From:          Yeshivat Har Etzion's Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
To:            yhe-intparsha@vbm-torah.org
Subject:       INTPARSHA61 -02: Parashat Noach


                     YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
        ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
    *****************************************************

              INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA
                             
                             
         Parashat Noach - The Prohibition of Murder
                   By Rabbi Michael Hattin
                             

Introduction

     Parashat  Noach tells the story of the Flood.    Morally
bankrupt humanity is swept away, and all of animal life with
them, and only one righteous individual, his wife and family
are preserved.  Bidden to construct an ark, Noach is to save
not only himself, but to take with him the possibility of  a
new beginning for all life.  The rains fall, the floodwaters
rage,  and the earth and its vileness are washed away.   The
ark  bobs unsteadily on the waters, traversing a featureless
ocean  that stretches off to eternity.  Finally, after  many
monotonous months, the waters begin to recede; the  interred
ark-dwellers are awakened from their timeless rocking by the
jarring  sound of the boat's underside striking land.   More
time  passes, now interminably, until the heavens shed their
oppressive grayness and the first treetops appear.

     The  ark  now  firmly grounded on the slopes   of  Mount
Ararat and the surface of the devastated earth finally  dry,
God commands Noach, his family and the animals to disembark.
Noach,   perhaps  experiencing  an  unsettling  mixture    of
trepidation and joy, does so.  A destroyed world lays before
him, bereft of any life save his small circle of family  and
the  animals  that huddle expectantly at the portal  of  the
listing  craft.   His feet finally planted on  terra  firma,
Noach  immediately erects an altar and offers  sacrifice  to
God.   His powerful expression of resignation and gratitude,
of  recognition  of God as the Sustainer  of  life  and  its
Master  is  met by a Divine pledge to never again obliterate
all life.
     "For  as  long  as  the  earth endures,  the  times  of
     planting  and harvest, the seasons of fall and  spring,
     summer and winter, and the cycles of day and night will
     not cease" (Bereishit 8:22).


The Divine Proclamation

     "God  blessed  Noach and his children and  He   said  to
     them:  'Be  fruitful and multiply,  and   replenish  the
     earth.   Fear of you and dread will be upon all of   the
     animals of the earth and upon all of the birds  of  the
     sky; everything that creeps upon the ground as well  as
     the  fish  of  the sea are given into your   hand.   Any
     creature  that  lives shall be your food,  for   I  have
     given  you all of them without restraint, as freely  as
     the plant vegetation.  But nevertheless, do not consume
     the  flesh  of  a  creature while it  is   still  alive.
     Moreover, I will require of you an accounting  of  your
     blood  that  is  your  soul, from every   beast  I  will
     require an accounting; and from humanity, even  from  a
     man's own brother, will I require an accounting of  the
     soul  of  the  person.  He that sheds the   blood  of  a
     person  shall have his own blood shed by other  people,
     for  man  was wrought in God's image.  As for   you,  be
     fruitful  and  multiply,  swarm  upon   the  earth   and
     increase" (Bereishit 9:1-8).

     Exhorting  the  progenitors of a restored   humanity  to
propagate  and  to repair the world, God indicates  to  them
that  they will be sovereign over all other forms  of  life.
The  animals of the earth, the birds of the sky and the fish
of  the  sea will all be subservient to humanity and fearful
of  their rule.  In addition, God grants humanity permission
to  consume other creatures with impunity, with one critical
qualification: man is not permitted to eat part of an animal
while  it  is  still  alive.  Finally,  the   prohibition  of
bloodshed  is  spelled out, for the stability of  the  post-
diluvial world will be predicated upon an acknowledgement of
the  inviolability  of  human life.  He  that  intentionally
takes  the life of another human being will forfeit his  own
life;  such  is the natural consequence that must  follow  a
wanton disregard for the 'Godly image' that invests the life
of  all  people with inherent value.  The section  concludes
again  with  a  directive to Noach and  his  descendents  to
procreate and to secure their rightful place in the world.

  Analyzing the passage in terms of its component parts,  we
note the following features:
1)   a blessing of Noach and his descendents,
2)   a directive to them to be fruitful and to multiply,
3)    a  decree that all other forms of life will be fearful
  of human authority and subject to human dominion,
4)    a  granting  of permission to consume all  other   life
  forms with the single provision that such consumption  not
  involve unnecessary brutality,
5)    an emphatic prohibition concerning the taking of human
  life,
6)   a concluding command recalling the opening directive to
  procreate.


