“A cow or a
sheep, it and its child, do not slaughter on one day.” Vayikrah 22:28
In one of the many
mitzvahs that teaches us how to deal with animals, the Torah commands us not
to kill a mother and its offspring on one day.
The Sefer
HaChinuch explains that one of the rationales behind the
mitzvah is “to train ourselves in the trait of mercy, and to distance
ourselves from the trait of cruelty. Even though we are permitted to
slaughter animals to eat, we must do so in a merciful manner. Killing both
the mother and the child in the same day is merciless and will train us in
brutality. Therefore, the Torah forbids it.”
This Sefer
Ha’Chinuch is difficult to understand. If the Torah is concerned
about the good of the animal and its suffering, then the logical
thing to do would be to forbid slaughtering it. If, on the other hand, the
Torah is concerned about man and the damage such actions will have on
him, then slaughtering another living creature to consume its flesh is about
as barbaric an act as one could imagine. Surely the act of killing the
animal should be forbidden altogether. Yet the Torah allows you to kill
animals for any productive reason: whether for their hides, their meat, or
any other use. Not only that, you may slaughter as many of them as you like.
You may butcher a thousand cows in one day to make shoes to bring to the
market – this won’t lead you to cruelty – but make sure that none of these
animals are related. If two of those cows are mother and child, it is
barbaric. Don’t do it! This mitzvah seems very difficult to understand.
The answer to this
question is based on understanding how our middos are shaped.
In many places the
Sefer HaChinuch stresses that a person’s actions molds his
very personality. If he acts with kindness and compassion, these traits
become part of his inner nature. He will then feel other people’s pain, and
it will become difficult for him to ignore their pleas for help. He will
become a kind, compassionate person. The opposite is true as well. If a
person acts with cruelty, this trait will become part of him. It will be
more difficult for him to care about another person’s plight. He will have a
difficult time being sensitive to the suffering of others. He will have
adopted callousness into his inner essence.
Dovid Ha’Melech was a mighty warrior
According to this
logic, it would follow that Dovid Ha’Melech should have been one of
the cruelest men in history. He was known as a mighty, merciless warrior. He
killed a mountain lion with his bare hands. He won the rights to marry
Shaul’s daughter by killing and disfiguring 200 Philistim and bringing back
their body parts to the king. When Avshalom waged war against him, Chushi
advised, “Do not think of ambushing him (Dovid) at night, for everyone knows
that he fights like a bear.” And Dovid said about himself, “I will seek out
my enemy and have no mercy upon them.”
Yet we know that
Dovid was one of the kindest, most compassionate men who ever lived.
Tehillim is not the expression of a cruel man. It is a manifestation of
his pure devotion to HASHEM, the outpourings of a heart that is pure, kindly
and full of compassion. How is it possible that going to war didn’t ruin
him?
The formula
for perfecting one’s middos
The Orchas Tzadikim in his
introduction explains that perfecting one’s middos is comparable to a chef
preparing a meal. The right ingredients, in the right proportions, prepared
in the right manner, will yield a delicious dish. However, all three have to
be correct. If, for example, instead of sautéing the onions for 10 minutes,
you leave them on the flame for an hour, or if instead of a teaspoon of salt
you add a cup, the food will be inedible. It is the quality of the
ingredients, in the proper amounts, prepared correctly, that determines the
final product.
So too, he explains, when working on one’s
character traits. It is the right amount of the right middah in the right
time that is the key to perfection. Each middah has its place, time, and
correct measure.
This seems to be the answer to Dovid Ha’Melech.
When he went to war, it was in the manner that HASHEM directed him. HASHEM
designed the human and understands the delicate balance within him: what
affects him and how. HASHEM commanded us to make use of certain behaviors,
in certain measures, and at certain times. The same act when done for the
wrong reason will be disastrous to the person. However, when it’s done for
the right reasons, in the right measure, it will not harm him. Dovid
remained pure and unsullied because he followed the Torah’s system of
self-perfection, designed by the only One who truly understands the nature
of the human.
The Torah: the ultimate system of perfection
This seems to be the answer to the Sefer
Ha’Chinuch as well. The Torah isn’t concerned about the pain of the
animal; it is concerned about man. Man is the reason for creation.
Everything in existence was formed to serve him. However, man was fashioned
in a delicate balance. If he uses this world for its intended purpose, in
the right way, in the right time, then he grows and perfects himself.
However, if he uses the world incorrectly, in the wrong manner, or to the
wrong extent, he is damaged by that process.
The act of killing a mother and child is akin
to wiping out generations; it is pitiless and cruel. HASHEM, Who understands
the balance and nature of man, has told us that killing an animal for good
use will not lead you to a hardened nature, provided you do so within the
given boundaries. Remain within the system and you are safe. Leave these
guidelines and you are in grave danger.
This concept is very applicable as it helps
us appreciate the wisdom of the Torah’s system for growth. There is much
that modern man understands about the inner workings of the human, and there
is at least as much, if not more, that he doesn’t understand. HASHEM
has designed us and has given us the guidebook for perfection. It is our job
to follow the Torah’s directives in the right balance, in the right time, in
the right manner, thereby actualizing our potential as the reason for all of
creation.
For more on this topic please listen to Shmuz
#187 – Self Mastery-
The Key to Good Middos
