DEUT571 Do not forsake the Levite by not giving him the gifts to which he is entitled. Hashem wants only good for His nation, Israel, for He chose them from out of all the other nations. They are a wise and understanding people and He wants to benefit them so that all who behold them will recognize that they are descendants of seed that He has blessed, and that they are people of truth and deserve fame. For this purpose, He orchestrates ways that bring about that their main occupation is Torah--that they toil in Torah and apply themselves to it day and night. He designs a fitting and pleasant system of laws containing strong and prized behavioral norms so that all Jews, young and old, will acquire knowledge of Him. One of His means for strengthening and implanting Torah knowledge within the Jewish nation is His choice of one entire tribe that receives no portion of land in Eretz Yisrael. No member of this tribe goes out to the fields to plow, sow, irrigate or reap. Thereby, they all are free to utilize their time for learning and understanding the ways of Hashem, and for teaching justice to their brethren, the other tribes of Israel, throughout the Land. Since Hashem has chosen one tribe to have Torah as its sole occupation--for all time--and from them will the rest of the nation seek Torah and will heed their rulings and advice, He wants the nation to provide this tribe a livelihood. He is concerned that their ability to acquire and disseminate wisdom not suffer for lack of bread. From this mitzvah one learns that it is a duty to help and support all who are occupied in Torah study full time, for these are the ones who play the greatest role in assuring the future of the one true faith. They strengthen their faith. They promote peace and love their fellow Jews, and have no time to run back and forth chasing after a livelihood. Therefore, he who has mercy on them and seeks to promote their welfare will receive Heaven's mercy. In the World to Come he will sit beside them and enjoy a portion similar to theirs.

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DEUT572 Here again the realization that God has given Israel the gift of security and possession of the land is expressed in sensitivity, especially in good times and moments of celebration, to the needs of those who have no share in the land; see especially Deuteronomy 12:11-19.

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DEUT573 Jewish traditions tend to view the act of killing animals as acceptable but morally fraught. Thus the Talmud dictates that one should not eat meat unless one craves it and kills the animal on one's own (B. Hullin 84a), has wealth (B. Hullin 84a) [See also Rashi commentary on this verse], and is educated (B. Pesahim 49b). Some intellectual streams go further and view meat-eating as a divine compromise, understanding kashrut (Jewish dietary law) as a vehicle intended to limit meat eating or even encourage us toward vegetarianism. The most influential modern exponent of this idea was almost certainly Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of pre-State Israel. Meat is an ethical problem both because it ends an animal's life, and God "did not create His creatures to die" (Midrash Aggadah to Genesis 1:29), and because killing posits a threat to human moral development. This is perhaps the logic behind the Mishnah's assertion that "the best of the butchers is a partner of Amalek [the arch-enemy of Israel]" [M. Kiddushin 4:14; This saying is cited with this meaning in Sefer haHinnukh (Mitzvah 545)] In this way, the first ethical obligation in relation to eating animals is restraint. At the same time, another strain in the Jewish tradition mandates eating meat (often "meat and wine") on the Sabbath, and, in some versions, on other celebratory holidays as well, as part of the way the holiday is made special. Thus Rabbi J. David Bleich, a contemporary Orthodox authority, maintains that vegetarianism is, at most, permissible--and there are rabbinic authorities whom he quotes who deny that – – – and certainly not mandatory. (By Aaron S. Gross, "Jewish Animal Ethics")

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DEUT574 Until the messianic age, the Torah assumed that meat eating, although permitted, should be an occasional act, to be carried out only "if your soul craves to eat meat" [this verse]. The Talmud comments that this verse "teaches a rule of proper conduct, that a person should not eat meat unless he has a particular craving for it [and not as a regular regimen]" (Chullin 84a). The same page of the Talmud also teaches that "a parent should not accustom his son to meat and wine." In commenting on the biblical passage about a wayward, rebellious son, the Talmud and later commentators regard gluttonous consumption of meat and wine as an indicator of an adolescent's bad character (Mishnah Sanhedrin 8:2, Sanhedrin 70a, and Rashi on Deuteronomy 21:18).

