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, United States. 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 pro ...

; 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 patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

in the United States and Israel.

Early life

Schwartz was born in Arverne,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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 a beef dish made by slow cooking a (usually tough) cut of beef in moist heat, on a kitchen stove top with a covered vessel or pressure cooker, in an oven or slow cooker. Cuts such as chuck steak, bottom round, short ribs and ...

. In 1975, he began teaching a course called "Mathematics and the Environment" at the College of Staten Island. Schwartz married Loretta Susskind 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 natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

, 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 The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic, and

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nical references, and concludes that vegetarianism is the highest form of

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

and the best diet for Jews in the modern world. The second edition was a B'nai Brith 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 Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

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 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 Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a Vegetarianism, vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christianity, Christian faith. The three primary reasons are Christian spirituality, spiritual, Nutrition, n ...

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. 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 Congregation of

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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), 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'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

*
Official website
*

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

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

, his shift to

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

, his deep concern with

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

, 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 Living people 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American mathematicians 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American mathematicians 21st-century American non-fiction writers Activists from New York (state) American animal rights activists American male non-fiction writers American Modern Orthodox Jews American vegetarianism activists College of Staten Island faculty Educators from New York City Jewish American activists Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish vegetarianism Mathematicians from New York (state)