I again wish to thank Irene Stillman, the entire Stillman Family and Rabbi Herring for honoring me with the opportunity to present the prestigious Arthur Stillman Lectures. In particular, I'd like to acknowledge Stillman family members Shirley and Larry Zipkin, with whom I have worked several years to stop the poisoning from toxins they and our planet are experiencing.

Unfortunately, Shirley could not be here today because, like an increasing number of other people who suffer from what we call multiple chemical sensitivities, she often gets ill going out in public because of perfumes and other scented products, as well as from toxic formaldehyde and other hazardous vapors that come from certain types of new carpets, furniture and woodwork.

These lectures are dedicated to Shirley and Larry's vision of creating a world where all of us can breathe clean air, live, work and study in healthy buildings and enjoy delicious, safe food and water.

Rabbi Samuel Dresner related a well-known story about how the President of a congregation advised its new rabbi to not speak from the pulpit about either the Sabbath--because this is America and we don't have time for that--or the Dietary Laws, Kashrut--because they are ancient ideas that are a hassle in today's world. Well, not being a Rabbi, I did speak about the first topic last night and will speak about the second today.

I wanted to get three things out of the way before I start because so many people have been asking. First, what is the answer to the question posed in the title of my talk, "Eco-Kosher: Can I Care about the Earth and Still Eat My Lox, Bagels and Cream Cheese?" Unlike politicians who never give direct answers, and more like my fellow economists who generally give the wrong ones, my answers are, "Perhaps, Possibly and Manna." Now you can eat your lox, bagels and cream cheese in peace.

The second question is "Why would I want to know about eco-kosher if I don't even keep kosher?" Because you'll be the first on your block and it's cool and a lot easier and more fun than you may think. Plus, it's good for you, your family and the earth. Such a deal.

And the third question is "What is eco-kosher?" Most often, it's answered by the ancient Jewish practice of asking another question like, "Are grapes that have been grown by exploiting farmworkers and spraying hazardous pesticides 'kosher' to eat at the Synagogue's next wedding reception?" Or, "Is newsprint made by chopping down an ancient and irreplaceable forest 'kosher' to use for a Jewish newspaper?" These things may clearly be "kosher" according to the traditional Jewish law code, but they may be troubling to us.

I'd answer that eco-kosher is a new and evolving concept combining common sense and compassion with a range of ancient Jewish teachings, including kashrut, caring for the earth (Bal taschit), respecting animals (Tza'ar ba'alei chayim), protecting one's own body (Sh'mirat haguf), not oppressing workers and customers (Oshek), the sharing of food, money and work-time with the poor (Tzedakah) and the Sabbath and Jubilee years of rest for the land and from deliberate economic use of it (Schmitah and yovel). These teachings are being incorporated into a set of simple, daily practices to properly respect the earth, ourselves and all other life.

I feel certain urgency to discuss our relationship to the Earth because as Jews we have been divorced from the land and, consequently, from the environment. This is a subtle phenomenon that few of us have probably thought much about.

Despite our previous deep connections to the land, the passage of legislation and decrees in many parts of the world forced us off the land and into other occupations, from banking to trade. We ultimately completed our own transformation from one of the world's great agricultural people to the world's best urbanized people.  We learned to survive in crowded urban ghettos. Though we have now been freed of the ghettos and many of us have migrated into suburbia's world of lush, green chemlawns, we are just learning to connect with the environment.

Last night we took a journey around the sun and moon with the Jewish calendar to see how deeply connected our holy days are to the Earth. I shared a great deal of complex information and there are some summaries on the table outside. But as you may recall, I said we didn't have to remember it all, much less understand it. All we have to do is fully participate in its cycles. By experiencing them we will gain their full benefit.

But my talk today will be pretty much the opposite. Rather than a major outward voyage around the solar system and Earth, we're going to take a more inward journey into our soul and then return to the Earth. This talk is plain and simple, but it's far more challenging. You must do the work this time. It's up to you to understand and think through some of the challenging issues I'll be raising today.

