Articles by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz
Can Houses of Worship Commit to Going Plant-Based?
The convergence of heavenly ideals with real-world impact is growing ever closer read more>
Israel Bans Gruesome Shackle and Hoist Slaughterhouse Method Imports
There is no, and never has been, any ethical justification for this practice read more>
Is Kosher Meat Always Moral?
When we don’t remember that we are here to respect and cherish the works of the Divine, we concede our moral primacy as human beings read more>
A Call for Transparency in the Kashrut Industry
The Jewish community must grapple with the fact that the vast majority of kosher animal products are produced within the cruel factory farm industry read more>
Why This Rabbi Is Swearing Off Kosher Meat
The reality of industrial slaughter is too far removed from traditional Jewish ethical values read more>
Creatures in the Nation-State
Our moral response to factory farming is a test of how we respond to the cries of the voiceless and powerless in our world read more>
Ethical Kashrut
In the past 10 years, a growing movement has emerged focusing not only on ritual, but also on ethical kashrut. This movement emphasizes not only the traditional rules, but also takes into account issues such as animal treatment, workers conditions, and environmental impact, taking its cue from a number of supporting biblical sources read more>
Can't Give up Brisket? Then Start with Veal!
Even those committed to eating kosher meat should consider not eating veal. Baby calves prepared for slaughter often are sick, consume only non-kosher food, and live under extreme conditions to ensure the meat will be white read more>
A People of Compassion Calling for Transparency in Animal Cruelty!
I believe that most Americans continue to support these companies because they just don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes. Rather than actively or passively covering up these atrocities, we must demand transparency read more>
Caged and Traumatized: A Closer Look at the Egg Industry
In the United States today, close to 300 million hens are suffering inside tiny battery cages that do not allow for any walking or natural movement. A dozen hens can be jammed into a cage that is only 2 feet by 2 feet read more>
Tnuva: Addressing the Current Animal Welfare Crisis
Meat eaters have a great challenge to obviate the dilemma of either pretending that they do not know how animals are slaughtered versus the risk of becoming morally and spiritually desensitized to violence if they view and approve of the slaughtering process read more>
A Yom Kippur of Mercy or Cruelty?
Some Jews have a medieval custom to sacrifice a chicken before Yom Kippur, “kaporos.” One grabs the chicken’s legs while pinning its wings back and swings it around one’s head. These chickens are packed into crates before this procedure and then usually sent to be slaughtered after. Others are often just left in crates to die read more>
How Kosher is Your Milk?
In Jewish law, if an animal is abused, we may not benefit from it. Until we can be totally sure that most cows are not treif anymore, we must be stringent on this Jewish law to ensure that we are not consuming the milk of sick and abused cows. read more>
The Intelligence of Man and of Beast
As spiritual beings, we must see our humanity as distinct from the animal kingdom, but we also dare not dismiss that humans are a part of the animal continuum and we too must respect the animal world of which we are a significant, but still only one, part read more>
Praying with Compassion: Time for Vegan Tefillin!
Could we create vegan tefillin? By vegan tefillin, I do not, of course, mean tefillin made from corn. That would not fulfill the holy mitzvah. But could we ensure that our Jewish ritual objects, which must come from animals, are obtained in a cruelty-free manner? read more>
Factory Farming: Was the World Created for Me?
If the world was created for me, then I must take responsibility to ensure that the world can continue to be created for many generations to come read more>
Noah: My Animal Welfare Hero
Today, again as in biblical times, the world is flooding, putting the soul of each creature at risk. Will we follow Noah’s example to work to reverse the trends of abuse and neglect and to show mercy and compassion to each creature? Or will we allow for this mass slaughter to continue? Only we have the power to decide read more>
Covering the Blood Before Us
The Torah did everything possible, short of prohibiting the consumption of meat, to make it very difficult to eat meat and to distance ourselves from death. We might all take more steps to learn about the harsh realities of mass production of food today and how it is harming human health, animal welfare and the environment read more>
Judaism and Reincarnation
For those of us who believe our souls continue after this life, we might consider the radical ethical implications of a theology of reincarnation read more>
May one hold one's pet on Shabbat?
