Roberta Kalechofsky
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Roberta Kalechofsky (born May 11, 1931 – April 5, 2022) was an American writer,
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
activist, focusing on the issue of animal rights within
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
and the promotion of
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...
ism within the
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish community. She was the founder of Jews for Animal Rights and Micah Publications or Micah Books, which specializes in the publication of animal rights, Jewish vegetarian, and
Holocaust literature The Holocaust has been a prominent subject of art and literature throughout the second half of the twentieth century. There are a wide range of ways–including dance, film, literature, music, and television–in which the Holocaust has been repre ...
.


Biography

Kalechofsky was born in BrooklynProfile: Roberta Kalechofsky. pp 159 ff. in Kister JM (Ed.) People Promoting and People Opposing Animal Rights: In Their Own Words.
/ref> and attended
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...
, receiving her B.A. in 1952, followed by an M.A. in English literature from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
in 1956, and a Ph.D. from the same university in 1970, also in English literature. She taught at the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
and
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...
."Roberta Kalechofsky Papers 1896-2009"
NC State University Libraries. Retrieved 1 June 2022. Kalechofsky was married to Robert Kalechofsky until his death in December 2020, a retired mathematics professor from
Salem State University Salem State University (Salem State or SSU) is a public university in Salem, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it is the oldest and largest institute of higher education on the North Shore and is part of the state university system in Massa ...
who was also a vegetarian. They appeared together representing Micah Books at publisher, writer, vegetarian, and animal advocacy events around North America, including the
Boston Vegetarian Society The Boston Vegetarian Society (BVS) is a non-profit educational organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with the purpose of promoting and supporting vegetarianism and veganism. It hosts monthly speaking events and an annual vegetarian f ...
's annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. Their two sons each have earned doctorates.


Career

Kalechofsky was the author of ''Animal Suffering and the Holocaust: The Problem with Comparisons'' (2003), as well as
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, seven works of illustrative
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
, two collections of essays, and a monograph on
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
. Micah Publications, which Kalechofsky founded in 1975, has published two haggadot for a vegetarian
seder The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of san_in_the_Hebrew_c_...
,_one_of_which,_''Haggadah_for_the_Liberated_Lamb'',_has_been_exhibited_at_Harvard_University_in_an_exhibit_on_food_and_politics,_and_at_the_Jewish_Museum_(New_York).html" ;"title="Harvard_University.html" ;"title="san in the Hebrew c ...
, one of which, ''Haggadah for the Liberated Lamb'', has been exhibited at Harvard University">san in the Hebrew c ...
, one of which, ''Haggadah for the Liberated Lamb'', has been exhibited at Harvard University in an exhibit on food and politics, and at the Jewish Museum (New York)">Jewish Museum in New York. Philosopher Tom Regan has said of Kalechofsky, "[o]f all the historians of ideas with whom I am familiar, if I had a choice between listening to just one of them, I would not hesitate to choose Roberta. She is that good, that worth spending time with."Braun, Nathan
"Roberta Kalechofsky"
Women in Judaism, 2002.


Jews for Animal Rights (JAR)

Kalechofsky founded Jews for Animal Rights (JAR) in 1985 with the aim of upholding and spread the
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
ic prohibition against causing suffering to living creatures, known as ''
tza'ar ba'alei hayyim ''Tza'ar ba'alei chayim'' ( he, צער בעלי חיים), literally "suffering of living creatures", is a Jewish commandment which bans causing animals unnecessary suffering. This concept is not clearly enunciated in the written Torah, but was ac ...
''. The group promotes the ideas of Rabbi
Abraham Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Chief Rabbi of ...
on
vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...
, and campaigns to find alternatives to
animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...
. She was a member of
PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
, but has been critical of their "Holocaust On Your Plate", linking the consumption of animals to the Holocaust.Kalechofsky, Roberta
''Animal Suffering and the Holocaust: The Problem with Comparisons''
, Micah Publications, 2003.


Selected publications

*''Autobiography of A Revolutionary: Essays on My Life as an Animal Rights Activist'' (1991) *''Judaism and Animal Rights: Classical and Contemporary Responses'' (1992) *''Haggadah for the Vegetarian Family'' (1993) *''Journey of the Liberated Lamb: Reflections for a Vegetarian Seder'' (1994) *''Rabbis and Vegetarianism: An Evolving Tradition'' (1996) *''The Jewish Vegetarian Year Cookbook'' (1997) *''Vegetarian Judaism: A Guide for Everyone'' (1998) *''Animal Suffering and the Holocaust: The Problem With Comparisons'' (2003) *''The Vegetarian Shabbat Cookbook'' (2010)


See also

* Animals and the environment in Jewish ethics *
Animal cruelty and the Holocaust analogy Several individuals and groups have drawn direct comparisons between animal cruelty and the Holocaust. The analogies began soon after the end of World War II, when literary figures, many of them Holocaust survivors, Jewish or both, began to draw ...
*
List of animal rights advocates Advocates of animal rights support the philosophy of animal rights. They believe that many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as in avoiding suff ...
*
Jewish vegetarianism Jewish vegetarianism is a commitment to vegetarianism that is connected to Judaism, Jewish ethics or Jewish identity. Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding Jewish ethics#Treatment of animals, animal welfare, Jewish ethics#Env ...


References


Further reading

*"The Evolution of An Independent Publisher," ''Judaica Book News'', 1983 * Berry, Rynn "Hitler: Neither Vegetarian Nor Animal Lover", 2004, *Cohen, Noah J. ''Tsa'ar ba'ale hayim: The prevention of cruelty to animals: its bases, development, and legislation in Hebrew literature'', New York: Feldheim, 1979. *Kaganoff, P. "An Independent Woman of Words," ''The Jewish Monthly'', 1988 *Kalechofsky, R. ''Animal Suffering and the Holocaust: The Problem with Comparisons'', 2003. *Kalechofksy, R. (ed.) ''Judaism and Animal Rights: Classical and Contemporary Responses'', a collection of 41 articles by rabbis, doctors, veterinarians, and philosophers on animal rights and Judaism, 1992. *Kalechofksy, R. ''Vegetarian Judaism: A Guide for Everyone'', 1998. *Patterson, C. ''Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust'', 2002. *Schwartz, R. ''The Schwartz Collection on Judaism, Vegetarianism, and Animal Rights''. *Walden, D. (ed.) "American Jewish Writers, ''Dictionary of Literary Biographies'', vol 28, 1984.


External links

*Kalechofsky, Roberta
Book Review by Urrutia of "A Boy, a Chicken, and the Lion of Judah: How Ari became a Vegetarian"

Jewish Vegetarians of North AmericaGuide to the Roberta Kalechofsky Papers 1896-2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalechofsky, Roberta 1931 births 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women American animal rights activists American feminists American vegetarianism activists American women academics Brookline, Massachusetts Brooklyn College alumni Brooklyn College faculty Jewish American writers Jewish feminists Jewish vegetarianism New York University alumni People from Boston University of Connecticut faculty Vegetarian cookbook writers