TG on YouTube has arrived! Will the miracles ever cease? Seriously through this is my first attempt Video Blogging, so it’s rough  but the book is good, honest! Anyhow check it out and let me know what you think!

Here are a few links for those of you interested in learning more about Mordecai M. Kaplan ( I referred to his theology in the video as Kaplanian) or his view of Judaism as an Evolving Religious Civilization.

Lastly anyone who’s interested in purchasing a copy of “Olive Trees & Honey” by Gil Marks can do so by clicking here.

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Many of you probably don’t know this but I’ve been a huge fan of the chickpea most of my life, especially in tasty dishes like apple curried chickpeas, hummus or in a pasta dish. Anyhow last night I learned a couple of very interesting facts about chickpeas and their relationship to Jews and Judaism.

For example, apparently chickpeas were such a prevalent food among the Sephardic Jews living during the times of the Inquisition, that members of the Spanish Inquisition considered their use in cooking to be a sign of Jewish cuisine. Therefore people (whether actually Jewish or not) who were caught making things like chickpea stew, were subject to arrest based on the grounds that cooking with chickpeas meant that you were probably Jewish.

Another interesting fact I learned last night was that chickpeas which are easily grown in abundance were therefore considered to be a sign of fertility. Also their round shape symbolized the cycles of life and the year and therefore foods containing chickpeas were (are?) commonly served at events like birthdays. In fact (and I did not know this until last night) apparently chickpeas area a traditional Rosh Hashanah food because they represent, a wish for a well-rounded year to come.

Anyhow, I thought it was interesting!

PS feel free to share your Jewish chickpea stories and/or facts if you got them.

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I wanted to do a follow-up on a post from a week or so back on Jewish arguments for adopting a vegetarian diet. I feel that my post was incomplete and may have even misrepresented what I was trying to communicate. It was after all something of a knee-jerk reaction to some pictures I saw online. That is not to say that I was upset by them but simply that I saw the images and impulsively replied with a post of my own. So before too much time passes and I completely forget about it I would like to clarify and expand on my original point.

Although my post focused on animal cruelty and vegetarianism it’s really just one part of a larger issue and is not a black and white situation. I for one do not think you have to be a vegetarian to be ethical. Although I personally feel it is the best choice (at least for me) for a couple of reasons. First by abstaining from animal products I am better able to guarantee that I am not promoting and supporting animal cruelty. Secondly by simply adopting a more plant based diet I lessen my ecological footprint which I believe allows me to be more environmentally responsible.

Although I used a PETA video in that post I am not a member nor have I ever been. I also do not agree with much of what the organization stands for. I try to work from a moral reference point that reflects both depth and span. For example I feel that it’s unnecessary to eat animal products in modern Western society. Most of the evidence seems to show that it is in fact healthier to eat a vegetarian diet. More importantly we have all sorts of veggie product alternatives readily available, so it’s no longer a question of hunting and killing to survive.

My basic moral intuition goes something like this. I need to eat to survive however whenever I can I want to do it in a way that has as little negative impact as possible. Animals are higher life forms with cognitive abilities, instincts and have highly developed central nervous systems capable of feeling pain. Plants are lower life forms with no cognitive abilities and to the best of our knowledge are not capable of feeling pain. Therefore it is better for me to eat plants than animals whenever possible as plants have less depth.

However on the other hand if conducting medical research on an animal is going to help cure my stepfather’s Parkinson’s disease, I completely support doing so. Human beings obviously have more depth than animals therefore it is a morally acceptable choice in my opinion. However I am sure many vegans would strongly disagree with me and thats OK.

Again let me reiterate that this is my own basic sense of moral intuition and I am not saying everyone else has to do it the way I do it. For me the act of adopting a plant based diet is one way a fulfilling my commitment to Eco-Kashrut but I realize that there are other ways of meeting this commitment and for some it may not be dependent upon vegetarianism.

I do think that as Jews whether we eat meat or not we have a responsibility to think about what it is that we are doing. We cannot just assume that what we are doing is truly kosher, even if there is a label on the package.

Arthur Green in his book “These Are the Words” describes Kashrut as the following.

Kashrut literally means “fitness,” referring in this case to fitness for eating, though the term is also used in many other areas of Halakah. Kosher (or Kasher in the Sephardic and modern Hebrew pronunciation) means “fit” to be eaten or used to prepare food.

Industrialization has made food both abundant and cheap but it has come at an expense. We have for the most part removed ourselves from the process so much so that we no longer even know what it is that we are eating. We no longer can claim to know what impacts the food we consume is having on the environment, how animals are being raised or even on our own health.

I will not go into cruelty issues here but I am going to suggest that the traditional Kashrut system does not take into account many of the new realities of food production. But because of this I (and many others) believe  it is now essential that we add a new set of criteria to the Kashrut equation, in order to meet the needs of the 21st century. For example Kashrut has no way of dealing with GMO’s and I doubt that the OU is taking into consideration any possible environmental impacts when they certify a plant.

Green’s defines Kashrut as something being fit for eating and I believe that in the 21st century we need to expand this from fit for eating to fit for consumption. We are a society of consumers we consume food, services, products like clothing. We buy vehicles which in turn consume gas and we give little thought to whether or not what we are consuming is actually fit for consumption.

This is why people like Reb Zalman are promoting innovations such as Eco-Kashrut so that we can begin thinking about whether or not the things we use are actually fit for consumption.