I come before you today not as a Rabbi, but as a committed Jew, economist and ecologist.

As I shared last night, I wasn't always a committed Jew. I have been on a path of reconnection that was brought about in part by my discovery of how "green" and environmentally responsible Judaism is--it's just that no one ever told me.

I was aware of Judaism's strong commitment to social justice as taught to me by my rabbi growing up in Highland Park, Illinois, Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf, one of the world's leading progressive Jewish thinkers and leaders. He was the secretary to Abraham Joshua Heschel and a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King. We were taught that "Never Again" meant never again for any people anywhere on this earth.

And I wasn't always an economist and ecologist. I wanted to be a train engineer or firefighter. But somehow, my parents changed that…and I had to settle for model trains and vicariously watching films like Backdraft. Instead, I fell in love with the Earth. I became an ecologist to learn about the Earth and an economist to help save it.

It is ironic that ecology and economics, which so often are in conflict, share the same common root, "eco," which comes from the Greek for "household."Thus, ecology and economics relate to the proper function of the household, both of our own personal home and our larger home, the Earth.

This relates directly to the theme of my talk on "Eco-Kosher" because we are combining the ancient ideas of care for our household and the earth with the equally ancient concept of "kosher" or kashrut.

They are a powerful combination and form the basis of an exciting and challenging new discussion in Judaism that has significant ramifications for how we eat, live and pray. I'd like to explore this with you and examine its relevance to our lives today.

We'll begin by looking at the Torah and its teachings about Kosher.

Then we'll examine how we currently practice the laws of kashrut.

Next, I'd like to expand on our discussion from last night about the environmental relevance of our holidays and share some additional Jewish teachings about the environment, social justice and humaneness.

Then I'll show how these teachings combined with the original concept of kosher to evolve eco-kosher as a contemporary response to a range of environmental, health, social justice and humane problems we face.

And finally, I want to mention a few ways we can incorporate eco-kosher into our lives today.

The Torah and Kashrut

The first reference to what later in the Torah becomes the laws of kashrut can be found in Exodus (22:30): "And ye shall be holy people unto Me; therefore ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn of the beasts of the field." It establishes the clear purpose and goal of the Kosher laws as holiness, not health.[1]  Most of us think of Kashrut as an evolved ancient health measure that may at one time have been useful but is no more. But as you can see in this and other passages, as well as a range of teachings, its purpose is to promote holiness.

In Deuteronomy (14:21) it says: "Ye shall not eat anything that dieth of itself…for thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk."

In Leviticus (11:44-45), after we are told which animals, fowl and fish are permitted and which are forbidden, the reason for this long series of laws is at last given: "I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy…For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God; ye shall therefore be holy."

Each of these passages stresses the importance of kadosh or holy. And this concept is to be incorporated into all aspects of our everyday lives as Jews, not made separate as in most other religions.

As Martin Buber said, "Judaism teaches us to overcome the fundamental separation between the holy and the profane. This separation has formed a part of the foundation of every religion. Everywhere the holy is removed and set apart from the fullness of things, properties and actions which belong to the universal, so that the holy becomes a self-contained holiness outside of which the profane must pitch its tent."[2]

We are to hallow the everyday every day so that holiness encompasses our total being. We are to appreciate G-d and all of G-d's gifts, even those that seem most trivial. As Rabbi Samuel Dresner points out, "And what is more common, more ordinary, more seemingly trivial than the process of eating? It is precisely here that Judaism would have us begin--with the everyday."[3]

It is more significant to learn how to prepare and eat our food than to reflect on a dogma and more important to say ha-motzi over a piece of bread than to memorize a creed. We are taught the importance of doing, with a belief that proper thinking often derives from proper doing.

So, how do we become holy? We become holy by making holy, by hallowing, including that which is not yet holy, the profane, everyday. That is the purpose of mitzvot. By observing the mitzvot we are able to hallow and be hallowed.

