Sukkot, Simchat Torah, and Vegetarianism

[Guest guest]

Courtesy of Brook

 

Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.

president

www.jewishveg.com/schwartz

 

There are many connections that can be made between vegetarianism and

the joyous Jewish festivals of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret (the Eighth

Day of Solemn Assembly), and Simchat Torah:

 

1. Sukkot commemorates the 40 years when the ancient Israelites lived

in the wilderness in frail huts and were sustained by manna.

According to Isaac Arama (1420-1494), author of Akedat Yitzchak,and

others, the manna was God's attempt to reestablish for the Israelites

the vegetarian diet that prevailed before the flood in the time of

Noah.

 

2. On Simchat Torah, Jews complete the annual cycle of Torah

readings, and begin again, starting with the first chapter of

Genesis, which contains God's first dietary law: " Behold I have

given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of the

earth, and every tree, in which there is the fruit of a tree-yielding

seed - to you it shall be for food. " (Genesis 1:29). Also, the Torah,

along with prophetic and Talmudic interpretations, is the source of

the Jewish mandates - to take care of our health, treat animals with

compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources,

help hungry people, and seek and pursue peace - that point to

vegetarianism as the ideal diet today.

 

3. Sukkot is the Jewish harvest festival called the " Feast of

Ingathering " . Hence, it can remind us that many more people can be

sustained on vegetarian diets than on animal-centered diets that

presently involve over 70 percent of the grain produced in the United

States being fed to animals raised for slaughter, while 15 to 20

million people die due to malnutrition and its effects annually.

 

4. The Sukkot holiday, including Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah,

is known as the " Season of Rejoicing " , because people's worries about

the success of the harvest are over. Since one must be in good health

in order to fully rejoice, the many health benefits of vegetarian

diets and the knowledge that such diets are not harmful to hungry

people or animals are factors that can enhance rejoicing.

 

5. Sukkahs, the temporary structures that Jews dwell in during

Sukkot, are decorated with pictures and replicas of apples, oranges,

bananas, peppers, carrots, and other fruits and vegetables, never

with meats or other animal products.

 

6. After the sukkah, the main ritual symbols for Sukkot are related

to the plant kingdom. The Torah states: " On the first day, you shall

take the first fruit of hadar (goodly) trees (an etrog or citron),

branches of palm trees (lulav), boughs of leafy trees (hadassim) and

myrtle, and willows of the field (aravot), and you shall rejoice

before the Lord thy God seven days (Leviticus 23:40). These four

species represent the beauty and bounty of the land of Israel's

harvest.

 

7. On Shemini Atzeret, Jews pray for rain, and plead to God that it

should be for a blessing, not a curse. This is a reminder of the

preciousness of rain water to nourish the crops so that there will be

a successful harvest. Also, according to the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah

1.2), the world is judged on Sukkot with regard to how much rainfall

it will receive. In the days when the Temple stood in Jerusalem,

there was a joyous " Water Drawing Ceremony " (Simchat Bet Shueva),

designed to remind God to pour forth water when it was needed. Modern

intensive livestock agriculture requires huge amounts of water, much

of it to irrigate feed crops. According to Newsweek magazine, the

amount of water needed to raise one steer would float a Naval

destroyer. A person on an animal-based diet requires up to 14 times

as much water as a person on a strict vegetarian diet.

 

8. Sukkot is a universal holiday. There are at least three

indications related to the festival that Jews consider not only

their own welfare, but also the fate of all of the world's people:

a. In Temple days, there were 70 sacrifices for the then 70 nations

of the world;

b. The lulav is waved in all directions, to indicate God's rule over

and concern for the entire world;

c. The roof of the sukkah is made only of natural materials such as

wood and bamboo, and must be open sufficiently so that people inside

can see the stars, to remind them that their concerns should extend

beyond their immediate needs and should encompass the world.

Vegetarianism also considers not only a person's health, but

also

encompasses broader concerns, including the global environment, the

world's hungry people, and the efficient use of the world's resources.

 

9. Moving out of comfortable homes to dwell in relatively frail

sukkahs indicates that it is not our power and wealth that we should

rely on, but rather that our fate is in God's hands. And it is God

Who originally provided vegetarian diets for people, and created us

with hands, teeth, and digestive systems most conducive to eating

plant foods.

 

10. Dwelling in sukkahs also teaches that no matter how magnificent

our homes, no matter how extensive our wealth and material

possessions, we should be humble and not be overly concerned about

our status. Vegetarianism is also an attempt to not be taken in by

status symbols, such as those that the eating of meat often represent.

 

11. Sukkot's prophetic readings point to the universal messianic

transformation of the world. According to Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen

Kook, first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel, based on the prophecy of

Isaiah (. . . the wolf will dwell with the lamb, . . . the lion will

eat straw like the ox . . . (Isaiah 11: 6-9)), the messianic period

will be vegetarian.

 

In summary, a shift to vegetarianism is a way to be consistent with

many values and teachings related to the joyous festivals of Sukkot,

Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.

 

For more information, please visit Jewish Vegetarians of North

Amercia at www.JewishVeg.com