Reverence for Life | Rabbi Shefa Gold

picture: Spirit Deer Becoming a vegetarian when I was 16 marked a moment of spiritual awakening. I woke up to a loving relationship with the creatures that had once been merely food. Suddenly they became real beings, each with a subjective unique capacity for expression, each on a journey that was like mine.

The rules of keeping kosher were perhaps a step on the journey of becoming aware of those fellow beings. Yet those rules made little sense to me, and I was relieved to leave them behind as I journeyed towards more love, more connection.

There are so many good and wise reasons to stop eating meat. It makes good sense as we consider the sustainability of the planet, the efficient use of natural resources, the cruelty of factory farms… . And yet all of these reasons are secondary. The primary motivating force for me is my reverence for my fellow creatures who are my friends.

So, I wanted to go back in time and remember that moment of awakening. I know that one of the reasons I came to this life is to learn compassion and to grow in kindness. I came here to wake up to the truth of Interconnectedness and let the implications of that truth unfold through my life.

painting: Walking the Line between Oceanic Consciousness and the Sands of Multiplicity I am inspired by the Lakota who often say the phrase Mitakuye Oyasin, which means “All My Relations,” or “We are all Related.” This phrase reflects the Lakota belief that all living things, including people, animals, plants, and even the earth itself, are interconnected and considered “relations” to one another. This deep respect for the natural world inspires me towards cultivating and refining my responsibility to care for all living beings, for all Creation. I am also reminded to open and receive the blessing and beauty they are bestowing on me.

We need to be reminded of our inter-relatedness often, because it’s easy to be trapped in the illusions of separation. Since eating happens so often throughout my day, taking just a moment’s pause before a meal, gives me an opportunity to wake up through gratefulness to the miracle of interrelationship, to the possibility of being nourished and delighted by whatever is about to become part of me. I am transforming this meal into energy, and dedicating that energy to holiness.

In that moment of awakening, becoming a vegetarian meant inclining my heart towards love. I don’t live by strict or rigid rules, yet I live according to values. The circle of compassion is always expanding. The impact of my choices is ever-illuminated, and that awareness sets me on a path of knowing, feeling, sensitizing myself, and embracing the truth that “We are all related.”