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Share(1) "Behold, I have given to you all of the herbs that gives seed:" "He did not permit Adam and his wife to kill a creature and to eat its meat; only every green herb were they all permitted to eat together. And when the Children of Noach came, He permitted them to eat meat, as it is stated (below 9:3), 'Every creeping thing that is alive, for you is it to eat, like the green herb have I given to you every thing' Like the green herbs, which I permitted to the first man, I have given you everything." [These are] the words of Rashi. And so [too] did [Rashi] explain in Tractate Sanhedrin 59b (s. v. lo hutar), "'And to all the animals of the land' - to you and to the animals have I given the herbs and the trees, and 'the green herbs to eat.'" And if so, the explanation of "all of the green herbs to eat" would be [that it is a continuation of the previous idea as follows]: and all of the green herbs. And it is not like this, but [rather] He gave to Adam and his wife, "every herb that gives seed" and all the fruit of the trees; and to the animals of the field and the fowl of the skies, He gave "every green herb" - [but] not the fruit of the trees and not seeds; and their food is not equally for all. However meat was not permitted to him until the Children of Noach, as per the opinion of our Rabbis, and that is the simple meaning of the text. And [the original prohibition to kill animals to eat their meat] is because moving souls have a bit of stature to their souls: they resemble intelligent souls and seek their [own] benefit and their food and run away from pain and death; and the verse states (Ecclesiastes 3:23), "Who knows the spirit of man whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goes downward to the earth?" And when they sinned and all flesh corrupted its way upon the earth and it was decreed that they would die in the flood, and because of Noach, He saved some of them for the preservation of the species, He gave them permission to slaughter and eat [animals] since their existence was for [man's] sake. And in spite of all this, He did not give them permission with regards to the soul and forbade them a limb from a living animal. And He added commandments for us to forbid all blood since it is the support of the soul, as it is written (Leviticus 17:14), "Since the soul of all flesh, its blood is in its soul; and say to the Children of Israel, 'the blood of all flesh do not eat, since the soul of all flesh, it is the blood.'" [This is all] because He permitted the body of an animal that does not speak but not the soul itself. And this is [also] the reason for ritual slaughter (shechita) - and for what they said (Bava Metzia 32:), "[the prohibition of causing] pain to living animals is from the Torah" - and this is our blessing for it: "who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us on ritual slaughter." And I will speak more about the matter of the commandment of blood when I get there (Leviticus 17:11-14) if God [permits].
עַכְשָׁיו שֶׁאֵין בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּם, אֵין שִׂמְחָה אֶלָּא בְּיַיִן. קשה וכי עכשיו אין אוכלים בשר ולמה היין מילא מקום שמחת הבשר של שלמים של זמן בית המקדש ואין הבשר של חולין שאוכלין עתה ממלא מקום שמחת הבשר של זמן בית המקדש?
ונראה לי בס"ד דהשמחה צריך שתהיה שלימה לנפש ולגוף דהיינו שהגוף נהנה מן אכילת הבשר והנפש נהנית מן בירור ניצוצות קדושה הנעשה באכילת הבשר ולכן באכילת שלמים היתה שמחה שלימה דאפילו עם הארץ עושה בירור שלם באכילת בשר שלמים שיהיה לו עזר מצד קדושת הבשר ומצד קדושת המקום ולכן כתיב באכילת השלמים (דברים טז, יא) 'וְשָׂמַחְתָּ לִפְנֵי הֳ' אֱלֹקֶיךָ', אמנם כשאין בית המקדש קים צריך גבר בגוברין לברר ניצוצות קדושה מן אכילת הבשר, שלכן אמרו רבותינו ז"ל (פסחים מט:) 'עם הארץ אסור לאכול בשר' מפני שאינו יכול לברר באכילתו, ולכן אין שמחה שלימה לנפש באכילת הבשר, אך היין בירור שלו הוא יותר נקל מן הבשר לכן יש בו שמחה גם לנפש.
או יובן בס"ד בזמן שבית המקדש קיים אין דאגות בלב לכך השמחה בבשר לבדו ואין צריכין ליין להסיר דאגות שבלב, אך בזמן שאין בית המקדש קיים שהדאגות מצויים הרבה אצל כל אדם אין שמחה בבשר מאחר כי האורב היא הדאגה בחדר של הלב לכך אֵין שִׂמְחָה אֶלָּא בְּיַיִן שטבעו להעביר הדאגות וממילא תתעורר השמחה.
...This is difficult, don't we eat meat today? Why did wine replace the happiness [related to] eating meat of the goodwill offering of the time of the Holy Temple? And, [why can't we celebrated with] the non-sacrificial meat we eat now to replace the [sacrificial] meat from the time of the Temple?
Perhaps the answer is that wine is an easier pathway to discerning the holy sparks...
