There are many connections that can be made between
vegetarianism and the Jewish festivals of Sukkot, Shemini
Atzeret (the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly), and Simchat
Torah:
1. Sukkot commemorates the 40 years when the ancient
Israelites lived in the wilderness in frail huts and
were sustained by manna. According to Isaac Arama
(1420-1494), author of Akedat Yitzchak, and others,
the manna was God's attempt to reestablish a vegetarian
diet for the Israelites.
2. On Simchat Torah, Jews complete the annual cycle
of Torah readings, and begin again, starting with
the first chapter of Genesis, which contains God's
first dietary law: "Behold I have given you every
herb yielding seed which is upon the face of the earth,
and every tree, in which there is the fruit of a tree-yielding
seed - to you it shall be for food." (Genesis 1:29).
Also, the Torah, along with prophetic and talmudical
interpretations, is the source of the Jewish mandates
- to take care of our health, treat animals with compassion,
protect the environment, conserve natural resources,
help hungry people, and seek and pursue peace - that
point to vegetarianism as the ideal diet today.
3. Sukkot is the Jewish harvest festival called
the "Feast of Ingathering". Hence, it can remind us
that many more people can be sustained on vegetarian
diets than on animal-centered diets that presently
involve over 70 percent of the grain produced in the
United States being fed to animals raised for slaughter,
while 15 to 20 million people die due to malnutrition
and its effects annually.
4. The Sukkot holiday, including Shemini Atzeret
and Simchat Torah, is known as the "Season of Rejoicing",
since people's worries about the success of the harvest
are over. Since one must be in good health in order
to fully rejoice, the many health benefits of vegetarian
diets and the knowledge that such diets are not harmful
to hungry people or animals are factors that can enhance
rejoicing.
5. Sukkahs, the temporary structures that Jews dwell
in during Succot, are decorated with pictures and
replicas of apples, oranges, bananas, peppers, carrots,
and other fruits and vegetables, never with meats
or other animal products.
6. After the sukkah, the main ritual symbol for
Sukkot is related to the plant kingdom. The Torah
states: "On the first day, you shall take the first
fruit of hadar (goodly) trees (an etrog or citron),
branches of palm trees (lulav), boughs of leafy trees
(hadassim) and myrtle, and willows of the field (aravot),
and you shall rejoice before the Lord thy God seven
days (Leviticus 23:40). These four species represent
the beauty and bounty of the land of Israel's harvest.
7. On Shemini Atzeret, Jews pray for rain, and plead
to God that it should be for a blessing, not a curse.
This is a reminder of the preciousness of rain water
to nourish the crops so that there will be a successful
harvest. Also, according to the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah
1.2), the world is judged on Sukkot with regard to
how much rainfall it will receive. In the days when
the Temple stood in Jerusalem, there was a joyous
"Water Drawing Ceremony" (Simchat Bet Shueva), designed
to remind God to pour forth water when it was needed.
Modern intensive livestock agriculture requires
huge amounts of water, much of it to irrigate feed
crops. According to Newsweek magazine, the amount
of water needed to raise one steer would float a Naval
destroyer. A person on an animal-based diet requires
up to 14 times as much water as a person on a strict
vegetarian diet.
8. Sukkot is a universal holiday. There are at least
three indications related to the festival that Jews
consider not only their own welfare, but also the
fate of all of the world's people:
a. In Temple days, there were 70 sacrifices for
the then 70 nations of the world;
b. The lulav is waved in all directions, to indicate
God's rule over and concern for the entire world;
c. The roof of the succah is made only of natural
materials such as wood and bamboo, and must be open
sufficiently so that people inside can see the stars,
to remind them that their concerns should extend
beyond their immediate needs and should encompass
the world.
Vegetarianism also considers not only a person's
health, but also encompasses broader concerns, including
the global environment, the world's hungry people,
and the efficient use of the world's resources.
9. Moving out of comfortable homes to dwell in relatively
frail sukkahs indicates that it is not our power and
wealth that we should rely on, but rather that our
fate is in God's hands. And it is God Who originally
provided vegetarian diets for people, and created
us with hands, teeth, and digestive systems most conducive
to eating plant foods.
10. Dwelling in sukkahs also teaches that no matter
how magnificent our homes, no matter how extensive
our wealth and material possessions, we should be
humble and not be overly concerned about our status.
Vegetarianism is also an attempt to not be taken in
by status symbols, such as those that the eating of
meat often represent.
11. Sukkot's prophetic readings point to the universal
messianic transformation of the world. According to
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi
of pre-state Israel, based on the prophecy of Isaiah
( . . . the wolf will dwell with the lamb, . . . the
lion will eat straw like the ox . . . (Isaiah 11:
6-9)), the messianic period will be vegetarian.
In summary, a shift to vegetarianism is a way to be
consistent with the many values and teachings related
to the joyous festivals of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret,
and Simchat Torah.