A Torah Perspective on Veganism

§ Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Meat was not permitted to Adam, the first man, for consumption, as it is written: “And God said: Behold, I have given you every herb that brings forth seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree that gives forth seed; for you it shall be for food, and for every animal of the earth, and for every fowl of the air, and for everything that creeps upon the earth, in which there is a living soul, every green herb for food. And it was so” (Genesis 1:29–30). It is derived God told Adam: Eating vegetation is permitted to people and animals, but eating the animals of the earth is not permitted to you. But when the children of Noah came, God permitted them to eat meat; as it is stated: “Every moving thing that lives shall be for food for you; as the green herb I have given you all” (Genesis 9:3).

The Gemara continues its discussion with regard to an ignoramus. It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: It is prohibited for an ignoramus to eat meat, as it is stated: “This is the law [torah] of the beast and of the fowl” (Leviticus 11:46). He expounds: Anyone who engages in Torah study is permitted to eat the meat of animals and fowl, and anyone who does not engage in Torah study is prohibited to eat the meat of animals or fowl.

It is taught in a Baraita (Tosefta, Sota 15:10) that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha said: From the day that the Temple was destroyed, by right, we should decree upon ourselves not to eat meat and not to drink wine, but the Sages do not issue a decree upon the public unless a majority of the public is able to abide by it.

(10)...The wise men command a worldly custom that a man should not eat meat save when craving it, even as it is said: "Because thy soul desireth to eat flesh" (Deut. 12.20). It is enough for a healthy person to eat meat from Friday night to Friday night. If, however, he is rich enough to eat meat daily he may eat. The wise men commanded and said: "Ever let a man eat less than what his financial means allow, dress within his means, but honor his wife and children with more than his means allow".

(28) However, no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its young.

(2) And we can also say... that this is to fix in our souls the trait of compassion and to distance us from the trait of cruelty - which is a bad trait. And therefore even though God permitted us [to eat] species of animals for our sustenance, He [also] commanded us that we not kill it and its child on one day to fix the trait of compassion in our souls.

(1) If the nest of a bird chances to be in front of you: Also this commandment is explained by "it and its son do not slaughter on one day" (Leviticus 22:28); since the reason in both of them is that we should not have a cruel heart and [then] not have mercy. And the teacher (Rambam) in the Guide for the Perplexed 3:48 wrote that the reason of sending [the mother away from] the nest and the reason of "it and its son do not slaughter on one day" is to prohibit killing the child in the eyes of the mother, as animals have great concern about this. And there is no difference between the concern of a person and the concern of animals for their children, since the love of a mother and 'the appeal of the children of its belly' does not stem from the intellect and the [faculty of] speech, but rather it is from the effects of the faculty of thought that is found in animals just as it is found in man.

(12) Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. (13) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (14) but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do.

So says Rav Yehuda that Rav says: It is prohibited for a person to taste anything until he gives food to his animal, as it is stated in the verse: “And I will give grass in the field for your animals” (Deuteronomy 11:15), and only afterward is it written in that verse: “And you shall eat and be satisfied.” I have yet to feed my animal, so I may not eat.

(1) Four things have been enjoined regarding the Sabbath: two on biblical authority, and two on the authority of the sages and clearly expressed by the Prophets. The Torah says: Remember (Exodus 20:8) and Observe (Deuteronomy 5:12); the Prophets clearly speak of Honor and Delight, as it is written: "Call the Sabbath a delight, and the Lord's sacred day an honor" (Isaiah 58:13).

(7) What is meant by Sabbath delight? The sages explained this by declaring that one should prepare rich food and fragrant beverages for the Sabbath as much as he can afford.

(10) Eating meat and drinking wine is considered delight (oneg), as long as he can afford it.

(2) A person should have more meat, wine and treats, to the best of his ability.

The laws of Rejoicing on a holiday:

The Mitzvah of Holidays should be split, half spent in the study hall and a half for eating and drinking... and one is obligated to honor it and delight in it just like on Shabbat.

(3) The explanation of all this is, I think, as follows: In the killing of animals there is cruelty, rage, and the accustoming oneself to the bad habit of shedding innocent blood... This is why he forbade Adam the eating of animal food... To other animals, he gave for food all green grass that has no seed that may be planted. The purpose of this was to show the superiority of the human species to the other animals.

(8) According to these three opinions of Cain, Abel, and Seth, respectively, all mankind are divided into three classes. One class follow the opinion of Cain, and think that the most important human occupation is agriculture. They feel hostility toward political rulers and desire to kill them, as Cain killed Abel. A second class follow the opinion of Abel, thinking that politics is the most important pursuit, and risk their lives for political activity like Abel, because they think that it leads to human perfection, as we are told concerning certain Roman rulers. So kings risk their lives for the sake of power, which is natural to them as it was to Abel, who was the first shepherd and ruler and lost his life on that account. The third class follows the opinion of Seth, thinking that the important thing is to worship God and despise power and the other pleasures. As the opinion of Seth is not easily grasped at first sight, he was followed by only a few rare individuals. But the opinion of Cain was widely prevalent among his descendants, and hence the earth was filled with violence on their account, their belief being that man has no superiority over the animal, and might is right. Therefore they were corrupt and lived like animals. For this reason, it was decreed that their name should be wiped out from the earth in the flood.

