Micah Publications publishes books on Jewish vegetarian, Jewish topics and animal rights. Roberta Kalechofsky, author and publisher.

THE VISION OF EDEN:

Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism

by David Sears

cloth. 378 pgs

English and Hebrew Bibliographies ---Index

Description

A comprehensive discussion of laws in Judaism, with references to the Jewish, rabbinic, Talmudic and Biblical sources, concerning the moral problems involved in eating meat.

The book is divided into four parts:

Part l: “Human Responsibilities Toward Animals, ”Eden and the Messianic Age,” “Judaism and Animal Welfare”

Chapters in Part l discuss “Compassion for Animals in the Bible and its Commentaries,” “Kinship of all Creatures,” and related subjects

Part ll “Kabbalistic Issues,” discusses “Animals and reincarnation,” “The Shochet’s responsibility,” “Revealing the Divine Life Force,” and related subjects

Part lll: Animals As Food discusses “The Primacy of Vegetarian Foods,” “Permission to eat meat as a moral concession,” “Permission to eat meat as a practical concession.”

Part lV: Additional Source Texts

From the Author’s Introduction:

“Animal welfare is a more central concern of Judaism than most people realize. The Torah affirms an ethic of compassion for all creatures and affirms the sacredness of life....yet the same Torah permits the killing of animals....If God has compassion for animals, how could He permit, much less, require their slaughter? This disturbing question demands an explanation. In addition, the practical ramification of the Torah’s attitude toward animals must be clearly defined in legal and extralegal terms, if humanity is to fulfill its divinely appointed purpose in creation.”

ISBN 0-9674512-7-2 THE VISION OF EDEN

Reviews

“This is a necessary book, a just book which will contribute much to clarifying where Judaism stands on the issue of meat, vegetarianism, and animal welfare. Cruelty to animals was for centuries a Jewish concern and should be even more a Jewish concern in the modern world. Unfortunately, the modern urbanized Jew has lost the relationship with the long rabbinic tradition of protection for animals, known as tsa’ar ba’alei chaim (do no harm to living creatures)....

Sears’ book reminds us of this Jewish past, rich in regard for animal life, and the contrast with the painful present. The author is a Bratzlav Chassid, who has directed the Breslov Center for Spirituality and Inner Growth in New York since 1997. He is the author of four previous books on Chassidic mysticism: The Tree That Stands Beyond Space: Rebbe Nachman of Breslov on the Mystical Experience; The Flame of the Heart: Prayers of a Chassidic Mystic; Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition; and The Path of the Baal Shem Tov: Early Chassidic Teachings and Customs. In The Vision of Eden, he has combined his knowledge of Jewish mysticism with his knowledge of Jewish law to present an outline for the pressing questions of what is the moral, spiritual, and ethical relationship of a Jew to an animal. so that the animal’s pain should be minimal.... Sears seems to know––and to have gathered together to our great advantage––all the texts that pertain to tsa'ar ba'alei chaim.

The issue of how food animals are raised today and shechitah, the ritual killing of animals, necessarily predominate the issue of cruelty towards animals, for shechitah in the modern Western world succumbed from being one of the most noble principles to an ignoble practice....

The problem with modern meat, whether for Jews or non-Jews, extends beyond the question of how the animal is slaughtered to how the animal is reared under the conditions of factory farming––which raises the further question of whether the traditions of shechitah and kashrut have been made obsolete by modern husbandry practises....

Sears has made good use of information from Animal Rights organizations and cites names, websites and statistics. For instance, he tells us exactly how many animals are used to make a fur coat, that there are no laws governing the use of farm animals, poultry, or animals raised for fur. Such lack of protection and lack of Jewish or non-Jewish interest, except for a few voices, is shameful. Even as he delineates how the Jewish tradition of tsa'ar ba'alei chaim is meant to negotiate between concern for animals and necessary human need, the definition of "human need" requires a strict accounting: Meat and fur in the contemporary Western world do not meet the requirement of "human need." Within the parameters of the traditional Jewish hierarchical system, Sears insists upon a forgotten reverence for the animal world, a forgotten insight into the structure of Genesis that recognizes a potent unitary whole where all things "share a spiritual affinity with one another," and that the recognition of an animal's suffering demands Jewish attention. That every creature is a creature of God is the insight which pervades his book. We cannot rest on our texts and on memories of an almost defunct tradition. Benevolence, he insists, entails action.”

Roberta Kalechofsky, Vegetarian Judaism--A Guide for Everyone, and The Jewish Vegetarian Year Cookbook

“...this book makes one feel that he has been handed a key to open the closed gates of the Garden of Eden that were shut to us ever since Adam was expelled....”

Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Haifa

“The Torah teaches compassion for every living creature. To study its detail is to study the essence of God. Rabbi Sears has done extensive and valuable research into a topic the world depends on for its existence.”

Rabbi Yaacov Haber, Congregation Bais Torah, Monsey, NY

‘The Vision of Eden is the culmination of over five years of research, compilation, and distillation of the halachic and Kabbalistic source on animal welfare, with an emphasis on vegetarianism. Sears is lucid, accessible (even to the uninitiated) and thorough....His book is a valuable reference of Jewish sources on animal welfare, with a comprehensive table of contents and index.....

Following a presentation of relevant Biblical, Talmudic, Midrashic, Kabbalistic, Chassidic, Mussar, and other Jewish sources, Sears identifies two opposing currents in halachic thought on the proper use of animals for human need....

Sears will be distinguished primarily for the Kabbalistic framework through which he examines the proper use of animals for legitimate human need.....”

Phineas E. Leahey, B.A., Philosophy, 1997, Brooklyn College; M.A., Philosophy, 1999; J.D., 2002, Columbia University.

“Currently most Jews eat meat and other animal products and relatively few Jews seem concerned about the cruel mistreatment of animals on factory farms and in other areas. However, David Sears landmark book, with its many examples of Jewish teachings about compassion for animals, has the potential to change all of this. The Vision of Eden is a compilation of translations from various sources, ranging from the classic texts of Judaism to contemporary rulings in Jewish law, much of which has never before been translated to English. It also includes a number of essays by Sears that serve as prefaces to the translations and provide general overviews that discuss and analyze the source material..... This book has great potential to start a respectful dialogue on vegetarianism, the proper treatment of animals, and related issues in the Jewish community. ....”

Richard Schwartz, Judaism and Vegetarianism and Judaism and Global Survival

“This book fills a very important niche in the ongoing discussion about Judaism and animal welfare....

The result is a valuable sourcebook for Jews of all backgrounds. (Non-Jews will find it useful, too, because it shatters many misconceptions about how Orthodox Judaism views animals and the creation.)....

There are plenty of practical teachings about the treatment of animals in this book, many of which have also appeared in other Jewish animal rights works. But, to me, the heart of this book -- and its most original contribution -- is the excellent section on "Creation and the Holy Sparks" and "Animals and Reincarnation." The doctrine of "Holy Sparks" is so central to Hasidic thought, that no discussion of meat-eating and vegetarianism among Hasidim can proceed without understanding it thoroughly.... Rabbi Sears has provided a clear, accessible explanation from an authentic Hasidic POV, complete with translations of the most important source texts....

Hasidim who read this with an open mind will be challenged to re-think their assumptions about eating meat. Non-Hasidic vegetarians, on the other hand, will gain a greater understanding... for the Orthodox/Hasidic worldview....

All in all, this book is destined to be a classic reference work, and should be in every vegetarian library.”

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom $28.00