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The Bible and Vegetarianism -- a Jewish View
hartn2uel@aol.com
Bible and Vegetarianism
28 Nov 1995
I have found the lack of theological acumen on the part of Mike and
others who post in this subject to be truly amazing. There is no doubt
that God's initial intention was that people should be vegetarians. In
Genesis 1:29 we read, "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb
yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed--to you it shall be for food
(meat)."
Rashi, a famous Torah commentator states the following: "God did not
permit Adam and his wife to kill a creature and to eat its flesh. Only
every green herb shall they all eat together." (from his commentary on
Gen. 1:29)
This view is widespread. Early scholars such as Abraham Ibn Ezra,
Maimonides, Nachmanides, and Rabbi Joseph Albo agree. Later scholars such
as Rabbi Hirsch, Moses Cassuto and Leibowitz concur.
Cassuto states in his commentary "From Adam to Noah": "You are
permitted to use the animals and employ them for work, have dominion over
them in order to utilize their services for your subsistence, but must not
hold their life cheap nor slaughter them for food. Your natural diet is
vegetarian..."
{As an aside, one of the most misused biblical words is the word
"dominion." We have dominion over the Earth and its creatures in the sense
that we are caretakers and guardians of the Earth. I write this because I
notice Mike, in true fashion, brings up the word dominion.}
The Talmud agrees with the vegetarian outlook. "Adam was not permitted
meat for purposes of eating."
Nachmanides gives a reason for the vegetarian dietary laws. "...because
living creatures possess a moving soul and a certain spiritual superiority
which in this respect make them similar to those who possess intellect
(people) and they have the power of affecting their welfare and their food
and they flee from pain and death."
The Jewish philosopher Joseph Albo maintains that in the killing of
animals "...there is cruelty, rage, and the accustoming of oneself to the
bad habit of shedding innocent blood..."
Right after giving the vegetarian diet law in Gen. 1:29 God "...saw
everything He made and behold, it was very good." (1:31)
The vegetarian lifestyle was God's initial plan.
If anyone is interested, a strong voice for vegetarianism is Rabbi
Abraham Isaac Hacohen Kook. He was the 1st Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel
in the early 20th Century. He wrote a book entitled "A vision of
Vegetarianism and Peace" (edited by Rabbi David Cohen).
Mike cries out...."What about Noah and Genesis 9?"
It must be remembered that death entered the world because of the
disobedience of Adam and Eve. By the time of Noah, humanity had
degenerated greatly. The aforementioned Rabbi Kook states the permission
to eat meat was only a temporary concession. He states, "It is
inconceivable that the Creator who had planned a world of harmony and a
perfect way for man to live should many thousands of years later, find
that this plan was wrong."
People are not always ready to live up to G-d's highest ideals! For
instance, G-d intended marriage to be a life long union between the
husband and wife. But because of sin our marriages often end in divorce.
G-d allows the divorce but is not happy with it. As people we should
strive to "do the right thing." The same can be said for our dietary
habbits.
Now back to Genesis 9. The permission given to Noah to eat meat was not
unconditional. Rabbi Samuel Dressner states, "The removal of blood which
kashrut teaches is one of the most powerful means of making us constantly
aware of the concession and compromise which the whole act of eating meat,
in reality is. Again it teaches us reverence for life."
Moses Cassuto, states: "Apparently the Torah was in principle opposed
to the eating of meat. When Noah and his descendants were permitted to eat
meat this was a concession conditional on the prohibition of the blood.
This prohibition implied respect for the principle of life and an allusion
to the fact that in reality all meat should have been prohibited. This
partial prohibiton was designed to call to mind the previously total one."
There is an interesting statement in Genesis 9:5 which immediately
follows this conditional permission to eat meat. G-d states "...and
surely, your blood of your lives will I require." The Rabbis base the
prohibition of suicide on these words. I think, however, that coming
directly after flesh is allowed, a vegetarian such as myself might reason
that this passage hints that eating meat is a slow form of suicide. Is G-d
saying here that if one eats meat there will be a penalty? I believe
health studies would say, yes!
Rabbi Kook believe's that the craving for meat in people is a
manifestation of negative passions rather than an inherent need. This I
think is borne out by the fact that the non sacrificial meat is called
b'sar ta'avah (meat of lust).
The prophet Isaiah gives us a brief glimpse of restoration in his book
(Isaiah 11: 6-9)
"And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down
with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them and the cow and the bear shall feed;
their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw
like the ox... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain."
What a glorious prophesy! Based on this vision Kook states that in the
Messianic era, "...the effect of knowledge will spread even to
animals...and sacrifices in the Temple will consist of vegetation, and it
will be pleasing to G-d as in days of old..." Joseph Albo concurs that in
the days of Messiah, people will again be vegetarians.
Amos 9:14: "And they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof;
they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them."
Marcel
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