EXOD399 To aid our spiritual advancement, we are asked to be kind to all created things, be they men or animals. From the Fourth Commandment it is clear that one of the objects of the Sabbath was to provide rest for the beast of burden [this verse]. Only he who has mercy on all created things is entitled to the mercy of God. Leaders in ancient Israel were chosen from those who exhibited tenderness towards the flock they tended; the argument being that such consideration was an earnest of the sympathy they would evince toward those whom they would have to leave. The appointment of Moses was due to such tenderness [see the story about Moses and the straying lamb told in Exodus R. ii.2.], as was the call to prophecy of Amos and Micah and to Kingship of Saul and David; all were shepherds. To be unkind to animals is to court suffering. Rabbi Judah Hannasi suffered great agony because he was inconsiderate to a calf that sought his protection as it was being led to the slaughter [B. Metz. 85a]. Not to alleviate their pain, is to break a command of the Torah [Shabb. 128a]. From the Shema [Deut. xi 15. "And I will give grass in they fields for the cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied." Note the order of the words: first grass for the cattle then "thou shalt eat"; Ber. 40a; Gitt. 62a] it is clear that one should not sit down to his own meal before giving food to domestic animals under his protection. This consideration towards animals is important not only because it is another precision tool in the carving of character but also because it expresses gratitude for their service. Had the Torah, which teaches us these virtues, not been given to us, says a teacher [Erub. 100b], we would have learned modesty from the cat; from the ant, industry and honesty; good manners from the cock and chastity from the dove. The slaughter of animals for food is to be as painless as possible.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD396 (Continued from [[1166]] Deuteronomy 22:10 together SACTAB 217). Perhaps the most outstanding example of the Torah’s message of compassion for animals is the recognition of an animal’s need to rest. This command is deemed so crucial that it is included within the Ten Commandments (this verse). At a time when our ancestors’ livelihood depended upon the physical work that their animals performed, this was a powerful statement of concern for their animals’ welfare. The laws within the Torah also go beyond the treatment of one's own animals, to the laws regarding those within the public domain. One example of this is the obligation to help lift the pack animal of one's enemy if it has fallen under a heavy load (Exodus 23:5), guiding people to put the needs of creatures above human emotion. The Torah also states that we must demonstrate care to animals in the wild. As we read, (Deuteronomy 22:6-7). Maimonides explains that these verses remind us that animals feel emotional pain too: “There is no difference between the pain that a human feels and the pain that these animals feel when they see their young taken away or slaughtered. Like humans, they instinctively care for their young.” (Moreih N’vuchim 3:48). Finally, it is important to note that the respect and care that humans are to have for the animal world is modeled by God. As we read, “The Eternal is good to all, and God's compassion is over all God’s creatures” (Ps. 145:9). Just as God is praised as having mercy on all the creatures of the world, so too must humans, created in the divine image, behave in a compassionate manner: “A righteous man knows the needs of his animal, but the compassion of the wicked is cruelty” (Prov. 12:10). (By Rayna Ellen Gevurtz, "Kindness to Animals: Tzaar Baalei Chayim")

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD397 The Fourth commandment(concerning the Sabbath), which regulates a day of rest for human beings, also applies to animals. On this day, "you shall not do any work, you, your son or daughter… We are cattle…"[This verse]. The Torah later returned to the steam, and place particular emphasis on the significance of both animals' and employees' rest on the Sabbath: "six days show you work, but on the seventh day shall you cease from labor, in order that your ox and donkey may rest, and that your servant and the stranger may be refreshed" Exodus 23:12.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD400 See [[EXOD886]] Exodus 23:12 rest OXFORD 428-9

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD401 See [[EXOD1030]] Exodus 34:6 compassion BLOCH 57-8

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD403 See [[EXOD394]] Exodus 20:9 work AMJV 109

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD402 Desist from all types of melachah (prohibited work) on the Sabbath. Neither may we let our children, servants or animals do melachah on the Sabbath. Key concepts: To set aside our weekday labors in honor of the Sabbath. Thereby, we instill within ourselves that Hashem created the world in six days and “rested” on the seventh. This point is a fundamental principle underlying all of the Torah. When someone asks, “Why does everyone desist from their labors one day of the week,” one must answer, “Because God created the heavens and the earth in six days and on the seventh day He desisted from creating and ‘rested.’” By desisting from our labors on the Sabbath, we strengthen ourselves in the true faith. The Sabbath also reminds us of the miraculous Exodus from Egypt, for while the Egyptians enslaved us, they forced us to work even when we were exhausted and craved rest. Hashem saved us from their hands and commanded us to rest on the Sabbath.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD404 See [[LEV795]] Leviticus 19:34 love OXFORD 46-7

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD405 See [[EXOD127]] Exodus 10:5 Mine DORFLOV 81

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD406 The Torah sets forth a time-tempered rhythmic process of economic, ecological, and political action that is intended to preserve abundance and that warns of utter disaster if the balance is undone. When we look for what we might call the "eco-Judaism" of biblical Israel, one of the most notable teachings about the relationship between the human community and the earth is the teaching of Shabbat (the Sabbath), the shmitah or Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year. Every seventh day, every seventh year, and the year after every seventh cycle of seven years (the fiftieth year), the human community is to pause from work, not merely to rest from physical labor, but also to renew itself, to achieve "release" for "self-reflection" or "detachment" or "holiness."– And as the community rests, so does the earth--animals and vegetation are also released. Indeed, it is almost impossible to disentangle the implications of this whirling spiral of Shabbats for adamah, the earth, from its implications for adam, the human community. The Bible connects this rhythm both to revitalization of the earth and to human freedom and equality. As we have already seen, the Shabbat of the seventh day comes first into human ken, along with manna, just at the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. When the Torah describes the second revelation of Shabbat--the one at Sinai--it gives two different ways of understanding. One (Exod. 20:8-11) focuses on Shabbat as a reminder of God's Creation of the entire "natural" world, in which the cosmos itself needs and celebrates rest and renewal as an organic reality. In the second version (Deut 5:12-15), the main reason for the existence of Shabbat is said to be as a reminder of liberation from slavery in the Narrow Place, Mitzrayyim, Egypt. It is a way of making sure that even in a society where some become indentured servants, "Your male and female servants may rest as one-like-yourself." (By Arthur Waskow, "Jewish Environmental Ethics: Intertwining Adam with Adamah")

SHOW FULL EXCERPT