Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• Acts 15:27-29

Key OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 12:15-16
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 12:20-21
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 12:23
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 14:21
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 15:20-23
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 22:6-7
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 22:30
  Jewish Commentary
• Genesis 9:3-4
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 17:13
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 22:28
  Jewish Commentary

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Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

This Mitzvah joins together into one, all the commandments in Scripture that address the hunting and slaughtering ( sh'chitah ) of animals and birds for food 3 . It illuminates the compassion and mercy God has for His created creatures, and the holiness he requires of His people. Although hunting and slaughtering for food are permitted, the harvested creature's blood must be poured out at the time of its death in order for its meat to be considered kosher . This is specifically commanded in Leviticus 17:13 in the case of hunting, and in Deuteronomy 12:15-16 , 23 and 15:20-23 in the case of slaughtering; its purpose is to comply with the Scriptures that forbid us from eating blood. 4 Each way of harvesting an animal or bird has its own challenges. The kosher way of sh'chitah (practiced by the ancients for centuries) is to cut the neck of the creature in such a way that its blood pours out, thereby fulfilling this Mitzvah automatically. The wound that results from hunting, on the other hand, rarely causes the animal's or bird's blood to pour from its body, so it must be bled as a separate and intentional act. An animal or bird that dies of its own accord ( n'veilah ) or is killed by a wild beast in the field ( t'reifah ) may not be eaten because there is no way to bleed it, and no way to know how long it has been dead nor the state of its former health. If it died of its own accord, the latter is of obvious concern. The prohibition against slaughtering an animal together with its young on the same day ( Leviticus 22:28 ) is a mitzvah of compassion that is reflective of God&' compassion for His creatures. An analogous act of compassion is commanded by Deuteronomy 22:6-7 , which forbids us from taking a mother bird who is sitting on chicks or eggs; the chicks may be taken, but the mother bird must be let go. In today's developed world, most of us do not slaughter or hunt for our meat; instead, we rely on professional slaughterers and butchers and, unless they are rabbinically supervised, we have little control over what methods of slaughter and bleeding may have been used. One solution is to only purchase kosher meat; if that is not feasible, we ought to make some inquiry into how the animals we purchase are slaughtered and their meat processed. While certain procedures (such as shock or bolt stunning) used to render an animal senseless prior to slaughtering might not satisfy rabbinical standards of sh'chitah , bleeding it immediately after it is stunned would probably satisfy the biblical standard. Acts 15:27-29 reinforces Genesis 9:3-4 (part of the Noahic Law) in making it clear that Gentiles are not to eat meat with the blood still in it, in much the same way as Jews are commanded to not to eat blood under the Law of Moses 5 . There is a common misinterpretation of these Scriptures which are often said to mean that one must not eat the limb of a living animal. Certainly one must not, but the prohibition is much broader than that; it is against the eating of any blood 6 . In my opinion, both Jews and Gentiles are held to the same biblical standard of not eating blood, which includes not eating meat from an animal in which the blood has not been poured out. As for the other requirements of this Mitzvah , they are mandated for Jews and K'rovei Yisrael , and strongly recommended for other Gentiles. Ritual slaughter (other than bleeding) is not biblically required for either Jews or Gentiles. 1. Except in the case of Genesis 9:3-4 , all animals and birds referred to in this Mitzvah are assumed to be kosher . 2. This commandment is part of the Noahic Law that was intended for Gentiles and given prior to the Law of Moses. 3. A slaughterer is known as a shochet . 4. Fish are exempt from the requirements. 5. Under the New Covenant as well. 6. Since meat cannot be divested of all traces of blood, see Mitzvah # K4 for efforts that may be taken to reduce its blood to an acceptable minimum.

Classical commentators

Maimonides, Meir, and Chinuch agree that Genesis 9:3-4 and Deuteronomy 12:23 forbid us to eat the limb or flesh cut from a living animal. They acquire this interpretation from Chulin 102b of the Talmud despite the fact that the Scriptures do not say that at all. They also associate these Scriptures with Exodus 22:30(31) , which commands us to not eat the flesh of an animal that has been torn by wild beasts in the field. Maimonides, Meir, and Chinuch state that we are forbidden to eat an animal that has died of its own accord ( n'veilah ), and Meir adds that n'veilah includes meat from an animal that was not properly slaughtered. All three commentators take the position that Deuteronomy 12:21 teaches that ritual slaughter is required of all animals or birds that one wishes to eat, and none of the commentators allow for eating a hunted animal or bird - even if its blood is first poured out. This is probably one of the most extreme of the rabbinical fences placed around the Torah in that it adversely affects many in the world who must hunt in order to eat. Consistent with this view, the commentators interpret Leviticus 17:13 as applying to ritual slaughter when, in fact, the actual subject of the Scripture is hunting. HaChinuch says that fish and locusts need not be ritually slaughtered. How one slaughters a locust he does not say.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

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Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

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