Animal Welfare in Judaism

Yitzchak asks:"Greetings, it seems to me that eating meat is a human fact and not just a historical fact; it is very tasty and appealing, and it seems like an instinct ingrained in humans. I think that's why no culture in the world was vegetarian. But still, there are religions that refrain from eating meat, and our Torah shows a moral approach towards the suffering of animals. So why has slaughtering and eating meat been permitted for Jews?"

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Hello and blessings,

Your question touches on a psychological topic that reaches the deepest aspects of the soul. The sages spoke extensively about the punishments received even by righteous individuals when they were not careful enough about the prohibition of animal suffering. So what is going on here? On one hand, Judaism permits the slaughter and consumption of animals for necessity, but on the other, it prohibits disdain towards them... How can this be understood?

To address this, we will touch on a very important foundation of Judaism, "sanctification of the material." Christianity, as known, tried to imitate Judaism, demanding complete abstinence from material things and failed at that. Islam also tried to imitate Judaism but encouraged material attraction and also failed. Eastern religions fail in offering complete abstinence from this world and avoiding social life. This is because none of these religions received the manufacturer's instructions from the creator of humans. The religions were invented by humans, but there is only one Torah that was handed over in a national event before millions of people, the Torah of Israel; the people of Israel alone were privileged among all nations with miraculous events proving divine providence in history, and only we have a demonstrative proof of receiving the true manufacturer's instructions from the Creator of the world.

So what does the Torah of truth teach us?

First of all, you are correct, eating meat is indeed a desire granted to humans after the flood, and it is a human instinct that we received from the Creator, as it says (Deuteronomy 12): "Because you may eat meat." Regarding instincts, the Torah of Israel teaches us not to abstain from the material, but rather to use it in the right measure to overcome our desires, and more than that, to "sanctify the material." This is also why a Jew is forbidden to eat 99.9% of all types of animals on earth.

The holy Torah teaches us to sanctify the material; this is, in fact, the task of every Jew in this world, to use material as a means to achieve spiritual goals. As it is stated in the Torah (Deuteronomy 8): "And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless Hashem your God." Pleasure for the sake of spiritual ascent is the healthiest use of material, not abstaining from material (as in Christianity and Buddhism), nor permissiveness and indulgence within it (as in Islam, or any pagan religions), but the use of material as a means to achieve joy and spiritual elevation in serving the Creator. In fact, Judaism is the only religion in the world that offers the combination of spirit and material.

Abstaining from meat or freeing the meat? Meet Judaism's way.

The spiritual level of a person is also expressed in the seemingly "cruel" act of slaughter. On one hand, the Torah permits the eating of meat, but on the other, it prohibits Jews from treating animals as if they were abandoned (Jews must have compassion for animals, and the Torah even obligates the burial of blood!). That is, to show kindness where seemingly cruelty has been permitted, and such a correction in a person is greater than abstaining from meat, because the purpose of a Jew is to elevate the material, not abstain from it, to use what is permitted in a manner of love and compassion, even where conceivably boldness or hardness of heart was allowed. This is our true overcoming of the human desire for meat: a considerate use of animals.

For example, I once noticed the head of our yeshiva, Rabbi Yaakov Segal, may he live long, walking all around the yeshiva looking for "dry bread" at noon, so I followed him out of curiosity. After some effort, pieces of bread were found, and the head of the yeshiva moistened them with water, as it turned out to me, to feed chickens that were in a box intended for kaparot that day! The head of the yeshiva noticed my astonishment and explained that although the chickens were intended for slaughter in a few hours, they were still under his charge and not considered abandoned, and the Torah obligates a person to feed the animals under his care before he himself eats (as the verse we read every day in the Shema prayer states: "And I will give grass in your field for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied"). The head of the yeshiva was not willing to eat his lunch before he fed the clucking chickens in the box, nor was he willing to rely on others to feed them on his behalf, but instead, he personally ensured that the chickens ate before him... After witnessing this firsthand, I understood for the first time how great the measure of a Jewish person who observes the commandments is, that he does not abstain from this world but rather utilizes it for spiritual elevation. Our involvement with material, such as slaughter and eating meat, allows us to exhibit unrealistic levels of compassion and fairness even while engaging with our material instincts.

After the coming of the Messiah soon with Hashem's help, we will be able to return to a high level like in the days of the first human, no longer needing to eat meat.