VEGETARIANISM and KABBALAH
What is the thought of Torah, Judaism and Kabbalah on vegetarianism?
Often people who have embarked on a spiritual journey is surprised that Judaism does not require to man a vegetarian diet and see that many religious Jews eat meat regularly.
This modern sensibility to the innocent suffering of animals abused and slaughtered for human food, is due in part to the influence that Eastern religions and philosophies have on our latest generation and materialistic culture of the West, and partly the result of a commendable growth of awareness achieved by humankind today.
We are not able to tackle a comprehensive study on animals in the Torah, we will just quote and comment on some sources that explain the true Jewish attitude towards this new awareness generation, indicating that, as in every other aspect of life, even for vegetarianism Judaism offers many ideas and different interpretations, even contradictory and opposed to each other. We will try to explain in this brief study of the most popular schools of thought within Judaism about vegetarianism, especially the kabballistic ones.
First, the Torah tells us that the first man, Adam Harishon, was a vegetarian, as G-d granted as food to man and all the animals only plants. So in the beginning of creation no living being ate others’ meat, including the so-called "carnivore" animals. From this the teachers argue that the highest way of eating is that which excludes the consumption of all types of meat.
« Then G-d said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. » (Gen 1, 29-30)
The descent of consciousness of the good brought humanity to succumb to the deluge. After the deluge begins the new alliance that G-d establish with Noah and all the creatures of heaven and earth. From that moment G-d grants humans or animals to eat meat.
This concession is designed to placate the divine instinct in man's innate evil and rectify the consequences of violence. To eat meat is a partial concession, restricted to a small selection of eatable species. G-d, who knows the fragile nature of man, gives only a small number of animals for human consumption, and this grant has conditions that man can eat the flesh of an animal that has undergone a ritual slaughter that involves the least possible physical suffering to the animal: this is one of the reasons why Jews eat meat a few species which rigorously eliminate every trace of blood.
According to the kabbalah to eat the flesh of animals, especially on Shabbat, conceal reasons related to balance of cycles of 'ecosystem' and the cycles of reincarnation.
Found written in the cabalistic text Iggheret HaKodesh:
It is known that everything is what it eats, and so is the body. (...) The Blessed Lord, whose ways are all justice, ordered the slaughter of animals as our food. Why? Would not it be better if we eat the various products and delicious fruits? Why did He stated the free use the blood of animals and wild animals? Why did He want to impose on them such great suffering?
You have to know that these are the foundations of the world, namely that the Blessed Lord does good for every creature and has compassion for each of them, as it is written: "It is good the Lord with everyone, His mercy is in all its works "(Ps. 145, 9). This verse makes you realize the slaughter of animals and their consumption by humans is for their good, and that is an act of compassion and mercy toward them.
I proceed to explain it to you.
It is known that any food that man eats is ground in the stomach and from there down into the higher bowels below it. From these intestines, the liver sucks the best part of the food, the fattest, the purer and cleaner, while rejects the rest to the lower intestine, so to let it out through the droppings.
The liver cooks again and again what it sucked and makes blood, cleans it and sends it to the heart, which in turn sends it to all the organs, when the blood reaches the organs, in each of them becomes what the organ is, through a third cooking, the meat becomes meat, fat becomes fat, bones becomes bones, veins becomes veins, nerves becomes nerves, because the body is nourished with it.
It therefore follows that the animal slaughtered for food, for man, has benefited from the rise in the level of the body of an animal to that of the human body.
This is the way of the four categories of the lower world: minerals, plants, animals and creatures who do not s.
The minerals derive nourishment from the four elements, the plants from the four elements and minerals, animals who do not speak and creatures who speaks.
The minerals derive nourishment from the 4 elements and from minerals. The animals who do no speak eat plants, minerals, and the four elements, while the speaker creatures makes use of the animals who do not speak, plants and minerals. So here we proceed elevation in elevation, so that the cycle is complete, forward and backward. In this regard, it is said: " 'the Lord is good with everyone" (Ps. 145, 9), because items placed on an upper level, ie minerals, minerals to plants, which are a step above them, and plants activity into animals who do not speak, one step rather than on their own, and the animals who do not speak activity into the speaking creatures, which possess the power of speech, that of the movement and the possibility of plants is to mix the four elements.
What is striking about this book is the distinction between non-speaking creatures and creatures of speech. The word, for the Torah, is the distinctively human quality that distinguishes man from all other creatures and that makes it similar to his Creator who creates everything by His Word. Here we touch another sacred point to Kabbalah: the power of human speech.
