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Inspired by the ‘very important’ questions asked of Hillel on erev Shabbos, let me add.
Yes they each have their own “nature” that Hashem created them with. For that reason we may only eat docile beheimos like cows and sheep and similar Kosher animals because they are herbivores (eat veggies and dont kill other animals) so that we will only have the effect of peaceful animals inside us. If we were to eat the other animals their life force and nature would taint our souls.
You borrowed a large question. (Inspired by his answer.)
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The animals that display individual personalities (cats, dogs, horses, ferrets, monkeys, whales, dolphins… and pigs) are all unkosher. Cats and dogs are explicitly unkosher (those that go on paws), even more so than pigs which have cloven hooves. Cats and dogs don’t just have personalities, they display emotions as well. Vibrant animal souls which are not meant to be consumed by man.
By personality, do you mean intelligence, thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc.
Obviously yes. Including ones we eat such as cows, goats, deer, sheep, even chickens. That’s why people keep them as pets. They recognize people as individuals, display preferences for people and things.
We can eat them because Ha-Shem expressly told us we can. Before that we couldn’t. Adam ha-Rishon didn’t eat fleishigs. If you don’t hold by Humash (and the aggados and kabbalah), you probably should be a vegetarian. Even ones we can’t eat (such as insects, reptiles, rodents, etc.) are still protected by halacha from being tormented or treated cruelly.
Totally
People generally do not keep cows, chickens, sheep, or deer as pets. No chicken I’ve ever seen has displayed any individuality and cows aren’t smart enough to know what’s going on. Deer are too feral but I’ll give you had gadya. It happens, but farm animals generally are livestock. Cats and dogs aren’t. Dolphins and whales certainly aren’t.
Absolutely. As a child, I had two dogs and their personality (yes, I know it’s an odd word to use when not referring to a person, but you know what I mean) were *very* different.
The Wolf
Wolf
Were they 2 different breeds?
SpiderJerusalem: “People generally do not keep cows, chickens, sheep, or deer as pets.”
Probably because they are too big, and zoning laws don’t allow it,j and because it’s awkward eating one’s pet. However people do keep such animals, including chickens, as pets, and people who raise them see plenty of signs of personality.
The halachas on eating animals are not based on the personality of the animals, since if that was the case we’ld be vegans. It’s based on Torah. Ha-Shem said “eat” and we “eat”. If we encounter a new sort of animal, we don’t give it a personality test – we determine if it is a type of the critters we’ve been ordered to eat, and if it’s a match, it’s dinner.
akuperma
Part of the reason, (although certainly not the only reason) we dont eat animals that kill is because what you eat becomes a part of you and the nature and traits of the animal you eat has an effect on you. The Ramban talks about this.
WIY: You can domesticate any animal. Wild cows and bulls are quite violent.
WIY: All fish we eat are carnivores, as are all the birds we eat (in farms they are given grain for economic reasons, but in the wild they eat insects). The ONLY factor that determines what we can and can not eat is halacha. If Torah tolds to be vegans we would be vegans. If Torah allowed us to eat dogs or bears (which many cultures consider to be edible), we would.
Were they 2 different breeds?
Yes.
One was a mutt (mostly Cocker Spaniel). The other was a Dachshund.
The Wolf
BH it has been over 10 years since I’ve eaten non kosher food. I do however get utterly repulsed at the thought of eating meat from an animal outside of the basic main kosher animals. I can be a picky eater sometimes, but I find that interesting… Any baalei tshuva here gonna start talking about how shrimp and lobster are delicious?? The insects and bottom feeders of the ocean… Google images of soft shell crab – a whole, breaded, deep fried crab that ppl just munch on in a sandwich or whatever. Disgusting.
I also get sick when I realize I had eaten dairy too soon after meat- probably all mental…
akuperma
Im glad to know we have chacham akuperma who is smarter than the Ramban. He probably didnt think of your brilliant hearah. The Shach in Yoreh deah siman 81 seif 7 ois 26 says eating non Kosher foods causes “teva rah” a bad nature. Too bad you couldn’t tell the Shach he was wrong. It seems that all non Kosher animals including non kosher fish have something in them that cause a teva raah to humans.
Sam2
You can domesticate a lion, but don’t feed it for a day and see what happens.
The Perek Shira basically lists the different ways in which animal species praise and serve HaShem, so that would seem to indicate that animal species have unique dispositions.
The correct answer to this most puzzling question is:
If a person can get animated, then animals can have personality.
WIY: You can domesticate any animal. Wild cows and bulls are quite violent.
I think you may be confusing “tame” with “domesticate.” Elephants, for example, have been tamed and trained, but they have never been domesticated.
With enough training you can tame almost any wild animal. To domesticate them, however, requires a lot more effort and is far more likely to fail.
The Wolf
@WIY chickens are known to eat other animals: mice, etc.
My goldfish know how to get my attention to feed them and they also cooperate when I need to clean their fishbowl
Do trolls have personality? I ask myself this question all the time.
SpiderJerusalem, you have it backwards. Dogs and cats are honest. Pigs are hypocrits. They put their feet forward in a pretence that they are kosher. In fact, there is a Yiddish expression for a hypocrit “pigs have kosher feet”.
WHOA!!!
Who revived this one?!? I totally forgot!!!
(and still no one ‘chapped’ the pun intended in the question)
Have you ever seen an NBA, or NFL, player?
Avi K, what you said is a Klei Yokor who questions why animals with one symbol like the camel or pig are treif because of their good symbol first. He says, that is what makes them treif being a hypocrit, their good part.
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