Judaism - Activism
Judaism is an all-encompassing way of life. Jews are to strive to be holy, work to achieve God’s ends, and follow Jewish ethics and law. The prophets provide an example of (holy) activism, of striving to draw humanity back into line with core religious teachings.
(Photo courtesy of Shamayim.)
“You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” (Pirkei Avot 2:21, Jacobs, n.p.)
Page Outline
I. Judaism as a Way of Life
II. Being Holy
III. Prophets Model Activism
IV. Jewish Anymal Activism
Conclusion
I. Judaism as a Way of Life
Israel based Animals Now activists taking a photo break from educating the public about the cruelty of dairy. (Photo courtesy of Animals Now.)
Avoiding animal products is one of the most obvious ways you can take a stand against animal cruelty and animal exploitation everywhere. (Shamayim: “Try Vegan,” n.p.)
Halakha (Jewish law, which includes the collective corpus of religious, biblical, later Talmudic, and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions), stems from the Hebrew root “to go” or “walk.” A simple English translation for Halakha is “path” or “the way of walking.” Jewish law and ethics are centrally concerned with “life on earth” (Berman 43), including mundane acts of day-to-day life. Ideally, Jewish law and ethics guide every step we take along the path of life—every choice, every action, every bite. Shear Yashuv Cohen, former Chief Rabbi of Haifa, writes of peace with anymals as “a special path of worship” and “a step forward to our return to the Peaceable Kingdom (Schwartz, Judaism, xix)
Study is not the most important thing, but actions. (Pirkei Avot, Avot 1:17)
In Tel Aviv, protesting against live animal imports. (Photo courtesy of Revital Topiol.)
The Tanakh teaches that Judaism is lived and that we are to express justice and kindness and humility in our day-to-day lives:
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
Justice does not admit of exploitation, goodness does not permit cruelty and mass slaughter, and walking humbly with God does not allow a human-centered approach to creation: We are not entitled to use anymals as food production units, petri dishes, or clothing on the hoof. Our duty is to serve and protect all that is God’s on behalf of God. (For more on divinely ordained duties to serve and protect, see 4.3.I.F “Duties Assigned by God.”)
Child kissing a pig at Freedom Farm, a vegan sanctuary in Moshav Olesh, Israel. (Image courtesy of Freedom Farm.)
II Being Holy
Israel is expected to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Collectively, Jews are to be a shining example for all of humanity. This carries the expectation of a God-centered life, a life habitually aligned with Jewish laws and ethics, a life of serving and protecting creation on behalf of the Creator. This is the task assigned by God. This is rightly the guiding principle of daily life. (For more on scripture and ethics, see 4.3.III “Core Law/Ethics.” For more on divinely ordained duties for humanity, see 4.3.I.F “Duties Assigned by God.”)
You shall be holy, for I, the Lord, thy God, am holy. (Leviticus 19:10)
Those working on behalf of God’s creatures exemplify the holy life. They strive to uphold the law and prevent causing “sorrow to living creatures” (tsa’ar ba’alei chaim) (Schwartz, “An Overlooked,” n.p.); they work toward a return to earthly harmony.
Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint. (Proverbs 29:18)
III. Prophets Model Activism
It is difficult to change behaviors, let alone inspire deep, spiritual change, but this is the hope and daily labor of the Biblical prophets. (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve/Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.) Working to turn minds, hearts, and lives back to God, the prophets speak against the irreligious and the unjustly empowered on behalf of the marginalized. They remind of religious ideals such as sharing, compassion, and mercy (Wink 188). The prophets live scriptural moral expectations and encourage others to do the same.
Designed to startle people out of a routine stupor, raise awareness, and inspire change, prophetic eccentricities are common in scriptures. The prophets “intuited that only outrage speaks to outrage. . . . Only shock gets through” and they used whatever means they deemed necessary to gain attention and turn people back to a Godly way of life (Maguire 420). Under divine instruction, Jeremiah harnesses himself to a yoke (Jeremiah 27:2), for which he was labeled a “madman” (Jeremiah 29:26). Though “nakedness was taboo in Judaism” (Wink 179), Isaiah wanders “naked and barefoot for three years” (Isaiah 20:3). Micah also vows to “lament and wail” and “go stripped and naked” (Micah 1:8). Running against secular norms was so common among the prophets that, when Saul “stripped off his clothes” and “lay naked” for a day and a night, people ask, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 19:24).
Some interpret “naked” in these passages to mean “torn clothes,” but Hebrew scholar Dr. Samantha Joo notes, “The Hebrew word, 'arom, means “naked” and not “torn clothes” (see Job 1:21—“Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return” and also Ecclesiastes 5:15 “As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came”). Dr. Joo reminds that Isaiah was living in exile and was dehumanized, clothes being understood as synonymous with being a civilized human being.
We [pushed] the Israeli Supreme Court to rule that the force-feeding of ducks and geese violates the Animal Protection Act, and the entire industry was shut down.
We led a public campaign which brought about a ban on circuses using wild animals from entering Israel. In certain city jurisdictions all shows that involve animals of any kind were banned.