It seems to me that, with God's help, happiness must be complete for both body and soul, meaning that the body enjoys eating meat and the soul enjoys identifying the holy sparks that appear from eating the meat...[still, how do we explain the Talmud's assertion that only wine makes us happy today? Another way to understand it is...] At the time the Temple stood no one was trouble in his heart, and so we only needed meat, and not wine, to remove the troubles from our hearts, but today the 'evil ambush' (o'rev) is in the chamber of our hearts, and it is in the nature of wine to remove our troubles...
Ben Yehoyada, Iraq (18th-19th c.)
(יח) כֵּיצַד. הַקְּטַנִּים נוֹתֵן לָהֶם קְלָיוֹת וֶאֱגוֹזִים וּמִגְדָּנוֹת. וְהַנָּשִׁים קוֹנֶה לָהֶן בְּגָדִים וְתַכְשִׁיטִין נָאִים כְּפִי מָמוֹנוֹ. וְהָאֲנָשִׁים אוֹכְלִין בָּשָׂר וְשׁוֹתִין יַיִן שֶׁאֵין שִׂמְחָה אֶלָּא בְּבָשָׂר וְאֵין שִׂמְחָה אֶלָּא בְּיַיִן. וּכְשֶׁהוּא אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה חַיָּב לְהַאֲכִיל לַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה עִם שְׁאָר הָעֲנִיִּים הָאֻמְלָלִים. אֲבָל מִי שֶׁנּוֹעֵל דַּלְתוֹת חֲצֵרוֹ וְאוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה הוּא וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵינוֹ מַאֲכִיל וּמַשְׁקֶה לַעֲנִיִּים וּלְמָרֵי נֶפֶשׁ אֵין זוֹ שִׂמְחַת מִצְוָה אֶלָּא שִׂמְחַת כְּרֵסוֹ. וְעַל אֵלּוּ נֶאֱמַר (הושע ט ד) "זִבְחֵיהֶם כְּלֶחֶם אוֹנִים לָהֶם כָּל אֹכְלָיו יִטַּמָּאוּ כִּי לַחְמָם לְנַפְשָׁם". וְשִׂמְחָה כָּזוֹ קָלוֹן הִיא לָהֶם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (מלאכי ב ג) "וְזֵרִיתִי פֶרֶשׁ עַל פְּנֵיכֶם פֶּרֶשׁ חַגֵּיכֶם":
(18) The children, for example, should be given parched grain, nuts, and sweetmeats; the womenfolk should be presented with pretty clothes and trinkets according to one's means; the menfolk should eat meat and drink wine, for there is no real rejoicing without the use of meat and wine. While eating and drinking, one must feed the stranger, the orphan, the widow, and other poor unfortunates. Anyone, however, who locks the doors of his courtyard and eats and drinks along with his wife and children, without giving anything to eat and drink to the poor and the desperate, does not observe a religious celebration but indulges in the celebration of his stomach. And about such is it stated (Hosea 9:4), "their sacrifices are like the bread of mourners, all who eat it will be contaminated; for their bread is for their own appetites." Such joy is a disgrace for them, as it is stated (Malakhi 2:3), "I will spread dung on your faces, the dung of your festivals."
Rav Kook was a very prolific writer who helped inspire many people to move toward spiritual paths. He urged religious people to become involved in social questions and efforts to improve the world. His powerful words on vegetarianism are found primarily in "A Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace" (edited by Rabbi David Cohen).
Rav Kook believed that the permission to eat meat was only a temporary concession; he felt that a God who is merciful to his creatures would not institute an everlasting law permitting the killing of animals for food. [1] He stated:
It is inconceivable that the Creator who had planned a world of harmony and a perfect way for man to live should, many thousands of years later, find that this plan was wrong. [2]
According to Rav Kook, because people had sunk to an extremely low level of spirituality (in the time of Noah), it was necessary that they be given an elevated image of themselves as compared to animals, and that they concentrate their efforts into first improving relationships between people. He felt that were people denied permission to eat meat, they might eat the flesh of human beings due to their inability to control their lust for flesh. He regarded the permission to slaughter animals for food as a "transitional tax" or temporary dispensation until a "brighter era" is reached when people would return to vegetarian diets. [3] Perhaps to reinforce the idea that the ideal vegetarian time had not yet arrived, Rav Kook ate a symbolic small amount of chicken on the Shabbat day.
Rabbi Kook believed that the permission to eat meat "after all the desire of your soul" was a concealed reproach and a qualified command. [4] He stated that a day will come when people will detest the eating of the flesh of animals because of a moral loathing, and then it shall be said that "because your soul does not long to eat meat, you will not eat meat." [5] Along with permission to eat meat, Judaism provides many laws and restrictions (the laws of kashrut). Rabbi Kook believed that the reprimand implied by these regulations is an elaborate apparatus designed to keep alive a sense of reverence for life, with the aim of eventually leading people away from their meat-eating habit. [6]
According to Rav Kook, all the laws and restrictions serve to raise the consciousness of Jews, to get them to think about what they are eating, and to decide if the fare meets religious requirements. The eating of meat is thus not taken for granted, and this mandated consideration of what is on the plate can be a first step toward rejecting meat consumption.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-vegetarian-teachings-of-rav-kook
