Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

At the conclusion of the Book of Jonah, Jonah becomes angry at God because God does not punish the people of Ninveh after they repent. God responds to Jonah, “Shall I, (God) not take pity on Ninveh in which there are more than 120,000 people who do not know their right hand from their left, and many animals as well?” By this we understand that just as God has concern for human beings, that concern extends to animals too.

This idea is expressed in the commandment found in this week’s Torah portion that we should not yoke an ox and an ass together. Why not? Some say this is because the ass, as the weaker of the two animals, would be forced to work beyond his capacities to keep up with the ox. Others say that since the ox chews his cud, the ass would suffer because he would think that his partner the ox is eating all the time. Later Jewish law introduced Kosher slaughter to kill an animal as quickly as possible in order to minimize suffering. Deuteronomy 11:15 states: “I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and thus you shall eat your fill.” This verse was interpreted by the rabbis to mean that an owner has to feed his animals before he himself sits down to eat.

There are many other examples of God’s concern for animals in the Torah. Just as God shows lovingkindness to animals, so we human beings should imitate God by showing lovingkindness to all of God’s creatures.