Chaye Sarah 5774

“She [Rivka/Rebecca] said, ‘I will also draw [water] for your camels, until they will have finished drinking.’” (Bereishit/Genesis 24:19)

In this week’s Torah portion, Avraham sends his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchak (Isaac). Eliezer meets Rivka by a well where she is drawing water. Demonstrating sensitivity and compassion for animals, Rivka insists that Eliezer’s camels receive water. This display of concern and caring for animals is one of the determining factors for Eliezer to choose her as a wife for Yitzchak.

Kindness to animals and the prevention of cruelty (suffering) to animals, tza’ar ba’alei chayim, are important obligations in Judaism. Jewish wisdom recognizes a parallel between the way a person treats animals and the way he or she treats people.

Torah has many laws that emphasize kindness to animals. For example, an ox and a donkey may not be yoked together for plowing because the ox is stronger than the donkey (Devarim/Deuteronomy 22:10). Torah prohibits killing an animal the same day as its young (Vayikra/Leviticus 22:8) and a mother bird must be shooed away from her nest before her eggs are taken (Devarim 22:6). The Talmud (Berachot 40) exhorts that a person may not eat until all of his or her animals have been fed.

Specific laws apply to animals on Shabbat, the Sabbath. Just as people refrain from work on Shabbat, animals, too, must rest (Shemot/Exodus 20:10).  Certain caretaking tasks must not be done, or must be done differently, so that one does not violate Shabbat. For example, animals must be milked by hand on Shabbat so they will be comfortable, but a Jew may not benefit from or use the milk collected on Shabbat. (It can be given to baby animals.)

If an animal is in pain or in danger of dying, it is permissible to perform certain acts that would normally not be allowed on the Sabbath. For example, an animal may be moved and medicated. To alleviate an animal’s suffering or to save its life, it is permissible to ask a non-Jew to do things that Jews are not permitted to do on the Sabbath.  

Parents, if your household includes pets, then you know that having animals at home is an excellent opportunity to train your children to be kind to animals, and by extension, to other people. Pet ownership also teaches children to take responsibility and to think of others’ needs before their own. Children benefit from taking charge of feeding, watering, walking and cleaning up after their pets.   

Shemini 5771

This week's parsha explains how to tell whether a particular animal, bird or fish is kosher. The parsha specifies the types that may be eaten and those that are prohibited. Land animals may be eaten only if they have split hooves and chew their cud, while fish must have fins and scales. There are no signs for kosher fowl, but rather a tradition affirming which species are not kosher.

The parsha includes an explanation as to why we must observe the laws of kashrut. "You should not make your souls abominable [by eating] any creeping creature that creeps. You should not defile yourselves with them…You should sanctify yourselves and be holy." In other words, what we eat affects our souls, not just our bodies: eating non-kosher foods can contaminate the soul. We know that our bodies need to be properly nourished, and that certain food products, especially if eaten in excess, can be harmful to our bodies. Torah teaches that our souls, too, need to be properly nourished.

Torah prohibits non-kosher foods to prevent us from assimilating the negative characteristics of these foods. What negative characteristics do non-kosher animals have that Torah warns us not to eat them?

Torah lists twenty species of birds that are not kosher. Any species of bird not mentioned in that list is considered kosher. Over time, the identity of some of the specified birds has become unclear. The Talmud (Chullin, 59A) teaches that predatory birds are contained within the non-kosher species mentioned. The Ramban explains that upon eating one of these birds, we will, to some degree, ingest their cruel nature as well.

Interestingly, there is one non-kosher bird, the chasidah, that does not seem to comport with the Ramban's rationale. Rashi, quoting the Talmud (Chullin 63A), identifies the chasidah as the stork. He explains the essence of its name, which literally means "kind," finding it appropriate because the stork manifests kindness to its friends by sharing its food. Kindness is a positive trait. Why would the chasidah be considered non-kosher?

Rabbi Yitzchak Meir of Ger, founder of the Chassidic Ger Dynasty, finds that a close reading of the Talmud reveals that the chasidah's kindness is limited to its friends: it shares food with its own species, but not with other types of birds. This selective kindness is actually a form of cruelty, which goes against Torah's concept of kindness. Torah does not allow this type of discrimination. Kindness to one's fellow human being is required at all times, to all people.

As parents, we should consider the qualities we would like our children to develop. We should recognize the profound effect of food on our children's development and fill them with food that is spiritually nourishing.