Passover and vegetarianism? Can the two be related? After all, what is a seder without gefilte fish, chicken soup and chopped liver?
And what about the shank bone to commemorate the paschal sacrifice? And doesn’t Jewish law mandate that Jews eat meat to rejoice on Passover and other Jewish festivals?
Many Jews turning to vegetarianism are finding ways to celebrate vegetarian Passovers while being consistent with Jewish teachings.
Contrary to a common perception, Jews are not required to eat meat at the Passover seder, or any other time, according to the Talmud and scholarly articles by several modern rabbis.
The use of the shank bone originated in the time of the Talmud as a means of commemorating the paschal lamb. However, it’s a symbol; no meat need be eaten at the seder. Many vegetarians substitute a beet, since its red color signifies the blood of the sacrifice. Others substitute a mushroom, due to its fleshy appearance.
Many Jewish vegetarians see vegetarian values reinforced at Passover:
• At the seder, Jews say, “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” Although he is not a vegetarian, Rabbi Jay Marcus, an Israeli educator, saw a connection between simpler diets and helping hungry people.
He commented on the fact that “karpas” (eating of greens) comes immediately before “yahatz” (the breaking of the middle matzah) for later use as the “afikomen” (dessert). He concluded that those who live on simpler foods will more readily divide their possessions and share with others.
• Many Jewish vegetarians see connections between the oppression that their ancestors suffered and the current plight of the billions of people who presently lack sufficient food and other essential resources.
Vegetarian diets require far less land, water, gasoline, pesticides, fertilizer and other resources, and thus enable the better sharing of God’s abundant resources, which can help reduce global hunger and poverty.
• The main Passover theme is freedom, and at the seder we retell the story of our ancestors’ slavery in Egypt. While acknowledging that only people are created in God’s image, many Jewish vegetarians also consider the “slavery” of animals on modern “factory farms” — contrary to Jewish teachings of “tsa’ar ba’alei chayim” (the Torah mandate not to cause unnecessary “pain to a living creature”).
In this connection, it is significant to consider that according to the Jewish tradition, Moses was chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt because as a shepherd he showed great compassion to a lamb.
• Many Jewish vegetarians advocate that we commemorate the redemption of our ancestors from slavery by ending the current slavery to harmful eating habits through the adoption of vegetarian diets.
• Passover is the holiday of springtime, a time of nature’s renewal. It also commemorates God’s supremacy over the forces of nature. In contrast, modern intensive livestock agriculture and animal-centered diets have many negative effects on the environment, including air and water pollution, soil erosion and depletion, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, and contributions to global warming.
Jewish vegetarians view their diet as a practical way to put Jewish values into practice.
They believe that Jewish mandates to show compassion to animals, to take care of our health, to protect the environment, to conserve resources, and to share with hungry people — and the negative effects that animal-centered diets have in each of these areas — point to vegetarianism as the ideal diet for Jews (and others) today.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the author of “Judaism and Vegetarianism” and “Judaism and Global Survival.” He is the president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (www.JewishVeg.com).