Thesis Eco-Kashrut and Jewish Tradition by Clary Rooda
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Levisson Institute Eco-kashrut and Jewish Tradition How the Food on our Table can Atone for us Clary Rooda October 2013 Supervisors: Rabbi Yehoram Mazor and Dr. Bart Wallet Contents Contents ................................................................................................................................. i Introduction .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1: Bal Tashchit in Talmud and other Rabbinic Sources ..............................................1 1.1 Origin in Torah .............................................................................................................1 1.2 Bal Tashchit in Talmud .................................................................................................1 1.2.1 BT Shabbat 67b .........................................................................................................1 1.2.2 BT Shabbat 129a ........................................................................................................2 1.2.3 BT Shabbat 140b .......................................................................................................3 1.2.4 BT Kiddushin 32a ......................................................................................................3 1.2.5 BT Chullin 7b ............................................................................................................4 1.2.6 BT Baba Kama 91b ....................................................................................................5 1.2.7 BT Baba Kama 91b (part two) ...................................................................................6 1.2.8 BT Baba Batra 24b.....................................................................................................8 1.2.9 BT Baba Batra 26a .....................................................................................................8 1.2.10 BT Berachot 55a ......................................................................................................9 1.3 Rambam – Mishneh Torah and Sefer Hamitzvot ......................................................... 10 1.4 Shulchan Aruch .......................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Sefer haChinuch ......................................................................................................... 13 1.6 Summary .................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2 Bal Tashchit and Eco-kashrut ............................................................................... 16 2.1 Jews, Food and Holiness ............................................................................................. 16 2.1.1 Food and Holiness in Torah ..................................................................................... 16 2.1.2 Food and Holiness in Rabbinic Thought ................................................................... 17 2.1.3 Reform Jews and Kashrut......................................................................................... 18 i 2.2 Bal Tashchit and Eco-kashrut in Jewish Renewal ........................................................ 20 2.2.1 Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi ............................................................................... 21 2.2.2 Rabbi Arthur Waskow.............................................................................................. 24 2.3 Bal Tashchit and Eco-kashrut in Reform Judaism ....................................................... 27 2.3.1 ‘CCAR Journal’ and The Sacred Table .................................................................... 27 2.3.2 The Environment in Jewish Law .............................................................................. 29 2.4 Bal tashchit and Eco-kashrut in the Conservative Movement ...................................... 33 2.4.1 Lawrence Troster ..................................................................................................... 33 2.4.2 Magen Tzedek, an Ethical Certification for Kosher Food ......................................... 35 2.5 Summary .................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3 Incorporating Eco-kashrut in our Daily Practice ................................................... 40 3.1 Jews and Progressive Judaism in the Netherlands ........................................................ 40 3.2.1 Kashrut and Shechita in The Netherlands ................................................................. 40 3.2.2 Position of Progressive Jews in The Netherlands ...................................................... 41 3.2.3 Our Stand on Kashrut ............................................................................................... 42 3.3 Educated Choices........................................................................................................ 43 3.3.1 Importance of Education .......................................................................................... 43 3.3.2 Developing a Contemporary Reform Kashrut ........................................................... 44 3.4 Bal Tashchit in Talmud and Rabbinic Sources ............................................................ 46 3.5 Balancing Values and Setting Priorities....................................................................... 47 3.5.1 Options and Preferences ........................................................................................... 47 3.5.2 Examples of my Personal Practice ............................................................................ 48 3.5.3 Our Influence as Consumers .................................................................................... 49 3.6 Suggestions for an Eco-kosher Policy for the Progressive Movement in The Netherlands ...................................................................................................................... 51 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 53 Appendix 1: Organizations and websites for further reading ................................................. 57 ii Appendix 2: Different labels in The Netherlands .................................................................. 59 Bibliography......................................................................................................................... 61 Primary sources ................................................................................................................ 61 Secondary sources ............................................................................................................ 61 iii Introduction The early Reformers of Judaism in 1885 abandoned kashrut because they considered it irrelevant and not spiritually uplifting. Over a hundred years later there is a process of return to the ritual aspects of Judaism and a revival of kashrut, though not necessarily the same kashrut that was rejected a century earlier. Kashrut is now considered a way to introduce spirituality in our daily existence, as a way to connect to the Source of all life and a way to contribute to tikkun olam. Tikkun olam is an important feature of Reform Judaism as is clear from the central theme of the World Union of Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) Conference in Jerusalem in 2013. In the announcement it said: “The concept of Tikkun Olam, Repairing the World, is a core concept of Progressive Judaism, reflecting the responsibility of each and every member for social action and social justice.”1 When we incorporate ethical principles in our eating practice, it turns into a means to contribute to tikkun olam. This practice is often called eco- or ethical kashrut in order to distinguish it from traditional kashrut, although ethical and ecological principles, like tza’ar ba’alei chayim (suffering of living beings), are considered part of regular kashrut as well, but not always recognized as such. When talking about regular or traditional kashrut I mean the generally accepted understanding of our dietary laws: not to eat pork and seafood, not to eat dairy and meat in the same meal and only to eat meat that is slaughtered according to the rules of shechita, although there are different opinions about the details of this practice among the different groups within Judaism. What is understood by eco- kashrut is point of discussion as we will see in this thesis. In 2011 there was, like every couple of years, a discussion in Dutch politics and society about shechita and ‘dhabiha’ (Islamic ritual slaughter). Speaking on behalf of the Jewish community the debate was dominated by Orthodox rabbis who only spoke about the way animals are slaughtered. We, as Progressive rabbis, declared that also the way animals are raised, fed and treated should be taken into consideration. The Dutch Progressive Jewish Almanac, which is distributed among all members of Progressive congregations in the Netherlands, incorporates since 2011 a statement of preference for eco-kashrut by the Board of Rabbis, which includes welfare, labor conditions and environmental impact. But this statement is hardly reflected in our congregations’ practices. So when I started thinking about the subject for my thesis,