Lots of Dead Things in the Old Schoolhouse

From the Florida Pioneer Museum and Village.

Bad Jewish Arguments for Vegetarianism

This ain't the Illuminati or lizard people disguised as world leaders, y'know. Yes, there are people who beleive in those things, but avoiding animal foods doesn't have to be so fringe. If you've been reading for a while, you know that I'll freely oppose weak arguments for vegetarianism and veganism. In the end, it just doesn't help.

So when I came across a series of videos on Jewish vegetarianism, the first thing I did was ask the opinion of Stephen, The Nervous Vegan's Official Expert on All Things Kosher. He's always full of insight when it comes to intersections between vegetarian and kosher diets. For my Jewish vegetarian friends out there, and anybody else who's interested, I'll post the videos and his criticisms.

The first thing he had to say pretty much set the tone for the entire exchange.

I haven't seen them yet, but I would just let you know in advance that Prof. Richard Schwartz is considered something of a kook. No pun intended, seriously. :) He has taken some very extreme positions and is considered a one-note diva. He is very outside the mainstream.

Okay then, let's watch along with Stephen. Here's part 1:

Hey, so I listened to the first recording and it is very Prof. Schwartz. That being said, it contains several distortions:

1) Yes, the longest living people in the Torah were in the earliest generations extending from Adam to Noach (Noah), but nowhere in the literature is this attributed to vegetarianism, or is it even a consideration. Rather, the shortening of life is considered related to man's corruption. Man cannot live too long because it created laziness and corruption. This is evidenced in the Tower of Babel story where the people of the world decide they are like Gd and want to build a tower to heaven to take their lofty place. Also it is further evidenced by the flood which ends the first era of history after which Gd puts a limit on life. In fact it is said that the ideal years of man is 120. But only one man reached that age: Moses. Even 'til today, it is common to wish someone on their birthday "Ad meah v'esrim" ('til 120). The limitation has nothing to do with vegetarianism.

2) There is no evidence that humans were not permitted to eat meat 'til the flood. The only prohibition against eating meat was in the Garden of Eden, and the speaker has pointed out those passages, but after Adam and Chava (Eve) are removed they are told they will have dominion over all living creatures. This can be interpreted as being only the ruler over animals, but more commonly as they were able to use animals for food as well...

However, it is clear that use of animals, and to be blunt, the bloodletting of animals, was clearly not frowned upon. In the story of Cain and Abel. Cain, a farmer gave sacrifice to Gd from his fields and Abel, a shepherd gave a sacrifice to Gd of his flock. Gd was pleased with Abel's offering, he called it a sweet fragrance, but not with Cain's which was referred to as stingy.

Cain became jealous and killed Abel. Cain was subsequently punished and obligated to wander the earth for the rest of his life without a place to settle. Clearly Gd preferred the animal offering to the vegetarian offering.

3) It is simply a distortion to say that Gd considered the generation of the flood evil because they ate meat against Gd's will. There is simply no evidence of that. What was an abomination was that men "tore the living flesh off of animals while they were still alive, causing animals tremendous suffering." The laws of kashrut require the removal of blood because it is the source of life, and that the animal be slaughtered in a humane fashion, by the instantaneous severing of the carotid artery with a smooth blade. However, it is considered an obligation for all of humanity that men cannot tear the living limbs off of animals, one of the obligations in the Torah that belong to all people and not just Jews. This is one of the 7 Noahide laws (Laws for all mankind).

4) Rav Kook was not a vegetarian, though he is cited frequently by vegetarians and Prof. Schwartz is notorious for using him in justify his theses. Rav Kook wrote about vegetarianism as the "ideal diet of Kashrut" and said that we shall return to it in the messianic age. But he maintained that in a time of imperfection vegetarian diet was improper and smacked of "pretension." Anyway, you might want to look at this.

See there! I have to look no further for a full discussion. Good work, sir!

Rav Kook's take on vegetarianism: Essentially while it is permissible it is not mandated nor is it even preferred behavior in modern times. Some of Rav Kook's letters to his son regarding the mitzvah of schechita (Kosher butchering).

To be clear... Prof Schwartz has taken Rav Kook's pronouncement that One may be a vegetarian if he chooses, and his observation that in the messianic age the diet will be vegetarian, to suggest that it is a preferred Jewish diet in present times, when Rav Kook says almost exactly the opposite. The most interesting aspect, I think, is Rav Kook's observation that many who refuse to eat meat are otherwise cruel to their fellow man.

There we are! These ideas don't really survive scrutiny, effective though they may be in some people's personal rationales. If you find yourself entering a discussion, show your stuff by not employing these arguments, or even by recognizing their faultiness. Remember, humbleness will get you further. I've actually found that silence impresses people more than debate.

Thank you once again, Stephen! I'll have to send you a New York Post t-shirt or something.

