Some food for thought

The Jewish Internet with Marc Mietkiewicz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer

Chanukah is over. And we’re stuffed. So what better time to look at food — the meatless kind. If you want to cut down or cut out meat in your diet while observing kashrut (Jewish dietary laws), there are many sites on the web with advice.

At the same time, there are others who suggest living a Jewish life requires the eating of meat.

How does Jewish vegetarianism differ from the standard kind? That question is addressed in If Lettuce is Lettuce, What is Jewish Vegetarianism?

Several Jewish sources are cited for following a vegetarian way of life such as pikuach nefesh — to save a life — in this case, the duty to guard one’s health; and tsaar baalei chayim, the commandment not to cause sorrow to living creatures (http://bit.ly/jveg11).

The Vegetarian Mitzvah continues, “Just as we were strangers in Egypt and freed from our slavery, animals need to be freed from their slavery, suffering, torture, and untimely death, in order to feed the whole world with the spirit of compassion, love, life, and liberation. Meat begins with violence; meals don’t have to! Vegetarianism offers compassion, respects the stranger, reduces suffering, and saves lives everyday (bit.ly/jveg13).”

Benjamin Blech, professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University, says the idea that all of God’s creatures have the same right to live out their years is “a noble thought, ethically motivated, and yet — supremely un-Jewish!…Jews do eat meat. In fact, the Talmud teaches, that’s what transforms an ordinary meal into a Sabbath or holiday feast. Simcha, true joy, can be attained only with bassar v’yayin, meat and wine. Animals, says the Midrash, were created before Adam so that they would be available for his table, just as a king prepares food in advance for his most favored guest (bit.ly/jveg14).”

Supporters of vegetarianism point to Rav Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine, and himself a vegetarian.

He argued that man was indeed given permission to eat meat after Noah and the Flood — with reluctance on God’s part. Given the violence and depravity of the generation of the Flood, it was necessary to make allowances for humanity’s moral frailty.

If the prohibition against meat had remained in force, then when the desire to eat meat became overpowering, there would be little distinction between feasting on man, beast, and fowl (bit.ly/jveg16).

Rabbi Yossi Levertov disagrees. “I’ve heard vegetarians say, ‘God saw that man is evil and he can’t help (eating meat), so he allowed them to eat meat.’ That is the most ridiculous statement that anyone can make — that God is allowing the world to pull Him by the nose, so to speak,” contends Levertov. “There were a lot of (other) temptations that we struggled with and (God) didn’t allow us to get away with it, so that is not a sound argument (bit.ly/jveg17).”

Richard Schwartz is one of the most outspoken and prolific proponents of a Jewish vegetarian lifestyle. In Must We Be Veggies, he maintains “that committed Jews are not only permitted but are obligated to be vegetarians (bit.ly/jveg19).”

In his Dialogue Between a Jewish Vegetarian Activist and a Rabbi, Schwartz actually fabricates a discussion with a fictional rabbi because he says he has been unable to start a respectful dialogue in the Jewish community (bit.ly/jveg23).

I don’t know if Schwartz has ever met Levertov, but he is certainly one rabbi who doesn’t agree with him. Levertov mentions a Chasidic view that by eating kosher animal flesh, we are helping the animal to achieve a “spiritual elevation” that the animal cannot achieve on its own.

If you’re doing it for a mitzvah and in the right way, “then you’re elevating the godly element that’s in there.”

Dr. Jay Lavine doesn’t buy into that theory. He points out that there is no specific blessing for eating meat and that we don’t recite the Shehecheyanu blessing upon purchasing a new garment made of leather. He suggests that using products derived from animals is not considered a desirable thing because of the suffering that went into the production of those products (bit.ly/jveg24).

As you visit these various websites, you may find it confusing when you come across terms referring to what people choose not to eat.

What is the difference between a vegetarian, a vegan and a pescetarian? Here’s a good Vegetarian Glossary (bit.ly/jveg27).

Rabbi Jonathan Klein has compiled a list of famous Jewish vegetarians: Albert Einstein (toward the end of his life), Bob Dylan and Israeli author S.Y. Agnon (bit.ly/jveg31). When Isaac Bashevis Singer was asked if he was a vegetarian for health reasons, he would reply, yes, for the health of the chicken (bit.ly/jveg26).

So far we’ve thought about food. We’ve reasoned about food. And we’ve debated food. Next month, we eat.

Mark Mietkiewicz may be reached at highway@rogers.com.

To read the complete January 2015 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.