Richard H. Schwartz is a professor emeritus of mathematics at the

College of Staten Island The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a public university in Staten Island, New York. It is one of the 11 four-year senior colleges within the City University of New York system. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studie ...

; president emeritus of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA); and co-founder and coordinator of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV). He is best known as a Jewish vegetarian activist and advocate for

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

in the United States and Israel.

Early life

Schwartz was born in

Arverne Arverne is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, on the Rockaway Peninsula. It was initially developed by Remington Vernam, whose signature "R. Vernam" inspired the name of the neighborhood. Arverne extends from Beach 54th Street ...

, New York in 1934. His father, Joseph (Zundel), was 31 at the time, and his mother, Rose, was 29. They were not vegetarians, nor was he a vegetarian as a youth. He describes his upbringing as being a "meat and potatoes person" whose favorite dish was

pot roast Pot roast is an American beef dish made by slow-cooking a usually tough cut of beef in moist heat. Tougher cuts such as chuck steak, bottom round, short ribs and 7-bone roast are preferred for this technique. These cuts are American terms; d ...

. In 1975, he began teaching a course called "Mathematics and the Environment" at the College of Staten Island. Schwartz married Loretta Suskind on February 14, 1960, at the Utopia Jewish Center in Queens. He reports that he became vegetarian in 1977 and vegan in 2000.

Activism

As an Orthodox Jew, Schwartz began to explore what Judaism had to say about diet,

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

, and the proper treatment of animals. The result was his best-known book, ''Judaism and Vegetarianism''. It was first published in 1982, with later, expanded editions published in 1988 and 2001. It explores vegetarianism from the standpoint of biblical,

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 ce ...

ic, and

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

nical references, and concludes that vegetarianism is the highest form of kosher and the best diet for Jews in the modern world. The second edition was a

B'nai Brith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peop ...

Book Club Selection that same year. Schwartz argues that the realities of animal-based diets and agriculture conflict with basic Jewish mandates to preserve human health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people, and pursue peace. He has been active in a variety of vegetarian and animal rights organizations, and in July 2005 was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame by the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS). The ceremony was held at the 31st Annual NAVS Summerfest on the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

campus. Schwartz also spoke at the Summerfest on "Judaism and Vegetarianism" and "Ten Approaches to Obtain a Vegetarian-Conscious World by 2010." In 2010, Schwartz served as a

Green Zionist Alliance Aytzim (meaning "trees" in Hebrew), formerly the Green Zionist Alliance (GZA), is a New York-based Jewish environmental organization that is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity. A grassroots all-volunteer organization, ...

delegate to the World Zionist Congress. Schwartz was involved in the formation of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America. He became president of the organization in 2002 and continues to serve as president emeritus. Schwartz also reaches out to vegetarians from other religions, and his writings helped inspire the formation of the Christian Vegetarian Association, and their original campaign and literature, namely "What Would Jesus Eat...Today?" This campaign has more recently evolved into the broader "Honoring God's Creation" campaign and has strongly influenced the Christian vegetarian movement. He also is president of the interfaith group, "Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians" (SERV), which he cofounded.

''A Sacred Duty''

Schwartz's writings inspired the 2007 documentary film, '' A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Heal the World'', directed by

Lionel Friedberg Lionel Friedberg is a documentary film director, producer and writer who has written or produced films for, among others, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, PBS, the History Channel and National Geographic. He has 18 credits as Director of Photogr ...

. Schwartz and JVNA arranged to give away about 40,000 complimentary DVDs of the video and to have available online at aSacredDuty.com.

Personal life

Schwartz married Loretta Susskind early in 1960. He is a Modern Orthodox Jew and belongs to the

Young Israel The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , ''Yisrael Hatza'ir''), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was found ...

Congregation of

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...

Publications

* ''Mathematics and Global Survival: Scarcity, hunger, population growth, pollution, waste'' 4th edition by Ginn Press, 1998. *
Judaism and Vegetarianism
', 3rd edition by Lantern Books, New York, 2001. Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Lantern Books *
Judaism and Global Survival
', first published in 1984, 2nd edition by Lantern Books, New York, 2002. *
Who Stole My Religion?: Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal our Imperiled Planet
', (with Rabbi

Yonassan Gershom Yonassan Gershom is a Rabbi and writer who was ordained in the Jewish Renewal movement during the 1980s, and is now a follower of Breslov Hasidism. He was associated with the early days of the B'nai Or movement, a forerunner of Jewish Renewal, ...

), Lulu Press, Raleigh, North Carolina, 2011. * ''Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism,'' Lantern Publishing, 2020.

References

External links

Richard H. Schwartz's Writings
at

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman.

*
Official website
*

with Dr. Schwartz, discussing his biography as it relates to

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

, his shift to vegetarianism, his deep concern with

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

, etc. *
Why I am a Vegetarian
By Dr. Richard H. Schwartz. Biographical essay about how he evolved from a "meat and potatoes person" to a vegetarian. *
''A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Heal the World''
, homepage for the film., including interview footage with Dr. Schwartz. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Richard H. 1934 births 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American mathematicians American animal rights activists American Modern Orthodox Jews American vegetarianism activists College of Staten Island faculty Educators from New York City Jewish American writers Jewish vegetarianism Living people Mathematicians from New York (state)