Although Eden Village Camp is primarily vegetarian, these sheep, from a nearby farm, are raised for meat.

This is the first in a series of posts on Judaism and vegetarianism.

When I became vegetarian, it had nothing to do with my Judaism.  However, it didn’t take long for the two to come into contact.  After all, chicken soup, cholent, and brisket are pretty common features at almost any Shabbos table.  Being newly vegetarian, I had to turn down all these yummy kosher delicacies.  I’ve traveled all over the world, and the conversation about how to be Jewish and vegetarian has come up at dozens of tables, in many countries, from Canada and the US to Argentina and Chile to India and Nepal.

Before I became vegetarian, I did quite a lot of research on the subject and I identified 5 main reasons people become vegetarian:

1. Animal treatment – Many philosophers have put forth ethical reasons why eating animals is morally wrong.
2. Health – We have a moral obligation to care for our health and vegetarianism/veganism is the healthiest way of eating.
3. Preventing starvation – World starvation would be a thing of the past if we stopped feeding livestock so much grain, and we could grow many more crops if we converted animal pastureland to farmland.
4. Environmentalism – Growing more crops than necessary destroys ecosystems, grazing animals decimate grasslands, hooves of grazing animals cause erosion, and methane gasses released by cattle contribute to global warming.
5. Feminism – Meat’s role in meals keeps women down (e.g., giving the man the biggest and best portion)

As a Jew, I’ve been slammed with lots of arguments about why these philosophical reasons don’t hold true: Kosher laws dictate animals must be treated well during their lifetimes and they die instantly when slaughtered, before they can even feel pain, so it’s not animal cruelty to eat kosher meat.  Kosher meat is healthier, so you don’t have to worry eating too much might give you a heart attack (and besides, nobody is willing to admit how much meat they really eat, anyway!).  Plus, we have to eat meat to raise the sparks of their souls up to a higher level.  And let’s not forget that it is a “mitzvah” to eat meat and drink wine on Shabbat.

However, the reasons for vegetarianism from a Jewish perspective are as prolific as they are for secular philosophers.  In fact, after some research, I’ve identified 5 main reasons for vegetarianism from a Jewish perspective:

1. Compassion for animals – The Jewish concept of tsa’ar ba’alei chayim dictates that we should not cause sorrow or pain to any living animal.
2. Preserving health – Judaism teaches us to take care of our health and consumption of animal fats is linked, scientifically and statistically to disease… just as the permission to consume meat in the Torah is linked to dramatically shortened lifespans.
3. Feeding the hungry – Judaism teaches social justice as a fundamental part of our makeup and this means that feeding a hungry person is a far higher priority in the eyes of G-d than eating meat for Shabbat is.
4. Protecting ecology – G-d gave us this earth and charged us with taking care of it, not destroying it – but large-scale livestock production is doing just the opposite.
5. Producing peace – Judaism places making peace as one of the highest priorities, right up there with Torah study and honoring your parents.  Injustice tears peace apart and meat eating promotes a culture of injustice.

These 5 main arguments provide a close parallel to the 5 reasons most people choose to become vegetarian.

In the following weeks, I’ll explore vegetarianism from a Jewish point of view, based largely on the seminal text on the subject, Judaism and Vegetarianism by Richard H. Schwartz.  I’ll explore each of these 5 main themes, plus take a Biblical look at vegetarianism and provide some responses to those above-mentioned “kosher” arguments for eating meat.

Why kosher Jewish travelers often go vegetarian.

The Topsy Turvy upside-down bus is now part of the Teval Learning Center Project

Some people saw the pictures of me planking on a strange-looking upside down bus. I found the bus near Eden Village Camp where I am now and thought it to be a very unique planking opportunity. I then got talking with Jonah Adels who spent nine weeks on the Topsy Turvy upside down bus, touring from New York City to Key West, Florida and then back to New York City. Jonah was kind enough to share some of his Topsy Turvy thoughts.

What is the Topsy Turvy/upside-down bus?

The Topsy Turvy bus is a traveling educational vehicle which largely runs on waste vegetable oil. Those people involved with the bus stop off at schools, community centers, and parks and talk to people about sustainable living.

How did you get involved with the Topsy Turvy bus?

While I was working for the Teva Learning Center I met Jonathan Dubrinsky who invited me to go on the Topsy Turvy bus, which was headed for its third tour of the United States that lasted 9 weeks.

Who built the Topsy Turvy bus?

Ben Cohen (from Ben & Jerry’s) had the idea. Then around ten years ago Tom Kennedy built the Topsy Turvy bus. Following him, Jonathan Dubrinsky of the Teva Learning Center made some changes to the fuel tank system to enable it to run on vegetable oil waste, as well as a number of interior changes.

Describe your trip experience on the Topsy Turvy bus.

It was an incredible experience meeting so many types of Jewish communities where we were able to give and share ideas and information.

An awesome memory from the Topsy Turvy bus?

We got paid $300 in Miami to dress up for Purim at the Jewish Museum of Florida.

In the desert dunes of Rajasthan, India, it's easy to see how the Jews really had to rely on G-d to provide them with sufficient food and water during their time in the desert.

