Above all, those to whom the care of young minds has been entrusted should see to it that they respect both the smallest and largest animals as beings who, like people, have been summoned to the joy of life. — Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, nineteenth-century rabbi and scholar
As Jews, we are obliged to seek peace. What we seek for ourselves, we must also grant to others. It is in our best interest to do so, as all living beings are so intertwined in the web of life that the fate of one is the fate of all.
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We are told that it is our responsibility to hasten the return to the Garden of Eden predicted in Isaiah. We can do so by making lifestyle choices that inflict less harm on the other species with whom we share the planet, and by educating our youth to show respect, responsibility and compassion for the other fragile strands in the web of life.