Difference between revisions of "Permission to Eat Meat/2/en"
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<category>Never Prohibited | <category>Never Prohibited | ||
− | <p> | + | <p>Eating meat was permitted from the beginning of time, and even Adam was always allowed to eat animals.</p> |
− | <mekorot><multilink><a href="PhiloQUESTIONSANDANSWERSONGENESISII-58" data-aht="source">Philo</a><a href="PhiloQUESTIONSANDANSWERSONGENESISII-58" data-aht="source">QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, II:58</a><a href="Philo" data-aht="parshan">About Philo</a></multilink>, R. Yaakov of Kefar Chanan in <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbahTheodoreAlbeck16-16" data-aht="source">Bereshit Rabbah</a><a href="BereshitRabbahTheodoreAlbeck16-16" data-aht="source">(Theodore Albeck) 16:16</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink>, | + | <mekorot><multilink><a href="PhiloQUESTIONSANDANSWERSONGENESISII-58" data-aht="source">Philo</a><a href="PhiloQUESTIONSANDANSWERSONGENESISII-58" data-aht="source">QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, II:58</a><a href="Philo" data-aht="parshan">About Philo</a></multilink>, R. Yaakov of Kefar Chanan in <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbahTheodoreAlbeck16-16" data-aht="source">Bereshit Rabbah</a><a href="BereshitRabbahTheodoreAlbeck16-16" data-aht="source">(Theodore Albeck) 16:16</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit1p259-260" data-aht="source">R. Saadia Gaon #1</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit1p259-260" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 1 (p. 259-260)</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit9p344" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 9 (p. 344)</a><a href="R. Saadia Gaon" data-aht="parshan">About R. Saadia Gaon</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="YefetbElitheKaraiteBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Yefet b. Eli the Karaite</a><a href="YefetbElitheKaraiteBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="Yefet b. Eli the Karaite" data-aht="parshan">About Yefet b. Eli the Karaite</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RalbagBereshitBeurHaMilot1-29" data-aht="source">Ralbag</a><a href="RalbagBereshitBeurHaMilot1-29" data-aht="source">Bereshit Beur HaMilot 1:29</a><a href="R. Levi b. Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Levi b. Gershom</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="ShadalBereshit1-30" data-aht="source">Shadal</a><a href="ShadalBereshit1-30" data-aht="source">Bereshit 1:30</a><a href="ShadalBereshit9-4" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:4</a><a href="R. Shemuel David Luzzatto (Shadal)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto</a></multilink></mekorot> |
− | <point><b>"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה"</b> – According to this position, | + | <point><b>"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה"</b> – According to this position, these words were intended to proscribe man's consumption of meat.  The exegetes differ, though, in how they understand the meaning of the verse:<br/> |
<ul> | <ul> | ||
− | <li><b>Speaking of the majority</b> – R. Saadia explains that Hashem mentioned only vegetation and fruits because these are mankind's major food source while meat is a luxury eaten much less often.</li> | + | <li><b>Speaking of the majority</b> – R. Saadia explains that Hashem mentioned only vegetation and fruits because these are mankind's major food source while meat is a luxury eaten only much less often.</li> |
<li><b>Description rather than command</b> – Ralbag<fn>See Philo similarly, "perhaps the present expression has no reference to eating food, but rather to the possession of the power to do so."</fn> asserts that these words are not a command to man at all but rather a further description of man's creation and a statement of natural law.<fn>As proof that the words are an extension of the description of creation, Ralbag points to the fact that the words are followed by the statement "and it was so", the same phrase that follows the description of the other facets of creation. Cf. R. D"Z Hoffmann who makes a similar point.</fn>  Hashem is simply saying that He created humans with the capacity to eat vegetation, even though grasses and plants are far from man's nature and one might have not expected this ability.<fn>Apparently, according to Ralbag even though Hashem also created man and animals with the ability to eat meat, this was not mentioned explicitly as this was more obvious since humans and animals are much more similar to each other than to plants.</fn></li> | <li><b>Description rather than command</b> – Ralbag<fn>See Philo similarly, "perhaps the present expression has no reference to eating food, but rather to the possession of the power to do so."</fn> asserts that these words are not a command to man at all but rather a further description of man's creation and a statement of natural law.<fn>As proof that the words are an extension of the description of creation, Ralbag points to the fact that the words are followed by the statement "and it was so", the same phrase that follows the description of the other facets of creation. Cf. R. D"Z Hoffmann who makes a similar point.</fn>  Hashem is simply saying that He created humans with the capacity to eat vegetation, even though grasses and plants are far from man's nature and one might have not expected this ability.<fn>Apparently, according to Ralbag even though Hashem also created man and animals with the ability to eat meat, this was not mentioned explicitly as this was more obvious since humans and animals are much more similar to each other than to plants.</fn></li> | ||