Code on Your Shortwave: They're Talking About Nukes

Sometimes, the things you find while playing with a shortwave radio are mysterious and haunting, and when you find out more about them, they're no less intriguing.

These are Emergency Action Messages, broadcasts in code from the US military. They involve the handling of nuclear weapons. Scary, huh? Try sitting in a dark room, with only the light of the radio, and listening...





Humans are strange animals to produce such things.

Go Inward, Young Man!

It's 1000° out there, and spring has only begun! Well, maybe that's hyperbole, but it's been in the 90s. And we finally have rain, so I opened the house and the place is cooling off, but now it's damp in here.

From Wikipedia: "Florida's populations have been rapidly changing. After World War II, Florida was transformed as air conditioning and the Interstate highway system encouraged emigration from the north. In 1950, Florida was ranked twentieth among the states in population; 50 years later it was ranked fourth." In fact, John Gorrie, the father of air conditioning, did his inventing here. Necessity is the mother of invention, I guess. It gets downright unlivable sometimes.



I confess that, when it's intensely hot and humid, we turn the air on. Part of simplifying our life will involve moving somewhere that's not a prehistoric swamp dripping with moisture and full of dinosaurs... eh... gators and lizards. I really don't like our dependence on central air.

But for now, we use it when things get desperate. And it's broken.

So how am I gonna deal with this?

Sistahs and brothahs, mah text today is from Philippians 4:11: "...I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

I know, I know, it's Paul. I don't like his attitude toward women or gay people either. If you listen to bible-based, fundamentalist arguments though, they're actually very selective with the texts they use, so I can be too. There's a mess of stuff in the Bible. There's the Sermon on the Mount and then there are the horrors in the Book of Judges, which I wouldn't even name here.

And I know, Paul goes on to say that he can "do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," and I'm not a Christian. But really, taken abstractly, that's an important point too. His focus is on something other than his jail cell or whatever. If you think you can get through life with faith only in your own control of your situation, you're bound to be unhappy. You're much better off focusing on some worthy, steady object of faith.

I think that any of the great religions will tell you so in their own way, and many good secular philosophies too. Y'know, focusing on life's details is a kind of madness. You need to set your eyes on something greater. No matter what happens, you need focus on something outside of the ever-changing world.

You may not make it otherwise. You' be too stressed and scattered.

So I'm feeling a bit mildewed now, and contentment is more of a struggle, but I'm doing what I can. That's part of what my diet means to me, and my love for Kat too. If she and I really do find our way into greater self-sufficiency, a lot more adjustment will have to follow.

We're gonna be okay, just so long as we keep our eyes on something greater out there, and to me, our love is a sign that there's something greater. You can find your something greater too.

Nicotine in the Body

This is scary on many levels. The technology that was used to produce the animation, the microbiological viewpoint... but it's also mind-expanding. I mean, picture everything you put into your body on this level. But I don't think it's a good idea to dwell on it too much. Please don't watch this video and become one of those rude people who will do anything to win souls for the health god! Please.

Captain, We're Shinking! We Need to Overboard the Ship!

This little girl is just very cute. That's all. You need another reason to watch? I don't!

Have You Given a Thought to Those Who Suffer Around You?

It's tough for many of us these days, what with the recession and all. The morning's news is full of terrible disasters and warnings of impending environmental doom. Gas will cost you your soul pretty soon, but you need gas to get to work to earn money to pay for gas. American voters keep turning to prospective leaders who promise miracles and in the end deliver only favors for the people who give them money, still talking ideals all the while. It may be hard to keep your chin up sometimes.

But you have something better to compare all that to. There are those who know only deprivation, and I don't mean on some far-off continent. On spots of land within the USA, in the midst of our relative luxury and plenty, those peoples who occupied the land before European settlers arrived live in misery.

If you've been looking around on the internet today, you've probably been exposed to enough of a litany of hopelessness, so I won't list the problems on American Indian reservations. But the fact that the Indian Health Service division of  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services felt that it must invest money in this public service announcement speaks volumes.



I honestly don't mean to get you down, but really, how often have you been upset by far less than teenage suicide? There are some of us who have become outraged because an advertised product, a luxury item, isn't in stock. You know you're lucky or blessed or whatever just to have eaten today, right? Sorry, but you don't need that plasma TV or those shoes.

I mean, maybe some gratitude for what you do have is in order, and maybe a look at the world around you. You can call it superstitious or whatever, but... well, as ye sow, so shall ye reap. Or you can call it karma. Or you can say, "What comes around goes around."

Maybe the losses we've suffered recently are somehow a result of our own luxury, our own indulgence. Maybe we've spent too much on things unnecessary for survival while people starve around us. There are people with plenty of money who enjoy getting outraged at beggars.

You can come up with arguments or excuses, or you can look at yourself. Do you dare look at yourself? Do you dare stop justifying cravings? Truly, I hope so.

Perhaps, if you look around you and care about others, things will get better for you too. Maybe the answer isn't in the world around you, but rather inside of you.