"Do not eat any of the hard fat [cheilev] in an ox, sheep, or goat." (Leviticus 7:23)
Some commentaries (Maimonides in the Guide for the Perplexed III:48, Sefer HaChinuch) explain that the Torah prohibits eating these fats for health reasons. Yet, if this were true, why is only the cheilev of these three species forbidden?
Interestingly, another commandment related to eating meat - the mitzvah to cover the blood (kisuy hadam) after slaughtering - only applies to non-domesticated animals and fowl. Why doesn't the Torah require that the blood of cattle, sheep and goats also be covered?
When we analyze the degree of sensitivity we should have for taking the life of an animal, we need to differentiate between two categories of animals. The first category consists of animals that we do not feed and raise. These are wild animals that man hunts down and kills. All birds are included in this category, as they are usually trapped. We should feel embarrassed to be forced to such ignoble and cruel behavior. Therefore, when stalking and killing untamed animals and birds, the Torah commands us to cover the blood, a sign of our inner shame at this merciless act. "If any man... traps an animal or bird that may be eaten and spills its blood, he must cover the blood with earth." (Leviticus 17:13)
The second category is comprised of domesticated animals: cattle, sheep and goats. We raise and feed them for their milk, wool and labor. Not to kill these animals for food after they have reached old age and are no longer productive requires a higher and more refined sense of divine justice. Regarding this category of animals, who become a burden to their owner in old age, the Torah does not require that their blood be covered. We need not feel the same extent of embarrassment as when taking the life of a free animal.
Nonetheless, the Torah created for domesticated animals a special prohibition to remind us that we should only take their lives for our essential needs. This is the objective of the prohibition of cheilev. We are permitted to slaughter these animals for their meat, to give us energy and strength. But they should not be killed for the sake of their fats. We should not kill them merely for the pleasure of eating their fatty meat, so pleasurable to the palate of the gluttonous gastronome. This prohibition emphasizes that we may take their lives only out of genuine necessity.
The Torah does not prohibit eating the fats of birds and wild animals, since we should feel ashamed at this cruel act regardless of whether our intent is for enjoyment or to prevent starvation. To distinguish between their meat and their fats would only obscure the overall impact of covering their blood, which indicates our profound embarrassment over spilling the animal's blood, no matter what the circumstances.
[based on Otzrot HaRiya vol. II, p. 95]
Some commentaries (Maimonides in the Guide for the Perplexed III:48, Sefer HaChinuch) explain that the Torah prohibits eating these fats for health reasons. Yet, if this were true, why is only the cheilev of these three species forbidden?
Interestingly, another commandment related to eating meat - the mitzvah to cover the blood (kisuy hadam) after slaughtering - only applies to non-domesticated animals and fowl. Why doesn't the Torah require that the blood of cattle, sheep and goats also be covered?
When we analyze the degree of sensitivity we should have for taking the life of an animal, we need to differentiate between two categories of animals. The first category consists of animals that we do not feed and raise. These are wild animals that man hunts down and kills. All birds are included in this category, as they are usually trapped. We should feel embarrassed to be forced to such ignoble and cruel behavior. Therefore, when stalking and killing untamed animals and birds, the Torah commands us to cover the blood, a sign of our inner shame at this merciless act. "If any man... traps an animal or bird that may be eaten and spills its blood, he must cover the blood with earth." (Leviticus 17:13)
The second category is comprised of domesticated animals: cattle, sheep and goats. We raise and feed them for their milk, wool and labor. Not to kill these animals for food after they have reached old age and are no longer productive requires a higher and more refined sense of divine justice. Regarding this category of animals, who become a burden to their owner in old age, the Torah does not require that their blood be covered. We need not feel the same extent of embarrassment as when taking the life of a free animal.
Nonetheless, the Torah created for domesticated animals a special prohibition to remind us that we should only take their lives for our essential needs. This is the objective of the prohibition of cheilev. We are permitted to slaughter these animals for their meat, to give us energy and strength. But they should not be killed for the sake of their fats. We should not kill them merely for the pleasure of eating their fatty meat, so pleasurable to the palate of the gluttonous gastronome. This prohibition emphasizes that we may take their lives only out of genuine necessity.
The Torah does not prohibit eating the fats of birds and wild animals, since we should feel ashamed at this cruel act regardless of whether our intent is for enjoyment or to prevent starvation. To distinguish between their meat and their fats would only obscure the overall impact of covering their blood, which indicates our profound embarrassment over spilling the animal's blood, no matter what the circumstances.
[based on Otzrot HaRiya vol. II, p. 95]