− | <li><b>Contrast to animals</b> – Shadal asserts that the verse serves to contrast man, who is given seeds and fruit to eat, with | + | <li><b>Contrast to animals</b> – Shadal asserts that the verse serves to contrast man, who is given seeds and fruit to eat, with animals who were given only grasses to consume.  The difference highlights man's greater intellect (only he had knowledge to sow and plant) and flows from the prior blessing regarding man's dominion over the animal kingdom.</li> |
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
− | <point><b>"And you shall rule over the fish"</b> – According to Shadal, it is this phrase that alludes to the fact that Adam was allowed to kill animals for food.  He points out that it is impossible to rule over fish unless one takes them out of the water, which inevitably leads to their deaths.<fn>He argues against those who claim that "ruling" might refer to benefiting from the animals (making use of fish oils or the like) by pointing out that other instances of the root "רדה" all connote some type of oppression of the other, leading to their subservience.  See the word's usage in <a href="Vayikra25-39-43" data-aht="source">Vayikra 25:43</a>, <a href="Vayikra26-17" data-aht="source">Vayikra 26:17</a>, and <a href="MelakhimI5-1-4" data-aht="source">Melakhim I 5:4</a>.</fn>  Thus, it is clear that Hashem had no issue with man killing | + | <point><b>"And you shall rule over the fish" ("")</b> – According to Shadal, it is this phrase that alludes to the fact that Adam was allowed to kill animals for food.  He points out that it is impossible to rule over fish unless one takes them out of the water, which inevitably leads to their deaths.<fn>He argues against those who claim that "ruling" might refer to benefiting from the animals (making use of fish oils or the like) by pointing out that other instances of the root "רדה" all connote some type of oppression of the other, leading to their subservience.  See the word's usage in <a href="Vayikra25-39-43" data-aht="source">Vayikra 25:43</a>, <a href="Vayikra26-17" data-aht="source">Vayikra 26:17</a>, and <a href="MelakhimI5-1-4" data-aht="source">Melakhim I 5:4</a>.</fn>  Thus, it is clear that Hashem had no issue with man killing living beings for utilitarian purposes.</point> |
<point><b>Why not mention meat explicitly?</b><ul> | <point><b>Why not mention meat explicitly?</b><ul> | ||
<li><b>Minority discounted</b> – According to R. Saadia, this case is similar to many in which people highlight the majority, and make no mention of a minority even though they do not mean to exclude it.</li> | <li><b>Minority discounted</b> – According to R. Saadia, this case is similar to many in which people highlight the majority, and make no mention of a minority even though they do not mean to exclude it.</li> | ||
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</category> | </category> | ||
<category>Prohibited After Adam's Sin Until the Flood | <category>Prohibited After Adam's Sin Until the Flood | ||
− | <p>Adam was initially allowed to eat meat but after | + | <p>Adam was initially allowed to eat meat, but he lost this privilege after the sin in the Garden of Eden.  Permission was restored after the Flood atoned for man's sins.</p> |
<mekorot><multilink><a href="שותהרשבאהחדשותמכתבידשסז" data-aht="source">Rashba</a><a href="שותהרשבאהחדשותמכתבידשסז" data-aht="source">Responsa 367</a><a href="R. Shelomo b. Aderet (Rashba)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Shelomo b. Aderet</a></multilink>, Akeidat YItzchak, <multilink><a href="TzerorHaMorBereshit9-1" data-aht="source">Tzeror Hamor #2</a><a href="TzerorHaMorBereshit9-1" data-aht="source">Tzeror HaMor Bereshit 9:1</a><a href="R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)</a></multilink></mekorot> | <mekorot><multilink><a href="שותהרשבאהחדשותמכתבידשסז" data-aht="source">Rashba</a><a href="שותהרשבאהחדשותמכתבידשסז" data-aht="source">Responsa 367</a><a href="R. Shelomo b. Aderet (Rashba)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Shelomo b. Aderet</a></multilink>, Akeidat YItzchak, <multilink><a href="TzerorHaMorBereshit9-1" data-aht="source">Tzeror Hamor #2</a><a href="TzerorHaMorBereshit9-1" data-aht="source">Tzeror HaMor Bereshit 9:1</a><a href="R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)</a></multilink></mekorot> | ||