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DEUT575 Pray to Hashem. Hashem, Creator and Master of the world, wants good for His creations, so He teaches them to fulfill His commandments, all of which are precious opportunities for them to earn merit and good. In order to benefit them, He opens the door for them, and by entering they are able to attain all of their wants. He gives them the opportunity to pray to Him for all of their needs, for His [sic?] has the power to meet their needs and will respond to all who call out to Him in truth. In addition to having informed us of this opportunity, Hashem commands us to take advantage of it and regularly request from Him all of our needs and heart’s desires. What is more, the mitzvah fixes in our minds and makes us more aware that He is to be Master of all good and blessing, and His eye surveys all of His works and all that we do, and at all times He hears our cries to Him. Through fulfillment of this mitzvah we strengthen our belief in Him, in His Kingship and in His unlimited powers, until no doubt remains in our minds about these matters. We recognize that there is no power before Him that can stop or hinder Him from doing whatever He wishes.

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DEUT576 Biblical consideration for animals was the basis for the following laws: … Animal meat processed for food may be eaten only when the animals are slaughtered in accordance with the law of ritual slaughtering, known as shechitah (traditional interpretation of vezovachto, [this verse]). Proper shechitah requires the cutting of the windpipe and gullet. The knife must be honed sharp and be free of any notches and indentations to prevent ripping of the throat. These precautions are essential to the minimizing of pain.

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DEUT577 Perform ritual slaughter as commanded. As to why the site of the slaughter is the throat, it is known that a cut there causes blood to flow out faster and more freely, compared to when the cut is made elsewhere on the body. Therefore, the Torah commands that the slaughter be performed there, because from there all of the creature’s prohibited blood will flow out, so we can fulfill the Torah’s command, “Do not eat the soul with the meat.” Another reason involves pain. Because of man's lofty status in the grand design of creation, the Torah permits him to eat the meat of animals, and use them for his other needs, but the Torah forbids him to cause them undue pain. By means of perfectly sharp knife and slaughter at the neck, we do not cause the creature any unnecessary pain.

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DEUT578 Do not eat any limb of a live animal. Key concept: So that we do not teach our souls the abominable trait of cruelty. What heinous cruelty it is to tear off a limb or cut out the flesh of a live animal and afterwards eat what was removed! We already have explained several times the great benefit in acquiring positive character traits and distancing ourselves from the negative traits. He who is good clings to the good, and Hashem--Perfect Goodness--wants to bestow blessing upon us. Therefore, He commands us to choose the good, so that we are worthy to receive His blessings.

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DEUT579 And now I will make known to you the wisdom of the nefesh, the ruach, and then the neshamah, so that you may fear the Holy One Blessed be He. The nefesh is in the liver, for "the blood is in the nefesh" [this verse]. It is the location of the desire for eating, drinking, cohabitation, and the attendant lusts. For the liver is full of blood and it lusts to sate a man with pleasures, enjoyment and delights. This is the intent of (Mishlei 27:7): "The sated nefesh will spurn honey drippings." The ruach is in the heart. It seeks lordship, greatness, and kingship in the heart of a man, causing him to pursue honor. It is for this reason that haughtiness of heart is referred to as "grossness of ruach." It lifts a man's heart to lordship, self–aggrandizement and pride. The neshamah is the fount of wisdom. It resides within the mind as a king amidst his battalions. It partakes partially of the glory of its Creator, so that it spurns the delights of men and the vanities of their amusement and generates wisdom and knowledge. All of its thoughts are to serve the Holy One Blessed be He in fear, and it contemplates what will transpire in the end, when the body dies and deteriorates, and how it will return in purity to Him Who created it and placed it within the body.

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DEUT580 See [[LEV81]] Leviticus 7:26 soul AMEMEI 73

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