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Hey American Rabbis: Wake Up and Smell the Cruelty
From their perch in America, many Diaspora Jews look at the Orthodox Rabbinate in Israel as a bunch of Neanderthals who use clubs to beat back any modern innovation or progressive idea. No offense to any Neanderthals. But The Beet-Eating Heeb, for one, might have to revise his assessment of Israel’s Rabbinical leadership. On one issue that is near and dear to BEH’s heart, and probably to yours as well, the newly elected Chief ...
G-d’s Forgotten Covenant
Jews around the world this week are reading the story of Noah in Genesis 9. (Was he the one who first said, “When it rains, it pours”?) Ironically, while most people associate this story with the saving of animals in the Ark, it is in this particular Torah portion that God first gives humans permission to kill animals for food. Yup, the animals had barely set foot on terra firma when God told Noah and his sons, “Every ...
Varoom! …. There Goes a Vegan …. at 200 mph
Vegans are excelling at the highest levels of a wide range of sports, from ultramarathon running (Scott Jurek) to boxing (Tim Bradley). But if one sport lies beyond the reach of the March of the Vegans, it would seem to be auto racing. Let's face it. Stock-car racing is the sport that is most closely identified with the South, with Dixie, and with all the shredded pork, barbecued beef and fried chicken that clogs arteries down ...
Should Jews Be Prohibited from Consuming Today’s Dairy Products?
Any vegan will tell you that dairy products are unfit for human consumption. The anti-dairy position stands on at least three very sturdy legs: animal welfare, personal health, and logic. In brief, dairy cows are continuously subjected to horrendous treatment in today’s factory farms, dairy products are inherently unhealthy, and it is logically insane for humans to be consuming something that is designed to turn a 50-pound calf into a ...
Does The Bible/Torah Condone Meat Eating? Take a Closer Look at Genesis 9:3
Torah-literate carnivores cling tenaciously to a slender verse in the Book of Genesis to justify their consumption of animal flesh. Genesis 9:3 is the Biblical invitation to a Texas buffet. It plainly states, “Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat.” The Beet-Eating Heeb cannot pretend that this verse doesn’t exist. In fact, faithful readers of his blog will tell you that he has never, ever stated that Judaism or ...
The Oppression of Animals: Is Religion the Cause … or the Remedy?
Quick now: How many vegans can you name who live in Southeastern Montana, where cattle outnumber people by a ratio of about 100-to-1? (Conservative estimate.) Think that’s tough. Try this one: How many religious studies professors can you name who research what our sacred texts say about the proper treatment of animals? The Beet-Eating Heeb hates to show up his beloved readers, but he can name someone in both categories. It helps ...
The Challenge of Going Vegan?
The Beet-Eating Heeb is a voracious eater of veggies, fruits, and nuts (especially after a tough workout) and a voracious reader of blogs, newspapers, magazines and books (especially about food issues). Recently, two things The Beet-Eating Heeb read – one in The New York Times, one in a book called “The Pathfinder” – intersected in his mind and compelled him to think hard about the excuses people offer for rejecting veganism. New York Times ...
He Has Clout in Washington and Klout in Social Media — And He’s Vegan
Vegans might feel virtually invisible within the Jewish community as a whole. But The Beet-Eating Heeb is here to deliver hope. One of the most visible Jews in the Social Media World – and these days, what other world is there? – has become a vegan. Or, as BEH likes to say, this person has joined the Great Jewish Vegan Conspiracy (1). If you're one of the few people who is not following William @Daroff on Twitter, you must ...
A Sex Therapist, A Book Called “Holy Eating,” and The Beet-Eating Heeb
If the Beet-Eating Heeb were to write a book, he might call it "Holy Eating." After all, what two words better describe Jewish veganism? So imagine The Beet-Eating Heeb's surprise (he won't say dismay) when he discovered a newly published book called "Holy Eating." And the author not only happens to be a fellow member of the Pittsburgh Jewish community, he is someone BEH is personally fond of -- Dr. Robert ...
The Torah Verse That Turned Two Meat-Eaters into Beet-Eaters
You don’t need to unfurl the Torah scroll too much, or turn too many pages in your Bible, to find the foundational verses of religion-based vegetarianism. It’s right there in the opening chapter of Genesis. Discovering this changed The Beet-Eating Heeb’s life and the life of Wife of BEH, too. Their discovery occurred on Rosh Hashanah morning, 5766, when The Beet-Eating Heebs were still meat-eating Heebs. The morning&...
Meet and Greet The Beet-Eating Heeb
The Beet-Eating Heeb is here to save the day! Or at least to fill a void. Blogs devoted to vegan and vegetarian Judaism have all but vanished. Consider: Heeb ‘n’ Vegan, once a thriving place in cyberspace, hung an “out-of-business” on its door in 2010. Shalom Veg, another favorite of meat-abstaining Jews, has gone months without posting new content. The last thing the world needs is another blog. Except ...