<point><b>"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה"</b> – According to this position, this statement was first said to Adam after he sinned by eating of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.<fn>Accordingly, the verse is placed out of chronological order.  Rashba might explain that the sin occurred so early in history that the Torah views the prohibition as existing almost from the beginning of time.</fn>  Originally he was permitted to eat meat, but after the sin Hashem limited his food to vegetation.<fn>Perhaps this verse is equivalent to Hashem's curse to Adam that "by the sweat of your brow will you eat bread" (Bereshit 3:19).  Now that meat was prohibited, man would have to toil extra in the fields.</fn></point> | <point><b>"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה"</b> – According to this position, this statement was first said to Adam after he sinned by eating of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.<fn>Accordingly, the verse is placed out of chronological order.  Rashba might explain that the sin occurred so early in history that the Torah views the prohibition as existing almost from the beginning of time.</fn>  Originally he was permitted to eat meat, but after the sin Hashem limited his food to vegetation.<fn>Perhaps this verse is equivalent to Hashem's curse to Adam that "by the sweat of your brow will you eat bread" (Bereshit 3:19).  Now that meat was prohibited, man would have to toil extra in the fields.</fn></point> | ||
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<point><b>Era of the Mashiach – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן"</b> – Akeidat Yitzchak asserts that this verse describes the return of animals to their natural state of being herbivores, but not to any change in the diet of people.</point> | <point><b>Era of the Mashiach – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן"</b> – Akeidat Yitzchak asserts that this verse describes the return of animals to their natural state of being herbivores, but not to any change in the diet of people.</point> | ||
</category> | </category> | ||
− | <category>First Permitted After the Flood | + | <category name="Permitted Only After the Flood"> |
− | <p>Man was not given permission to eat meat until after the | + | First Permitted Only After the Flood |
− | <opinion>Permission | + | <p>Man was not given permission to eat meat until after the Flood.  Commentators differ in their understanding of the reason for the change:</p> |
+ | <opinion>Permission as a Reward | ||
<p>As a reward for caring for the animals on the ark, Noach and future generations were given permission to eat meat.</p> | <p>As a reward for caring for the animals on the ark, Noach and future generations were given permission to eat meat.</p> | ||
<mekorot><multilink><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RadakBereshit1-29" data-aht="source">Radak</a><a href="RadakBereshit1-29" data-aht="source">Bereshit 1:29</a><a href="RadakBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="R. David Kimchi (Radak)" data-aht="parshan">About R. David Kimchi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambanBereshit1-29" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanBereshit1-29" data-aht="source">Bereshit 1:29</a><a href="RambanBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink>, Ran</mekorot> | <mekorot><multilink><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RadakBereshit1-29" data-aht="source">Radak</a><a href="RadakBereshit1-29" data-aht="source">Bereshit 1:29</a><a href="RadakBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="R. David Kimchi (Radak)" data-aht="parshan">About R. David Kimchi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambanBereshit1-29" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanBereshit1-29" data-aht="source">Bereshit 1:29</a><a href="RambanBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink>, Ran</mekorot> | ||
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<point><b>Era of the Mashiach – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן"</b> – Radak asserts that the verses in Yeshayahu 11 do not imply a change in the nature of animals in the future, but rather constitute a promise that predators will not prey in the land of Israel nor cause damage there.<fn>Thus, it will be <i>as if</i> the lion is eating grains.</fn></point> | <point><b>Era of the Mashiach – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן"</b> – Radak asserts that the verses in Yeshayahu 11 do not imply a change in the nature of animals in the future, but rather constitute a promise that predators will not prey in the land of Israel nor cause damage there.<fn>Thus, it will be <i>as if</i> the lion is eating grains.</fn></point> | ||
</opinion> | </opinion> | ||
− | <opinion>Permission | + | <opinion>Permission as a Concession |
− | <p>After the | + | <p>After the Flood, mankind was allowed to eat animals as a concession to human frailty.</p> |