An Earlier Precedent

     This  passage, uttered to the remnant of  humanity   and
its  only  hope  for  a  brighter  future,  is   clearly   an
expression  of  God's  expectations and  demands  concerning
man's  place  and role in the world.  As such, it  calls  to
mind  another  section, stated by the Creator to  the  first
ancestors  of humanity, under very different conditions  but
with similar sanguinity:

     "God created the human being in His image, in the image
     of god He created him, male and female He created them.
     And God blessed them and said to them: 'Be fruitful and
     multiply,  and  fill the earth and dominate  it.    Rule
     over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky,  and
     over  all life that walks upon the earth.'  God further
     said: 'Behold I give to you all seed-bearing vegetation
     that is upon the earth, as well as all fruits of fruit-
     bearing trees.  They shall be your food.  As for all of
     the  beasts of the earth, the birds of the sky, and the
     living creatures that crawl upon the earth I have given
     all manner of green vegetation for their food,' and  it
     was  so.  God saw all that He had fashioned and behold,
     it  was  very  good,  and it was   evening  and  it  was
     morning, the sixth day" (Bereishit 1:28-31).

     Breaking  down  God's  above  pronouncement   into   its
constituent elements, we immediately notice its relationship
to  the  passage from our parasha.  God fashions  the  first
human beings and ushers them into a pristine world with a 1)
blessing.  This is followed by 2) a directive to be fruitful
and to multiply, and 3) an imperative to rule over all other
creatures.   4)  Humanity's diet is  spelled  out,  and   the
passage then concludes with a gratifying pronouncement  that
'it  was  very  good.'   Clearly, the implication  of   these
correspondences   is  that  Noach,  his  wife,    and   their
descendents  are the successors to the first  human  beings,
and  are  mandated by God to rectify their failures  and  to
succeed  in repairing the world by fulfilling His  commands.
Their  emergence  from  the  floodwaters  represents  a   new
creation,  for  initially  also  the  primordial  earth   was
covered by the waters of the deep.  Adam and Chava had  been
the  'crown'  of Creation, occupying the apex of  a  pyramid
composed  of  simpler  life  forms  brought  into   being  in
ascending  order.  Noach and his family also  stand  at  the
zenith  of  their  microcosm, for the ark is  the  world  in
miniature  and its confined denizens are the representatives
of all of its faunal variety.


The Distinctions Between The Two Decrees

     More  telling  than the comparisons, however,  are   the
contrasts, for there a number of glaring differences between
the  two  passages.  The most striking of these distinctions
concerns the matter of bloodshed, for whereas Adam and Chava
were  never admonished by God to shun murder, Noach and  his
descendents  most emphatically were.  This pronouncement  is
accentuated  by  the recurring usage of  the  terms  'blood'
('DuM')  that occurs no less than four times in the  passage
and  is  alliteratively linked to 'ADaM' or 'man'  occurring
five  times,  'life' ('NeFeSh') occurring three  times,  and
'accounting' ('DaRaSh'), also occurring three times.

     Conversely, Adam and Chava were not permitted  to  kill
other  creatures in order to consume them and  were  instead
restricted to a vegetarian diet, in contrast to Noach who is
permitted to ingest all other creatures, as long as they are
no  longer alive when eaten.  Of lesser magnitude but  still
significant, Adam and Chava were told to exercise  rule  and
mastery  over  all  other  creatures,  but  Noach  and    his
descendents  will inspire them with dread.   Finally,  Noach
and  his family are given a second directive to 'be fruitful
amultiply,'  but Adam and Chava were so enjoined  but  once.
How are we to make sense of these anomalies?


Bloodshed in the Garden of Eden

     The  initial  state of humanity had been one  of   great
potential  and  expectation.  Last week we investigated  the
unique vocabulary that the Torah employed in the account  of
the  creation of humanity, for that passage is charged  with
unbounded  exhilaration.  Adam and Chava were  fashioned  in
'God's  image,' in possession of a supernal  soul  that  was
nourished by its attachment to the Divine.  In that pristine
state  of  promise  and  perfect harmony,  the  prospect   of
consuming  other  creatures  for  physical  sustenance    was
inconceivable.    In   a   perfect,    'Messianic'   context,
vegetarianism, or the unselfish concern for lower  creatures
is  within  man's moral reach.  The morally  refined  person
cannot  remain  indifferent to the killing of any  creature.
This  is not because animal life and human life are of equal
value,  as  some proponents of a vegetarian lifestyle  would
have  us believe.  Rather, in the ideal state of Eden  where
one basks in the intense glow of God's overarching presence,
the  inestimable value of all sentient life, even an  animal
life devoid of any higher spiritual capacity, is axiomatic.