Early this year, Rabbi Ben and I set out into the desert.  In Rajasthan, India, we spent eight days in the desert – five of which were just the two of us alone with two camels and our guide.  It was an incredibly transformational experience.  Wandering in that wilderness, we had to trust our guide completely.  We had to hope that we had enough food and water, and that what we had wouldn’t spoil.  We had to find safe places to sleep at night and we had to hope we didn’t have any trouble with our moody camels.  I learned, in Rajasthan, that going into the desert truly is an act of faith.

This week’s parsha is called “Bamidbar” and is the start of an entire new book of the Torah, also called “Bamidbar,” “In The Desert.”  Into the desert the Jews go, destined to wander for the next 40 years.  But the Jews’ experience wasn’t just one of walking around in the desert, of loading and unloading their animals, and of experiencing the physical world.  If anything, they spent most of their time in the spiritual world, what with G-d hovering over them in a cloud and dumping food on the ground for them to find every morning.  Still, I can’t help thinking that there has to be a reason the Jews ended up wandering in the desert.  After all, they could just have easily had to wander in a forest (hey, it happened to Goldilocks) or in the mountains or in a marsh.  Why the desert?

Sunset in the desert. With sand as far as the eye can see, you can see G-d on every horizon.

During our time in the desert, Rabbi Ben and I had a lot of time to think, to observe, and to talk.  What we noticed was that we were learning more about life and about deserts during that camel safari than either of us ever could have learned in a classroom, with a book in front of us.  Whether we were gazing at the clear, star-filled sky, or stopping in our tracks to watch a snake slither past, we were surrounded by wonder. I’ve spoken with many other people who have said that they also felt a sense of wonderment particular to the desert.  In other places, it’s easy to be too distracted to gaze about with wonder.  If you’re in a forest, you have to carefully watch where you step, and there are trees and large objects surrounding you at all times.  If you’re in a marsh, you have to try not to sink.  If you’re on a mountain, you have to try not to fall off.  But if you’re in the desert, there are no distractions.  You can take in the vast horizon with nothing to block you.  Perhaps this is what G-d wanted of the Jewish people as they wandered – to make it possible that wherever the Jews looked, they could see Him, with no preoccupations and nothing blocking their view.

Although we did ride them some of the time, our camels were most important for their ability to carry sufficient food and water for us on our journey through the desert.

When we went into the desert, we took one very important thing with us: camels.  Our two camels carried all our supplies, which consisted mostly of water, food, and bedding.  There’s no guarantee in the desert that we’ll find any of the above.  That’s another one of the things that’s special about a desert: there’s nothing there.  If we’d gotten lost or stuck in the desert with nothing, we would have been in big trouble.  Imagine how the Jews felt when they were in the desert.  Even with the manna coming from heaven, I would be nervous – the moment that stuff stops falling, we’re done for.   Basically, in the desert, there is no way to survive without G-d.  We have no choice but to rely on G-d.

And I think that’s really what the point of the desert ultimately is.  In the desert, you have to have faith.  When we have nowhere else to turn, we turn to G-d.  When there’s nothing blocking our view, no trees or mountains, no friends or enemies, but only desert as far as the eye can see, we can see Him.

“O G-d, You are my G-d, earnestly will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You, in a dry and weary land, where no water is.” (Tehillim 63:2)

One of the all time great planking masters who I met personally in the Philippines

Zen and the art of planking is a story about a young orphaned boy who decides to win the annual planking championship and become the greatest planker in the world. His journey takes him to a man with great magic who teaches him that there is more to life than just planking.

Note from the author: My blog is not about planking, however many plankers have been enjoying my posts on planking and thus I decided to post this story. I hope you enjoy it and share it.

Story

Once upon a timed there was an eight-year-old boy who loved planking. His name was Donny. He had blond hair, blue eyes, freckles and a sweet smile. Donny was a nice boy but most of the other children would make fun of him because he was so skinny and not very strong. This meant that he was never any good at difficult planking. Sure, he could go planking on the ground, on the road, and even on chairs. But Donny was always too scared and weak and to go planking on anything high above the ground.

Donny lived with his evil stepmother who was always mean to him. She would make him stay home and clean the house while all the other boys and girls were out planking. Often while scrubbing the walls, Donny would stop to look in the mirror. “If only I were stronger,” he’d say, “then I’d be able to do amazing planking things like everyone else.”

Every night before going to sleep, Donny would read to himself from his much loved book, ‘The Legends of Planking.’ His favorite part was ‘The History of Planking and its Great Dreaming.’

                “During the Dream Time when the great island was created there were two Spirits  Beings who both wanted to marry the same beautiful Ocean Spirit. Altjira, the earth spirit, cast a bolt of lightning which turned the two Spirits into men, and said, “He who will perform the greatest planking will have the Ocean Spirit for a wife.” The problem was that Altjira never explained what is planking, how planking should be done, and who and who would decide on the winner.

                “The people who lived on the beautiful golden island passed down the legend since the first dreaming. Some tribes believed that the planking was meant to be done facing up because Altjira lived in the sky, but overall most agreed that planking must be done facing the ground. Once every year, there was a great planking competition when the islanders  would select their new planking champion.”

