Letter to the editor: Fast for the animals on Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, starts at sundown Tuesday, beginning a 25-hour period of fasting and repentance.

This year, as we atone for our collective sins — our own and those of our brothers and sisters — I am asking my fellow Jews to dedicate our fasts to farm animals. Specifically, I’m asking us to reflect on the sins humanity is committing against chickens, cows, turkeys and other farm animals.

Yom Kippur is an auspicious and appropriate time to do this. On Yom Kippur, Jews are not only instructed to fast; we are prohibited from wearing leather shoes. Why? Because on the holiest day of the year, we should not be wearing the skin of a murdered animal.

Dedicating our Yom Kippur fasts to farm animals is appropriate for another reason. It aligns with the Fast Against Slaughter, an international campaign that occurs annually on Oct. 2, which is also the World Day for Farmed Animals.

After dedicating our fast to farm animals, we can start the Jewish New Year off right by breaking our fasts with plants, such as hummus, or crackers with vegan cheese.

Jeffrey Spitz Cohan

Forest Hills

The writer is executive director of Jewish Veg.