The ShamayimV’Aretz Institute

Jewish ethics. Heavenly ideals. Earthly compassion.

From Adam to Noah; Vegan to Omnivore

1. Genesis 1:29-30: God said, "See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food."

1.1. Rashi, Genesis 1:29: They shall be yours for food and for all the animals on land. He equates animals and beasts to them (humans) concerning the food (they are to eat). He did not permit man and his wife to kill any creature in order to eat meat.

2. Genesis 9:2-3: The fear and the dread of you [mankind] shall be upon all the beasts of the earth and upon all the birds of the sky – everything with which the earth is astir – and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand. Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these.

2.1. AbarbanelGenesis 9:2:The fear of you - Lest Noah be afraid that the few surviving people would be in constant danger from the hordes of animals in the world, God assured him that he had implanted in animals an instinctive fear of human beings

2.2. R’AlboGenesis 9:2: Man was permitted to eat meat to emphasize his higher moral level and degree of responsibility

3. Genesis 9:4:It is prohibited to sever and eat a limb off a live animal.

Questions

  1. Do you think Rashi read the verse correctly? What message do you take from Genesis 1:29-30?
  2. In source 1, Adam and Eve are still in the Garden East of Eden. In many ways they are living a utopian existence. Source 2 is from the story of Noah and the flood. Right after the flood God permits Noah to eat animals. Do you think this is a concession or a paradigm shift?
  3. Do you think the Abarbanel or R’Albo read the verse correctly? Do you think there is ever a time when animals should be eaten?
  4. Even after allowing man to eat meat, God gives all mankind a prohibition of eating a limb from a live animal (source 3). Why do you think it was necessary to give this prohibition? Can we learn anything about what eating meat may lead to?