From: carroll@bugs.cis.udel.edu (Mark C. Carroll)
Subject: Re: Vegetarianism & Halacha (was Re: Following Sedar tradition)
Organization: University of Delaware, Newark
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 14:25:06 GMT

In article <1992Apr7.011152.1@acfcluster.nyu.edu> broner@acfcluster.nyu.edu writes:
>> There are two types of questions I'll attempt to answer, (a)
>> does halacha allow vegetarianism, and (b) does the Torah prefer
>> vegetarianism.  Naturally, I think both answers are "yes", which
>> conclusion I shall try to justify.  Enough preamble, on to the meat,
>> er, fruit of the article...
>
>My wife and I used to be strict ovo-lacto vegetarians ala "Diet for a small
>planet", so I have no problem with your desire to limit meat consumption.
>But, if Halacha prefers vegetarianism, why all the laws of shechita and 
>kashrus regarding meat? Why would the Torah play a mind game with us, rather 
>than give a clear directive, in this issue? 

My Rabbi, who is _not_ a vegetarian, answered that question this year
on Rosh Hashanah, in a discussion/study session between the afternoon
and evening services.

His answer was that God would prefer that we not kill animals to eat,
because the act of killing an animal is likely to lead to many
horrible practices (ie, the practice of drinking the blood of an
animal you've just killed, eating raw flesh, etc., which have been
common practices in many cultures.). But, it can be difficult or even
impossible to maintain your health without eating meat. So, God
limited the creatures we could eat, and limited the ways in which we
can eat them, so that if we had to eat meat, we would do so in ways
which would prevent us from adopting the barbaric practices of the
societies around us.

>> The third main halachic objection to vegetarianism is that it is
>> associated with avodah zarah [idolatry], and hence should be avoided
>> as a matter of mar'is `ayin [something which, while not itself
>> forbidden, looks like a forbidden act].  
>
>I have had many vegetarians at my Shabbos Tish, and have found that they fall
>into (basically) two different groups. Those that simply pass the meat plate 
>to the next person, and those that make a major issue of their vegetarianism.
>It is the latter group that I think can be associated with avodah zora. They
>place their "ism" on a pedestal, and make their "ism" more important than 
>anything else...even Torah, which at the very minimum "allows" us to eat meat.
>

This I actually agree with completely.

When I became a vegetarian, I was _very_ concerned about the social
aspects of it. Vegetarianism is a personal decision that I've made
about what I will and won't do. It doesn't give me the right to
harrass other people for making a decision different from my own. I
was very concerned because the common image of vegetarians is of
militant people who try to force their own decisions on everyone
around them. Vegetarianism is a personal choice, _not_ a religion.

	<MC>

|| Mark Craig Carroll: <MC>     ||"I live to see my fondest dreams realized,
|| Univ of Delaware, Dept of CIS|| Of living under the sights and sounds of
|| Grad Student/Labstaff Hacker || the gifted, Who gave so much to me"
|| carroll@udel.edu             ||   - _Feed_the_Fire_, Happy Rhodes
-- 
|| Mark Craig Carroll: <MC>     ||"In all seriousness of truth, hear this:
|| Univ of Delaware, Dept of CIS|| without the It, one cannot live. But
|| Grad Student/Labstaff Hacker || whoever lives with It alone is not
|| carroll@udel.edu             || human" - _I_and_Thou_, by Martin Buber
Xref: sparky soc.culture.jewish:7974 talk.politics.misc:18179