<mekorot><multilink><a href="MidrashAggadahBuberBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Midrash Aggadah (Buber)</a><a href="MidrashAggadahBuberBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="Midrash Aggadah (Buber)" data-aht="parshan">About Midrash Aggadah (Buber)</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RYosefibnKaspiDevarim22-6" data-aht="source">R. Yosef ibn Kaspi</a><a href="RYosefibnKaspiDevarim22-6" data-aht="source">Devarim 22:6</a><a href="R. Yosef ibn Kaspi" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef ibn Kaspi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="SeferHaIkarim3-15" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Albo</a><a href="SeferHaIkarim3-15" data-aht="source">Sefer Ha'Ikarim 3:15</a><a href="R. Yosef Albo" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Albo</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="AbarbanelBereshit9-1-4" data-aht="source">Abarbanel</a><a href="AbarbanelBereshit9-1-4" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:1-4</a><a href="R. Yitzchak Abarbanel" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TzerorHaMorBereshit9-1" data-aht="source">Tzeror HaMor #1</a><a href="TzerorHaMorBereshit9-1" data-aht="source">Tzeror HaMor Bereshit 9:1</a><a href="R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="SefornoBereshit6-13" data-aht="source">Seforno</a><a href="SefornoBereshit6-13" data-aht="source">Bereshit 6:13</a><a href="R. Ovadyah Seforno" data-aht="parshan">About R. Ovadyah Seforno</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="הרבאיקוקטלליאורותפרקח" data-aht="source">R. A"Y Kook</a><a href="הרבאיקוקטלליאורותפרקח" data-aht="source">R. A"Y Kook</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="UCassutoBereshit" data-aht="source">U. Cassuto</a><a href="UCassutoBereshit" data-aht="source">Bereshit</a><a href="Prof. Umberto Cassuto" data-aht="parshan">About Prof. Umberto Cassuto</a></multilink></mekorot> | <mekorot><multilink><a href="MidrashAggadahBuberBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Midrash Aggadah (Buber)</a><a href="MidrashAggadahBuberBereshit9-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:3</a><a href="Midrash Aggadah (Buber)" data-aht="parshan">About Midrash Aggadah (Buber)</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RYosefibnKaspiDevarim22-6" data-aht="source">R. Yosef ibn Kaspi</a><a href="RYosefibnKaspiDevarim22-6" data-aht="source">Devarim 22:6</a><a href="R. Yosef ibn Kaspi" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef ibn Kaspi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="SeferHaIkarim3-15" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Albo</a><a href="SeferHaIkarim3-15" data-aht="source">Sefer Ha'Ikarim 3:15</a><a href="R. Yosef Albo" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Albo</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="AbarbanelBereshit9-1-4" data-aht="source">Abarbanel</a><a href="AbarbanelBereshit9-1-4" data-aht="source">Bereshit 9:1-4</a><a href="R. Yitzchak Abarbanel" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="TzerorHaMorBereshit9-1" data-aht="source">Tzeror HaMor #1</a><a href="TzerorHaMorBereshit9-1" data-aht="source">Tzeror HaMor Bereshit 9:1</a><a href="R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="SefornoBereshit6-13" data-aht="source">Seforno</a><a href="SefornoBereshit6-13" data-aht="source">Bereshit 6:13</a><a href="R. Ovadyah Seforno" data-aht="parshan">About R. Ovadyah Seforno</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="הרבאיקוקטלליאורותפרקח" data-aht="source">R. A"Y Kook</a><a href="הרבאיקוקטלליאורותפרקח" data-aht="source">R. A"Y Kook</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="UCassutoBereshit" data-aht="source">U. Cassuto</a><a href="UCassutoBereshit" data-aht="source">Bereshit</a><a href="Prof. Umberto Cassuto" data-aht="parshan">About Prof. Umberto Cassuto</a></multilink></mekorot> | ||
<point><b>"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה"</b> – According to these sources, the command to Adam only mentions vegetation and purposefully excluded animals.</point> | <point><b>"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה"</b> – According to these sources, the command to Adam only mentions vegetation and purposefully excluded animals.</point> | ||
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<point><b>אבר מן החי</b> – <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbah34-13" data-aht="source">R. Yose b. Ibo </a><a href="BereshitRabbah34-13" data-aht="source">34:13</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink> suggests that the prohibition of eating a limb from a live animal is first given to Noach because it is only then that eating meat at all is permitted.  Beforehand such a prohibition would be unnecessary as it was subsumed in the general prohibition of eating meat.</point> | <point><b>אבר מן החי</b> – <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbah34-13" data-aht="source">R. Yose b. Ibo </a><a href="BereshitRabbah34-13" data-aht="source">34:13</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink> suggests that the prohibition of eating a limb from a live animal is first given to Noach because it is only then that eating meat at all is permitted.  Beforehand such a prohibition would be unnecessary as it was subsumed in the general prohibition of eating meat.</point> | ||
</opinion> | </opinion> | ||
− | <opinion>Original | + | <opinion>Original Prohibition was only a Practical Necessity |
− | <p>Adam was not prohibited from eating meat for any fundamental reason, but | + | <p>Adam was not prohibited from eating meat for any fundamental reason, but only due to the scarcity of animals at the time or because he simply lacked knowledge of how to cook them.</p> |
<mekorot><multilink><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit1p259-260" data-aht="source">R. Saadia Gaon #2</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit1p259-260" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 1 (p. 259-260)</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit4p304" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 4 (p. 304)</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit9p344" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 9 (p. 344)</a><a href="R. Saadia Gaon" data-aht="parshan">About R. Saadia Gaon</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="HoilMosheBereshit" data-aht="source">Hoil Moshe</a><a href="HoilMosheBereshit" data-aht="source">Bereshit</a><a href="R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi (Hoil Moshe)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi</a></multilink></mekorot> | <mekorot><multilink><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit1p259-260" data-aht="source">R. Saadia Gaon #2</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit1p259-260" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 1 (p. 259-260)</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit4p304" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 4 (p. 304)</a><a href="RSaadiaGaonCommentaryBereshit9p344" data-aht="source">Commentary Bereshit 9 (p. 344)</a><a href="R. Saadia Gaon" data-aht="parshan">About R. Saadia Gaon</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="HoilMosheBereshit" data-aht="source">Hoil Moshe</a><a href="HoilMosheBereshit" data-aht="source">Bereshit</a><a href="R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi (Hoil Moshe)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi</a></multilink></mekorot> | ||
<point><b>"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה"</b> – This original command prescribed a vegetarian diet.</point> | <point><b>"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה"</b> – This original command prescribed a vegetarian diet.</point> |
Version as of 01:38, 16 October 2015
Permission to Eat Meat
Exegetical Approaches
Never Prohibited
Eating meat was permitted from the beginning of time, and even Adam was always allowed to eat animals.
- Speaking of the majority – R. Saadia explains that Hashem mentioned only vegetation and fruits because these are mankind's major food source while meat is a luxury eaten only much less often.
- Description rather than command – Ralbag1 asserts that these words are not a command to man at all but rather a further description of man's creation and a statement of natural law.2 Hashem is simply saying that He created humans with the capacity to eat vegetation, even though grasses and plants are far from man's nature and one might have not expected this ability.3
- Contrast to animals – Shadal asserts that the verse serves to contrast man, who is given seeds and fruit to eat, with animals who were given only grasses to consume. The difference highlights man's greater intellect (only he had knowledge to sow and plant) and flows from the prior blessing regarding man's dominion over the animal kingdom.
- Minority discounted – According to R. Saadia, this case is similar to many in which people highlight the majority, and make no mention of a minority even though they do not mean to exclude it.
- Obvious – For Ralbag the ability for man to eat meat was obvious and thus did not need to be stated. It was the ability to eat vegetation that was surprising and as such, it was only this that was mentioned.
- Prevent unnecessary killing – Shadal asserts that Hashem only alluded to the permission to eat meat rather than saying so explicitly so as not to encourage man to spill blood.
- Way of Torah – Yefet the Karaite suggests that sometimes the Torah only mentions something later, even though it was applicable even earlier. He compares the situation here to the list of pure and impure animals which are mentioned in Devarim 14 and not to Noach, even though he, too, differentiated between the two.
Prohibited After Adam's Sin Until the Flood
Adam was initially allowed to eat meat, but he lost this privilege after the sin in the Garden of Eden. Permission was restored after the Flood atoned for man's sins.
First Permitted Only After the Flood
Man was not given permission to eat meat until after the Flood. Commentators differ in their understanding of the reason for the change:
Permission as a Reward
As a reward for caring for the animals on the ark, Noach and future generations were given permission to eat meat.
- Saved for later – According to Radak, there was no fundamental reason for the original prohibition. Hashem simply wanted to save meat as a future reward for Noach.17
- Prevent suffering – Ran asserts that as animals can feel pain, man was not allowed to kill them. He says that this is the reason why even later, when eating is permitted, one is not allowed to cause animals undue suffering.