In our time, there is adequate legal reasoning to allow for playing and affectionate holding since so many rely upon animal warmth and maintain demonstrative relationships with their pets read more>
Israel Bans Gruesome Shackle and Hoist Slaughterhouse Method Imports
Israel is Ending “Shackle and Hoist” Imports. The United States must follow suit. read more>
The convergence of heavenly ideals with real-world impact is growing ever closer read more>
Israel Bans Gruesome Shackle and Hoist Slaughterhouse Method Imports
There is no, and never has been, any ethical justification for this practice read more>
Is Kosher Meat Always Moral?
When we don’t remember that we are here to respect and cherish the works of the Divine, we concede our moral primacy as human beings read more>
A Call for Transparency in the Kashrut Industry
The Jewish community must grapple with the fact that the vast majority of kosher animal products are produced within the cruel factory farm industry read more>
Why This Rabbi Is Swearing Off Kosher Meat
The reality of industrial slaughter is too far removed from traditional Jewish ethical values read more>
Creatures in the Nation-State
Our moral response to factory farming is a test of how we respond to the cries of the voiceless and powerless in our world read more>
Ethical Kashrut
In the past 10 years, a growing movement has emerged focusing not only on ritual, but also on ethical kashrut. This movement emphasizes not only the traditional rules, but also takes into account issues such as animal treatment, workers conditions, and environmental impact, taking its cue from a number of supporting biblical sources read more>
Can't Give up Brisket? Then Start with Veal!
Even those committed to eating kosher meat should consider not eating veal. Baby calves prepared for slaughter often are sick, consume only non-kosher food, and live under extreme conditions to ensure the meat will be white read more>
A People of Compassion Calling for Transparency in Animal Cruelty!
I believe that most Americans continue to support these companies because they just don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes. Rather than actively or passively covering up these atrocities, we must demand transparency read more>
Caged and Traumatized: A Closer Look at the Egg Industry
In the United States today, close to 300 million hens are suffering inside tiny battery cages that do not allow for any walking or natural movement. A dozen hens can be jammed into a cage that is only 2 feet by 2 feet read more>
Tnuva: Addressing the Current Animal Welfare Crisis
Meat eaters have a great challenge to obviate the dilemma of either pretending that they do not know how animals are slaughtered versus the risk of becoming morally and spiritually desensitized to violence if they view and approve of the slaughtering process read more>
A Yom Kippur of Mercy or Cruelty?
Some Jews have a medieval custom to sacrifice a chicken before Yom Kippur, “kaporos.” One grabs the chicken’s legs while pinning its wings back and swings it around one’s head. These chickens are packed into crates before this procedure and then usually sent to be slaughtered after. Others are often just left in crates to die read more>
How Kosher is Your Milk?
In Jewish law, if an animal is abused, we may not benefit from it. Until we can be totally sure that most cows are not treif anymore, we must be stringent on this Jewish law to ensure that we are not consuming the milk of sick and abused cows. read more>
The Intelligence of Man and of Beast
As spiritual beings, we must see our humanity as distinct from the animal kingdom, but we also dare not dismiss that humans are a part of the animal continuum and we too must respect the animal world of which we are a significant, but still only one, part read more>
Praying with Compassion: Time for Vegan Tefillin!
Could we create vegan tefillin? By vegan tefillin, I do not, of course, mean tefillin made from corn. That would not fulfill the holy mitzvah. But could we ensure that our Jewish ritual objects, which must come from animals, are obtained in a cruelty-free manner? read more>
Factory Farming: Was the World Created for Me?
If the world was created for me, then I must take responsibility to ensure that the world can continue to be created for many generations to come read more>
Noah: My Animal Welfare Hero
Today, again as in biblical times, the world is flooding, putting the soul of each creature at risk. Will we follow Noah’s example to work to reverse the trends of abuse and neglect and to show mercy and compassion to each creature? Or will we allow for this mass slaughter to continue? Only we have the power to decide read more>
Covering the Blood Before Us
The Torah did everything possible, short of prohibiting the consumption of meat, to make it very difficult to eat meat and to distance ourselves from death. We might all take more steps to learn about the harsh realities of mass production of food today and how it is harming human health, animal welfare and the environment read more>
Judaism and Reincarnation
For those of us who believe our souls continue after this life, we might consider the radical ethical implications of a theology of reincarnation read more>
May one hold one's pet on Shabbat?
