David Sears. The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism
in Jewish Law and Mysticism. Orot: Spring Valley, NY 2003
Excerpts from Rabbinic Approbations:
The Vision of Eden, is a comprehensive Jewish
sourcebook on vegetarianism and animal welfare, based upon
our Rabbis' writings throughout the generations, with a
special emphasis on the writings of our Master and Saintly
Light of Israel, Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook,
of blessed memory, and his leading disciples, especially
my father and teacher, the saintly Nazir of Jerusalem, HaRav
David Cohen, of blessed memory…
The very fact that great and pious Rabbis,
well known the world over for their great Torah knowledge,
as well as for their holiness as masters of Kabbalah, adopted
this very special way of life is indeed irrefutable proof
for the positive attitude of Judaism towards vegetarianism…
Every reader of this unique and holy book
will benefit extensively from it. Indeed, this book, The
Vision of Eden, 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, and the angels
with swords in hand surrounded it, preventing us even from
knocking on its gates, let alone entering it…
Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, Chief Rabbi of
Haifa
In The Vision of Eden, Rabbi David Sears
has stepped onto the stage to teach the world how to be
more Godly. The world is full of suffering and affliction,
some perpetrated even in the name of God. Imagine a world
of emulating God, a world full of compassion and sensitivity
toward every living creature. The world would be safe, spiritual,
and holy, devoid of terror and grief.
In the recently published infamous al-Qaeda
guide, there was a description of how little children can
be trained to be terrorists by having them pull the heads
off live cats. They assured the reader that as their trainees
grew up they would have no problem blowing up buildings
or crashing planes.
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. Thank
you, Rabbi Sears, for bringing more compassion to a spiritually
starved world.
Rabbi Yaacov Haber of Monsey, NY
What Jewish Vegetarians Are Saying About
"The Vision of Eden"
"David Sears has written a remarkable book
that, while brilliantly researched within the context of
the Jewish religion, is universal in the themes presented.
The Vision of Eden is a book that everyone seeking a deeper
connection to their spiritual identity needs to read."
Rene David Alkalay, Author: Kabbalah in Motion,
Executive Director: The Genesis Society
"This is a wonderful book, a necessary book,
a just book which will contribute much to clarifying where
Judaism stands on the issue of meat, vegetarianism, and
animal welfare. …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 Jewish tradition that states
that it is forbidden to cause pain to an animal except under
specific conditions of human need, and that that pain should
be as minimal as possible.)"
Roberta Kalechovsky, General Editor: Micah
Publications, Author: Vegetarian Judaism
"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…His book goes beyond
those of other Jewish scholars who have written about Jewish
teachings on animals because he combines his extensive knowledge
of Judaism with an awareness of how far realities related
to how society treats animals differ from the demands of
Jewish teachings, and he is committed to making others aware
of the need to end these discrepancies."
Richard Schwartz, Author: Judaism and Vegetarianism,
Judaism and Global Survival, President, Jewish Vegetarians
of North America
"Sears is lucid, accessible (even to the
uninitiated) and thorough. He seems to have integrated every
conceivable Jewish source pertaining to animal welfare…
To his credit, Sears does not omit or misconstrue sources
that are contrary to current religious or political agendas.
Nor does he gloss over the "marked ambivalence" of the Jewish
tradition toward vegetarianism… [However, he] respectfully
encourages the Gedolei Yisrael to resolve the halachic challenges
posed by factory-farm conditions - not only tza'ar baalei
chayim but also "kashrut problems" that result from "an
increase in sickness among animals" and the "inevitably
higher margin of error in mass production" of meat, as well
as the health and ecological harm caused by animal-based
diets."
Phineas E. Leahey, The Jewish Press
Selections From Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook's
"A Vision of Vegetarianism And Peace"
The Just Treatment of Animals
There is a fundamental branch of human advancement
that according to the present state of the prevailing culture,
exists today only in the pleasant dream of a few extremely
idealistic souls: an innate ethical striving for just, humane
feeling that is fully attentive to the fate of animals.