Oops it seems I have strayed a little off-topic, so let me bring it back to food.

Regardless of whether one wants to look at consuming plant based foods or animal products we need to come up with a better system for better assessing whether or not to these foods are in fact fit for consumption. I do not have any definitive answers and I am not claiming to be an expert but I personally believe that we need to update our approach.

• We need a system that takes into consideration not only the old criteria but also important new ones.
  
• We need to take into consideration whether the food we are consuming is healthy for us and unfortunately the current kosher system does not do that very well.
  
• We need to update the kosher process to ensure that the foods we eat are not promoting obesity, cancer, diabetes or a host of other illnesses.
  
• We need a system that insurers a minimum standard of animal welfare is met and unfortunately a Kashrut that allows for the current factory farming cannot meet such a standard.
  
• We need a system that promotes Environmental Responsibility with regard to all aspects of food production. Including pesticide use, ecological impacts of growth as well as food transportation and storage.
  
• We need a system that promotes economic sustainability and fair trade. We need to ask ourselves if food that is produced by workers who are exploited or live in poverty is indeed fit for consumption.

Kashrut is meant to sanctify eating and create a sense of holiness but how can this be done unless the above conditions are met?

Humanity has evolved and become much more complex than it was even a mere 100 years ago. We need an ethical system that reflects this new complexity because anything short of this in my opinion only diminishes us in the eyes of G-D.

And with that I will end this long-winded rant and wish you all a pleasant Shabbos.

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I tend to see myself first and foremost as a spiritual person and that’s something I’m usually pretty proud of. I’m also a person who talks a lot about gratitude as an essential part of the spiritual path. I read about it and I think about how I can become more grateful towards myself, others, G-D and life. Unfortunately I often seem to fall short in this department. I think much of this problem is rooted in the fact that I’m so disconnected from many aspects of my life.

Anyhow today I spoke briefly with my mother on the phone and she told me a story that really hit home. Apparently one of her friends has a son who is roughly my age and overweight (but slightly smaller than me according to my mother) who was recently sent to the hospital for heart trouble. I didn’t get exactly what was wrong but apparently it’s serious and he’s going to need to be medically monitored and make some significant lifestyle changes. My mother is very cautious with me because of our history, so she didn’t say anything about my health and or weight but I could feel the concern in her voice.

Coming back to the idea that I am a “spiritual” person, over the past year (on and off at least) I’ve been trying to bring my body into the equation and it’s been a huge struggle. I’ve had a rough life and have overcome a lot including heavy alcohol abuse (oh by the way later this month marks my third year clean and sober, yay for me) so it’s not like I’m unable to master my addictions. It is just that for whatever reason this weight thing has been very difficult, frustrating and depressing.

My mother’s story has me worried because although I’ve been very fortunate even as an overweight adults in terms of health. I’m slipping into that age group now where things like weight can really start to get you into trouble.

I don’t want to come off as someone who’s unhealthy because I’m not actually at this point unhealthy I’m just fat. I mean compared to a lot of people I’m actually very healthy because I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs. Also for most of my adulthood I’ve lived off of a primarily plant based diet and as of last month I’ve given up what little meat I was previously eating. It’s funny because Tamara thinks I’m one of the healthiest eaters she knows she just always adds “your portions are just way too big” and she’s right about that. I really don’t think I’m unhealthy I’m just unfortunately pretty fat and that puts me at risk of becoming unhealthy every day I stay like this.

This week I’ve realized that I don’t need to change the foods I eat. In fact I don’t even think I need to change my attitude towards the foods I eat. I’ve realized that I need to change my attitude towards my body when it comes to food.

I’ve also realized that I need to move my sense of “Spirituality” out of my Neshamah, past my mind and into my body a little bit more because there seems to be a disconnect in this department.

I’ve never been super connected to my body in fact I’ve spent a lot of time trying to escape it, which is why I wound up neck deep in booze and drugs growing up. I guess the process of reconnecting to my body is something that has been slowly taking place for years and now it’s just time to kick it up to the next level or something.

I have been doing stuff on this front for a little while but I think it’s time to try something new. It’s time to bring G-D into this equation or rather bring my relationship with G-D into the process. Because up until now I haven’t done that, well at least not with any measure of honesty.

Okay so bringing it back to gratitude and its role in spirituality I’m wondering the following.

Can one honestly claim to be grateful towards Hashem if that gratitude isn’t reflected in the way we treat our own bodies? Can I truly be taking a sense of covenant to heart if I’m ignorantly destroying the very body that holds that heart? Do I have the right to criticize anyone for being environmentally unfriendly, when I mismanage my own physical environment?

Okay yes I’m being a little melodramatic but the basic points behind these questions are in my opinion worthy of some serious consideration.

Anyhow bearing the above in mind I have decided that it’s time for me to put more effort into connecting to my body as a way of connecting to G-D. I really don’t know how all of this is going to unfold but I think that reciting “Asher Yatzar” daily is a good start.

And on that note I leave you with the following lovely version of “Asher Yatzar” taken from a sermon at Temple Beth-El of Richmond, Virginia.

“Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, king of the universe, that created the human being with infinite wisdom, and created passages that are supposed to be open (like mouth and nose) and passages that are supposed to be closed (like stomach and heart). It is revealed and known before the throne of Your glory, that if those intended to be closed were open or those intended to be open were closed, we couldn’t exist and arise before You. Blessed are You, O Lord, healer of all flesh and who does wondrously.”

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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.

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