     The  Talmudic tradition asserts that "the First Man was
not permitted to kill any creature and to consume its flesh"
(Tractate Sanhedrin 59b).  The Ramban (13th century,  Spain)
elaborates: "the diet of the first humans differed from that
of  all other animals, for Adam and his wife were given 'all
seed-bearing vegetation that is upon the earth, as  well  as
all  fruits  of fruit-bearing trees' as their food,  whereas
the  other  creatures  were  to eat  'all  manner  of   green
vegetation,' but not the fruit or the grains.  Humanity  was
prohibited  from  consuming meat until the time  of  Noach's
descendents,  as  our  Sages  assert,  and   this    is   the
straightforward  reading of the Biblical texts"  (commentary
to Bereishit 1:29).  Thus, according to Ramban's reading,  a
clear  hierarchy  existed even within the  noble  vegetarian
state,  for the food of man was not the same as the food  of
the  lower creatures, any more than his higher moral purpose
or  definitive spiritual caliber could be equated to theirs.
Nevertheless, existence in that Garden was conditioned by an
enhanced awareness, a heightened sensitivity to life's worth
and  preciousness.   As Ramban explains: "animate  creatures
also  have  a  sentient  capacity that  is  similar  to   the
intelligent  soul  of man.  They also  exercise  a  form   of
choice by seeking their own benefit and sustenance, and they
too avoid pain and death."

     It goes without saying that a Divine command to abstain
from  bloodshed,  the premeditated taking of  another  human
life,  was superfluous in the realm of the Garden  of  Eden.
It  is only in the aftermath of abrogating God's command and
taking  from  the  fruit of the Tree of Knowledge  that  the
offspring  of  Adam and Eve begin their precipitous  descent
towards killing.  To eat from the tree in violation of God's
authority was to stake out an independent moral path and  to
suffer  the consequences.  The fratricide that soon unfolded
was its extreme consequence, and that vile act was to become
a shocking paradigm for humanity to follow.


Man's Decreased Moral Capacity After the Flood

     The  floodwaters  swept away the accumulated   deeds  of
humanity's viciousness, and with it, the Divine optimism and
anticipation  that  had accompanied their initial  creation.
The  hopes  that man would forge a world of perfect  harmony
and  respect  for  all life had to be modified  accordingly.
Henceforward,  humanity  would have  to  learn  the  painful
lesson   on  their  own  that  in  the  absence    of   their
attentiveness  to the commands of an Absolute  Moral  Being,
life could become brutal.  Thus, when God addresses Noach as
he  leaves  the  ark  and stands to rebuild  the  world,   He
communicates to him an idea that is no longer as obvious  as
it should have been: "I will require of you an accounting of
your  blood  that  is  your soul, from every  beast  I   will
require an accounting; and from humanity, even from a  man's
own brother, will I require an accounting of the soul of the
person.  He that sheds the blood of a person shall have  his
own blood shed by other people, for man was wrought in God's
image."  The phrase 'even from a man's own brother' is a not-
so-veiled  allusion to Kayin's murder of his brother  Hevel,
for  he  had been the first to introduce the novel  idea  of
murder into the world.

     It  is  perhaps  in  this connection   that  the  Divine
permission  granted to Noach's descendents  to  consume  the
flesh  of other creatures, is to be understood.  The  Ramban
and  others  tend  to  understand  the  dispensation   as  an
emphatic statement of animal life's debt to Noach the  human
for  having  guaranteed their survival  through  either  his
moral  merit or else his ark-building efforts (see  Ramban's
commentary  to  1:29,  and Radak's comments  on  9:4).    The
context,  however, seems to be suggesting another dimension.
Recall  that  God's  address  to  Noach  contains  two    new
injunctions that were not directly communicated to Adam  and
Chava,  namely  the  permission  to  consume  meat  and   the
prohibition against bloodshed.  Recall also that the two are
associated  by a similar vocabulary that pivots  around  the
words  'blood'  and 'life-force.'  The implication  of  this
fact  is  that  both  of these commandments  are  integrally
linked.


