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Food & EthicsText
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To be partial is not right; a person may do wrong for a piece of bread. הַכֵּר פָּנִים לֹא טוֹב וְעַל פַּת לֶחֶם יִפְשַׁע גָּבֶר:
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Honor the Lord with your wealth, and from the first of all your produce. כַּבֵּד אֶת יְקֹוָק מֵהוֹנֶךָ וּמֵרֵאשִׁית כָּל תְּבוּאָתֶךָ
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He who goes out weeping, הָלֹוךְ יֵלֵךְ וּבָכֹה נֹשֵׂא מֶשֶׁךְ־הַזָּרַע בֹּא־יָבֹוא בְרִנָּה נֹשֵׂא אֲלֻמֹּתָיו׃
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[14] At mealtime, Boaz said to her, "Come over here and partake of the meal, and dip your morsel in the vinegar." So she sat down beside the reapers. He handed her roasted grain, and she ate her fill and had some left over. [15] When she got up again to glean, Boaz gave orders to his workers, "You are not only to let her glean among the sheaves, without interference, [16] but you must also pull some [stalks] out of the heaps and leave them for her to glean, and not scold her." [17] She gleaned in the field until evening. יד וַיֹּאמֶר לָה בֹעַז לְעֵת הָאֹכֶל, גֹּשִׁי הֲלֹם וְאָכַלְתְּ מִן-הַלֶּחֶם, וְטָבַלְתְּ פִּתֵּךְ, בַּחֹמֶץ; וַתֵּשֶׁב, מִצַּד הַקֹּצְרִים, וַיִּצְבָּט-לָהּ קָלִי, וַתֹּאכַל וַתִּשְׂבַּע וַתֹּתַר.
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They brought in the Ark of the Lord and set it up in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. When David finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. And he distributed among all the people - the entire multitude of Israel, man and woman alike - to each a loaf of bread, a cake made in a pan, and a raisin cake. Then all the people left for their homes. יז) וַיָּבִאוּ אֶת אֲרוֹן יְקֹוָק וַיַּצִּגוּ אֹתוֹ בִּמְקוֹמוֹ בְּתוֹךְ הָאֹהֶל אֲשֶׁר נָטָה לוֹ דָּוִד וַיַּעַל דָּוִד עֹלוֹת לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק וּשְׁלָמִים
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The sense for ‘the miracles which are daily with us,’ the sense for the ‘continual marvels,’ Is the source of prayer. There is no worship, no music, no love, if we take for granted the blessings or defeats of living. No routine of the social, physical, or physiological order must dull our sense of surprise at the fact that there is a social, a physical, or a physiological order. We are trained in maintaining our sense of wonder by offering a prayer before the moment of food.
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Why does it seem more "empirically" correct to "give credit to the farmer, the merchant, and the baker"? What is Heschel's answer for why we thank God instead? We say 'Blessed be Thou, O Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.' Empirically speaking, would it not be more correct to give credit to the farmer, the merchant and the baker? [Rather] we bless God who makes possible both nature and civilization.
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The ever-increasing cattle population is wreaking havoc on the earth’s ecosystems, destroying habitats on six continents. Cattle raising is a primary factor in the destruction of the world’s remaining tropical rainforests. Millions of acres of ancient forests in Central and South America are being felled and cleared to make room for pastureland to graze cattle. Cattle herding is responsible for much of the spreading desertification in the sub-Sahara of Africa and the western rangeland of the United States and Australia.
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I believe that the purpose of kashrut is to make eating a special experience and to serve as a reminder of a Jew's ethical conscience as well as of the other unique teachings of Judaism. To me, distinctiveness and not separation is the Jew's calling. This feeling is possible in the presence of non-observant Jews and of non-Jews. The values of friendship, human solidarity, and socializing are highly esteemed Jewish values; making a living and exchanging professional service (sometimes performed over a meal) also are respected in Jewish culture.
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I was teaching about Tu B'Shevat to a number of people at the Orangetown Jewish Center. We were talking about this idea of food being stolen from God. What does that mean, exactly? "Sir," I said to a man at the front of the room, "what was the last thing you ate before you came here?" "An apple," he replied. "Great," I said. "An apple. Did you steal that apple?" "No," he replied, "I bought it at ShopRite." 
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