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Yom Kippur and Vegetarianism

Posted by rschwartz on September 19th, 2008

There are many connections that can be made between the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and vegetarianism:
1. On Yom Kippur, Jews pray to the “Living God”, the “King Who delights in life”, that they should be remembered for life, and inscribed in the “Book of Life” for the New Year. Yet, typical animal-based [...]

Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah, and Vegetarianism

Posted by rschwartz on September 19th, 2008

There are many connections that can be made between vegetarianism and the joyous Jewish festivals of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret (the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly), and Simchat Torah:
1. Sukkot commemorates the 40 years when the ancient Israelites lived in the wilderness in frail huts and were sustained by manna. According to Isaac Arama (1420-1494), [...]

The custom of Kapparot in the Jewish tradition

Posted by rschwartz on September 19th, 2008

Every year, before Yom Kippur, some Jews perform the ceremony of kapparot. The following, in question and answer form, is a discussion of the ritual and its relation to the treatment of animals.
What is kapparot [in Ashkenazic Hebrew or Yiddish, kappores or shluggen kappores]?
Kapparot is a custom in which the sins of a person [...]

Rosh Hashanah and Vegetarianism

Posted by rschwartz on August 27th, 2008

Rosh Hashanah is the time when Jews take stock of their lives and consider new beginnings. Perhaps the most significant and meaningful change that Jews should consider this year is a shift away from diets that have been having devastating effects on human health and the health of our increasingly imperiled planet. While many Jews [...]

Jews should shift toward vegetarianism

Posted by rschwartz on August 1st, 2008

For many years, Jewish Vegetarians of North America has argued that vegetarianism should be on the Jewish agenda and that Jews should shift toward vegetarianism because the production and consumption of meat and other animal products:
1) violate at least six basic Jewish mandates (see supplementary material at the end of this message);
2) are causing an [...]