Vegetarians
in Paradise Book Review
Judaism and Global Survival
By
Richad H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Lantern Books, 2002
$20.00 Paperback
Reviewed
by Zel and Reuben Allen
June 2003
Bal tashchit is
a Hebrew phrase that appears frequently in Judaism and Global Survival
by mathematician and Hebrew scholar Professor Richard Schwartz. The translation
is "you shall not destroy." As the phrase appears in Deuteronomy 20:19,20,
it was initially interpreted as telling soldiers not to destroy fruit trees in
those areas that they had conquered.
Gradually, rabbis interpreted
this biblical passage to mean that the destruction or waste of all things beneficial
to humans is prohibited. Thus, humans are "co-workers with God to preserve
and improve the world." According to Schwartz, people act as caretakers of
the world and must make sure that everything produced is shared by all of God's
children. People are renting or leasing the earth, but the true owner is God.
Instead
of being guided by bal tashchit, mankind has ignored this edict and has
followed a wasteful and destructive path causing irreparable harm to the environment.
Schwartz details how corporations seeking huge profits have ignored the principle
to avoid waste and destruction. As a result, there is air and water pollution,
acid rain, destruction of rain forests, and pesticide poisoning, Schwartz's solution
to these problems is a return to Jewish values such as bal tashchit. By applying
these values God's co-workers can accomplish tikkun olam (restoring and
redeeming the earth). Bal tashchit also becomes an important consideration
in Schwartz's discussion of energy. He distinguishes between soft energy and hard
energy. Soft energy emerges from renewable sources while hard energy, once used,
is gone forever. Harnessing sun, wind, and water to produce energy is creating
energy that is not destroying or wasting. Burning fossil fuel like coal and oil
is creating hard energy that is both wasteful and destructive to the environment.
For
Schwartz, bal tashchit becomes a significant issue for vegetarians. Vegetarianism
is a global imperative. The killing of animals for human food is destructive and
wasteful. It has resulted in disease in humans, pain inflicted on animals, world
hunger, and environmental pollution. Many of these ideas were ably presented in
Schwartz's last book Judaism and Vegetarianism. The VIP review of that
book appears at Judaism and Vegetarianism. But bal tashchit is not
the only focus of this book. The author points out that Jews are required to protest
injustice and work for changes, even though those changes may be exceedingly difficult.
Jews are also obligated to work for human rights and to actively pursue peace.
These obligations involve principles like loving one's neighbors, being kind to
strangers, not discriminating against others on the grounds of race, giving charity,
showing compassion for others, helping the poor, and being ethical in business
dealings.
Unfortunately, violence and war are the products
of injustice. Dr. Schwartz reveals that the Hebrew words for war and bread come
from the same root. Scholars have interpreted this commonality to mean that the
lack of bread or adequate food leads peoples to warfare. "Throughout most
of history, the world's people have too often beaten their plowshares into swords
and their pruning hooks into spears," says Schwartz. Jewish teachings preach
against violence and urge Jews to be active participants in working for world
peace, even if those efforts involve personal sacrifices.
Schwartz
also focuses on international concerns like economic globalization, the population
explosion, and global climate changes. In discussing all of these social problems
he constantly returns to Jewish values and shows how ignorance of these values
has led to many of the problems. The first edition of this book was written in
1984 while he was a professor of mathematics at the College of Staten Island,
New York. In this latest revision he updates and expands on his extensive research
of global problems and displays his knowledge of Jewish teachings that apply to
those problems. For those who are moved to take action after reading about global
problems, Professor Schwartz provides a lengthy appendix that lists ideas for
people who want to work towards solutions. He also includes listings of activist
groups and publications as well as an annotated bibliography.
You
don't have to be Jewish to read Judaism and Global Survival. The world
problems he details are ones faced by everyone on the planet. The values he discusses
are relevant to all religions and all peoples. In fact, they are values espoused
in so many religions. After reading this book, this reviewer would bestow the
following titles upon Dr. Richard Schwartz: