The Fly Fishing Rabbi

Dear rabbi, I feel that the whole beuty of judaism...

2012-05-28T20:37:31.794-04:00

Dear rabbi, I feel that the whole beuty of judaism is that its sole purpose is to connect to g-d. Hence the sole reason for any and every commandment is to connect us to g-d. What better connection to g-d is there than when we do something simply because he told us to? Not because of any reason. With that mindset, any benefits are secondary, and we need not waste time finding scientific or health benefit related "roots" for a commandment, when in fact any such benefits are - perhaps the reward for but not the reason for the commandment.

Secondly,
I like how you take judaism one step at a time. Many misconcieve judaism to be a "all or nothing" way of life. This is not at all true. G-d doesn't expect of anyone to change over their whole life in a day. Each day we ask ourselves "what have I done better today than yesterday?" I find your story about dropping pork very inspiring. I think your inner spark of g-d was revealed in that moment. Let's all keep climbing higher. Each day greater than the last. For as the saying goes. "They won't ask you up there why weren't you moses, they'll ask you why weren't you you"
All the best.

Reuven

Thanks for such a nice and wonderful article here ...

2012-05-09T02:21:05.128-04:00

Thanks for such a nice and wonderful article here for fishing.

Hi very thanks to the person who made this post, t...

2012-04-28T14:55:13.039-04:00

Hi very thanks to the person who made this post, this was very informative for me. Great website...and cool article man...thanx for the great post...keep on posting such articles... Resources like the one you mentioned here will be very useful to me! I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.

This is my view of the situation: God put animals...

2012-04-10T01:36:59.337-04:00

This is my view of the situation: God put animals here for us, right. My dad always told me, if you can kill it, cook it, and eat it, there's nothing wrong with it.

i like fly fishing, actually its my hobby . still...

2012-02-25T06:52:42.285-05:00

i like fly fishing, actually its my hobby . still i am learning it thank you for the post

I am very much impressed with your post abut Compa...

2012-02-23T12:51:50.599-05:00

I am very much impressed with your post abut Compassion. I hope lots of people read this because our nature needs lot more compassion towards our fellow human beings ,plants and animals and everything comprising the world we live in.

Thanks for your article. Really every first work i...

2012-02-17T01:28:23.717-05:00

Thanks for your article. Really every first work is very fantastic specially carp fly fishing. Once upon a time I’m just going to dream big here… . I take small house boat with space enough for me and my hook & basket. One of these days I might fess up all my hook carp Fishing Secrets...but in this time it is very easy because highly confidentially tips & technique is available in world about carp net fishing.

Thanks for clarifying.

2012-01-29T16:24:45.047-05:00

Thanks for clarifying.

That was funny!!

2012-01-17T22:18:57.302-05:00

That was funny!!

Very uplifting post with ethical implications that...

2012-01-08T21:35:01.707-05:00

Very uplifting post with ethical implications that carry well beyond fly fishing. Thanks for this post.

As far as the "abusive" nature of fishing, all predatory relationships are "abusive" and humans have been predators (omnivores) since we appeared on the scene. Perhaps we are gradually changing and these kinds of things will eventually disappear, but we have not reached that place yet. People care about ecosystems because they derive well being or pleasure from them. We need healthy ethical fishers to have healthy ecosystems.

As an observant orthodox Jew living in Montreal, I...

2012-01-05T22:25:15.761-05:00

As an observant orthodox Jew living in Montreal, I can tell you that not too many orthodox Jews are serious fishermen. However, the few of us that are, really invest much time and effort into our favorite pastime.

Most of me fishing buddies are Jewish, ranging from modern Orthodox to sephardic to non practicing. Some of our top fishing guides are Jewish as well.

I practice sustainable harvest, but occasionally bring home fish I wouldn't normally keep, as my hassidic friends love freebies.

This is my first time at your blog, and I must tel...

2012-01-04T11:41:26.845-05:00

This is my first time at your blog, and I must tell you the things you write about ring so true! Conservation ans FFing do go hand in hand. I am a long time member of trout unlimited, and I strongly urge anyone who is a fly fisher person, who is not a member of some sort of conservation group to join one! We need to do what we can for the future of the fish, our environment, and our children so they can enjoy the same opportunities we have been able too!

Yes. We're not living in the old times any mo...

2011-12-24T21:25:49.486-05:00

Yes. We're not living in the old times any more and traditions and the world around us do change. I love all of the Jewish holidays (except Yom Kippur and Passover because of the "dietary rules") but I love Christmas and Easter and all of the so-called "non-Jewish" holidays and I embrace all faiths and religions as well as secular holidays and traditions. After all, God made many trees instead of settling on just one great one and I love many different trees, not just one type that I might identify with more. It's the same as religion to me. We believe in peace, good will, charity, and treating others with kindness and generosity. That's what life and holidays are all about. Have a little faith!

Respect those that have religions and practice the...

2011-12-24T12:53:58.110-05:00

Respect those that have religions and practice these rules and regs..but I eat what I like..like becomes more difficult for people when they have their own food restrictions that are not related to illness..enjoying your God's creation..and that's all foods..but respecting ur right not too.