Thus, it is argued that the mitzvah of Kashrut was given to us in order to become holy. By hallowing the act of eating, we become holy.

Kosher or Kasher in Hebrew, means fit or proper for use. The opposite of Kosher is Treif (Yiddish) or Trefah (Hebrew). The word literally means, "torn by a wild beast." Thus, something which is treif is not suitable for use and is forbidden.Kashrut is the system of Dietary Laws that guide our cooking, eating and use.

Dresner points out that Kashrut teaches us reverence for life and that the eating of meat was itself a compromise. Adam, the first man, was not permitted to eat meat. As an inhabitant of the Garden of Eden, which represented the perfect, ideal society, he is a vegetarian who eats only fruits and vegetables. But he was not satisfied to live in paradise and rebelled against G-d. Thus, his descendents wanted the flesh of living creatures, which required that life had to be taken and an animal put to death.[4] But "Human consumption of meat, which means the taking of an animal life, has constantly posed a religious problem to Judaism, even when it has accepted the necessity of it."[5] Thus, the permission to eat meat is seen as a compromise, a divine concession to human weakness and human need.

While we are permitted to eat meat, we must learn to have reverence for life we take. It is part of the process of hallowing which Kashrut proclaims. The laws for Sh'chitah, the manner of slaughter, are followed in the Talmud and probably go back to Biblical times. Most Shochet, or people who perform Sh'chitah, claim that it is the most humane method of slaughtering animals. Others believe that while it may have been, there are more humane methods today.

The Shochet must be both a learned and pious person and pass and exam on his knowledge of the Sh'chitah. He must read a blessing before executing his duties. The knife must be absolutely sharp with no nicks so that in one cut across the throat the arteries to the head can be severed, rendering the animal unconscious of pain. The Shochet must also examine the animal's internal organs to make certain that the animal was not diseased.

Because of the time limits, I will not focus on the removal of the blood, the range of animals that can and cannot be consumed and requirements regarding eating.

The Current Practice of Kashrut

There are obviously several days worth of material to discuss about our current practice of Kashrut. I thought I'd just touch on three.

First, more and more Jews and Jewish establishments are becoming vegetarian because of increasing concerns about the treatment of animals, as well as health reasons and the expense and related difficulties in homes and restaurants of separating meat and diary, including separate cookware, utensils, plates and washing facilities. Quite simply, it makes it much easier to practice Kashrut. I have been a vegetarian for more than 22 years and never get sick, even though I travel around the world.

There also are increasing concerns about how the animals are slaughtered. The assembly line method used in American slaughterhouses often involve shackling animals and hoisting them off the ground before the shochet come to kill them. American law requires that the animal not be touching a pool of blood. The hoisting puts the animal in a great deal of pain, often dislocating its legs and resulting in injury to workers who are kicked as well. Such practices are clearly indefensible because of cruelty.

In countries such as England a more humane restraining device or crate is used. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has expended considerable sums make it available to meat packers in the U.S. Despite support for this effort by national representative Jewish bodies, the new device has not been widely adopted. I believe it is now time for all Jews to insist that this procedure be used everywhere.

Finally, it would be nice if we could drink kosher organic grape juice, that is juice from grapes where no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers have been used. There's plenty of kosher organic grape juice in Israel, as I will show tomorrow in my slides from Kibbutz Sde Elliahu. However, we don't have it available in the U.S., even though there are lots of organic grapes. The problem is that there are tremendous expenses in having rabbinical supervision of the process.I have several Jewish friends who run organic juice operations who would like to produce kosher organic juice, but can't afford the supervision. In the meantime, I hope we can import some of the delicious Israeli kosher organic grape juice as a way to support Israel and a healthy, holy land.

Jewish Teachings About the Environment and Social Justice

Kashrut is only one part of the fabric of Jewish life. We have a range of ancient Jewish teachings about the environment, social justice and humaneness that serve as the basis for eco-kashrut.

