by Richard
H. Schwartz
Judaism places much stress on performing
mitzvot, carrying out God's commandments. However,
a "mitzvah haba'ah b'aveirah" - a mitzvah
based on an aveirah (sin or "illegitimate
means") - is forbidden and is not considered
a mitzvah. For example, if one uses a stolen lulav
and esrog on Sukkot, it is not a proper mitzvah.
Similarly, if money is stolen, it cannot be used
to give tzedakah (charity). In fact, the sages
indicate that it is better not to do the mitzvah
at all than to do a mitzvah haba'ah b'aveirah.
Eating meat is arguably a mitzvah
haba'ah b'aveirah, actually b'aveirot (sins),
rendered illegitimate by illegitimate means, because
meat consumption and the ways in which meat is
produced today conflict with Judaism in at least
six important ways:
1. While Judaism mandates that people
should be very careful about preserving their
health and their lives, numerous scientific studies
have linked animal-based diets directly to a higher
risk of developing heart disease, stroke, many
forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative
diseases.
2. While Judaism forbids tsa'ar
ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on
animals, today most farm animals -- including
those raised for kosher consumers -- are raised
on "factory farms" where they live in
cramped, confined spaces, and are often drugged,
mutilated (without anesthetics), and denied fresh
air, sunlight, exercise, and any enjoyment of
life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.
3. While Judaism teaches that "the
earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and that
we are to be God's partners and co-workers in
preserving the world, modern in tensive livestock
agriculture is a major contributor (or the major
contributor) to soil erosion and depletion, air
and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers
and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain
forests and other habitats, global warming, and
other environmental damage.
4 While Judaism mandates bal tashchit,
that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy
anything of value, and that we are not to use
more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, modern
intensive animal agriculture typically requires
far more land, water, energy and other resources
than an equivalent amount of wholesome and more
healthful plant products.
5. While Judaism stresses that we
are to assist the poor and share our bread with
hungry people, over 70% of the grain grown in
the United States is fed to animals destined for
slaughter (it takes up to 16 pounds of grain to
produce one pound of edible beef), while an estimated
20 million people worldwide die because of hunger
and its effects each year and almost a billion
people are chronically undernourished.
6. While Judaism stresses that we
must seek and pursue peace and that violence results
from unjust conditions, animal-centered diets,
by diverting more and more of the earth's limited
natural resources from poor people to wealthy
people help to perpetuate the widespread hunger,
poverty , and rage that eventually lead to instability,
violent conflict, and war. In view of these important
Jewish mandates to preserve human health, attend
to the welfare of animals, protect the environment,
conserve resources, help feed hungry people, and
pursue peace, contrasted with the harm that animal-centered
diets do in each of these areas, committed Jews
(and others) should sharply reduce or eliminate
their consumption of animal products. One could
say "dayenu" (it would be enough) after
any of the arguments above, because each one constitutes
by itself a serious conflict between Jewish values
and current practice that should impel Jews to
seriously consider a plant-based diet. Combined,
they make a compelling case for the Jewish community
to respond to these issues.
It can, in fact, be argued, as
does Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of
Ireland, that eating meat is worse than a mitzvah
ha'ba'ah b'aveirah, because there is no obligation
to eat meat today. Rabbi Yehuda Ben Batheira,
one of the outstanding sages of the talmudic period,
stated that the obligation to eat meat for rejoicing
only applied at the time when the Holy Temple
was in existence. (Pesachim 109a) He added that
after the destruction of the Temple one could
rejoice with wine. Based on this, Rabbi Yishmael
stated, "From the day the Holy Temple was
destroyed, it would have been right to have imposed
upon ourselves a law prohibiting the eating of
flesh." A reason that the rabbis did not
make such a law was that they felt that most Jews
were not ready to accept such a prohibition. Other
sources who maintain that it is no longer necessary
to eat meat on festivals are Ritva, Kiddushin
36 and and Teshuvot Rashbash, No. 176. In a scholarly
article in The Journal of Halacha and Contemporary
Society (Fall, 1981), Rabbi Alfred Cohen, the
publication's editor, after reviewing many sources
such as those indicated above, concluded: "If
a person is more comfortable not eating meat,
there would be no obligation for him to do so
on the Sabbath" and "we may clearly
infer that eating meat, even on a Festival, is
not mandated by the Halacha [Jewish law]."
He also points out that "the Shulchan Aruch,
which is the foundation for normative law for
Jews today, does not insist upon the necessity
to eat meat as simchat Yom Tov (making the holiday
joyful)." In a responsum (an answer to a
question based on Jewish law), Rabbi Moshe Halevi
Steinberg of Kiryat Yam, Israel, stated, "One
whose soul rebels against eating living things
can without any doubt fulfill the commandment
of enha ncing the Sabbath and rejoicing on festivals
by eating vegetarian foods....Each person should
delight in the S abbath according to his own sensibility,
enjoyment, and outlook." In the same responsum,
Rabbi Steinberg pointed out that there is no barrier
or impediment to converting a non-Jew who is a
vegetarian, since vegetarianism in no sense contradicts
Jewish law.
Can sensitive, compassionate people
enhance a joyous occasion by eating meat if they
are aware that, for their eating pleasure, animals
are cruelly treated, huge amounts of grains are
fed to animals while millions of people starve,
the environment is unduly strained and polluted,
and their own health is being harmed?
All of the above is reinforced
by the fact that there are Chief Rabbis, including
Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi
of Haifa, and Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief
Rabbi of Ireland, who are strict vegetarians,
including on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Also, the late
Rabbi Shlomo Goren, former Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi
of Israel, was a strict vegetarian.
Since the concept of "mitzvah
haba'ah b'aveirah" presupposes that the action
is a mitzvah in the first place, it should be
considered that the view that consumption of meat
is a mitzvah concedes that, halachically, it applies
only to the Shalosh Regalim (Passover, Shavuot,
and Sukkot). Accordingly, it may simply be an
"aveira" all year round, except for
the yom tov days, when, arguably, it's "only"
a "mitzvah haba'ah b'aveirah."
It is important that this issue
be considered by the Jewish community, because
a shift toward vegetarianism would greatly improve
the health of the Jewish people and that of our
precious, but imperiled, planet, and it would
help revitalize Judaism by showing the continuing
moral relevance of Torah values.