[Avodah] New king

[Michael Makovi]

On Jan 9, 2008 11:47 PM, Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org> wrote:

> On Mon, December 31, 2007 10:37 pm, Richard Wolpoe wrote:
> : When the Torah says don't eat BLOOD are we entitled so say we LIKE to
> : eat Blood?
> :
> : The Gmara says YES
>
> I find this startling. We have discussed in the past whether a mitzvah
> implies that it is desirable for the person to align his middos
> accordingly (the position of RYS), or whether that's only true for
> mitzvos sichliyos (the Rambam).
>
> If one says that blood is a chok, then one should say "I want to, but what
can I do, as Avinu she'ba'Shamayim has forbidden it".

But if one says that blood is a moral idea that the animal is a creation of
Hashem's too, and we are permitted meat only for strengthening our yetzer
haTov (see Ikkarim on why Noah was permitted meat, cited in the 5 volume
green Artscroll book on the parsha, and see the similar explanation of Rav
Kook in Nechama Leibowitz's chumash, I think in Devarim where chullin is
permitted), then one should indeed inculcate in himself a repugnance towards
blood, whereas for pork he might still say he wants to eat it.

Ikkarim says that to strengthen the difference between man and animal, God
permitted meat (whereas PETA compares chickens and Holocaust victims, and
evidently still requires the lesson that according to Ikkarim, can only be
learned from eating meat).

Rav Kook says that we eat meat so that we can focus all our moral energy on
bein adam l'chavero. However, when this task is complete, and we are fully
strengthened, we will no longer eat meat, as Rav Kook says that eating meat
is undesireable and shameful.

Mikha'el Makovi
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