Vegetarian Judaism: A Guide for Everyone [Paperback]

Roberta Kalechofsky (Author), David Rosen (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

This is a timely examination of the problems with meat from a Jewish perspective. It examines the historical Jewish dietary laws, and argues that vegetarianism today best fulfils the requirements of kashrut. It gives reasons for Jewish vegetarianism based on concern for human health, ethical considerations of animal welfare, environmental concerns, concern for poor people, and for the general welfare of the community.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to Kalechofsky (Autobiography of a Revolutionary: Essays on Animal and Human Rights), "meat today... violates the most fundamental of Jewish concepts: concern for health, for the environment, for the animal, for the Jewish community, for the human race." Concerned that even the rules of kashrut (kosher) can't protect any of these fundamental rights, the author sets out on an examination of the history of kashrut in the modern age and a history of the development of farming from family-owned farms to factory farms. Along the way, she argues that meat consumption is responsible for many public health problems. Kalechofsky engages in a deep study of Torah and Talmud to contend that Judaism is a religion whose ideals are best enacted through a vegetarian lifestyle. The chapters are devoted to five Jewish principles on which Kalechofsky says a righteous Jewish diet must be based: "pikuach nefesh (guard your health); tsa'ar ba'alei chaim (do not cause pain to living creatures); bal tashchit (concern for the environment); tzeddakah (charity); and klal Israel (concern for the community)." Kalechofsky's strident prose will put off many readers who might otherwise be sincerely interested in vegetarian Judaism.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Roberta Kalechofsky is the author of seven works of fiction, two collections of essays, a monograph on George Orwell, and a book of poetry. Her fiction has been translated into Italian and she has been published in Italy. She is the recipient of a literary fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Council on the Arts. Her work has been published in many periodicals and several anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories of 1972.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Book Publishing Company (TN) (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916288455
• ISBN-13: 978-0916288457
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,406,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book to help unite all jews, December 4, 1998

By 

Marjorie Cramer, MD, FACS (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vegetarian Judaism: A Guide for Everyone (Paperback)

Book review: Vegetarian Judaism. A guide for Everyone, by Roberta Kalechovsky

Roberta Kalechovsky is superbly knowledgeable about Judaism and about vegetarianism, and has written a valuable book combining this knowledge. The title suggests that vegetarianism is a lifestyle rather than just a diet, and the book supports this concept. Kashrut (observance of Jewish dietary laws) implies a commitment to mercy for animals destined for slaughter, and traditionally this has been the case. But in our era of factory farming it is no longer so, and Ms. Kalechovsky starts right out in her introduction by pointing out that all meat, whether kosher or not, comes from animals raised in the same exceedingly inhumane manner on factory farms. Cows destined for slaughter are hoisted by one leg (while still conscious in the case of those destined to be labeled Kosher) to await killing, chickens are crammed into tiny dark cages which drive them insane, and veal calves are confined for all of their short lives in miserable boxes where they wallow in their own excrement. She says: "The distinction between kosher and non-kosher meat is made at the ramp to the slaughtering house."

The bulk of this book is divided into chapters that deal with five important Jewish mandates: pikuach nefesh (to guard one's health), tsa'ar ba'alei chaim (to avoid causing pain to any living creature), bal tashchit (not to waste or destroy), tzedakah (to help the needy), and klal Israel (to work for the welfare of the Jewish people). The author points out that eating animal products today is diametrically opposed to these 5 mandates. It contributes directly to ill health, causes untold suffering to animals, is wasteful, takes food away from the earth's hungry, and is not in the best interests of the Jewish people. She expresses the opinion that vegetarianism for a Jew: "reaches back into the fundamentals of the Jewish religion" and offers the opinion that: "We do not judge the past in becoming vegetarians...we accept the imperatives of our generation, and seek a renewed covenant with the earth." Ms. Kalechovsky makes the observations that vegetarian food allows all Jews, observant or not, to eat together in community, and that it is such a great joy as to be entirely appropriate on a holiday or Sabbath table.

This book is practical as well as philosophical, and there is a chapter entitled: The Jewish Grandmothers' or Parent's Survival Guide to Vegetarianism. There is also a listing of Jewish vegetarian groups, a selection of recipes and an excellent bibliography. This book will be educational to Jews and non-Jews, vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and especially to those who observe kashrut, thinking that it is humane.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For religious and secular Jews alike, September 22, 2005

By 

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vegetarian Judaism: A Guide for Everyone (Paperback)

This book bridges the gap between religious and secular, to present a well-reasoned set of arguments for why vegetarianism is the best form of kashrut today. The author does not condemn previous generations for eating meat, and is respectful of the kosher slaughtering process (shechitah) as it was practiced for many generations. However, she also feels that, in the light of the cruelty of modern factory farms, it is no longer enough to focus only on the moment of slaughter. Shechitah itself is humane, but the ways in which the animals are raised and transported to the meat processing plant are not. Kosher and non-kosher meat come from the same commercial sources, and the animals are all raised the same way. "The distinction between kosher and non-kosher meat, "she writes, "is made at the ramp to the slaughtering house."

In chapter 2, "From living soul to animal machine," Kalechofsky traces the philosophical developments that have led to the Western acceptance of the cruelties of modern factory farms. Most enlightening to me was the section discussing the influence of the (gentile) French philosopher, Renee Descartes. Best known for "I think, therefore I am," Descarte also thought than animals were like machines (automata) and do not feel pain or emotional stress. As a mathematician, Descartes saw everything in terms of what could be counted and measured in the physical world. Subjective experiences such as animal suffering were, to him, of no account whatsoever.

This chapter was an eye-opener for me, because I had not studied Descarte's philosophy in any depth before. As far as I knew, he played no role whatsoever in Jewish life. Wrong. Although most religious Jews do not study Descartes, the civilization we live in has been strongly influenced by him. When it comes to animals, many Jews are de facto Cartesians, even if they have never heard of Descartes.

Kalechofsky traces the line from Descartes to factory farms, which tend to regard animals as little more than egg-milk-meat producing machines. She also cites references to demonstrate that this attitude is NOT acceptable in classical Jewish thought. "Either animals are part of God's creation or they are not," she writes, "and if not, Genesis is false. The antithesis, foreseen in the 17th century, has come to its final crisis: You cannot support the Cartesian view of animal life and the biblical view at the same time." (Page 35)

Because the kosher food industry is so firmly emmeshed in the modern factory farm system, it is next to impossible to find kosher meat from animals that have not been badly mistreated in the name of "progress." That alone should lead a sensitive Jew to give up eating meat. But there are other reasons, too -- reasons of health, economics, and social responsibility. These the author fully explores. She also points out that a vegetarian diet bridges the gap between Jews who keep kosher and those who don't. Many synagogues and other Jewish organizations have begun serving vegetarian meals for precisely this reason. If the purpose of kashrut is to respect life and unite the Jewish people, then vegetarianism is the best way to do this in the 21st century.

I also recommend Judaism and Vegetarianism by Richard. H. Schwartz, which traces the biblical and rabbinical basis for Jewish vegetarianism, and has an excellent FAQ section.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vegetarian Judaism: A Guide for Everyone, January 31, 2006

By 

L. Greene - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vegetarian Judaism: A Guide for Everyone (Paperback)

I found this to be a very open & candid look at vegetarianism from a Jewish perspective as well as from Torah. It looks at many different aspects of what it means to be Kosher in today's confused & confusing world. It is also valuable to how to keep from getting sick from animal transmitted diseases.