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Latest Comments:
I enjoyed Joshua's Oct 26, 2010 post that addresses a spiritual and practical aspect of vegetarianism that is adds to our discussion.
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The Alter Rebbe writes in his Shulchan Aruch that there is no obligation to eat meat on Shabbath, but that this has become the custom because most people enjoy eating meat, it is for them an Oneg for the sake of Shabbath. But the Rebbe's word imply that one should eat on Shabbath food that he enjoys, and if he does not enjoy meat should refrain from eating it on Shabbath and eat other food that he enjoys. So even though there's a matter of eating meat to elevate to it's next level, as you taught, if it's not a pleasure for the particular individual perhaps he should refrain, this is question number one.
Question number two: We know that Adam, the first man, was not allowed meat and that G-d permitted meat to the Children of Noah because he felt that to forbid meat was a decree that the community would not be able to withstand. If however a particular person feels it is better to be a vegetarian because this was G-d's original intention and he would like to take this upon himself, would he be permitted to do so?
Thank You
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Thanks for commenting on my Apr 26, 2010 post. Your point is well taken that meat is a more compact and complete food. Replacing this rich nutrient source requires great care in nutriution and meal planning. All said, though, so does aherence to Jewish dietary law and practices. The real question, is whether such effort is advocated by the Torah.
After the flood, when Noah makes a burned offering In Genesis 8.20, G-d makes a promise never to doom the earth because of man whose considered actions are "evil from his youth". This can mean "since" man's creation or "as a result" of his primativeness -- a temporary state while man develops. My feeling is that Rambam, in his commentary allows for the second explanation and that this passage is the bridge connecting the period of nuts and seeds in the garden to a post-flood era ending the late 20th century.
It is less a question of what is easier but rather that, since man now has alternatives, is meat eating no longer tolerable?
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I am no scholar on the religious matter, though I am a jew. However, regarding your discussion of health; it is not as simple as B12. There are literally hundreds of different vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that are very difficult to get if you are vegetarian, and almost impossible if you are vegan. These include, but are not limited to: Essential Fatty Acids (the only non meat/non fish source of this os Algae and you would have to eat huge amounts - EPA, DHA, CLA, Arachadonic Acid, all the B vitamins, Iron, All twenty Amino acids (which are found in no fruits or veggies), proteins (unless you eat alot of legumes and beans it's impossible to get without meat, eggs, milk, fish..) There's alot more than I have room for here, of things that the bodies of most vegetarians and all vegans will be starving for (unless they are taking a hundred different vitamins and supplements as well as eating a huge load and wide variety of plants, not just soy items).
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Is meat truly elevated when it need not be eaten. Until modern times, B12 could only be obtained from animal products, and, with man's limited knowledge of nutrition, it was indeed a necessity, the lack of which lead to dementia, neurological disorders, and heart problems . It is not implausible to contemplate that, without B12 supplied by meat, man would be a lower, perhaps non-sentient form and could not contemplate G-d. However in modern times we have the knowledge to obtain B12 from other sources (including eggs and dairy) rendering meat a matter of choice. At that point, man is no longer granted toleration for his primitive needs of survival, but must consider the animal's well being more closely.
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The quality of sound needs to be improved.
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