I am curious to know what to do when I accidentall...

2011-12-16T21:28:27.764-05:00

I am curious to know what to do when I accidentally consume pork without meaning to, will I live on, Erika

I am curious to know what to do when I accidentall...

2011-12-16T21:27:55.086-05:00

I am curious to know what to do when I accidentally consume pork without meaning to, will I live on, Erika

Hello Rabbi. I originally found you on Twitter. Ch...

2011-12-16T13:54:59.087-05:00

Hello Rabbi. I originally found you on Twitter. Checking out the blog and I'm a follower now. JGR

http://www.kerasote.com/CatchandDeny.html "B...

2011-12-14T09:46:24.133-05:00

http://www.kerasote.com/CatchandDeny.html

"But I flick the hook out of the corner of its mouth (despite Behnke's evidence, I bent down the barb) and let it swim away. I don't want to keep it. Nor am I comfortable with letting it go. I head toward the shore, thinking, admitting that, in the end, we angle because we like the fight-otherwise all of us would be using hookless hooks. Not one angler in ten thousand does. The hook allows us to control and exert power over fish, over one of the most beautiful and seductive forms of nature, and then, because we're nice to the fish, releasing them "unharmed," we can receive both psychic dispensation and blessing. Needless to say, if you think about this relationship carefully, it's not a comforting one, for it is a game of dominance followed by cathartic pardons, which, as a nonfishing friend remarked, "is one of the hallmarks of an abusive relationship."

Rabbi Eisenkramer:
I enjoy reading your articles and insight. However, C&R does raise certain moral issues re fishing purely for pleasure.

Another “Man of the Cloth” AA Luce, wrote a rebuke of C&R in “Fishing and Thinking” which you may be familiar.

I do practice C&R as well as eat some fish I catch. However, the moral issues surrounding C&R continue to gnaw at my moral sensibility, as they do Kerasote’s and others.

Peter

Fantastic post! Thanks.

2011-12-13T12:40:41.225-05:00

Fantastic post!

Thanks.

When considering ethics I find it important to loo...

2011-12-03T11:55:13.942-05:00

When considering ethics I find it important to look at both the fine-grained ethics (events as they related to specific individuals) and coarse-grained ethics (events that related to many individuals at once as in the effects of policy or systemic events). It's important to think of the effects of events on individual animals and the care and handling of fish is important. However, the wider effect of fishing extends beyond the event of hooking a fish. In many cases the fact that people enjoy fishing will result in the protection of a river from pollution or large-scale modification. This confers benefits to all the plants and animals that live in that ecosystem, saving not only individual animals but whole populations of animals and sometimes even species. By practicing catch and release, the fishing experience is preserved for many rather than a few. In this way the value conferred on the river through fishing can be shared by many and the motivation to preserve and protect aquatic ecosystems lives on.

I believe that GOD forbid the Pork and mixing meat...

2011-11-22T05:20:32.059-05:00

I believe that GOD forbid the Pork and mixing meat and milk and a lot of other things because at that time people did not have proper medical treatments for illness that can be received from eating pork, mixing milk with meat and so on.
Nowadays, human beings are well developed medically and scientifically. They can treat a disease coming from eating a pork and most importantly they know how to cook it to avoid diseases.

"The River Why" has been just about my f...

2011-11-17T09:55:43.253-05:00

"The River Why" has been just about my favorite book for decades. And it's not the fishing aspect, because I don't fish. It's the humanity, the understanding we are part of the natural world, the understanding of other species. It's hard to be cynical reading this book.

thank you for the info. iam a christian who highly...

2011-11-16T01:45:32.949-05:00

thank you for the info. iam a christian who highly respect G-D AND His commandments.idont eat pork not to convert Jews but simply want to obey G-D. I DEEPLY RESPECT JEWS AND FAST AND PRAY FOR ALL OF YOU
WE OBEY G-D WHEN HE SAID THERE SHOULD BE WATCHMEN ON THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM WHO WOULD CRY OUT TO G-D DAY AND NIGHT .THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT

Enjoyed reading your piece and thinking about it--...

2011-11-04T12:34:33.771-04:00

Enjoyed reading your piece and thinking about it--thanks for sharing your experience.

I find myself conflicted about the thoughts on compassion. I know that physically it doesn't hurt a fish much to catch it, and I can see how the act of freeing the fish reminds us of our capacity for compassion and emancipation.

But wouldn't it be yet *more* compassionate not to bait the fish and yank it out of the water in the first place? Is emancipation truly compassion if we are the cause of the original imprisonment?

I'm not an animal rights militant and I have great respect for catch/release fishing. I just wonder how well it works, fully, as a trope for human decency. I mean this respectfully and in the interest of dialogue. Thanks for reading!

nice Article..! I m very happy! This post is very ...

2011-11-03T07:52:24.327-04:00

nice Article..! I m very happy! This post is very valuable for me..Thanks a lot!