Consider the Animals

Deut. 25:4 - Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.

And once again this amazing class takes a seemingly "unrelated to today" bit from Torah and spends the entire hour discussing and reviewing the Jewish attitude toward treatment of animals and makes it very relevant.

Reviewing texts starting from Genesis when we know that animals and humans share the same blessings. (Gen 1:22) The animals and people both have souls. On to discuss how humans went from being vegetarians before the flood to being allowed to eat the meat of animals after the flood and Noah. On to the story of Jonah and how the city of Nineveh was spared in part due to the innocent cattle that was there. And then there is Psalm (145), "God's mercy on all God's creatures". And Proverb 12:10 :A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.

We talked about the "scapegoat" that takes our sins at Yom Kippur "Surely he hath borne our Griefs and carried our Sorrows; Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of GOD and afflicted." (Isaiah 53:4) and "And the Goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a Land not inhabited." (Leviticus 16:22) Certainly this is an example where the animal should have been treated better.

And the superstition / tradition of 'swinging a chicken over the head'and reciting a prayer asking that the chicken be considered atonement for your sins.

We also discussed the tradition of not wearing leather on Yom Kippur because of the need to kill an animal to get the leather. And that you do not say the she-he-heyanu prayer over any leather shoes or clothing. (and you do say it when you get other new garments.)

I found interesting links on Jewish values relating to animals:

Animal Activism

'Be Compassionate toward Animals'

A Talmudic story: "According to the Talmud, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi suffered for 13 years from excruciating tooth pain, because a calf, while being led to slaughter, tried to hide behind his coat. Rabbi Yehuda sent the calf away with the words “Go, because for this you were created.” Rabbi Yehuda’s toothache ceased only when he prevented his daughter (some say housekeeper) from chasing away a family of rats that were nesting in his house."

You are also supposed to feed your animals before yourself!

We also discussed if hunting for sport is considered ok in Jewish Values - NOT - this was confirmed in an 18th century Responsa by R. Landau who deemed sport hunting as cruel to animals. The only hunters in Torah (Esau & Nimrod) were not descended from the patriarchs.

And of course the rules of kosher slaughter were reviewed where the rule is to do it in such a way not to inflict pain and suffering. There is some controversy about this question as well.

And to end the hour, R. Marder read from Dennis Prager's* survey of teens asking: "Would you first save the dog you love or a stranger if both were drowning?"
Article by Dennis Prager: The case for Judeo-Christian values: Human Worth
*Dennis Prager hosts a national daily radio show based in Los Angeles

And another hour of learning left a buzz in the room as the discussion and thoughts about animals and our compassion toward them continued. While we can find examples of cruelty to animals in our tradition, the reality is that Torah and the commentary lean toward the consideration of the animal's feelings and wellbeing.