(9) When they were all destroyed and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained, God wanted to eradicate this opinion. Hence when Noah, after leaving the ark, brought an animal offering to God because he knew that man is superior by virtue of his reason and can know his Creator and serve Him better than the animals and can be thankful to God for this privilege, his offering was accepted with favor, as is said, “And the Lord smelled the sweet savour.” But He feared that unless this opinion was made firm, the Noahites might deviate in the direction of Abel’s idea and assume that God accepted their father’s offering as he accepted Abel’s offering, thus going back to the former errors and wrongdoing. Hence immediately after the offering, He hastened to permit the killing of animals and the eating of their flesh, “As the green herb have I given you all.” The meaning is that as even Cain admitted that man is superior to the plants, since they are created for man, so all the animals are also for the sake of man, who is superior to them, and there is not the same spirit in all. For this reason He prohibited the shedding of human blood, giving as a reason that the spirit of man is not like the spirit of the animal, for in the image of God made He man, i. e. man has a rational form which is nobler than the spirit of the animal. For this reason it was necessary to permit all animals without distinction, which He did, in order to eradicate the former opinion and wipe off its memory.

(12) Rabbi Yosi says: The money of your friend should be as dear to you as your own. Prepare yourself to study Torah, for it is not an inheritance for you. All of your actions should be for the sake of Heaven.

It is forbidden to kill a louse on a table that one eats one. One who does so it is though they killed on the altar, for the altar is compared to a table, as it is stated: "And he spoke to me, this the table that is before the lord" (Ezekiel, 41:22).

For this reason, we cover the knives during the after blessings as it is stated (about the altar): "For your sword was lifted on her and you defiled her" (Exodus, 20:22).

Nevertheless, it is a Mitzvah to bring salt to every table before one cuts the bread. For the table is compared to the altar and eating to a sacrifice, and about sacrifices, it is stated: "On all your sacrifices you shall bring salt".

For instance, if one eats fat beef and drinks spiced wine not out of physical desire, but in order to broaden his mind for the service of G‑d and for His Torah, as Rava said, “Wine and fragrance [make my mind more receptive],” or in order to fulfill the commandment to enjoy the Sabbath and the festivals.

Then the vitality of the meat and the wine which originated in kelipat nogah is then extracted from the evil and ascends to G‑d like a burnt offering and sacrifice.

So, too, he who makes a humorous remark to sharpen his mind and make his heart rejoice in G‑d and His Torah and service, which should be practiced joyfully, as Rava was wont to do with his pupils, prefacing his discourse with a humorous remark, whereupon the students became cheerful.

On the other hand, if a person is one of those who gluttonously eats meat and quaffs wine in order to satisfy their bodily appetites and animal soul, in such case the vitality of the meat and wine that he ingested is thereby degraded and absorbed temporarily in the utter evil of the three unclean kelipot and his (the glutton’s) body becomes a garment and a “vehicle” for these kelipot. Until the person repents and returns to the service of G‑d and His Torah. For, inasmuch as the meat and wine were kosher and permissible, they have the power to revert and ascend with him when he returns to the service of G‑d.

This is implied in the terms hetter (“permissibility”) and mutar (“permissible”). That which may be done or eaten is called “mutar”, literally meaning “released” or “unbound”. In our context, the term means that the permissible object is not “chained” to the kelipot.

That is to say, it is not tied and bound by the power of the “extraneous forces,” i.e., the kelipot and Sitra achra which are extraneous to the realm of sanctity, preventing it from returning and ascending to G‑d. Such is not the case, however, with forbidden foods and illicit coition, these are tied and bound by the “extraneous forces” (the kelipot) forever.

They (the vitality of these prohibited acts) are not elevated from [the kelipot] until “their day comes” (the time when evil will totally disappear from the world), when “death (i.e., the kelipot, called ”death“ because they oppose G‑dliness, which is life) will be swallowed up i.e., eradicated forever,” as it is written: “And I (G‑d)will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.” Then, when the kelipot cease to exist, the sparks of holiness will of themselves be freed from them

Likewise, the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: The verse states: “And he shall slaughter [veshaḥat] the young bull before the Lord” (Leviticus 1:5). The term “veshaḥat” means nothing other than: And he shall draw the knife across the neck of the animal. And similarly, the verse states: “And King Solomon made two hundred targets of drawn [shaḥut] gold” (I Kings 10:16), meaning gold that is smoothed in the manner of goldsmiths. And the verse states: “Their tongue is a sharpened arrow, it speaks deceit” (Jeremiah 9:7).

(7) When man desires to have fowl and beef in one meal, he should eat the meat of the fowl first; eggs and poultry in one meal, he should eat eggs first; meat of the flock and meat of the herd in one meal, he should eat the meat of the flock first; he should ever eat the lighter food first and the heavier food last.