Certain cruel philosophies that base their
ethics on human reason, especially those that deny belief
in God, have advocated that man completely stifle within
himself any sense of justice for animals. However, they
have not succeeded, nor shall they succeed with all their
self-serving cleverness, in perverting the innate sense
of justice that the Creator planted within the human soul.
Although sympathy for animals is like the glow of a smoldering
ember buried under a great heap of ashes, nevertheless,
it is impossible for them to negate this sensitivity within
every feeling heart. For failing to heed the good and noble
instinct not to take any form of life, whether for one's
needs or physical gratification, constitutes a moral lack
in the human race.
Our sages did not agree with these philosophical
views. They tell us that the holy Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi was
visited with afflictions because he told a calf being led
to slaughter, that had sought refuge in the skirts of his
garment, "Go! This is the purpose for which you were created."
His healing was also brought about by a deed, when he showed
mercy to some weasels (Bava Metzia 85a). Our sages did not
conduct themselves like the philosophers, who exchange darkness
for light, for the sake of pragmatism. It is impossible
to imagine that the Master of all that transpires, Who has
mercy upon His all creatures, would establish an eternal
decree such as this in the creation that He pronounced "exceedingly
good," namely, that it should be impossible for the human
race to exist without violating its own moral instincts
by shedding blood, be it even the blood of animals.
Man's Original Diet Was Vegetarian
No intelligent, thinking person could suppose
that when the Torah instructs humankind to dominate "And
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds
of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon
the Earth" (Genesis 1:28) it means the domination of a harsh
ruler, who afflicts his people and servants merely to fulfill
his personal whim and desire, according to the crookedness
of his heart. It is unthinkable that the Torah would impose
such a decree of servitude, sealed for all eternity, upon
the world of God, Who is "good to all, and His mercy is
upon all His works" (Psalms 145:9), and Who declared, "The
world shall be built upon kindness" (ibid. 89:3).
Moreover, the Torah attests that all humanity
once possessed this lofty moral level. Citing scriptural
proofs, our sages explain (Sanhedrin 57a) that Adam was
not permitted to eat meat: "Behold, I have given you every
tree... yielding seed for food" (Genesis 1:29). Meat was
permitted only to the children of Noah, after the Flood:
"Like the green herb, I have given you everything" (Genesis
9:3). Is it conceivable that this moral excellence, which
once existed as an inherent human characteristic, should
be lost forever? Concerning these and similar matters, it
states, "I shall bring knowledge from afar, and unto my
Maker I shall ascribe righteousness" (Job 36:3). In the
future, God shall cause us to make great spiritual strides,
and thus extricate us from this complex question.
Vegetarianism and Enlightenment
When humanity reaches its goal of complete
happiness and spiritual liberation, when it attains that
lofty peak of perfection that is the pure knowledge of God
and the full manifestation of the essential holiness of
life, then the age of "motivation by virtue of enlightenment"
will have arrived. This is like a structure built on the
foundation of "motivation by virtue of the law," which of
necessity must precede [that of "motivation by virtue of
enlightenment"] for all humanity.1
At that time human beings will recognize
their companions in creation: all the animals. They will
understand how it is fitting from the standpoint of the
purest ethical standard not to resort to moral concessions,
to compromise the divine attribute of justice with that
of mercy2 [by permitting
mankind's exploitation of animals]; for they will no longer
need extenuating concessions, as in those matters of which
the Talmud states: "The Torah speaks only of the evil inclination"
(Kiddushin 31b)3. Rather
they will walk the path of absolute good. As the prophet
declares: "I will make a covenant for them with the animals
of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things
of the ground; I also will banish the bow and sword, and
war from the land…" (Hosea 2:20) (Chazon HaTzimchonut V'HaShalom,
chapters 1, 2, 12).
