Chazzan's
Corner
Each April, the Amitim class researches organizations to which they would like to send the tzedakah they have collected all year. They think about how to "think globally, act locally." They also consider the mitzvot and how they apply to their choices. Some of the suggestions were "Save the Manatees," World Wildlife Foundation, and the animal shelter. There was some heated discussion about whether taking care of animals really was a mitzvah, especially if those animals were destined for the table. Well, yes it is a mitzvah. The proof can be found in our laws of kashrut. Animals to be consumed are treated humanely, and even slaughtered as quickly and painlessly as possible. Five years ago I discussed this mitzvah in a column, which I am reprising here.
Many of you know of my devotion to my dog, Quincy Miles, The Jazz Dog. Quincy is (at times) a well-behaved 8-year old Golden Retriever. Some people think I overindulge my dog, that I treat him like the child I do not have. I guess I do, but as a Jew, I am performing the mitzvah of Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim, kindness to animals. There are many places in the Torah and Talmud where we are told how to treat animals. Most of the rules regarding animals have to do with “beasts of burden,” or work animals. In Deuteronomy we read that we must not muzzle an ox in its threshing, which applies to all working animals, not just oxen. In Proverbs, ‘A righteous man regards the life of his beasts.’ In Psalms we read (Ps. 11) ‘He has consideration for its feelings and needs. As God provides for animals, so must man. (Ps. 14) ‘Who causes the grass to spring up for the cattle...’ (Ps. 27) ‘All of them wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season.’ There are many Biblical quotes that have led the rabbis of the Talmud to deduce that you must feed your animals before feeding yourself. In the aseret hadibrot (the ten commandments) we are told that animals that labor with and for man must have their share of Shabbat rest, and that the produce of the fields during the Sabbatical year is for them as well as for the poor.
There is a whole code of laws for Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim in the Talmud. Until the middle of the 19th c. cruelty to animals was not illegal anywhere--except in Jewish law. Here are some quotes from the Talmud: ‘Noxious animals may be killed, but not tortured;’ ‘To relieve an animal of pain or danger is a Biblical law, superseding any rabbinic ordinance [on Shabbat observance]; ‘A good man does not sell his beast to a cruel person;’ ‘Had the Torah not been given us, we would learn modesty from cats, honest toil from ants, chastity from doves, and gallantry from roosters.’ I contend that my dog is a part of the human community. What do I have to support this? When God was about to destroy the world, (‘Behold, I am about to bring the flood waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which there is a breath of life from under the heavens; everything that is in the earth shall expire’), God included the animals. And in Jeremiah we read: ‘And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence.’ Animals are clearly regarded as part of the human community. Taken a step further, my dog is a part of my family.
So why was everyone up in arms at the synagogue of one of my colleagues when the mother of an upcoming Bar Mitzvah insisted that the family dog participate in the family photo ops Friday morning on the bima? She insisted the dog was a member of the family and she did not understand the objections of the rabbi and cantor, especially since the dog would be wearing a kippah. Another example is a wedding where another colleague officiated. It was to be on the beach. The chuppah was in place. Then everyone got under it, and one of the relatives brought the couple’s dog. This was the reason the couple wanted the ceremony on the beach, so that Fido could be a part of the ceremony, without tzitzit or kippah. My colleague continued his story: as soon as he started to chant the liturgy, the dog wailed. Every time my friend Richard would begin to sing, the dog howled. Everyone was laughing. After the 5th time, Richard yelled “He’s off key!!” Then he suggested that the dog should officiate. Needless to say, a fun time was had by (almost) all.
Yet another story: a rabbi friend of another colleague agreed to have a dog as the “flower girl” in a wedding procession. The dog had been just like a child to the bride, an older woman who insisted her dog be included. The Rabbi explained later why he agreed to this: “I couldn't find a halachic (Jewish law) reason to back up a negative answer and it really meant a lot to this woman". The ceremony did not take place in a synagogue. The same cantor colleague wrote about someone who gave his dog a “Bark Mitzvah” and had a catered party at a Chinese restaurant. The next thing for this dog will be his oof roof.
Now, before anyone gets nervous that Quincy will be joining the Friday Night Chai band, I would only allow him to do so if he were one of the orthodogs.