VBM The Allowance Granted to Noach and His Descendants to Eat Meat By Harav Yaakov Medan
I. The Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace
Together with the mitzvot that are given to Noach and his descendants in this week’s parasha, they are also allowed to eat meat, something that had not been permitted to the earlier generations prior to the flood. Adam and Chava are instructed as follows:
And God said: “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for food; and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.” (Bereishit 1:29-30)
However, after the flood, Noach is told:
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all wherewith the ground teems, and upon all the fishes of the sea: into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be for food for you; as the green herb have I given you all. (Bereishit 9:23-24)
According to the plain sense of the biblical text, both people and animals were originally vegetarians. It is not clear how this can be reconciled with the biological properties and structure of the ingestive and digestive organs of the animals known to us today as carnivores (as well as with the internal structure of some of the dinosaurs). Perhaps these animals were permitted to eat the carcasses of dead animals, but they were forbidden to kill animals for the purpose of eating them. It is also possible that the answer lies in biological data not in our possession.
I. The Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace
Together with the mitzvot that are given to Noach and his descendants in this week’s parasha, they are also allowed to eat meat, something that had not been permitted to the earlier generations prior to the flood. Adam and Chava are instructed as follows:
And God said: “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for food; and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.” (Bereishit 1:29-30)
However, after the flood, Noach is told:
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all wherewith the ground teems, and upon all the fishes of the sea: into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be for food for you; as the green herb have I given you all. (Bereishit 9:23-24)
According to the plain sense of the biblical text, both people and animals were originally vegetarians. It is not clear how this can be reconciled with the biological properties and structure of the ingestive and digestive organs of the animals known to us today as carnivores (as well as with the internal structure of some of the dinosaurs). Perhaps these animals were permitted to eat the carcasses of dead animals, but they were forbidden to kill animals for the purpose of eating them. It is also possible that the answer lies in biological data not in our possession.
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