Vegetarianism was not traditionally a component of mainstream pre-modern Judaism, though thelaws of kashrut limit consumption of certain animals or their products, with precise requirements for how animals are to be sacrificed and slaughtered (shechita). According to RabbisShlomo Ephraim Luntschitz andAbraham Isaac Kook, the complexity of these laws was intended to discourage the consumption of meat.[3]Kashrut may also be designed to discourage killing living beings.[4]
There are also examples of vegetarianism as an ideal in ancient Judaism.[5]Genesis 1:29 states "And 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." Many scholars see the Torah as thereby pointing to vegetarianism as an ideal, asAdam and Eve did not partake of the flesh of animals as all humans and animals were originally commanded by God to only eat plants.[6] According to some interpretations, God's original plan was for mankind to be vegetarian, and God only later gave permission for man to eat meat in acovenant with Noah (Genesis 9:1–17) as a temporary concession because of Man's weak nature. This concessionary view of meat-consumption is based on the scriptural analysis of severalRishonim.[7]
Some writers assert that the Jewish prophetIsaiah was a vegetarian, on the basis of passages in theBook of Isaiah that extol nonviolence and reverence for life, such asIsaiah 1:11,11:6–9,65:25, and66:3. Some of these writers refer to "the vegetarian Isaiah",[8] "the notorious vegetarian Isaiah",[9] and "Isaiah, the vegetarian prophet".[10] Critics of this view argue that none of the Biblical verses in question refer to a human diet: they either condemn certainanimal sacrifices,[11] or else prophesize that carnivorous animals will become herbivorous at the end of days.[12]
According toDaniel 1:8–16, the pious Jewish youthsDaniel,Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refused to eat food or drink wine served inNebuchadnezzar's palace. At Daniel's request, the four boys were subjected to a test; they were fed only vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days, the four boys were in better condition than the other boys who ate the king's food.[13] The youths chose to eat this food because the king's food was non-kosher, not because the king's food was non-vegan.[14][15]
A number of ancient Jewish sects, including earlyKaraite sects, regarded the eating of meat as prohibited as long as Zion was in ruins and Israel in exile.[16]
A number of medieval scholars of Judaism, such asJoseph Albo andIsaac Arama, regard vegetarianism as a moral ideal, not out of a concern foranimal welfare per se but out of a concern for the moral character of the slaughterer.[17] RabbeinuAsher ben Meshullam was said never to have tasted meat.[18]
Albert Einstein (d. 1955) was a vegetarian for the last year of his life, although he had advocated vegetarianism in principle since 1930.[28]
The first Jewish-vegetarian cookbook has been compiled byFania Lewando and was first published in 1938 inVilnius.[1]: 31–34 [29] An English translation was issued in 2015.
A number of groups promote Jewish vegetarianism:
Jewish Veg was founded by Jonathan Wolf as Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) in 1975 to promote Jewish vegetarianism.[30] JVNA changed its name to Jewish Veg in 2015. The organization has been noted for its 2007 filmA Sacred Duty and for sponsoring university lecture tours by figures includingOri Shavit.
SHAMAYIM: Jewish Animal Advocacy, founded and led by Rabbi Dr.Shmuly Yanklowitz, promotes a vegan diet in the Jewish community through animal welfare activism, kosher veganism, and Jewish spirituality.[31] Prior to 2019, it was known as the Shamayim V'Aretz Institute.
The Jewish Vegetarian Society (JVS) was co-founded (briefly as the Jewish Vegetarian and Natural Health Society, before the name was abbreviated) by Vivien and Philip Pick in the 1960s with the aim of promoting a kinder society without killing animals for food.[32] Philip Pick was the first chairman of the organisation, with Maurice Norman Lester the first vice chairman and his wife Carole Lester its first secretary.
Amirim, an Israeli vegetarianmoshav (village), was founded in 1958. The founders of Amirim were motivated to create a vegetarian village because of their love for animals and concern for animal rights, as well as for health reasons. Both religious and non-religious families live at Amirim.[33]
The "Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI)" animal welfare organization promotes Jewish vegetarianism;[34] CHAI's building project is named the Isaac Bashevis Singer Humane Education Center.[35]
Behemla is aHaredi organization that advocates against animal cruelty and promotes veganism.[36][37]
Animals Now is an Israeli animal rights organization that promotes Jewish vegetarianism on their website[38] and has been described as a Jewish vegetarian organization.[39] The group was known as Anonymous for Animal Rights from its founding in 1994 until 2018.