“Please G-d,” Donny prayed every night before bed, “make me strongest and bravest boy in the village so that when I am eighteen and old enough to enter the planking competition, I will be able to perform the most incredible planking ever.”

…………………………….

The Great Island where Donny lived was surrounded by the beautiful ocean spirit. It was a Magical place with lots of kangaroos, wombats, platypuses, and possums. There was bush land and desert depending on which direction you’d walk. And oh, the gum trees! Donny loved the gum trees.

It was the day of the great planking Championship. Everyone was in the town center enjoying the festivities – that is, everyone besides Donny. His evil stepmother forced him to stay home and clean the house.

Donny sat on the floor, crying. Tears flowed down his face. He wished he could be 6 years old again and with his real mother who always took him to see the planking championship.

He fell asleep and in his dream he saw his mother. She whispered to him, “Head into the bush and follow the sound of the didgeridoo, where you will learn to go planking in mid-air…head into the bush and follow the sound of the didgeridoo…”

Sunset on Planking Zen

Donny woke with a start. He grabbed a few things and ran from the house. The sound of the didgeridoo spirit guided him far over the river to a large gum tree. There he found an old man with gray hair who had painted his dark body with white and red stripes.

“My name is Nanjare,” said the man. “The whispers have guided you to me, and now I must train you in the ways of my people’s ancestors.”

“Can you teach me how to perform planking suspended in mid air?” Donny asked

Nanjare smiled. “The power of planking is already in you, you must learn to become one with this force.”

Days turned to months, and months into years. Donny learned the ancient wisdom, to meditate and to talk in whispers. He learned to play the didgeridoo, to collect wild plants, and use magic to heal.

Sometime after Donny’s eighteenth birthday Nanjare led him to the sacred pool under the red dreaming rock. “Look at your reflection,” said Nanjare, “You have become a man and it is now time for you to return to your people.”

Donny realized that in his last ten years with Nanjare they had never once planked.  They were always so busy that there was never any time.

“But what will I do at the planking championship,” asked Donny. “I cannot even perform a simple planking!”

“Here,” replied Nanjare, giving him to drink from a small bottle. Donny felt a magical sensation creep through his body and he slowly began to rise above the ground. When he was fifty feet above the ground he stretched out and performed a perfect mid-air planking. He held the plank for a few moments and then slowly floated down to the ground.

……………………………

It was the night of the first full moon. No one recognized Donny as he stood amongst the crowed waiting his turn. People had long ago forgotten about the orphan boy. They figured that he got eaten in the river by a crocodile, or maybe died from a snake bite out in the bush.

Donny’s heart raced as his turn to perform a planking arrived. He checked his pocket for the small bottle of magic potion Nanjare had given him. It was still there. His heart began to race as he hurried towards the center were there were all kinds of things set up that people could plank on. There was even a spear sticking out of the ground. Everyone was curious to see what the stranger was going to do.

As Donny approached the center, a young boy ran in front of him. Donny tripped and landed face down in the mud in perfect planking position. Everyone began to laugh and squeal with delight. Here was someone performing the easiest planking of all!  Donny felt the small bottle of magic potion in his pocket break and the liquid spill out. The villagers continued to laugh. Donny, unrelenting, remained with his face in the mud holding the planking position. He was not sure what to do. He could not bring himself up to face the crowed.

The years of training with Nanjare had showed him how not to feel any anger towards the people who laughed or to the boy who tripped him. He felt no anger over the past. And for that moment he accepted everything perfectly for the way it was.

Time passed and he continue to hold the planking position. His spirit became one with the earth dreaming, and he felt an incredible sense of peace. As he rested there, he heard the song of the rainbow spirit as it echoed through the deep resonance of the didgeridoo.

And it was at this moment out of time that he heard the whispers of the dreaming and became enlightened.

More posts on planking

The totem pole at Eden Village Camp is a favorite gathering spot for campers.

Some years ago, before we could go online at get the answers to anything, I sought out an old Indian tribesman. At the time I had a fascination with the North American Indians and I wanted to know more about their religious beliefs.

My overall impression was that the North American Indians believed in the one spirit that moved through all things which is a similar idea to the G-dly energy we Jews believe in. When they had ritual practices of prayer to something other than this ultimate one spirit, they could direct attention towards a lesser spirit, like the spirit of the wind or the rain.  But never did they worship it as a god.

Here at Eden Village Camp there is a totem pole by the campfire ring looking out to the lake. It’s a peaceful area and I enjoy going there to exercise.  So it got me thinking about totem poles, and is a totem pole an avodah zarah (idol)?

The totem poles were never an object of worship and thus would not be considered an idol (avodah zarah) The early Christian missionaries and European explorers came up with the idea that totem poles were connected with idol worship but the locals who built them never treated them with significant reverence. A totem pole was built as a monumental sculpture, to tell over a story, to show clan lineage, but most often a totem pole was a display of art.

So I think it is fine to take pictures of them without worrying about avodah zara issues.