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Vegetarian Pessah — for goodness sake!
By Richard H. Schwartz
Pessah and vegetarianism: Are the two compatible? After all, what is a Seder without gefilte fish, chicken soup, chopped liver, chicken and other meats? A shankbone is needed to commemorate the paschal sacrifice, and Halacha mandates that Jews eat meat to rejoice on Pessah and other Jewish festivals.
An increasing number of Jews are turning to vegetarianism, finding ways to celebrate meatless Pessahs while being consistent with Jewish teachings.
For many years, Jonathan Wolf, a vegetarian activist, has hosted up to 50 people at his Manhattan apartment for completely vegetarian Seders.
Contrary to a common perception, Jews are not required to eat meat at the Seder or any other time. According to the Talmud (Pessahim 109a), since the destruction of the Temple, Jews need not eat meat to celebrate festivals.
This approach is reinforced in recent scholarly articles by Rabbi Albert Cohen in the Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society and Rabbi J. David Bleich in Tradition magazine. Also, the late Shlomo Goren, former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, was a strict vegetarian as is Haifa Chief Rabbi She’ar Yashuv Cohen.
The use of the shankbone originated in the time of the Talmud as a means of commemorating the paschal lamb. However, since talmudic scholar Rabbi Huna states that a beet can be used for this purpose (Pessahim 114b), many vegetarians do so. The important point is that the shankbone is a symbol and no meat need be eaten at the Seder.
Vegetarian values are reinforced by several Pessah themes:
At the Seder, Jews say, "Let all who are hungry come and eat." As on other occasions, Grace After Meals is recited to thank God for providing food for the world’s people. This seems inconsistent with the consumption of meat-based diets which involve feeding 70 percent of the grain grown in the US, and two-thirds of the grain that that country exports, to animals destined for slaughter and importing beef from other countries, while 20 million people die of hunger and its effects annually.
Although he is not a vegetarian, Rabbi Jay Marcus of the Young Israel of Staten Island synagogue saw a connection between simpler diets and helping hungry people. He commented on the fact that karpas (eating of greens) comes immediately before yahatz (the breaking of the middle matza for later use as the afikomen). He concluded that those who live on simpler foods (greens, for example) will more readily divide their possessions and share with others.
Many Jewish vegetarians see connections between the oppression that their ancestors suffered and the plight of billions of people who presently lack sufficient food and other essential resources. Vegetarian diets require far less land, water, gasoline, pesticides, fertilizer, and other resources, and thus enable a more equitable sharing of God’s abundant resources, helping reduce global hunger and poverty.
The main Pessah theme is freedom. While relating the story of our ancestors’ slavery in Egypt and their redemption through God’s power and beneficence, many vegetarians also consider the "slavery‘ of animals on modern ’factory farms."
Contrary to Jewish teachings of tza’ar ba’alei hayim (the Torah mandate prohibiting causing unnecessary pain to living creatures), animals are raised for food today under cruel conditions in crowded spaces, where they are denied fresh air, sunlight, a chance to exercise, and the fulfillment of their natural instincts.
In this connection, it is significant to consider that Moses was chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt because as a shepherd he showed great compassion towards a lamb (Exodus Rabba 2:2).
Many Jewish vegetarians advocate commemorating the redemption of our ancestors from slavery by ending the current slavery to harmful eating habits through the adoption of vegetarian diets.
Pessah is the holiday of springtime, a time of nature’s renewal. It also commemorates God’s supremacy over the forces of nature. In contrast, modern intensive livestock agriculture and meat-based diets have many negative effects on the environment — air and water pollution, soil erosion and depletion, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, and contribution to global warming.
Jewish vegetarians view their diet as a way of putting Jewish values into practice. They believe that the Jewish mandate to show compassion to animals, take care of our health, protect the environment, conserve resources, and share with hungry people — and the negative effects of meat-based diets in each of these areas — point to vegetarianism as the ideal diet for Jews (and others).
SOURCES FOR further information on connections between Judaism and vegetarianism include:
The Jewish Vegetarians of North America, 6938 Reliance Road, Federalsburg, Maryland 21632; (410) 754—5550.
The International Jewish Vegetarian Society, 855 Finchley Road, London NW11, England.
Judaism and Vegetarianism by Richard Schwartz, new revised edition (New York, Lantern, 2001)
Micah Publications (the source for books on Judaism and vegetarianism and related issues), 255 Humphrey Street, Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945; micah@micahbooks.com (www.micahbooks.com). It has published vegetarian-friendly haggadot, Haggada for the Liberated Lamb and Haggada for the Vegetarian Family, both by Roberta Kalechofsky, founder and director of Jews for Animal Rights (JAR) and the Micah publishing house, containing traditional and new material for a vegetarian Seder, including recipes, songs, notes, readings, and a bibliography; and The Jewish Vegetarian Year Cookbook by Roberta Kalechofsky and Rosa Rasiel, which includes many recipes suitable for Pessah. It also has a video cassette describing a vegetarian Seder.
Other books with vegetarian recipes appropriate for Pessah include No Cholesterol Passover Recipes by Debra Wasserman and Charles Stahler (Vegetarian Resource Group, P. O. Box 1463, Baltimore, Maryland 21203), and Jewish Vegetarian Cooking (the official cookbook of the International Jewish Vegetarian Society) by Rose Friedman (Thorsons Publishers)
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