Teachings on Ecological Soundness

According to Jewish teaching, God brought Adam to the Garden of Eden and clearly warned him to accept full ecological responsibility: "Do not corrupt and desolate My world; For if you corrupt if, there will be no one to set it right after you."[6]

While the commandment in Genesis 1:28 providing humans with dominion over the fish, fowl, cattle, and all the earth often has been misused as a pretext for exploitation, Jewish oral law has never permitted such an interpretation.[7] To the contrary, ecological concerns are heavily emphasized through injunctions against cutting down trees in Deuteronomy 20:19 and other Torah restrictions.

Together, they form the basis of the Jewish law of "Bal tashchit" ("do not destroy"), an ancient and sweeping series of Jewish environmental regulations forbidding everything from over-grazing and destruction of cultivated plant varieties to the waste of resources and the pollution of the air and water.[8]

Jewish law also contains a positive set of environmental regulations "yishuv ha-aretz" and "yishuv ha-olam," or "settling the land" in a manner balancing the environment and human survival.[9] There are many other requirements for ecological soundness, including God's commandment to Moses at Mt. Sinai that, "the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land,"[10] with no sowing, pruning, reaping or gathering.

While there are many interpretations of these and other teachings, Jonathan Helfand has concluded that Jewish laws:

Do not offer unquestioning protection to the natural environment; nor do they offer an immutable schedule of priorities to guide the actions of humans. They do, however, enunciate an important legal and moral principle: the environment, like man, has certain unalienable rights, and these rights are endowed to it by the Creator--and, as a result, they may not be summarily dismissed or violated. It is the obligation of society to respect and protect these right with the same procedures, institutions, and legislative initiatives that are employed to guarantee and protect the rights of humans. [11]

The Hasids sum up the importance quite simply:

Planting is so important that if a sapling were in your hand, and you were told that the Messiah had come, first plant the sapling, then go out to greet the Messiah. [12]

Teachings on Social Justice

Social justice is explicitly part of Jewish teachings. God's commandment of a sabbath for the land every seventh year (Exodus 23:10-11) not only prescribes for healing the land, "in the seventh year you shall let it lie fallow," but also requires the owner to let the land "provide food for the poor of your people." The prescription goes even further and calls for the remission or cancellation of all debts at the end of every seventh year (Deuteronomy 15:1-2). In other words, "It is a basic human right to have regularly a fresh chance to succeed, without being forever weighed down by the past."[13]

At the same time, Deuteronomy 15:7-11 requires tithing and other acts so that the disadvantaged not be neglected in the time between the Sabbaths. The purpose of these provisions might be understood as "the redistribution of accumulated wealth, so that more widespread sharing and greater human equality would result."[14]

The concept of the Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25:8-10) specifies that after seven sabbaths, humans should "hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof,…and ye shall return every man unto his possession."[15] The Torah acknowledges the notion of ancestral land and requires that anyone who had to sell or give up their land for any reason can take the land back without cost. Leviticus 25:23-31 specifically forbids taking land permanently from those who originally owned and worked it and permits them to take it back sooner than fifty years through proper payment.

According to eminent Jewish scholars, the Sabbatical and Jubilee Years together "represent a unique Israelite attempt to combat the social evils that had infected Israelite society and to return to the idyllic period of the desert union when social equality and fraternal concern had prevailed."[16]

A similar balance of control can be found in Isaiah 5:8, which forbids the concentration of large blocks of land in a few hands. The Talmud tells the following story:

Two men were fighting over a piece of land. Each claimed ownership and bolstered his claim with apparent proof. To resolve their differences, they agreed to put the case before the rabbi.

The rabbi listened but could not come to a decision because both seemed to be right. Finally the rabbi said, "Since I cannot decide to whom this land belongs, let us ask the land." He put his ear to the ground, and after a moment straightened up." Gentlemen, the land says that it belongs to neither of you--but that you belong to it." [17]

Social justice also was spelled out in the case of God's gift of "manna," the miracle "bread from heaven" that sustained the Israelites in the desert for forty years (Exodus 16:4-35). God commanded that each person gather only as much as they needed to eat and no more. The manna could not be accumulated and the supply controlled because the manna deteriorated within a day. And because everyone's needs were met, no markets could be created for profit. As Gandhi said, "The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not for anybody's greed."

