Feeding One's Animals Before Oneself (a bit of semi-disorganized research)

(15) I will also provide grass in the fields for your cattle—and thus you shall eat your fill.

As Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: One is prohibited from eating before feeding his animals, as it is stated: “And I will give grass in your fields for your animals” first and only then: “And you shall eat and be satisfied” (Deuteronomy 11:15). [In the verse, preparation of food for one’s cattle precedes preparation of his own food. Consequently, it is considered part of the preparation for one’s own meal.]

Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda said to Geneiva: Does the Master wish to taste something? Geneiva said to them: 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.

(2) Further proof that they did not sleep is presented to us by R. Yohanan. He tells us in the name of R. Eliezer the son of R. Yosé the Galilean that because Noah once delayed feeding a lion, the lion bit him so severely that he left the ark crippled, as it is said: And only Noah was left (Gen. 7:23). The word ah (“only,” also “to be afflicted”) indicates that his body was no longer whole. He became, thereby, unfit to bring sacrifices to the altar,¹⁵No person with a blemish on his body was permitted to bring a sacrifice to the altar. and his son Shem had to do it in his stead. Concerning him it is said: Behold, the righteous shall be made whole in the earth (Prov. 11:31).

...R. Levi said: Neither Noah nor his sons were able to sleep during the entire twelve months (in the ark) because they were obliged to feed the animals, the beasts, and the birds. R. Akiba stated that they even brought into the ark tree branches for the elephants and glass beads for the ostriches. Some of the animals had to be fed at the second hour in the night and others at the third hour of the night.

[my translation]

"Living creatures": Our Sages of blessed memory said (BT Shabbat 128b), "Causing animals to suffer is a Biblical prohibition."

And you must feed them before yourself, as we learned (BT Berachot 40a) from the verse (Deuteronomy 11:15), "I will also provide grass in the fields for your cattle" and then "and you shall eat and be satisfied"--that they are dependent on him [their master] and he is dependent on He who spoke and the world was created [God]....

And also, it is not good for a man to raise chickens, but, rather, at a time that he needs one, he should buy it and slaughter it. But if he can't find a chicken at every time and he needs to have them available to himself, he should be very careful and also instruct his children and all of the people of his household to be careful to give them their food at their [eating] time. Because the [responsibility of] their food is upon him, and the punishment [for not feeding them] is great. And, specifically, if they are shut up in the chicken coop, he needs to have mercy on them even more, lest he transgress the sin of causing suffering to living creatures.

(8) There must be no interruption between the recital of any blessing and that for which it is recited. If such an interruption has taken place, the blessing must be repeated. If the interruption was in connection with matters appertaining to the blessing, the blessing need not be recited a second time. For example, a person recites the blessing over bread; and, before he eats it, says "Bring salt", "bring the cooked course", "give food to So and So", "Feed the cattle", he need not recite the blessing a second time. The same is the rule in similar cases.

[my translation]

...

(2) "And nonetheless, a priori, you shouldn't interrupt at all"...

The Magen Avraham brings in 271 in the name of Teshuvot Hahara"m that eating before your domesticated animal is forbidden biblically, and we learn from this that he thought that this was a clear teaching and not learned by inference. And, according to this, it is obvious that even if you made the blessing of hamotzi over the bread [but had not yet fed your animal], that you have to stop. But from the decisors cited above, it seems that they didn't think that this [was the case].

[my translation]

It is a need of each meal [to feed one's cattle] because it is forbidden to [even] taste food before giving [food] to your cattle (as it says in the Gemara).

But a person can drink before giving their animals to drink, as it says in the story of Rebecca, "Drink, and I will also give water to your camels" [Genesis 24:14].

(14) let the maiden to whom I say, ‘Please, lower your jar that I may drink,’ and who replies, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels’—let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You have dealt graciously with my master.”

(8)...The sages of old were in the habit of sharing with the slave every dish they ate, and they fed the cattle as well as the slaves before they themselves sat down to eat....The progeny of our father Abraham, however, the people of Israel upon whom God bestowed the goodness of the Torah, commanding them to keep the laws of goodness, are merciful toward all creatures. So too, in speaking of the divine attributes, which he has commanded us to imitate, the psalmist says: "His mercy is over all his works" (Psalm 145:9). Whoever is merciful will receive mercy, as it is written: "He will be merciful and compassionate to you and multiply you" (Deuteronomy 13:18).

As Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: One is prohibited from eating before feeding his animals, as it is stated: “And I will give grass in your fields for your animals” first and only then: “And you shall eat and be satisfied.”

footnote 28 [my translation]: And according to another textual tradition, if is forbidden even to taste. And in this law is not found in the Shulchan Aruch at all, and this requires further investigation. And in the Rambam [Mishneh Torah, Laws of Slaves], 9:8, it is taught that this is only an attribute of generosity [to feed one's animals before oneself--it is not a law, but a nice thing to do]. And look in the Magen Avraham 167:18, [where he says in the name of] Sefer Chasidim, that only eating before one's domesticated or wild animal [is forbidden], but for drinking, a human takes precendence [over an animal], as it says about Rivkah [who says], "Drink and I will also give drink to your camels." Until here [is the Magen Avraham].

[I ran out of translating energy here, but will try to go back to this and translate more of it later.]

(4) "and you will eat and be sated": It is a good sign for a man when his beast eats and is stated, viz. (Proverbs 12:10) "The righteous one knows the spirit of his beast."

(10) A righteous person knows the needs of his animal...