Understanding the Permission to Consume Other C5reatures

     In the post-diluvial atmosphere, man could no longer be
expected by God to easily recreate the ideal state of  Eden,
a  state  of moral perfection and heightened sensitivity  to
spiritual life-affirming truths.  That expectation  did  not
dissipate,  but was pushed off to an indefinite future  time
to  become  the vision of a Messianic Age.  In the meantime,
of  primary concern was to guide humanity towards  a  deeper
appreciation  of human life, to impress upon them  the  most
basic demand of not killing each other!  Permission was thus
granted to man to kill and to consume other creatures  as  a
recognition  of  his  underdeveloped  moral  awareness,    an
awareness  that could not yet conceive of the  more  exalted
vision   that   had  been  initially  held    out   to   him.
Nevertheless, a very faint memory of the nobler concept  was
preserved, for humanity was forbidden to consume  the  flesh
of a creature while it was still alive.  The license to kill
was not to be misunderstood as license to be cruel, brutish,
and crude.

     But  what  was  to become of the utopian   vision  of  a
perfected world in which killing of any sort would again  be
unthinkable,  and  in  which our unique  capacity  for  God-
awareness would finally be realized globally?  Once more, we
turn  to the commentary of the Ramban to explain: "The Torah
gave  the People of Israel a commandment in addition to  the
prohibition of consuming the limb of a living creature,  for
it  forbade us from consuming any blood, since blood is  the
life-force.  Thus the text proclaims: 'I have said  to  Bnei
Yisrael:  Do  not consume any blood, for blood is  the  life
force  of the creature' (VaYikra 17:14).  This is the reason
for  ritual  slaughter,  in  addition  to  its   efficacy  at
limiting the pain caused to the animal.  Thus, we bless  God
for  'having  commanded  us  concerning  ritual   slaughter'"
(1:29).  In his commentary to VaYikra, Ramban adds:  "It  is
inappropriate for one life-force to consume another, for all
life  emanates  from  God, both human  as  well  as   animal"
(VaYikra 17:11).


The Special Prohibition of Consuming the Blood

     The  Jewish people were given a special commandment  to
not  consume  the blood of an animal.  Ramban explains  that
this  is because blood is the vehicle that carries all life;
in  its absence, life ebbs away and eventually ceases.   The
act  of ritual slaughter, in which all of the primary  blood
vessels  that nourish the brain are swiftly severed  with  a
perfectly sharp blade, therefore has two purposes.  Firstly,
it  is  calculated to dispatch the creature as  quickly  and
painlessly as possible.  This may seem to us to be  a  self-
evident objective, but for the Western World, the idea is  a
quite  new.   Up  until  very recent times,  abattoirs   paid
absolutely no concern to developing killing methodsthat were
humane.

     Additionally, however, the act of ritual  slaughter  is
the  most  effective means of draining away the  blood,  the
life  force  of the creature that the Jew must not  consume,
for the major blood vessels of the body are concentrated  in
the  neck.   The  blessing recited over the  act  of   ritual
slaughter thus becomes an expression of our recognition of a
higher  ideal, for although we may consume the flesh  of  an
animal we are enjoined to not overstep our bounds by seeking
to  exercise human control over its animal soul as well.  By
assiduously avoiding the blood, we proclaim a limit to human
authority  and an acknowledgement that God is the Author  of
all  life,  and  that animal life is not to be  cheaply  and
thoughtlessly traded as a commodity in the marketplace.

     In  other  words,  the children of  Noach   representing
humanity at large, are asked by God to abstain from  killing
other  people  and to eschew acts of gross  cruelty  towards
other  life  forms.  That in and of itself is a sufficiently
grandiose  undertaking.  But the Jew is  asked  to  go  much
further, to consciously preserve the memory of another time,
a  time  when all killing was frowned upon and all life  was
sacred.   To not consume the blood is to strive for  a  time
when  the  extent of our moral development will  once  again
proclaim   our   desire  to  live  in  God's    presence   as
compassionate stewards of a beautiful world, rather than  as
rapacious  plunderers of its dwindling bounty.   As  always,
the choice is exclusively ours.

Shabbat Shalom

Note:   Without  a  doubt, Jewish tradition  preserves  many
sources  that  support  a vegetarian lifestyle,  but  it  is
beyond  the scope of this article to investigate them  here.
It  is  essential to bear in mind, however, that  in  Jewish
tradition,  vegetarianism  is  inextricably  bound  up  with
heightened  moral awareness and sensitivity,  as  the  above
analysis explores.  It would therefore be self-contradictory
as  well  as self-defeating for a person to present a  great
compassion  for animal life but an undeveloped  appreciation
for human life, as unfortunately some well-meaning activists
proclaim in word and demonstrate in deed.

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ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH
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