Vegetarianism according to Judaism and the Torah

Vegetarianism from the Perspective of the Torah

Your question is important, and since it was written briefly, I will also respond briefly, but later, in the sources, I will expand the discussion to clarify the issue in all its aspects and origins.

First, let me clarify that, obviously, the question is not whether it is worth eating meat because it is something tasty or, alternatively, whether it should be avoided because it is something repugnant and not tasty, because, evidently, this is an unnecessary discussion and, as the saying goes, “there’s no accounting for taste.” I will also not refer to those who, due to their temperament or condition, are at risk of eating meat because of the fat it contains, etc., as each person should know their condition and what is healthy or dangerous for themselves. And those who oppose the consumption of meat due to the current situation where foods are industrialized, etc., may find this problem in other foods as well, and this does not apply exclusively to the consumption of meat.

Here we discuss whether to eat meat or avoid it, due to the moral aspect of the issue, that is, interrupting the lives of these creatures so that they serve as food for humans, which leads people to become vegetarians and not eat animal products. And in response to this, we will say that this method is not the way of the Torah, and on the contrary, the Torah permitted us to eat the meat of kosher animals and birds (after preparing it for consumption according to the rules of halacha, such as shechita (slaughter according to halacha), salting, checking for worms, etc., each type and its issue), and whoever gets agitated with an ideology that opposes this is a heretic of the Torah.

Although we also find certain restrictions on the subject in the Torah, in addition to the topic of the species and items permitted for consumption (which prohibited us from eating fish without scales, and animals that do not chew the cud and do not have split hooves or that do not chew the cud, as well as animals in general, with the exception of seven species, and creeping and flying creatures mentioned in the Torah, and so on) and the conditions under which the animal was killed (by natural death or sick animal – trefa, or there was a problem in the slaughter – nevela) and the parts in which (such as blood, the fat, and the sciatic nerve), and as we find (according to one of the opinions) that the generation of the desert was forbidden to eat meat out of desire and was allowed to eat meat only in the form of shlamim offerings, and in our days we know of the custom in Israel to avoid eating meat on the days of destruction (see Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, section 561, paragraph 9, and the custom of Sephardim not to eat in Av until the tenth day, but on the day of Rosh Chodesh itself they eat, as mentioned in Chazon Ovadia, Four Fasts, p. 263), and there is also a higher level of Kabbalists and Perushim (devotees disconnected from materialism) who do not eat meat on weekdays, except on Shabbat Kodesh and festivals, but most people do not follow this practice, but rather must eat meat and other healthy foods to gain strength for the service to Hashem.

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