Vegan Friendly is an organization inTel Aviv that works to make veganism mainstream,[40] organizes an annual "Vegan Congress",[41] and promotes the vegan celebration of Jewish holidays.[42]
Asa Keisar
Jewish vegetarianism and veganism have become especially popular among Israeli Jews.[43] In 2016, an op-ed argued that Israel was "the most vegan country on Earth", as five percent of its population eschewed all animal products. That number had more than doubled since 2010, when only 2.6 percent of Israelis were either vegan or vegetarian.[44] Veganism is particularly popular in the city of Tel Aviv, which has been described as the "vegan capital of the world".[45][46]
Interest in veganism and vegetarianism has grown among Israel's diverse Jewish populations, including among secular Jews and Orthodox Jews.[47][48] The Israeli rabbiAsa Keisar is a rare example of an Orthodox rabbi who has argued that eating meat and animal byproducts is no longer permitted according to Jewish sources, because of the cruelty inflicted on animals.[49] It is more common for Orthodox rabbis to call on Jews to reduce their consumption of animal products, as when a consortium of 120 Orthodox rabbis scholars, and community leaders in Jerusalem, known as Beit Hillel, issued a paper calling on Jews to reduce meat consumption in order to alleviate animal suffering.[47]
There are several religious and philosophical arguments used by modern Jewish vegetarians regarding theethics of eating meat.[50] According to some,vegetarianism is consistent with the sacred teachings and highest ideals of Judaism, includingcompassion,health,life,conservation of resources,tzedakah,kashrut,peace, andjustice. In contrast, the mass production and consumption of meat and other animal products contradicts manyJewish values and teachings, gravely harming people, animals, communities, and the environment.[51]
Onemitzvah cited by vegetarians istza'ar ba'alei hayyim; the injunction not to cause "pain to living creatures".[1]: 210–211 [4] The laws ofshechita are meant to prevent the suffering of animals. However,factory farming and high-speed mechanized kosherslaughterhouses have been criticized for failing to meet the essence of shechita.Jonathan Safran Foer narrated the short documentary filmIf This Is Kosher..., which records what he considers abuses within the koshermeat industry.[52]
Another mitzvah often cited by Jewish vegetarians isbal tashchit, the law which prohibits waste.[4] They suggest that anomnivorous diet is wasteful, since it uses 5 times more grain, 10 times more water, 15 times more land and 20 times more energy when compared to avegan diet.[53]
Some Jewish vegetarians also stress the commandment to maintain one's health and not harm oneself (venishmartem me'od lenafshoteichem), and point toresearch indicating that following avegetarian diet promotes better health.[54] Jewish vegetarians have also argued forenvironmental vegetarianism, pointing out thatglobal warming,hunger and the depletion ofnatural resources can be lessened by a global shift to a vegetarian or vegan diet.[55][56]
According to some interpretations of Jewish law, it is not acceptable for an individual to become a vegetarian if they do so because they believe in animal rights.[57][1][page needed] This is based on the Torah, which not only is replete with instances of eating meat,[58][59] but also includes several commandments that specifically call for meat to be eaten, such as eating of thePassover sacrifice and otheranimal sacrifices.[60][61] However, vegetarianism is allowed for pragmatic reasons (if kosher meat is expensive or hard to come by in their area), health concerns, or for reasons of personal taste (if someone finds meat unpalatable).[57] Thehalakha encourages the eating of meat at the Sabbath and Festival meals; thus some Orthodox Jews who are otherwise vegetarian will nevertheless consume meat at these meals.[62]Some Jews see more moderate views to vegetarianism as the ideal. In 2015, members of the Liberal Judaism synagogue inManchester founded The Pescetarian Society, citing pescetarianism as originally a Jewish diet, andpescetarianism as a form of vegetarianism.[63]
^abcdLabendz, Jacob Ari; Yanklowitzy, Shmuly (March 25, 2019).Jewish veganism and vegetarianism : studies and new directions. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press.ISBN9781438473611.OCLC1041228582.
^Mary L. Zamore, ed.The Sacred Table: Creating a Jewish Food Ethic (New York: CCAR Press, 2011).
^"The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism" inJewish Law and Mysticism, Orot 2003
^abcKalechofsky, Roberta.Rabbis and Vegetarianism: An Evolving Tradition. Micah Publications. Massachusetts, 1995. pp. 16, 54, 55, 65, 66, 68, 70, 71.ISBN0-916288-42-0.
^Gary A. Rendsburg, "The Vegetarian Ideal in the Bible", inFood and Judaism, ed. Leonard J. Greenspoon, Ronald A. Simkins, and Gerald Shapiro (Omaha, Neb.: Creighton University Press, 2005), 327–329.
^Schwartz, Richard H. Judaism and Vegetarianism. Lantern Books. New York, 2001. pp. 1, 12, 16, 19, 188.ISBN1-930051-24-7.
^"Religious Quotes".Animal Liberation Front.Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. RetrievedApril 1, 2016.Isaiah is ... the prophet with the most references to nonviolence and universal respect for life. ... Jesus refers to the vegetarian Isaiah more than to any other.
^Braunstein, Mark Mathew (September 1980)."Vegetarianism in Art".Vegetarian Times (#40): 24.Isaiah, the vegetarian prophet, meant also that humans must sit with the lamb, the kid, the ox -- because humans must make peace with the animals before they can make peace with other humans.
^Encyclopaedia Judaica, Second Edition, Volume 11, p. 788
^Bleich, J. David (1989).Contemporary Halakhic Problems. Vol. 3. KTAV Publishing House. Archived fromthe original on May 18, 2012.A number of medieval scholars regard vegetarianism as a moral ideal, not because of a concern for the welfare of animals, but because the slaughter of animals might cause the individual who performs such acts to develop negative character traits, viz., meanness and cruelty
^"I.B. Singer Humane Education Center".CHAI. Archived fromthe original on July 14, 2014.... construction on the Isaac Bashevis Singer Humane Education Center, on the grounds of the SPCA in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, is at last set to begin.
^Fraiman, Michael (October 2, 2019)."Rise of the vegan Jew".The Canadian Jewish News.Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. RetrievedDecember 1, 2019.
^Foer, Jonathan Safran."If This Is Kosher…".Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. RetrievedMarch 13, 2016 – via YouTube.
^"Bal tashchit ('do not destroy')".Reformjudaism.org.uk. February 24, 2016. RetrievedAugust 19, 2016.... an omnivorous diet (one that includes meat) is wasteful and should be prohibited, since an omnivorous diet uses five times as much grain, over ten times as much water, over 15 times as much land and over 20 times as much energy as compared with a vegan diet.