For years we have promoted legislation to stop the fur trade. Thanks to the fight we led, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has approved an amendment to wildlife protection regulations—banning wildlife fur trade in the fashion industry.
Our petitions, protests, letters, and persistent action led the Ministry of Education to ban animal dissection in biology classes.
[We helped bring about legislation] prohibiting veal crates, limiting confinement of sows in gestation crates, preventing dehorning of cows without anesthesia.
We guide hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to try a plant-based diet over a period of 22 days, accompanied by a team of experienced volunteers and professional clinical dietitians. (Animals Now, list of accomplishments.)
Today’s norms accept the exploitation of earth and anymals without regard for the Creator: Teachers expect children to dissect anymals in classrooms; the wealthy display their status with leather and fur; “sportsmen” kill for pleasure; and the mainstream household chooses to eat anymal products when other options are readily available and more economical, thereby choosing to support a system of massive suffering and bloodshed. (Non-processed vegan foods are often less expensive—despite the norm of heavy government subsidies that support anymal agriculture—including rice and beans, lentils and potatoes, pasta and vegetables, nuts and bread.) Standard behaviors in contemporary, industrialized societies expose the need for desperate means in order to turn people back to kindness, respect, and the serving of God by caring for creation.
Yossi Wolfson inspecting conditions in a pig farm in Northern Israel, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Yossi Wolfson.)
Secular law usually considers a dog property and requires returning a dog to their owner. Jewish ethics, however, do not. And so a holy man refused to surrender a terrified dog to an abusive man, defying secular law in favor of God’s law by allowing the dog to hide in his protective cloak. (Judah heHasid, Rabbi, in Schochet, 246)
Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets. (Numbers 11:29)
Jeremiah harnessed himself to a yoke. (Photo courtesy of HeartofAShepherd.com)
Pig and dog playing together at Freedom Farm, a vegan sanctuary in Moshav Olesh, Israel. (Image courtesy of Freedom Farm.)
IV Jewish Anymal Activism
Judaism fosters a way of understanding life and creation that encourages anymal activism, so it comes as no surprise that there are many Jewish anymal activists and anymal advocacy organizations, including activists Lewis Gompertz and Richard Schwartz, and organizations like Jewish Veg and Shamayim.
An activist protesting against Kaporos is met with nervous laughter and the cold shoulder (Photo Courtesy of The Jewish Star.)
Lewis Gompertz “devoted his life to the cause of kindness to animals” (“Gompertz” n.p.). In 1824 he published “Moral Enquiries on the Situation of Men and Brutes,” which “attracted considerable notice, resulting in the foundation of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals” (RSPCA) (“Gompertz” n.p.). Far ahead of his time, Gompertz “argued that there was no significant difference between ‘humans and other animals’” and “clearly wanted animals to be given a similar legal status to humans” (“Lewis” n.p.).
It appears that, among those who came together to form the RSPCA, only Gompertz recognized the moral necessity of changing one’s diet: “as far as we know, he was the only one who objected to slaughtering and eating some of the animals they were trying to protect” (“Lewis” n.p.). Gompertz commented that he would never “do anything that would cause suffering to animals” (“History” n.p.), and he renounced flesh, eggs, milk, leather, and silk, condemned vivisection, and would not ride in a horse-drawn coach.
We inspire and assist Jews to embrace plant-based diets as an expression of Jewish values. (Jewish Veg, “What We Do,” n.p..)
“Shamayim” means “Heaven” in Hebrew. The goal of Jewish life is to bring heaven down to earth and to sanctify the world through all of our just and holy endeavours. . . . We are the stewards of the earth seeking to ensure that heaven still has a place on earth by removing injustice, oppression, and suffering from our midst. (Shamayim, “About Us,” n.p.)
Gompertz sought to end anymal “sport,” including dog fighting, bull-fighting, and bull-baiting (“History” n.p.), and was especially concerned for horses, “the most abused animal in London at that time, as they were the primary means of transport” (“Lewis” n.p.). Recognizing that anymal liberation was not even on the horizon, he “devoted much of his life to improving the welfare conditions of the animals” (“Lewis” n.p.). Gompertz was an inventor with thirty-eight inventions to his name, many of which he designed to reduce animal suffering.
First, how do you prove that mankind is invested with the right of killing them, and that brutes have been created for the purpose you assert them to be? Secondly, it is to be observed that the flesh of man himself possesses the same nourishing and palatable qualities? And are we then to become cannibals for that reason? (Lewis Gompertz, Moral, n.p.)
The dreadful situation of the brute creation, particularly of those which have been domesticated, claims our strictest attention. (Lewis Gompertz, Moral, n.p.; also Gompertz, “England,” n.p.)
Horse, who might otherwise be exploited for labor, living at Lockwood Animal Rescue Center in California. (Image courtesy of We Animals Media.)
There are many more anymal activists now than there were when Gompertz lived. Prominent activist Richard Schwartz, vegan since the 1970s (quoted extensively throughout this writing), was important for the founding and shaping of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, now renamed Jewish Veg. He advocates for a vegan diet as a matter of Jewish ethics and values, focusing on anymal suffering, feeding the hungry, and healing the planet.
