Jewish Vegetarianism
Introduction
The decision to adopt a vegetarian diet is greatly influenced by the desire to protect animal life. There is the common belief that eating meat contributes to the cruel treatment of animals kept for slaughter and also in an attempt to prevent unnecessary killing of animals even for food. Although there are various constructs in society that encourage people to adopt a vegan diet, religion also plays a major role in influencing the type of food that people consume. Take the case of Jews as an example. Members devout to the religion borrow teachings from the bible and interpretations by spiritual leaders rely on the religious teachings and traditions to determine what actions are acceptable and which ones to avoid. Despite the existence of various stereotypes and beliefs that discourage consumption of meat, Jewish vegans adopt a vegan diet with respect to their religious customs and traditions, and also due to the different bible verses that discourage killing of animals for food.
Jewish vegans have made the choice to abstain from consuming animal products due to various factors. There is the common belief that going vegan helps to protect the environment and also preserve the environment. The idea is based on the assumption that breeding and slaughtering animals for the purpose of food creates an environment where the animals are mistreated before they are presented as food (Labendz & Yanklowitz, 2019, p.17). Reports of animal cruelty in slaughter houses have become common as people have grown accustomed to seeing animals as food and not living things. For Jews who opt to adopt a vegetarian diet, the decision to abstain from meat products is done in an attempt to reduce the demand for such products. Since the demand created determines the number of animals slaughtered, Jewish vegans believe that abstaining from consuming animal products will bring down the demand and in so doing, save a significant number of animals from being killed for food. In addition, adopting a vegan diet is also done to set an example for other people, Jews and non-Jews alike by showing how other types of food can be used as substitutes for meat. The goal is therefore to reduce the demand for animal products by creating an environment where people rely on a vegan diet rather than killing animals for food.
The teachings from the Jewish bible trace the origin of Jews as having descended from the Israelites who settled in Canaan and are said to be the descendant of Jacob. The Israelites who settled in Canaan were greatly influenced by the laws of Moses and other teachings that were introduced as they made the journey from Egypt to Canaan. Although there were different laws and restrictions on what the Israelites could do, the scriptures they read from gave them great insight concerning what food to consume and why to avoid unnecessary killing of animals. In the book of Genesis for example, human beings were forbidden from killing animals for food because God had provided plant life to sustain both human beings and animals. “…and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food” (Gen. 1:30). Jewish vegans rely on such teachings and quotes from their religious scriptures to determine what food is suitable for consumption. Jewish vegans therefore believe that eating animals for food is a form of disobedience as it goes against God's wishes. Jewish vegans are therefore more inclined to adopt a vegan diet as it is a way of fulfilling God's command and also because it ensures that they abide to the lessons taught through their customs and traditions.
The revelation by God that animals and human beings were originally intended to consume plans is often interpreted to mean that human beings and other living things were on a similar plane of importance and their life had similar value. Like human beings, animals kept for food are believed to have a soul and this makes them superior to plants and vegetables but not on the same level as human beings (Labendz & Yanklowitz, 2019, p.8). Since human beings are more advanced, they have more understanding and are able to interpret scriptures. For Jewish vegans, the notion that animals are living things similar to humans combined with scriptures that discourage killing of animals for food is enough to encourage one to adopt a vegan diet. According to Rabbi Joseph Albo, a Jewish philosopher, killing of animals, even for food, exposes the individual to forms of violence that inflict pain and death to animals and forces people to engage in acts of shedding innocent blood (The Daily Torch, 2020, p.1). The decision to adopt a vegan diet is therefore influenced by the desire to abstain from forms of violence or killing especially because Jewish customs and traditions strongly discourage murder.
The decision to adopt a vegan diet also helps Jews to preserve God's creating and retain their purity. The restriction discouraging people from killing animals for food is present in the story of creation. The teachings suggest that shortly after creation, God was satisfied with the world as it was and saw no need to change anything. The religious book mentions that God looked at his creation and “behold, it was good” (Gen 1:31). After God was done creating all living and non-living things, he was satisfied with his creation and rested on the 7th day. This meant that all His plans had been acted upon and creation was as He desired. Since the restriction guiding human beings and other living things to only rely on plants for food was issued during the time of creation, it then stands to reason that going against any directive or law given is a form of rebellion against God and his plan for a perfect world.
