The publication of this book is part of a bold campaign championed by Dr.
Richard Schwartz and other Jewish activists to restore the ancient Jewish
holiday that was initially used to tithe animals for sacrifices and to
transform it into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Judaism’s many
teachings about treating animals compassionately and how the current
treatment of animals on factory farms and other settings seriously violates
these teachings. It is a continuation of Dr. Schwartz’s over 40-year effort
to show that plant-based diets are most consistent with Jewish teachings on
preserving our health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the
environment, conserving natural resources, helping hungry people, and
pursuing peace.
At a time when animal-based diets and agriculture contribute significantly
to the massive mistreatment of animals, heart disease, cancer, and other
life-threatening diseases, climate change and other environmental threats to
humanity, the wasteful use of land, water, energy, and other resources,
widespread hunger, and the potential for future pandemics, the book’s
essential messages show the relevance of Judaism’s eternal values to current
issues.
The book’s many supporting blurbs from Jewish organizations, rabbis, and
other influential Jews show that reforming and transforming the ancient
Jewish holiday is indeed an “idea whose time has come.”
Please use the book’s messages to join this initiative that can help leave a decent, healthy, compassionate, environmentally sustainable world for future generations.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the author of Judaism and Vegetarianism and Judaism and Global Survival among many other books and articles. President Emeritus of Jewish Veg and president of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians, he is professor emeritus at the College of Staten Island, New York. A father, grandfather, and now great-grandfather, he has since 2016 lived with his wife in Israel.
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