Off The Chicken Crack
Judaism, Jewish culture, Eco-Kashrut, Jewish Cuisine, Keeping Kosher, Jewish Spirituality May 1st, 2007
This showed up in my Bloglines this evening and suffice it to say I found it rather repulsive. Don’t get me wrong even though I personally feel such behavior leaves something spiritually and ethically to be desired. I realize not everybody shares that feeling and I also realize that they are entitled to approach things as they see fit. Sorry no offense intended Mottel but dude that was gross!
Anyhow that post contained the term “shecht” which was one that I was unfamiliar with, so I decided to look it up and here’s what I found. I was certainly disturbed by that picture but it did serve to refresh my memory regarding a recent accomplishment of mine. And that would be the fact that I have been off the chicken crack for well over a month now. In fact I’ve been off all meat/poultry since my nasty food poisoning incident back in March.
I won’t say that I don’t miss the taste of chicken but in all honesty it hasn’t been that hard to give up and I think it will even be easier to stay away from it after having seen those pictures. Also I like the idea of incorporating vegetarianism into my sense of Jewish identity and as an expression of commitment to practicing Eco-Kashrut.
PS: anyone else out there who is interested in getting off the chicken crack and would like to learn a little bit more about Judaism and vegetarianism.
Just click the image at the top of this post.
Technorati tags: Eco-Kashrut, Jewish Vegetarianism, Shecht, Kosher Slaughter
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May 2nd, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Hi
Please consider writing news pieces or an op-ed for Jewrusalem: Israeli Uncensored News. We strive to present different views and opinions while rejecting political correctness. Ideally, we try to make the news “smart and funny.” Thus, your input is very welcome.
Best,
Alex
www.jewrusalem.net/en
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:48 pm
To each his own, which is so often the case with us.
But please keep in mind the following things:
1. The Torah gave man the right to slaughter animals only after they had been saved by Noah.
2. The act of ritual slaughter is by far the most humane form of preparing meat -if you have beef (pun intended) against eating meat, by all means don’t eat it . . . but keep in mind that when shechting only the sharpest knife is use to kill the animal instantaneously -even the smallest nick disqualifies the knife from use. A prayer is said before hand, the blood of the chicken is covered with earth, as a sign of thanks for the bird which covered the blood of Abel with earth. As a note, the Rabbi pictured there did not want to become a shochet (slaughterer) because he did not like the sight of blood . . . The Lubavitcher Rebbe told him that that is exactly why he should be a shochet, for only he would have the proper reverence.
3. That head is not lopped off as shown in the picture you found, to do so would likely render the animal unkosher. Rather that picture was for training purposes.
4. As for the pictures themselves, I should have put a warning . . . though you can be happy that I didn’t put up the picture of the dissection -or the bbq afterwards.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Might I recommend the wikipedia article on Shechita:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shechita
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Oh, TG- you have no idea how much this post syncs up with my own life. I just got finished watching this short little piece from CNN about the food industry in China and how they feed their animals all sorts of disgusting things- and how that gets into the human food supply. But man, if there was ever a news report that would make you happy to have all those orthodox rabbis running around checking stuff out…this was it.
I eat meat so rarely these days that I can safely say I’m off chicken crack- but its hard to get rid of the Osem brand parve chicken soup stock. Yeh. Hard to get rid of that.
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Hi Mottle
Like I said each to their own. So if you feel that your justifications/explanations do the trick, well then by all means keep on trucking the way you’ve been trucking. Having said that I stand by my statements and assertions on the subject and will therefore act accordingly.
Hey amishav
I can’t lie, I am in fact happy to you are somewhat disheveled by your viewing experience and I am happy to read that you’re eating lower off of the food chain. Having said that I don’t think it’s an all or nothing sort of thing. Any move towards vegetarianism is great. I don’t think the idea is to become something unrealistic, it’s about finding a personal medium that is doable.
PS you do know that there are several brands of kosher vegetarian chicken flavored broth available on the market.
Anyhow guys thanks for sharing your insights and thoughts on this topic.
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:02 pm
when i was becoming frum i was a vegetarian. i asked someone why the kosher meat industry was so much like the regular one, with the same factory farming, etc. she explained to me it’s all a part of being in galus, that the kosher meat industry reflects this exile we’re in. obviously, there was a time when our forefathers lovingly sheperded their flocks, when the demand for meat was perhaps not as high. i agree with you that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, you can save the chicken/meat for shabbos and yom tov, for these things “gladden the heart.” unless of course it disgusts you, and then you certainly don’t have to eat it. also, there is a chassidic concept that an animal eaten by a jew is elevated in a way that it never could be on its own. this elevation begins with the mitzvah of shechita. just some “food for thought,” ha ha. G-d allows us to eat animals, and gave us mitzvos involving eating them. it is important to not try and be “more compassionate” than Hashem. lastly, when moshiach comes, jews will be eating the levyoson and the shor habor - defintely not vegetarian fare! all this being said, i commend you for sticking to your beliefs and i wish you success.
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Being in Golus, imho, doesn’t mean we have to put the animals through hell to. That is not to say I’m perfect. I eat kosher fish, I eat dairy. But, as someone has made clear to me…call a spade a spade.
I also don’t think being a vegetarian means, and I speak for myself, that I am making myself more compassionate than G-d. I see it as G-d has given me the ability to love and reason and have compassion for the creatures who need it. That is a G-dly gift if anything. Being a vegetarian surely does not make me more G-dly or better than.
This is an interesting discussion and I appreciate the post and the comments.
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:07 am
I downloaded this a couple of weeks ago from work, and even though I don’t eat meat, this reinforced my decision to avoid it. One of the wonderful things about Judaism is its breadth of compassion, and this booklet really explicates it. While it’s not in me to preach the vegetarian lifestyle, I do know that physically and mentally, I’m much better off following it.
Kirk
May 4th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Indeed, a great discussion! I am getting closer all the time to be “veg” and I am really coming to appreciate the Jewish perspectives on that choice.
TG, I was looking for your e-mail address and could not find it. I know you have mine. Please get in touch when you have a chance.
Shabbat Shalom!
May 5th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Tamara, well stated!
Kirk, I also have experienced the same sort of positive affects, once of animal flesh.
Zed, the email has been sent!