Rabbi Fred Greene's annotated bibliography of "Judaism and Animals"

Books

Berman, Louis A. Vegetarianism and the Jewish Tradition. New York: KTAV, 1982.

Cohen, Noah. Tsa'ar Ba'ale Hayim: The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Its Bases, Development and Legislation in Hebrew Literature.

Cohen sees this doctrine throughout Jewish literature in order to establish a coherent system of human legislation whose purpose is to defend the "sub-human" creation and to make humans more humane.

Kalechofsky, Roberta, ed. Judaism & Animal Rights: Classical & Contemporary Responses. Marblehead, Mass.: Micah Publications, 1992.

A collection of even-handed essays from rabbis, activists and scholars, including Aviva Cantor, Shlomo Riskin, Richard Schwartz, Louis Berman, Ronald Androphy, Marjorie Cramer, among others. Micah Publications is the publishing arm of Jews for Animal Rights. 255 Humphrey St., Marblehead, MA 01945.

Kalechofsky, Roberta, ed. Rabbis and Vegetarianism: An Evolving Tradition. Marblehead, MA: Micah Publications, 1995.

Essays by Abraham Isaac Kook, Everett Gendler, Arthur Green, David Rosen, Harold Schulweis, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, among others.

Klagsburn, Francine. Voices of Wisdom. "Showing Kindness to Animals." Pantheon Books, 1980: 457-461.

Lee, Rena. Agnon Vehatzimchanut [Agnon and Vegetarianism : Studies in the Work of Shai Agnon from the Vegetarian Viewpoint.] Tel Aviv: Reshafim Ltd., 1993. (Hebrew)

Lee explores Agnon's vegetarianism throughout his work. Agnon, she writes, condones the slaughter of animals for the purpose of eating meat, as long as it is according to hilchot shechitah. Both Agnon and Rabbi A. I. Kook maintain that the restrictive laws of eating meat serve as an interim solution for the meat eating world, i.e. the least of evils of meat must be eaten. See his stories, Kissuy Ha'adam ("The Covering of the Blood"), Ad Hena ("Until Now"), Zivchey Metim ("Sacrifices of the Dead"), and Hachnasat Kallah ("The Bridal Canopy").

Rosen, Steven. Food for the Spirit: Vegetarianism and the World Religions. New York: Bala Books, 1987. (Preface by Isaac Bashevis Singer.)

Schochet, Elijah Judah. Animal Life in Jewish Tradition: Attitudes and Relationships. NY: Ktav Publishing House, 1984.

Schwartz, Richard. Judaism and Vegetarianism. Florida: Exposition Press, 1982.

Toperof, Shlomo Pesach. The Animal Kingdom in Jewish Thought. New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1995.

Other

Abrams, Judith Z. & Steven A. Abrams. "Responsa: May animals be used for medical research to aid humans?" Moment. December 1994.

"Animals, Cruelty To," Encyclopeadia Judaica.

Artson, Bradley Shavit. "Tza'ar Ba'alei Hayyim: Compassion to Animals." The Jewish Spectator, Winter 1991-92.

Artson articulates two contemporary Jewish perspectives about kindness to animals -- one is the view that there is a difference between the human and non-human animal; the second is that there is a reasonable relationship between humanity and the animal world in which human beings must pursue acceptable ethical behavior. Thus, he calls for an end to cruelty to animals because we are God's agents responsible to minimize their pain.

Bleich, J. David. "Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature: I. Vegetarianism and Judaism & II. Meat on Yom Tov." Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Thought. Date not cited, 1989. pp. 82-90.

Bleich is a renown halachacist in the Orthodox community. His perspective is that since vegetarianism is not directly and definitively supported within the corpus of the Written or Oral Law, then it is not an ethical desideratum not part of normative Jewish practice.

Golinkin, David. "Responsa: Is it permissible for Jews to purchase and eat veal / to raise veal calves?" Moment. Feb. 1993: 26-27.

Golinkin was chair of the Va'ad Halachah of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel. He explores treatment of veal calves and how that is antithetical to the doctrine of tza'ar ba'alei chayim.

Jacobs, Sidney. "Who Shall Live? Who Shall Die: Jews, Judaism and Animal Rights." The Animals' Agenda. October 1989.

Karas, Phyllis Klasky. "Is Kosher Slaughtering Inhumane?" Moment. February 1991. [See also Phyllis Klasky Karas. "Behind the Kosher Slaughtering Controversy." The Jewish Journal. Jan. 26-Feb. 1, year?.]

Karas addresses current methods of slaughter and the living conditions of animals prior to slaughter. Her conclusions are that less painful methods of slaughtering animals are available to the Jewish community, although alternative methods are too costly to be implemented.

Kook, Abraham Isaac. "Fragments of Light: A View as to the Reasons for the Commandments" in Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems. Translation by Ben Zion Bokser. New York: Paulist Press, 1978.

Levy, Ze'ev. "Ethical Issues of Animal Welfare in Jewish Thought." Judaism. Winter 1996.

Levy, a professor of philosophy at Haifa University, objectively explores the status of animals in Jewish thought.

Plaut, W. Gunther. "Steak and Sacrifices," The Jerusalem Report. April 7, 1994.

Plaut's Commentary on Parashat Tzav, Levitcus 6-8.

Rosenthal, Edward. "Ethical Vegetarianism: The Perspectives of a Reform Jew." CCAR Journal. Spring 1992: 49-60.

Rosenthal reviews his own transition to vegetarianism from a Jewish viewpoint. He considers vegetarianism, not only as an important statement about kashrut, but from a Reform perspective, an ethical mitzvah.

Schulweis, Harold M. "Thou Shalt Eat Vegetables," Reform Judaism. Summer 1995:22ff.

Schulweis suggests we should consider that our kashrut be based on ethics. A vegetarian diet, while difficult, is the highest form of following God's dietary laws. While eating meat is certainly permitted, he suggests that we voluntarily cut milk out of our diets -- at least to cut meat out of Shabbat.

Shapiro, Zachary R. (HUC-Cin.) Thesis: "Fables in Jewish Writing: A Perspective on the Ethical Dimensions of Animal Literature

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