearing masks for a long time to come. And it won’t be solely because of a viral pandemic. Soon it may be because of the air quality of our planet. There is a clear scientific consensus on a human-driven warming of the earth, with carbon-based pollution released in the environment as the major contributor. As shown by data from NASA and NOAA, the last few decades have seen a sharp spike in global average temperature, and the increase of carbon-based pollutants caused by human activity is destroying our environment. According ...

Especially this Mother’s Day, remember Mother Earth.

~Mother’s Day will be different this year for many of us because of the impact of the coronavirus, being in quarantine and social distancing; however, we can still be mindful of how our actions can help prevent climate change even if we are having virtual Mother’s Day dinners and celebrations. Reduce: Reduce your energy needs. Winter is finally over and it’s warmer inside and out. Open your windows and let the fresh air in. If it is really hot, set your thermostat no higher than 78°F (26°C) when you are home and higher when you are away (information from the U.S. Department of Energy). A programmable thermostat can make this ...

Thinking about Passover helps focus on taking care of our health and our planet.

My three Passover-related articles stress that veganism is the diet that is most consistent with Passoverm basic Jewish values, and efforts to improve the health of people and our imperiled planet.

Living the Chanukah Miracle

[article by Dan Brook, PhD & Richard H. Schwartz, PhD] Hope springs eternal. Indeed, it’s always been an integral part of Jewish history, spirituality, and politics. Without hope, there wouldn’t be a Chanukah; without hope, there might not even be a Jewish community. That’s the power of radical hope! Jewish survival is a miracle of hope. Increasing light at the darkest time of the year to celebrate Chanukah and Jewish survival is also a miracle. This year, each year, we work and hope for further miracles. We sincerely hope that Jews will enhance their celebrations of this ancient, beautiful, and spiritually-meaningful ...

Ten Reasons Jews Should Consider Becoming a Vegetarian or a Vegan

As president of Jewish Veg, formerly Jewish Vegetarians of North America, and author of three editions of Judaism and Vegetarianism and over 250 related articles online, I very respectfully present the following reasons Jews should very seriously consider eliminating, or at least sharply reducing, your consumption of meat and other animal-based foods:

My Strategy For Getting Climate Change, Veganism, and Related Issues Onto the Jewish Agenda

===      I urge the strongest, most widespread effort that can possibly be made to get climate threats and the need for shifts toward veganism onto the Jewish agenda. Why? Please consider the following facts (they are backed up by supporting material at the end of this article). There is a very strong scientific consensus, based on overwhelming evidence, that the world is rapidly heading toward an irreversible climate tipping point when climate change will spin out of control, with catastrophic results.  Several scientific studies have shown that animal-based agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, largely due to methane, a ...

L’Shanah Tova and a thank you to our Earth Etudes for Elul Contributors

Elul is the month before Rosh Hashanah, a time when we review our lives and think about how we will live the coming year. Many of these 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 bringing together these awe-inspiring contributors, whose essays, poems and thoughts help us understand the meaning of our lives and how we can repair our world. And our Earth Etudes can be helpful throughout the year. So you can read them here: Earth Etude for Elul 1: Rabbi Katy Allen-- Of Happenstance and Wondering ...READ MORE Earth Etude for Elul ...

Earth Etude for Elul 27 — A Vegetarian Journey

by Susan Levine ~ When I think about Elul, I think about things I have done over my lifetime and the most important thing I’ve tried to do is to become a vegetarian. But let me start at the beginning: Both my parents grew up in kosher homes and when they got married, they had a kosher home. But it wasn’t kosher enough for my father’s mother who would visit my parents but wouldn’t touch the food. My mom didn’t see the point of being kosher if her mother-in-law still wouldn’t eat in her home. Instead she went full treif. As a child I pretty much ate what I wanted and really didn’t know what it meant to be kosher. I remember ...

I want to invite you to BeLoved Shabbaton! Rosh Chodesh Elul Jerusalem Hills

B"H Shalom I want to invite you to: The FIRST EVER BELOVED SHABBATON: A Shabbaton Experience: Celebrating SHABBAT & Commitment to the World! Environmentally Friendly : Vegan : Wholesome : Halachic Fresh Farm to Table an Enchanting Shabbaton to reconnect to our Beloved. a celebration of Eco Torah natural living, wellness, & sustainability For Families, Individuals Raw food foodies and vegan connoisseurs, meditators people who love praying, learning, holistic natural living Torah! Learn Pray Sing Dance Meditate Eat Wholesome Holy Food Prepared with Love and Passion Share Connect Be Inspired Inspire Experience the highest ...