In our time, there is adequate legal reasoning to allow for playing and affectionate holding since so many rely upon animal warmth and maintain demonstrative relationships with their pets read more>
Israel Bans Gruesome Shackle and Hoist Slaughterhouse Method Imports
Israel is Ending “Shackle and Hoist” Imports. The United States must follow suit. read more>
Articles by other authors
Jewcology: Compassion For All Creatures
By Rabbi David Sears
The Talmud (Tractate Berachot 20b) states that the Jewish people are praiseworthy for their desire to serve God beyond the letter of the law. This expression of religious devotion has been applied to many ritual precepts; should we not apply it with equal diligence to precepts that affect other living creatures? read more>
Vegetarianism and Judaism: The Rav's Radical View
By David Errico-Nagar
With R. Soloveitchik’s view, the issue of vegetarianism and Judaism takes new light: Not only can one say, based on Rabbis Kook and Albo that vegetarianism is a Torah ideal, but also one can use R. Soloveitchik’s opinion to claim that vegetarianism should be an actualized way of life read more>
Vegetarianism from a Jewish Perspective
By Rabbi Alfred S. Cohen
A cursory appraisal of two thousand years of Jewish literature reveals that our Sages and thinkers have often considered the ethics of meat-eating read more>
Vegetarianism: An Alternative Kashrut
By Rabbi Arthur Green
If Jews have to be associated with killing at all in our time, let it be only for the defense of human life. Life has become too precious in this era for us to be involved in the shedding of blood, even that of animals, when we can survive without it read more>
Why an observant Jew should follow a plant-based (vegan) diet
By Rabbi Simchah Roth
n this day and age, a vegan diet is to be highly commended, especially in the case of a Torah observant Jew. Since this statement will come to many as a surprise (and perhaps a shock), it demands of me a full and reasoned response read more>
What's Jewish about a Vegan Diet?
By Rabbi Adam Frank
Judaism does not make the claim of moral superiority; rather, it makes the demand for responsibility of actions. Judaism starts from a place of concern for justice and tries to protect all members of community, both local and global, from abuses of power and privilege. Thus, Judaism's critique of a social system that fails to protect all of its inhabitants is that the system needs repair read more>
Tzaar Baalei Hayim and Shabbat: A Teshuvah for Our Time
By Asher Shasho-Levy
It is not only halachically acceptable to violate laws of Shabbat in order to save the life of your pet; it is also an ethical and religious imperative read more>
Torah in Mind, Parashat Shemini
By Rabbi Larry Bach
read more>
By Rabbi David Sears
The Talmud (Tractate Berachot 20b) states that the Jewish people are praiseworthy for their desire to serve God beyond the letter of the law. This expression of religious devotion has been applied to many ritual precepts; should we not apply it with equal diligence to precepts that affect other living creatures? read more>
Vegetarianism and Judaism: The Rav's Radical View
By David Errico-Nagar
With R. Soloveitchik’s view, the issue of vegetarianism and Judaism takes new light: Not only can one say, based on Rabbis Kook and Albo that vegetarianism is a Torah ideal, but also one can use R. Soloveitchik’s opinion to claim that vegetarianism should be an actualized way of life read more>
Vegetarianism from a Jewish Perspective
By Rabbi Alfred S. Cohen
A cursory appraisal of two thousand years of Jewish literature reveals that our Sages and thinkers have often considered the ethics of meat-eating read more>
Vegetarianism: An Alternative Kashrut
By Rabbi Arthur Green
If Jews have to be associated with killing at all in our time, let it be only for the defense of human life. Life has become too precious in this era for us to be involved in the shedding of blood, even that of animals, when we can survive without it read more>
Why an observant Jew should follow a plant-based (vegan) diet
By Rabbi Simchah Roth
n this day and age, a vegan diet is to be highly commended, especially in the case of a Torah observant Jew. Since this statement will come to many as a surprise (and perhaps a shock), it demands of me a full and reasoned response read more>
What's Jewish about a Vegan Diet?
By Rabbi Adam Frank
Judaism does not make the claim of moral superiority; rather, it makes the demand for responsibility of actions. Judaism starts from a place of concern for justice and tries to protect all members of community, both local and global, from abuses of power and privilege. Thus, Judaism's critique of a social system that fails to protect all of its inhabitants is that the system needs repair read more>
Tzaar Baalei Hayim and Shabbat: A Teshuvah for Our Time
By Asher Shasho-Levy
It is not only halachically acceptable to violate laws of Shabbat in order to save the life of your pet; it is also an ethical and religious imperative read more>
Torah in Mind, Parashat Shemini
By Rabbi Larry Bach
read more>
