Jewish Vegetarianism and Kashrut Ethics
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ShareDoes Judaism Advocate for Vegetarianism?
(יב) עַל־כֵּ֤ן אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כָּל־נֶ֥פֶשׁ מִכֶּ֖ם לֹא־תֹ֣אכַל דָּ֑ם וְהַגֵּ֛ר הַגָּ֥ר בְּתוֹכְכֶ֖ם לֹא־יֹ֥אכַל דָּֽם׃ (ס)
(12) Therefore I said to the children of Israel: No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that dwells among you eat blood.
(כט) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּה֩ נָתַ֨תִּי לָכֶ֜ם אֶת־כָּל־עֵ֣שֶׂב ׀ זֹרֵ֣עַ זֶ֗רַע אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כָל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֶת־כָּל־הָעֵ֛ץ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֥וֹ פְרִי־עֵ֖ץ זֹרֵ֣עַ זָ֑רַע לָכֶ֥ם יִֽהְיֶ֖ה לְאָכְלָֽה׃
(29) And God said: ‘Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed—to you it shall be for food;
Some of the strongest support for vegetarianism as a positive ideal in Torah literature may be found in the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook (1865-1935) first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel and a revolutionary Orthodox Jewish thinker in the early 20th century and one of the foremost Torah scholars of modern times.
He authored a publication a Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace. He believes God wanted people to be vegetarian and that meat was permitted as a concession to our weakness and our thirst for flesh. He interpreted the many prohibitions about slaughtering and eating meat as a scolding and reminder to have reverence for life.
He believed that in a perfected world, a messianic and redeemed age we cease to eat meat.
He authored a publication a Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace. He believes God wanted people to be vegetarian and that meat was permitted as a concession to our weakness and our thirst for flesh. He interpreted the many prohibitions about slaughtering and eating meat as a scolding and reminder to have reverence for life.
He believed that in a perfected world, a messianic and redeemed age we cease to eat meat.
Vegetarian Judiasm: A Guide for Everyone by Roberta Kalechofsky
What is the purpose of Kashrut?
1) to curb the appetite for meat
2) to refine our sensibilities with respect to animal life and animal pain
Vegetarian Judaism rests on 5 Jewish principles:
1) pikuach nefesh: guarding health and life
2) ts'ar ba'alei chaim: concern for/avoiding animal suffering
3) ba'al tashchit: prohibition of wasteful destruction
4) tzedakah: righteousness
5) klal yisrael: acting for the welfare of the Jewish people
Kashrut does not take into consideration factory farming of animals for food, or the hormones and antibiotics used or animal treatment.
What is the purpose of Kashrut?
1) to curb the appetite for meat
2) to refine our sensibilities with respect to animal life and animal pain
Vegetarian Judaism rests on 5 Jewish principles:
1) pikuach nefesh: guarding health and life
2) ts'ar ba'alei chaim: concern for/avoiding animal suffering
3) ba'al tashchit: prohibition of wasteful destruction
4) tzedakah: righteousness
5) klal yisrael: acting for the welfare of the Jewish people
Kashrut does not take into consideration factory farming of animals for food, or the hormones and antibiotics used or animal treatment.
Kashrut as Ethics
GLATT KOSHER — BY RAV YOSEF BREUER, PUBLISHED 1949
A further comment: "kosher" is intimately related to "yoshor [ethics]." God’s Torah not only demands the observance of kashrut and the sanctification of our physical enjoyment; it also insists on the sanctification of our social relationships. This requires the strict application of the tenets of justice and righteousness, which avoid even the slightest trace of dishonesty in our business dealings and personal life. God’s Torah not only demands of us to love our neighbor in that we concern ourselves with his welfare and property, but it insists further on a conduct of uncompromising straightness ("yoshor") which is inspired not only by the letter of the law but is guided by the ethical principle of honesty which, then, would deserve the honorable title of "yeshurun." ....
A further comment: "kosher" is intimately related to "yoshor [ethics]." God’s Torah not only demands the observance of kashrut and the sanctification of our physical enjoyment; it also insists on the sanctification of our social relationships. This requires the strict application of the tenets of justice and righteousness, which avoid even the slightest trace of dishonesty in our business dealings and personal life. God’s Torah not only demands of us to love our neighbor in that we concern ourselves with his welfare and property, but it insists further on a conduct of uncompromising straightness ("yoshor") which is inspired not only by the letter of the law but is guided by the ethical principle of honesty which, then, would deserve the honorable title of "yeshurun." ....