5783/2023
The prohibition to consume blood appears numerous times in
the Torah, and we find one of those very statements in our
ְוׇכל־ָּד ֙ם ֹ֣לא תֹא ְכ ֔לּו ְּב֖כֹל מֹו ְׁשבֵֹתיֶ֑כם" :Tzav Parashat ,week this Parashah
And” “, ָל֖עֹוף ְו ַל ְּב ֵהָמֽה׃ ׇּכל־ֶ֖נ ֶפׁש ֲא ֶׁשר־ּתֹאַ֣כל ׇּכל־ָּ֑דם ְונִ ְכ ְרָ֛תה ַהֶּנ֥ ֶפׁש ַה ִ֖הוא ֵמֽ ַעֶּמֽי ָה
you must not consume any blood, neither bird nor animal, in
any of your settlements. Anyone who eats blood shall be cut off
from kin” (VaYikra 7:26-27).
Later, in Acharei Mot, Hashem gives a different reason for this
ְוִ֨איׁש ִ֜איׁש ִמֵּ֣בית יִ ְׂשָר ֵ֗אל ּו ִמן־ ַה ֵּג ֙ר ַהָּ֣גר ְּבתֹוָ֔כם ֲא ֶׁ֥שר יֹאַ֖כל" :commandment
ׇּכל־ָּ֑דם ְונָ ַת ִּ֣תי ָפ֗נַי ַּבּ֙נֶ ֶפ ׁ֙ש ָהאֶֹ֣כ ֶלת ֶאת־ ַהָּ֔דם ְו ִה ְכַר ִּ֥תי אָֹ֖תּה ִמֶּ֥קֶרב ַעָּמּֽה׃: ִּ֣כי ֶ֣נ ֶפׁש ַה ָּב ָׂש֮ר
“ ַּבָּ֣דם ִהו֒א ַוֲא֞נִי נְ ַת ִּ֤תיו ָל ֶכ ֙ם ַעל־ ַה ִּמזְ ֵּ֔ב ַח ְל ַכֵּ֖פר , ַעל־נַ ְפׁשֵֹתיֶ֑כם ִּכֽי־ ַהָּ֥דם ֖הּוא ַּבֶּנ֥ ֶפׁש יְ ַכֵּפֽר
““And if anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers who
reside among them partakes of any blood, I will set My face
against the person who partakes of the blood; I will cut that
person off from among kin. For the life of the flesh is in the
blood, and I have assigned it to you for making expiation for
your lives upon the altar; it is the blood, as life, that effects
expiation” (7:10-11).
Hashem has thus warned Bnei Yisrael that one who consumes
any blood receives the punishment of Karet- excision from the
Israelite people. This prohibition, as described by the Sefer
Hachinuch, applies “in every place and at all times by males
and females.”
This prohibition and the resulting punishment begs the
question: Why is consuming blood forbidden initially, and why
is someone who does it punished with the severe punishment
of Karet?
Rambam, in the Moreh Nevuchim, explains the reason for this
commandment as such: ודע – כי הדם היה טמא מאד בעיני הצאבה, ועם זה היו אוכלים אותו מפני שהיו
חושבים שהוא מזון השדים, וכשאכל אותו מי שאכלו כבר השתתף עם השדים.
ויבואוהו ויודיעוהו העתידות, כמו שידמו ההמון ממעשי השדים...אלו כולם דעות
שהיו נמשכים אחריהם בזמנים ההם ובוחרים אותם, והיו מפורסמות לא היה ספק
לאחד מן ההמון באמיתתם. ובאה התורה השלמה ליודעיה – להסיר אלו החליים
הנאמנים ואסרה אכילת הדם; ועשתה חיזוק באיסורו כמו שעשתה ב׳עבודה זרה׳
בשוה – אמר ית׳: ״ונתתי פני בנפש האוכלת את הדם וגו׳״ – כמו שאמר ב׳נותן
מזרעו למולך׳: ״ונתתי את פני בנפש ההיא וגו׳״. ולא בא זה הלשון ב׳מצוה׳ שלישית
מלבד ׳עבודה זרה׳ ו׳אכילת דם׳ – שאכילתו היתה מביאה למין ממיני ׳עבודה זרה׳
.והיא עבודת השדים
Although blood was very unclean in the eyes of the Sabeans,
they nevertheless partook of it, because they thought it was the
food of the spirits; by eating it man has something in common
with the spirits, which join him and tell him future events,
according to the notion which people generally have of
spirits...Such ideas people liked and accepted in those days;
they were general, and their correctness was not doubted by
any one of the common people. The Law, which is perfect in the
eyes of those who know it, and seeks to cure mankind of these
lasting diseases, forbade the eating of blood, and emphasized
the prohibition exactly in the same terms as it emphasizes
idolatry: “I will set my face against that soul that eateth blood”
(Lev. 17:10). The same language is employed in reference to
him “who giveth of his seed unto Molech”; “then I will set my
face against that man” (ibid. 20:5). There is, besides idolatry
and eating blood, no other sin in reference to which these
words are used. For the eating of blood leads to a kind of
idolatry, to the worship of spirits.
This idea is consistent with Rambam, who viewed many of the
Torah’s prohibitions and commandments that were considered
Chukim as methods of combating ancient pagan practices. And
while scholars have debated the identity of these Sabaeans
(some submerged them in the histories of the Chaldeans and
Egyptians, while others discussed the possibility of it being a
more general, vague paganism of the ancient world), the point
stands that necromancy and blood rituals happened in the
ancient Near East; Accordingly, the argument that this
prohibition was intended to weed out idolatrous pagan rituals
makes sense.
Rav Soloveitchik builds off of this, writing that “the Torah looks
upon blood-eating with such horror and abomination that it is
almost placed on a par with the worship of Molech. Blood is the
very essence of life and as such must be consecrated as a
sacrificial offering to God.”
However, Ramban says that Rambam’s theory is “well thought
out”, but yet does not fit the context in the Pesukim. He notes
17:11, VaYikra in ” ִּ֣כי ֶ֣נ ֶפׁש ַה ָּב ָׂש֮ר ַּבָּ֣דם” phrase the of use specific the
and explains that all meat had originally been forbidden to man
after creation; It was only after Noach, he explains, that man
was permitted to consume animal flesh, “since their existence
had been guaranteed through man.”
Rav David Tzvi Hoffman, in his commentary to VaYikra,
explains, similar to Ramban, that blood does not actually
contain life, but that “blood bears the spirit of life which is in
living creatures and is inextricably connected with the spirit of
life, and both together form the living creature.”
Nechama Leibowitz, in explaining Ramban’s view, notes that he
does not regard this prohibition as motivated by medical
reasons, or to eradicate idolatrous practices, “but as aimed at
inculcating consideration for the status of every living
being...This motivation is not conditioned by the beliefs and
views current in one particular phase of human history, nor is
it valid only with reference to primitive peoples and their
cultural patterns. ”
Whichever reason for this prohibition speaks to you more - and
it is likely that both can be true - the Ramban’s explanation
serves as an important reminder to us all. Hashem created
everything and we must therefore treat everything - and
everyone - with a certain level of respect and consideration,
granting them the dignity afforded to them by God. As Ramban
wrote, “... the possessor of a soul may not consume another
soul, since all souls belong to God...”
If the Torah wishes for us to consider the way we treat animals
deeply, all the more so we can take these lessons to heart for
our fellow man, treating each individual we interact with a
certain level of respect and care. We shouldn't be so quick to
judge, insult or attack those with differing views (political,
social, etc) or lifestyles than us. After all, “all souls belong to
God...”