Changes necessary to Help Shift Our Imperiled Planet Onto a Sustainable Path

     In a previous article, “What is the Main Cause of Climate Change” (http://jewcology.org/2019/01/capitalism-is-leading-the-world-to-a-climate-catastrophe/), I argued that capitalism’s need for continued growth and maximization of profits, with environmental considerations a secondary consideration, is leading the world toward a climate catastrophe. That we are on a very perilous path is indicated by the increasingly dire reports of climate experts and academies and by the increasing frequency and severity of heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and floods.      If economic growth continues at the two percent or more that ...

My six articles related to Tu Bishvat

My 6 articles related to Tu Bishvat are below. You can scroll down to read each one. 1. Why Is This Night Different?: Thoughts on Tu Bishvat 2. Preserving the Sacred Environment: A Religious Imperative – A Tu Bishvat Message 3. Lessons From Trees: a Tu Bishvat Message 4. Celebrating Tu Bishvat as if Environmental Sustainability Matters 5. For Tu Bishvat: 36 Jewish Quotations About Trees 6. Tu Bishvat and Veganism (Suggestions very welcome) 1. Why Is This Night Different?: Thoughts on Tu Bishvat       One of the highlights of the Passover seder is the recitation of the four questions which consider how the night of ...

Capitalism is leading the world to a climate catastrophe

It is becoming increasingly clear that the world is heading toward a climate catastrophe. Warnings from climate experts are becoming increasingly dire. Recently a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange by 91 of the world’s leading climate experts from 40 countries argued that the world has only until 2030 to make ‘unprecedented changes’ to avert frequent extreme climate events. The Bulletin of Climate Scientists argued that the IPCC report, as frightening as it is, was not sufficiently alarming, because it failed to give sufficient attention to the potential for self-reinforcing positive feedback loops (vicious cycles) that ...

Climate Change: An Existential Threat to the U.S., Israel, and the World 

The greatest threat to humanity today is climate change. The world is on a path that could lead to an uninhabitable world by the end of the century unless major changes soon occur. And it might happen much sooner because of self-reinforcing positive feedback loops (vicious cycles) that could result in an irreversible tipping point when climate change spins out of control. An outrageous exaggeration, like those in the past that predicted an end to the world? Not according to science academies worldwide, 97% of climate scientists, and virtually all peer-reviewed papers on the issue in respected scientific journals, that argue that climate change is ...

Gefiltefest: Pickle and sauerkraut making – fun with (lacto) fermentation

Like food? David Krantz will help you learn how to make and jar your own probiotic pickles and sauerkraut! No refrigeration needed. Ingredients will be supplied. Just bring yourself! The Limmud Festival 2018 (December 22 - 27 in Birmingham, UK) is one of the biggest celebrations of Jewish learning and culture in the world. David Krantz leads Aytzim (Jewcology, Green Zionist Alliance, EcoJews, and Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth) and serves on the boards of the American Zionist Movement and Interfaith Moral Action on Climate. He’s also a National Science Foundation fellow at Arizona State’s School of Sustainability. For more ...

What can we do to save the environment as a Jewish community?

Come and hear David Krantz, and our other panelists Yonatan Neril and Frauke Ohnholz discuss the biggest environmental issues we are facing in the coming years and what we can do as a community to improve the wider environment that we live in. The Limmud Festival 2018 (December 22 - 27 in Birmingham, UK) is one of the biggest celebrations of Jewish learning and culture in the world. David Krantz leads Aytzim (Jewcology, Green Zionist Alliance, EcoJews, and Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth) and serves on the boards of the American Zionist Movement and Interfaith Moral Action on Climate. He’s also a National Science Foundation fellow at Arizona ...

A tree of life: mapping the growth of the Jewish-environmental movement

Speaker: David Krantz From pickle makers to bicyclists to farmers to environmental-policy wonks to Yiddishists, learn more about the nascent Jewish-environmental movement. What initiatives are working in the field? Where are they? What are their strengths and challenges? And how can you become involved? The Limmud Festival 2018 (December 22 - 27 in Birmingham, UK) is one of the biggest celebrations of Jewish learning and culture in the world. David Krantz leads Aytzim (Jewcology, Green Zionist Alliance, EcoJews, and Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth) and serves on the boards of the American Zionist Movement and Interfaith Moral Action on ...

Should Jews be Vegetarians: A Debate

This debate initially appeared in the Jerusalem Post on October 25, 1999, but it is still very relevant today. ==================== SHOULD JEWS BE VEGETARIANS? A DEBATE (Richard H.Schwartz, PhD's debate with Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, which appeared years ago in the Jerusalem Report) ========== Introduction: In addition to its benefits for health, animals, and the environment, vegetarianism may be  called for by some of Judaism's most cherished tenets. Is it time to reconsider our dietary traditions? Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, Rabbinic Coordinator of the Kashrut Division of the Orthodox Union in New York, debates Richard H. Schwartz, author of ...