BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Judaism A Sacred Duty - When it comes to eating

Do you know Jews have laws about what we can eat? Yes, of course, laws of Kashrut (keeping Kosher) but I mean laws regarding how and when we can harvest on land (in Israel), laws regarding the treatment of animals which, when we learn more about them, may impact how and what we eat, and laws about caring for our own bodies .....

check out my latest article to read more... and view the documentary that inspired the article....



A Sacred Duty

Lisa, that is a fantastic article! Thank you. It is way past time that we give back to Earth and protect the home that was so generously given us.

Oh, thank you, Phyllis!
This was a pretty powerful documentary.
I want people to think and come to their own conclusions - but, really, how can you argue the evidence?

I'd like to know why more Jewish environmentalists and more Torah observant Jews don't believe this more stringently.

thanks again

Years ago I read an article by Avi Shafran called Never Too Many (inspired by a comment about his large family) and he made a good point: many people with large families aren't using all the resources you would think - living in smaller houses, second hand furniture and clothes (the ultimate in recycling ;-), etc. This was about twenty years ago, so he was a bit ahead of the curve.

Then there's also the biblical story about Jacob going back to retrieve some small containers left behind (that's when he met the angel). The reason he went back for such trivial items was that to a righteous person, any item he possesses is important because he didn't acquire it frivolously, and he acquired it honestly. Something to think about when we buy things...

I know some Orthodox vegetarians who will eat animal protein but not chicken or meat due to environmental concerns. That's not where I'm at but I haven't bought veal in years.

That's really beautiful, Fayge. I never viewed that with a sustainable eye. There was another article I just read somewhere on BellaOnline (healthy living, living simple, not sure where) that talked about "spring cleaning" and ridding your home of everything that did not mean SOMETHING to you. If you look at it from that perspective, we could all probably throw out a lot of 'stuff' we've been collecting over the years!

Good Shabbos....