Chanukah and Veganism

Jews can enhance their celebrations of Chanukah’s beautiful and spiritually meaningful holiday by making it a time to strive even harder to live up to Judaism’s highest moral values and teachings. One important way to do this is by moving toward a vegan diet. Here are eight reasons, one for each night of Chanukah:

1. Chanukah represents the triumph of non-conformity. The Maccabees adhered to their inner beliefs rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to say: This I believe, this I stand for, this I am willing to struggle for. Today, vegans represent non-conformity. At a time when most people in the wealthier countries think of animal products as the central part of their meals, when the number of fast food establishments is growing rapidly, when almost all celebrations involve an abundance of animal foods, veg*ans are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more humane, environmentally sustainable diet.

2. Chanukah represents the victory of the few, who practiced God’s teachings, over the many, who acted according to the values of the surrounding society. Today, vegans are a small minority in most countries, but Jewish vegans believe that veganism is the dietary most consistent with God’s original diet (Genesis 1:29) and with Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, preserve natural resources, and share with hungry people.

3. Chanukah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day but miraculously lasted for eight days. Today, with science academies worldwide and the vast majority of climate scientists warning of an impending climate catastrophe, it sometimes seems that only a miracle will prevent it. However, many recent studies have shown that animal-based agriculture is a major contributor to the planet’s warming, primarily due to emissions from cows and other farmed animals of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas, and the destruction of carbon-sequestering trees to create land for grazing and growing feed crops for animals. Reforestation of the vast areas now used for animal-based agriculture would sequester much atmospheric CO2, bringing it to a safer level.

4. The ratio of eight days that the oil burned compared to the one day of burning capacity that the oil had is the same ratio (8 to 1) often given for the pounds of grain necessary to produce a pound of beef in a feedlot. The oil miracle brings fuel and other resources into focus, and vegan diets make resources go much further since far less water, fuel, land, pesticides, fertilizer, and other agricultural resources are required for plant-based diets than for animal-based diets.

5. Chanukah also commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Syrian Greeks defiled it. The Hebrew root of the word Chanukah means dedication. Today, a shift to veg*ism can be a significant factor in the rededication and renewal of Judaism because it would show that Jewish values are relevant to everyday Jewish life and to addressing current problems, such as hunger, pollution, resource scarcity, climate change, and enormous health care expenditures.

6. Candles are lit during each night of Chanukah, symbolizing a turning from darkness to light, from despair to hope. According to the prophet Isaiah, the role of Jews is to be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). Veganism is a way of adding light to the darkness of a world with slaughterhouses and factory farms, as well as other places of oppression.

7. On the Sabbath during Chanukah, the prophetic portion indicates that difficulties can best be overcome “not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Today, Jewish vegans are arguing that the way to a better world is not by exercising our power over animals, but by applying the spirit of God, “whose compassion over all His works” (Psalm 145:9).

8. At the morning services during each day of Chanukah, there is a recitation of Hallel, the psalms of praise from Psalm 113 to 118. During the Sabbath of Chanukah and every other Sabbath during the year, the morning service has a prayer that begins, “The soul of all living creatures shall praise God’s name.” Yet, it is hard for animals to join in the praise of God when almost 80 billion animals are killed annually worldwide for their flesh after suffering greatly on factory farms.