Teachings on Humaneness

Humane treatment of animals is required by Jewish law. According to Jewish tradition, the prohibition against inhumane conduct against animals is one of the seven commandments given to the sons of Noah, and therefore is binding on all humanity.[18]

Animals are to share the sabbath rest with humans, and although no work is permitted on the sabbath, exceptions are made if the purpose is to relieve the suffering of an animal. In fact, kindness to animals is one of the few virtues that the Jewish tradition specifically associates with the promise of heavenly reward.[19]

In Ecclesiastes it is written:

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth the beasts. Even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath, so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast. [20]

In fact, the Torah not only calls for the respect of all living things, but requires humans to learn from all other life. God spoke to Job and commanded:

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall teach thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee. [21]

Eco-Kashrut as a Contemporary Response to Environmental, Health, Social Justice and Humane Problems

With the increasing realization of the desecration of our planet, many Jews have gone back to their roots to search for answers and teachings. They have built upon an ancient and clear train of tradition of Jews who took on the obligations to create a holy life, such as the Nazirites, Essenes and ancient Hasidim. In fact, the Essenes broke off from other Jews because they felt holiness could not be pursued due to the low levels of purity that were being kept. And of course, the Cohain or Levi had an inherited holiness.

In many ways, each generation tends to build on previous ones. The result has been the creation of the concept of eco-kosher in the last twenty or so years by Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi, Dr. Arthur Green and Dr. Arthur Waskow, all formerly connected to the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia.

Eco-kosher has become a way of fusing many of Judaism's central concerns and roots into a symbiosis. It has become an exciting movement in Judaism that is attracting a great deal of interest among both practicing and alienated Jews, with the former seeing the opportunities for deepening their spiritual and environmental commitment and the latter seeing a more contemporary and progressive Judaism.

Incorporating Eco-Kosher Into Our Lives Today

So, is it OK to eat our lox, bagels and cream cheese? It's getting to the point that people complain there's something wrong about eating everything, even movie popcorn, as we just learned. So we throw up our hands and choose to eat everything.

I think there's a more moderate, common sense approach. We can try to buy organic food that doesn't poison farm workers, the environment or ourselves. And we can be sensitive about not needlessly killing or depleting the world's natural resources.We can also try not to buy products where people have been harmed or exploited.

Given these simple guidelines, I'd say that lox, which is salmon, might not be considered eco-kosher by some people because of the killing of a life and by others because of the depletion of our salmon supply. Others are concerned about the high levels of mercury, pesticides and other hazardous man-made residues that are found in the salmon.

How about bagels? If it's a common egg bagel, it's made from eggs, wheat and water. The eggs usually come from factory farms where 3-5 hens are jammed into a tiny cage with dimensions the size of record album. Their food is brought in by conveyor belt and their eggs and manure are removed the same way. They live like this for 18 months until they are slaughtered and become Campbell's chicken soup. Is this humane? But how about if we avoid egg bagels unless we know that the hens are treated humanely?

Much of the wheat for our bagels is grown with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. It is possible to use delicious organically grown wheat. But we have to ask our bakers to use it.

I should note that at the Kiddush today we'll be enjoying some delicious organic desserts prepared by Jenni Breen of the Seward Café. They are all made from organic flour and organic eggs from humanely raised hens. You'll see that organic can taste just as good or better than conventional. And if you really like it, the Seward Café has a Kosher kitchen at Hillel where you can get delicious lunches every weekday or great catering.

And speaking of great organic food, Lynn Gordon and her partner, Steve Shapiro, Rabbi Shapiro's son, own French Meadow Bakery, a popular kosher and organic café at 26^th and Lyndale in Minneapolis. They also have proven that it's possible to put eco-kosher into practice and have it taste great. Their breads have received top national awards and are carried by Lund's and Byerly's.Also, you can order great organic challah.