Therefore, Jews that adopt a vegan diet strongly believe that the only way to live life according to Gods wishes is by following his teachings and also sustaining creation as God intended it. The statement that God looked at everything he created and was pleased encompasses all of his creation as well as the plans he had to ensure that they peacefully coexisted. When God attested that his creation was indeed good, it was during a time where human beings and animals aboded to the restrictions that forbade them from eating animals. Killing animals for food is therefore seen as a way of undoing the good that God had created, which can also be said to be a deviation from God's teachings and scriptures (Gellman & Hartman, 2003, p.1). The decision to adopt a vegan diet is therefore regarded as a way to bring back the balance that was lost when human beings defied God's plan for the world and started killing animals for food.
Despite the various directives, laws and scripture encouraging Jews to adopt a vegetarian diet, the existence of contrasting laws and customs that allow killing of animals for food make it difficult to define the Jewish approach to vegetarianism. Among the various laws that offers contrasting opinions over what food is suitable for Jews is the laws of Kashrut. The Kashrut comprises of a set of dietary laws that determines what types of food Jews can consume and also how the food should be prepared in accordance with the Jewish laws (Rosenblam, 2016, p.8). If followed to the letter, the laws permitted consumption of foods that may have been forbidden or discouraged by Jewish customs and traditions as well as the scriptures they followed. The laws are however numerous and rather complex to interpret which could explain why Jews choose to adopt a vegetarian diet instead of risking breaking the Jewish laws when attempting to prepare food under the laws of Kashrut.
The Kashrut allows for consumption of specific types of animals that were deemed Kosher or fit for consumption as described in Torah. Animals that were considered fit for consumption are “among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud, that you may eat” (Leviticus 11:3). The provision allowed Jews to consume animals like goats because they chew cud and have split hooves. It however alienated consumption of animals like pigs because, despite having split hooves, pigs do not chew cud and therefore fails to meet the criteria for animals that Jews can eat. The scripture from the bible can be used as a way to justify why some Jews may have varying opinions about vegetarianism. The features used to differentiate animals that can be eaten from the unclean ones however fails to indicate why some animals were selected for consumption and others were not. Although the scripture does allow killing of specific animals for food, it does not degrade the overall ideology where animals are God's creation and should not be mistreated or killed for food (Yanklowitz, 2019, p.12). although some scriptures allow Jews to eat meat, the Jewish approach to vegetarianism is influenced by different factors that present all animals as deserving the same protection and care offered to human beings.
The Jewish approach to vegetarianism is greatly influenced by the Jews' desire to emulate God and follow in his teachings. The conditions allowing killing and eating specific animals is often regarded as a temporary situation where God allowed the killing of animals, but only in specific conditions. Killing and eating animals was therefore reserved for specific encounters or events similar to how some animals were deemed necessary for eating while others were not (Cohen, 2015, p.33). The provision even goes on to describe some animals as unclean solely on the basis of the criteria distinguishing animals fit for consumption from those that were not. “to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten, and the animal that may not be eaten” (Leviticus 11: 47). Despite having being pleased with His creation and asserting that everything was ‘good', the decision to allow humans to deviate from the original commandment and start killing some animals for food meant that the ‘good' that God had established was becoming undone. However, since the unclean nature is as a result of classifying animals in accordance with whether they were fit for eating or not, Jewish vegetarians may opt to adopt a vegetarian diet in order to retain the clean nature of all animals. Restricting food to only plans ensures that all animals are equal and therefore does away with the classification of clean or unclean. The Jewish approach to vegetarianism is therefore influenced by the desire to retain the ‘good' that God created in his original idea of creation.
Another example of how Jewish approach to vegetarianism preserves the ‘good' that God created is seen in the biblical story of Noah. After the flood, God gave Noah and his family permission to kill and eat animals as a source of food. However, the provision also meant that the relationship that God had established between human beings and animals would be altered. “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all wherewith the ground teemeth, and upon all the fish of the sea: into your hand are they delivered” (Gen. 9:2). The scripture suggests that, before God gave Noah permission to eat animals, there existed a harmonious relationship between man and animals. When Noah and his family were allowed to eat the animals however, animals evolved and started dreading human beings like they were aware of the shift in power and dominance. The desire to eat meat therefore resulted in the destruction of the harmony that existed between animals and man, and further destroyed the original idea that god had for his creation.