I began to see that the Jewish worldview included my ideas about working for a better world. . . . . There was plenty of opportunity for a fulfilling spiritual, socially activist life within my own tradition! In fact, the whole saga of Jewish history involved a struggle to maintain the Jewish people and its ethical teachings in the face of oppression, anti-Semitism, hatred, and violence. (Richard Schwartz, Ph.D., Vegan Revolution, xxv)
Long-term Jewish activist, Richard Schwartz, tabling for the animals, the earth, and humanity. (Photo courtesy of Richard Schwartz)
Jewish Veg “educates and builds community to encourage a plant-based lifestyle through celebrations and conversations about Jewish values” (“What We Do” n.p.). They offer an extensive support system for vegans and for shifting to a vegan diet, including a Facebook page to share experience and provide support, discussion groups, and one-on-one consultations. Jewish Veg also has an extensive “ambassador program” providing presentations on Jewish values and diet to Jewish communities (synagogues, chavurot, women's groups, and so on) worldwide (“Shalom” n.p.).
Tza’ar ba’alei chayim is the Torah mandate to prevent and alleviate animal suffering. Sadly, a kosher hechsher on a package of meat does not mean the animal was treated humanely. The issue here is not whether shechita, kosher slaughter, is better or worse than any other type of slaughter. The issue is that the kosher meat companies do not raise their own animals. They buy their animals from the same cruel industry that supplies Oscar Meyer and Tyson—in other words, the secular meat industry. (Jeffrey Spitz Cohan, Jewish Veg, in Schwartz, Vegan Revolution, 137)
(Image courtesy of Jewish Veg)
Lewis Gompertz, portrait. (Photo Courtesy of International Vegetarian Union.)
Another contemporary organization, Shamayim, “offers programs, campaigns, and educational opportunities to teach the Jewish community about animal advocacy and veganism,” including a Synagogue Vegan Challenge, Shamayim College Fellowship, Egg-Free Challah, and a Rabbi Reflection Circle (“About Us” n.p.). Shamayim also hosts an annual retreat during a Shabbat weekend to focus on the Jewish mandate for compassion. “By protecting the most vulnerable creatures,” Shamayim returns holiness to the world by “bringing heaven back down to earth” (“About Us” n.p.).
Every time we shop or order food in a restaurant - every time we eat - we can choose to help animals. Every time we make the switch from an animal product to a vegan one we are standing up for farmed animals everywhere. (Shamayim: “Try Vegan,” n.p.)
Jewish anymal advocacy has grown strong as Jewish activists strive to live up to their religious teachings, to establish justice, compassion, and peace for all beings. If you work for one of these organizations, or are one of these activists, thank you.
A mixed species Shamayim gathering. (Photo Courtesy of Shamayim website.)
Jewish anymal advocacy has grown strong. Jewish activists continue to strive for justice, compassion, and peace for all beings. If you work for one of these organizations, or are one of these activists, thank you.
Conclusion
In condoning empty rituals and standing silent in the face of immoral deeds, we make a mockery of Judaism. (Nina Natelson, CHAI and Hakol CHAI, in Schwartz, Vegan, n.p.)
Jews and Arabs protesting in Haifa on behalf of anymals. (Photo courtesy of Anonymous for Animal Rights/Animals Now.)
Judaism is a lived experience, a way of life—every day, throughout the day. Jews are to serve God through creation, as modeled by the prophets, striving to be perfect and holy, working together daily toward God’s ends and living according to the ethics and laws laid out in scriptures. The prophets exemplify activism, working to draw humanity back in line with core Jewish teachings and back to God. Lewis Gompertz and many contemporary Jewish anymal activists and anymal activist organizations follow.
For a list of Jewish organizations working to bring change for people, the planet, and anymals, please click here
Featured Sources
Kemmerer, Lisa. Animals and Judaism. (KDP, 2022.)
Gershom, Yonassan. Kapporos Then and Now: Toward a More Compassionate Tradition. lulu.com, 2015.
Schwartz, Richard. “The Custom of Kapparot.” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-custom-of-kapparot-in-the-jewish-tradition.
“Kapparo.” Shamayim: Jewish Animal Advocacy. https://www.shamayim.us/#!/page/kapparos. Also, “The Custom of Kapparot in the Jewish Tradition.” https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-custom-of-kapparot-in-the-jewish-tradition/.
“Kaporos.” United Poultry Concerns. https://www.upc-online.org/Kaporos/.
“A Wing and a Prayer: The Kapparot Chicken-Swinging Ritual.” United Poultry Concerns. http://upc-online.org/Kaporos/a_wing_and_a_prayer.html.
Davis, Karen (Ph.D.). “United Poultry Concerns’ Campaign to End Chicken Kaporos.” Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos. March 19, 2013. https://www.upc-online.org/Kaporos/ and http://www.endchickensaskaporos.com/museum.html.
Kemmerer, Lisa. “Kaporos: Multiculturalism, Ethics, and Anymals.” Animals, Race, and Multiculturalism: Contemporary Moral and Political Debates. Ed. Luís Cordeiro-Rodrigues and Les Mitchell. Palgrave, 2017. 225-254. (Download here http://lisakemmerer.com/articles.html.)