Of course, it's just as important to examine what we consume as how we consume it. Our Bat Mitzvah Mollie and her fellow students are deeply concerned about the environment. They have studied "the 3 Rs"--reduce, reuse and recycle--and have some great suggestions.

We can reduce our use of energy by turning lights off and using solar power, rather than having to depend on nuclear power from Prairie Island that generates so much toxic waste. We can also save resources by not eating at fast food places that use styrofoam. Maybe we can take better care of the things we have and not always buy so many new ones. And maybe we don't need to use hazardous lawn pesticides and fertilizers, as Beth El is doing.

Reusing is important to Mollie. Her mom Sari told me that Mollie goes nuts if Sari uses paper plates. Congratulations on succeeding in persuading you mom! Mollie also thinks it would be great to have a reusable lunch bag instead of a paper one. So surprise Mollie, that's your Bat Mitzvah present from me! And most important, Mollie told me she tries to chew the kind of gum which allows her to eat the wrappers too! My kind of environmentalist!

And finally, Mollie and her family are big on recycling, whether it's bottles, cans and newspaper...or even scrap metal as her dad Larry does as a business.

The 3 Rs are things we can do at home, at work, in our schools and even in our synagogue.We need to realize that our dollars are votes…votes for the kind of food system and products we want. We can use our dollars to vote for a sustainable future.

We can even take a look at where we invest our money to make sure that we are supporting companies that treat people well and are concerned about the environment. There is a large and growing movement called socially responsible investing which is able to make sound investment decisions that can get the same and sometimes even better returns by investing in companies that are investing in the future.

In fact, I have the privilege of serving on the Board of the CERES Coalition, which developed the CERES Principles for corporate environmental responsibility.

Conclusion

I hope that you've survived our journey intact. Now that we've taken both a voyage around the Jewish calendar and an inner journey to examine holiness and eco-Kosher, tomorrow we will complete our travel. We're going to leave the snow and sleet behind and head for the Land of Milk and Honey. We'll visit some of my favorite places--kibbutzim, moshavim and other organic farms and gardens throughout Israel. I'll share some of my best slides of the real visionaries who give me so much hope for Israel. But I'll also share some of the threats to the Holy Land and its future. I hope you'll be able to join us.

Again, thank you for this wonderful opportunity to share my thoughts with you. I hope you'll take advantage of some of the resources we have out on the table that we'll be able to discuss your thought as enjoy the Kiddush.

Finally, is our hope for a world of a just sustainable world just a dream? Well, once upon a time our ancestors once dared to dream a seemingly impossible dream: to return to the Promised Land. We succeeded against all odds and as we speak, a lasting peace is being developed in the Mideast.

President John Kennedy once dared to share an equally impossible dream: to land a human being on the moon. Many scoffed but Kennedy was able to inspire people to join together to make the dream become a reality.

Now it is time for us to return home and accomplish another dream: the creation of a sustainable future for the Earth. This dream can and must be achieved if humans are to continue living on Spaceship Earth.

It is told:

Once, on the evening after the Day of Atonement, the moon was hidden behind the clouds and the Baal Shem could not, therefore, go out to say the Blessing for the New Moon. This weighed heavily on his spirit.

In vain, he concentrated his longing for the light of the wandering moon; whenever he sent someone out, he was told that the clouds had grown even thicker. Finally he gave up hope.

In the meantime, the Hasidim who knew nothing of the Baal Shem's sorrow, had gathered in the front room of the house and begun to dance, for this was their way of celebrating with joy and atonement for the year.

When their holy delight mounted high, they invaded the Baal Shem's chamber, still dancing. Overwhelmed by their own frenzy of happiness they took him by the hands, as he sat there sunk in gloom, and drew him into the round.

At this moment, someone looked outside. The night had suddenly grown light; in greater radiance than ever before, the crescent moon shone in a flawless sky. [22]

Our dream can become a reality. Shabbat Shalom.