[Avodah] Tzaar Baalei Chayim

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Aug 07, 2012 at 08:35:30PM -0400, cantorwolberg at cox.net wrote:
: In common law, it is a criminal act when someone causes an animal
: unnecessary pain.
: People are arrested for this and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
: Why would Torah law be more lenient?

Because we know that people aren't just quantitatively different than
animals. So the primary reason to prohibit tzaar baalei chaim is because
boys who torture squirrels grow up to do worse things. It's an issue of
middos in the actor, not whether the animal's suffering is real.

Also because American Law is more likely to ban the results of a
crime than Torah is to ban the results of a sin -- ever eat a banana
or grapefruit? So perhaps the animal isn't prohibited to him afterward.

My point is "why would" could have a myriad answers.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Friendship is like stone. A stone has no value,
micha at aishdas.org        but by rubbing one stone against another,
http://www.aishdas.org   sparks of fire emerge. 
Fax: (270) 514-1507                  - Rav Mordechai of Lechovitz