18 Mishpatim: Day 5 (Thursday)

Today's reading is Exodus 23:6 to 23:19.

This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad.

The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled "The Sin of Cruelty."

On 12 February 2026 at 7:44 AM EST, Jonathan writes: 

 

May we infer from the Rebbe's authoritative words and from subsequent scientific developments that a vegan Seder is the new climate change Passover?

According to Google Gemini, this radical messianic interpretation is already firmly established in some Jewish circles, where "proponents argue that Passover’s themes of freedom are incompatible with the 'slavery' of animals and the environmental toll of animal agriculture. A vegan Seder connects the ten plagues to modern crises like climate change and biodiversity loss."

But we must approach this interpretation with caution. Is it human control of the climate system or God's control of the climate system that we ultimately have in view? Do we embrace vegan Passover as a way to take control of the global thermostat during an "anthropogenic" climate emergency, or do we embrace vegan Passover because God has written kindness into our hearts, and has blessed us with messianic plant-based alternatives, and is wrathfully displeased with our addiction to cruelty?