When the man, before eating, speak words of blessing to G-d on the food given by Him, it makes a redemption of so-called trapped sparks of holiness in the matter of the food that he is about to eat. These sparks, taken through food, are liberated from their material envelope and elevated to their spiritual origin. According to Kabbalah, sparks of souls who have to make a tikkun (= repair) reincarnate themselves in animals, fish and vegetables. Hence comes the tradition that sees the greatest Kabbalists of history eating meat and fish on Shabbat, in view to liberate these sparks.
In the opinion of Rav Kook, the mitzvot related to the ritual slaughter of animals and the strict separation of meat and dairy products lies a moral teaching with which the Torah aims to educate us. The prohibition of cooking a calf in its mother's milk is not just to teach us to put a distinction between death and life, but also not to be murderers, cruel, hypocritical and cynical. In this sense, the Torah teaches us to become vegetarians.
However we are very far from the eastern concept of worship of the animals and the cycles of reincarnation in Judaism there is no moral equality between humans and animals. The Torah presents us with a hierarchy within creation and an order of importance.
Despite the attention that the Torah has towards animals, the center of interest is only the man, the Torah is concerned with man, the man speaks and communicates with man. Our patriarchs were shepherds whose flocks wandering in the desert was their main source of livelihood. Our fathers in the wilderness, tired of the spiritual food that was bestowed upon them through the manna, claimed to G-d the pot of meat which they ate in Egypt! Abraham, our father did not hesitate to slaughter the fat calf to feed its precious guests.
This explains the fact that Judaism, while considering vegetarianism as the ideal of the Messianic era, do not impose it to the man as a way to follow. Man must reach before a large high level of mercy towards his neighbor and then extend it to the animal kingdom.
Vegetarianism is seen as the succession to that goal that has already reached peace achieved between the men. It has been repeatedly noted that the Nazis were very fond of the dogs they used to tear to pieces the Jews, and today many men who call themselves vegetarians or animalists are very far from attaining the respect of human beings whose vegetarianism should be the overcoming.
In our Western society the animals are more loved than that humans, the man, avoiding the difficult comparison that the human relationship involves, turns his attention to the animals ...
To love a beast is easier and more rewarding to us of loving a person that disturbs us and criticizes us.
According to the great Master Rabbi Kook, in the messianic era humanity will have reached a level of awareness so high that no one will eat meat, and when the man stops to exploit the neighbor, by eradicating to the root the causes of the greed and egoisim, at which point the predator instinct will also disappear from the animal kingdom, thus fulfilling the Messianic prophecies that says:
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.(Is 11, 6-8)
THE SICRIFICES IN THE THIRD TEMPLE?
Subject of much current rabbinic discussions is the restoration of the sacrificial cult inside the Third Temple when it will be rebuilt.
According to the ultra-orthodox currentS who are using the most ancient traditions of the Masters, animal sacrifices were a perennial value offering, the animal is the substitute victim offered which pays the price of sin committed by man.
According to Maimonide, or Rambam, and to many other streams of Jewish thought that he inspired, the sacrifices have had a temporary teaching role. At the time they were imposed by Israel, the sacrifices were a common practice common to all populations of the time. All the people offered sacrifices to their gods to appease their wrath against the sins of men. The Jews were so attracted to comply with the traditions and customs of their time and often went to offer sacrifices to pagan idols. In order to educate the people elected to the pure monotheistic religion, G-d allowed to continue to behave as was common but this habit of directing the Unique G-d. G-d, therefore, has left these sacrifices but asked that instead of be voted to the idols, that were offered to the Unique G-d. For this reason G-d prescribed that the sacrifices might be offered in one place: the Temple of Jerusalem.
According to Rambam, those sacrifices, once carried out their educational role, they have no reason to exist.
It is true that the same prophets of Tanahk (= Hebrew Bible) have strongly condemned the hypocritical sacrificial system: what G-d asks is justice among men and not the blood of innocent animals.
What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?"
Says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
"When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
"Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies--
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
"I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
"So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen
Your hands are covered with blood.
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight
Cease to do evil, Learn to do good;
Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.(Is. 1, 11-17)
According to Rav Kook, in messianic era humanity will have reached such a high level of awareness that will no longer need to restore the cult of sacrificial offering. Malachi prophesies that the end of time will remain only the minhah oblation, namely the supply plant to bring to the temple (Mal 3:4).
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