The decision to allow human beings to eat specific animals was mainly as a control measure rather than fulfilment of God's plan. The decision was made after God saw “how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth” (Genesis 9:4). Human beings had grown accustomed to breaking God's commandments and gravely mistreated the animals that were kept for food. giving permission to eat some animals was therefore as a way to regulate what animals could be eaten as well as introducing practices that reduced mistreatment of animals kept for food. "Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat" (Gen. 9:4). Human beings were required to ensure that the animals were actually dead and that blood no longer flowed as a way to ensure that animals did not suffer before being presented as food. since the animal had to be drained of all blood before being prepared as food, preparation took longer as the blood was removed by salting and drying in the sun (Schwartz, 2016, p.1). the new procedures meant that fewer animals could be slaughtered and therefore reduced the frequency in which animals were killed. The Jewish approach to vegetarianism is therefore done to further reduce the frequency in which animals are killed for food and thus acts as a way of protecting God's creation.
Most of the scriptures and medieval Hebrew sources present the provision to eat meat as a control measure or a form of test for human beings. When the Israelites were in the wilderness for example, God used Manna as a tool to teach the children of Israel that He was the provider and that too much of something could cause more harm than they thought. The manner fell from heaven as a sign that it was God providing for the children while in the wilderness (Hoffmeier, 2005, p.23). As a test of control and trust in God, every person was required to only pick one omer, which was a term used to measure the quantity of manner. However, some people exceeded the one omer ration as they became greedy. "They gathered out an omer, and he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; everyone according to his eating had they gathered" (Exodus 16:18). Despite this however, each individual ate to their satisfaction, proof that despite collecting different portions of manna, every individual got satisfied, an indication that those that consumed more were wasteful as they took more than was needed. The lessons learnt can be interpreted by Jews to mean that vegetables can offer the same nutrition as animals.
When God directed human beings to eat plants, he was aware that the food would be sufficient even with the exclusion of animals as a source of food. Human beings have however proven greedy over time and this was the case with the Israelites. God provided enough manner on Friday to ensure that the Israelites could rest on the sabbath day. Despite the manner offering enough sustenance, the Israelites further complained that the food they ate while in captivity was better than the manner because it had meat. This greatly angered God and He presented them with quail as meat for them to consume. While this could be interpreted to mean that God allowed men to eat quails, the repercussions that followed only show that the quails were also a test. “But while the meat was still between their teeth and therefore could be consumed, the anger of the lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague” (Numbers 11:33). The plague is an indication that despite God providing the quails, the act of consuming the meat was too displeasing and this resulted to the plague. Killing animals for food is presented as an act engaged out of necessity, with specific conditions, and is likely to anger God. Jews therefore opt to adopt a vegetarian diet as a way to abide to God's commandments and also protect themselves from his wrath.
Conclusion
The Jewish approach to vegetarianism is greatly influenced by the scriptures, laws and traditions that govern how devout Jews lead their lives. The different interpretations of laws and scripture have created an environment where Jews and other people disagree on what impact the scriptures and other medieval Hebrew sources intended the Jews to consume. Despite these contradictions however, majority of the scriptures and religious text suggest that human beings were granted superiority over animals and can therefore discern for themselves whether to eat meat or not. When God gave human beings dominion over animals, he did not intend for humans to exceed their power or misuse it. Human beings were expected to look after animals and take care of them the same way God watches over human beings. Despite having all the power, God has given human beings free will and rarely intervenes in their daily lives. Human beings were expected to follow the same example and allow animals to live in peace without being mistreated or killed for food. The Jewish approach to vegetarianism is therefore based on the human desire to be god-like, follow his teachings and maintain the general ‘good' that god saw when he was done creating.
References
Cohen P, (2015) Ä practical guide to the laws of Kashrut” New Milford, CT: Maggid Books
Gellman M and Hartman T, (2003) “Keeping Koser, a sign of respect for God” Chicago Tribune, retrievedhttps://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-05-22-0305220017-story,amp.htmlTribune
Gross S, Myers E, and Rosenblum J, (2019) “Feasting and fasting: The history and ethics of Jewish foods” New York University Press
Hoffmeier K, (2005) Äncient Israel in Sinai: The evidence for the authenticity of the wilderness tradition” Oxford University Press, print.
Labendz and Yanklowitz S, (2019) “Jewish veganism and vegetarianism: Studies and new directions” Albany: State of New York Press
Rosenblum J, (2016) “The Jewish dietary laws in the ancient world” Cambridge University Press
Schwartz R, (2019) “Jewish dietary laws (Kashrut): Rabbinic teachings on vegetarianism” Jewish Virtual Library, retrieved from, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/rabbinic-teachings-on-vegetarianism
The Daily Torch, (2020) “Vegetarianism and Judaism, do they mix?” retrieved from, https://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=437
Yanklowitz S, (2019) “Kashrut and Jewish food ethics” Boston: Academic Studies Press
