Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 11, 2020

Now that non-besari (non-meaty) meat has come to Israel, many people will have to rethink their cuisine. Some of us are already there. We are already hooked on meatless Mondays, but we dont eat meat on Sunday either, or Tuesday, or any day of the week. Shabbat too? Definitely, though friends and guests cant believe it.You dont eat meat on Shabbat? Not even chicken? They admit that our non-fleishig soups are really quite tasty; they even like our parve cholent; but they still wonder whether our food choices can really be kosher.Apart from the urban myth that Shabbat and chickens go together, some people think there is a law that Shabbat is impossible without meat. Actually, the Bibles original intention was for humans to eat vegetables, whichever day of the week it was (Genesis 1:29). The manna in the wilderness was vegetarian. People remembered the fruit and vegetables in Egypt (Numbers 11:5). Ahab wanted Naboths vineyard in order to plant a vegetable garden (I Kings 21:2).For a true appreciation of vegetables we must go to the Talmud. Both the Babylonian (Sanhedrin 17b) and the Jerusalem Talmud (end of Kiddushin) speak highly of vegetable gardens. Rashi says that vegetables are inexpensive and healthy, and preparing them does not affect the time devoted to Torah study. Many rabbis believed that certain vegetables were good for health, though they knew that diarrhea might come from (presumably unwashed) vegetables. Poor people like Hillel appreciated being able to eat well on vegetables, though they dreamed of one day being able to afford meat (Shabbat 140b).The Torah is not opposed to meat. It lists animals that may be eaten and how to slaughter them. It makes animal sacrifice part of Temple worship. Most people cant imagine life without meat, though they know that when the Messiah comes they might have to be vegetarian. In the meantime, meat gives them fullness and satisfaction. They feel there is no joy without it (Pesahim 109a). Kabbalists even think that meat-eating elevates the animal.What about meat on Shabbat? The Talmud says, Eat meat sparingly. (Hullin 84a). Pesahim 109a tells us, Our rabbis said, A person should make his children and household rejoice on a festival. With what does he make them rejoice? With wine. Rabbi Yehudah ben Batyra said, When the Temple stood there was no rejoicing without meat, but now that the Temple no longer stands, there is no rejoicing except with wine, as it is said, Wine gladdens the heart of man. (Psalm 104:15). The rule is not about meat but wine. Meat is not essential to joy. How can there be joy if meat eating causes distress?MAIMONIDES ENDORSES meat eating on festivals if one can afford it (Hilchhot Shabbat 30:10), implying that a different menu is acceptable if one is poor or if meat gives them no pleasure. The Shulhan Aruch says that those who fast every day would feel pain if they had to eat on Shabbat. Vegetarians would feel pain if they had to eat meat on Shabbat. (Shulhan Aruch, Orah Hayyim 288:1-3).

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Read the rest here:

What are good vegetarian dishes to have on Shabbat? - opinion - The Jerusalem Post

Category: Talmud
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