The  Basur  IS  Asur

Should I be a Vegetarian?

 by Elana Kessel & Nomi Presby

At first, when most people are posed with the question if they should be a vegetarian or not, their immediate response is no, because it just seems like an unnecessary restriction. Unless someone values animals as equals to human beings (which is not the Torah’s way of thinking), there seems to be no apparent reason to not eat animals. However, after studying the Chumash and Gemara in depth, there seems to be very controversial issues on the matter.

            In Sanhedrin 59b it states that eating meat was forbidden from Adam until Noach. In fact, most mepharshim, including Rashi, Ramban and Rambam believe that Hashem’s original intention for the world was for people to be vegetarians, based on the pasuk Beraishit 1:29 where Hashem tells Adam He is giving him all vegetation to eat, but does not mention meat. Only after the Mabul, as written in Beraishit 9:3, was man first allowed to eat meat. Is this allowance of eating meat a good thing or a downfall? R’ Kook said that the permission to eat meat was a concession to human weakness. The aim is to eventually get people back to vegetarian diets, and eventually, in the times of Mashiach, everyone will be vegetarians (Sefer Olat Rieyah, Perk Alef). It is not surprising to hear that R’ Kook himself was a strict vegetarian, practicing what he preached. Ramban takes the opposite approach and says eating meat is Noach’s reward for his hard work in the ark. The Kli Yakar also takes this approach. He explains that there are four levels of creation- Domim (inanimate), Tzomaach (vegetation), Chay (animal), and Midaber (man). Each level, by consuming the levels below it, elevates itself to its level. In Gan Eden, Adam was like the animals and therefore could not eat them. However, Noach learned Torah and therefore elevated himself to the level of man and could eat animals.

            Looking through the Tanach, meat was never found in the staple diet of Bnei Yisrael. Their food was mainly confined to agricultural products, including the seven minim. In fact, the Torah makes it appear as if meat is an added luxury. In Devarim 12:20 the Torah says Bnei Yisrael will get meat when Hashem widens their territory. In Shemot 15:3, Bnei Yisrael asked for Slav-meat, a luxury. In fact the Akeidas Yitzchak writes on this that in the desert, Hashem provided Bnei Yisrael with mann, which was a non-meat diet that kept Bnei Yisrael healthy for forty years. Only when they asked for the Slav was there a big plague and Bnei Yisrael got themselves in trouble. In the Talmudic period meat was on the diet of the well to do. In fact, Rabbi Elazer ben Azariah, a wealthy Tanah, stated that meat should only be eaten daily by someone who owns 100 manah , which is a large sum of money (Encyclopedia Judaicia, ‘Meat’, p. 1162).  In Devarim 21:25 and Bava Metziah 86b it says that meat is a delicacy. The Torah almost makes meat seem as a lustfull, physical desire that Hashem did not even plan for man to eat at the beginning of time!

            However, another side of this luxurious meat can be seen. Pesachim 109a says that meat is special for festive occasions. The Shulchan Aruch writes that there is no simcha except with meat and wine (Tur Orach Chaim                ) . Rambam writes that one should eat meat and drink wine on Shabbos for Oneg Shabbos-enjoyment on Shabbos (Hilchot Shabbos Perek Lamud Halachah Yud). Tshuvot HaRashba says on this that Oneg is not an obligation, but a nice thing to do. Therefore, if it pains someone to eat meat, they should not do so.

 Yom Tov, however, is a different situation. It says in the Torah ‘ViSamachta BiChagecha’-it is an obligation to rejoice. Does this mean that it is an obligation to eat meat? Rambam says yes, a man should rejoice with meat and wine. It is an obligation to eat some meat, because that is a symbol of simcha, while absentation from meat is a sign of mourning.  To prove this one can look in the Shulchan Aruch Or HaChayim, where it shows the two times when man is forbidden from meat, which are mourners on the day of burial and during the nine days before and including Tisha B’Av. In Bava Basra 60b it says that people wanted to stop eating meat after the Chorban, but the chachamim opposed this. However, not everyone agrees with the Rambam. The Beit Yosef says that after the Chorban meat was not included as one of the obligations of rejoicing. The Bach combines these two views and says after the Chorban, the obligation to eat meat and wine on Yom Tov changed to only wine. However, if one eats meat they are fulfilling a positive commandment.

So what is the Torah’s view on eating meat? As can be seen from above, the answer is not that simple. However, everyone should not run to be vegetarians now. The Torah does permit eating meat, but only in a kosher way. Judaism is pro killing animals, but against animal cruelty (Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, Vol I, No. II,  p 47).  To prove this, never in the Torah does it talk about hunting except by Eisav and Nimrod. In Bava Metziah 85a there is a story about Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi. Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi was in the marketplace when a calf on its way to be slaughtered ran and hid behind him. He pulled the calf out from behind him and returned it to its slaughterers, admonishing the calf that this is the purpose for which he was created. For this, Rabbi Yehudah was punished with severe intestinal problems for many years of his life. The question is, what was Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi punished for? Wasn’t he right in returning the cow? Isn’t he right that this was the purpose of what cows were created for? Of course he was right. R’ Yehudah HaNassi did not say anything wrong. However, he was not punished for what he said, but how he said it.

        In parshat Re'ei, Perek Yud Bet, Pisukim Chaf alef through Chaf chet the Torah discusses the halachot of Shchita. Pasuk Chaf alef says "....u'zvachtem m'vakrecha imtzonecha asher natan Hashem l'cha kasher tziviticha..." This means, ‘you may slaughter from your flock and from your herds’. ‘From your flocks’ means that one should not go out and seek meat, spending tons of money, ‘and from your herds’ is implying that one should only slaughter a certain proportion (Chulin 84). Rashi comments on this pasuk saying that from here we learn the commands from Hashem for the proper way to slaughter animals comes from what He told Moshe at Har Sinai. The ‘kasher tziviticha’ refers to a time beforehand. There is nothing wrong with slaughtering and killing animals. The question is how one does it. Don’t let meat become a lustfull desire that you go out searching for it, spending all of your money.

According to the Torah, meat is actually good to eat for certain health issues. In Chulin 84a R’ Yochana said one should buy meat daily. R’ Nachman HaBavli added that one should even buy it on credit! The Maharshal comments on this that they were talking about eating meat for health reasons, and not because of desire. They lived in Eretz Yisrael in a time where there was a prevailing sickness, and they were saying everyone should eat meat to improve their health. In Ketuvim 60b-61a it says meat is recommended for pregnant woman to have robust children.

 In Pesachim 49b Rabbi Yehudah states that only those who learn Torah should be able to eat meat. Binah BiMikrah writes on this that the Torah and Tefillin are made from the hides and sinews of animals. One who fulfills these mitzvot has the merit to use the rest of the animal for eating. How can someone say that the Torah does not want Bnei Yisrael to kill animals? Many of its Mitzvot require it!