- Equal Status – Ramban assumes that man was prohibited from killing animals since the two were similar in stature (with both able to feel pain and desiring to escape death).18
- Radak views the permission to eat meat as simply compensation for Noach's labor and good deeds. Ran adds that Hashem might have also wanted to ease Noach's pain and loneliness in losing his world through the flood.
- R"Y Bekhor Shor and Ramban suggest that there was a more fundamental change. R"Y Bekhor Shor says that in saving the animals, Noach gained certain rights over them and they became his to do with as he pleased. Ramban implies that Noach's actions revealed that man was in fact superior to the animals, thus removing the original reason for the prohibition.19
- According to Radak there is nothing wrong with eating meat, and the existence of predators is built into nature. In fact, it would seem that Hashem considers meat, rather than vegetables, the more lofty food, and thus saved it as a reward.
- R"Y Bekhor Shor and Ramban more simply suggest that there is a hierarchy to living beings, and thus, as long as man is superior to animals, he has the right to kill them.
Permission as a Concession
After the Flood, mankind was allowed to eat animals as a concession to human frailty.
- No death yet – Midrash Aggadah asserts that originally (before Adam's sin in the Garden) no one was supposed to die, so killing even for food was prohibited.22
- Sanctity of life – R. Kook and Cassuto explain more simply that the prohibition stems from the sanctity of all life. Though man might rule over animals, he cannot ignore their vitality. All life is sacred, even that of animals.
- Unethical to animals – R. Kook also maintains that this prohibition is similar to others which try to minimize the pain or suffering of animals.
- Killing leads to cruelty – Ibn Kaspi and R. Yosef Albo focus on what the action does to man, asserting that the act of killing leads man to become cruel.23 R. Albo adds that the consumption of animals dirties the soul while Tzeror HaMor speaks of its detrimental effect on the intellect.
- Practical necessity – Abarbanel maintains that permission was granted out of necessity. Since the flood had destroyed all produce, Hashem had to allow Noach to eat of animals or they would have perished from famine. Abarbanel does not explain, why then, the prohibition was not renewed after vegetation grew again.
- Man weakened – Seforno and Tzeror HaMor assert that the people who lived after the flood were weaker than Adam's generation. Seforno maintains that the quality of the world's atmosphere and vegetation had deteriorated during the flood, while Tzeror HaMor points to the shortened lifespans of humans. To compensate for this frailty, Hashem allowed the human species to eat meat.
- Teach humans their proper status – R. Albo maintains that one of the problems of humankind had been that they did not realize that they were different from animals, leading to the principle that "might is right". To ensure that man recognized their higher stature, Hashem allowed man to eat of the animals.
- Degraded morals – R. Kook and U. Cassuto suggest that due to man's degraded morality, Hashem decided to hold him to a lower standard than the earlier ideal. If man was to have an inclination to kill and be violent better that he channel it into killing animals than fellow humans.
- Seforno, R. Kook, and Cassuto suggest that in the future the world will revert back to the ideal of creation. Cassuto points to Yeshayahu 11 as support that in Messianic times even animals will no longer eat one another, but only plants.25
- Abarbanel agrees but limits this to the Land of Israel.26 He posits that predatory animals were created as punitive tools of Hashem. In the era of the Mashiach this will not be necessary as evil will have disappeared and the Mashiach himself will mete out justice.
Original Prohibition was only a Practical Necessity
Adam was not prohibited from eating meat for any fundamental reason, but only due to the scarcity of animals at the time or because he simply lacked knowledge of how to cook them.
- Scarcity of animals – R. Saadia posits that Hashem only prohibited man from eating meat at the beginning of creation due to the scarcity of animals.27 Had men been predators, there was a real possibility that many species might go extinct.28
- Lack of technology – Hoil Moshe asserts that though Hashem prefers that man's intake of meat be limited, He nonetheless allows it in moderation. In the beginning of the world, though, man had not yet learned to cook or roast meat and raw meat did not appeal to his palate, so he naturally ate mainly vegetation.29
- According to R. Saadia's approach it is surprising that permission would be granted right after the flood, considering that at that point, too, there was a scarcity of animals.30
- Hoil Moshe maintains that by this point civilization had progressed enough that man had learned how to cook meat.
- No – According to R. Saadia animals, too, were originally prohibited from killing one another to ensure their survival.
- Yes – According to Hoil Moshe, from the beginning animals were able to eat one another since they had no problem eating meat raw.31 As proof he points to Noach's sending of the raven outside the ark, which he assumes had to be for the purpose of finding carcasses to eat.