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...”