One aspect of man’s life deals with his relationship to animals. YHVH says that even our animals should rest on Sabbath. We are told to even break the Sabbath to rescue an animal that has fallen in a ditch. The Talmud says a person is not to acquire a domestic animal or bird unless he has arranged for it to be properly fed. YHVH expects kindness shown to all living creatures. It is said in the Talmud that when Moses was shepherding Jethro’s flock, he let the old ones loose first to graze on the tender green grass, then other ones to feed on the average grass, and finally the young strong ones to feed on the tough grass. Even though YHVH knew lambs would have to die, he set out rules that were to be followed so the animal would die painless. The first rule was, slaughtering could not be done by the deaf mute, the imbecile, or the minor. The first, because he would not be able to speak out the necessary benediction, and the other two because they were not responsible enough to undertake such a delicate task. Secondly, the knife had to be so sharp it could not have the slightest perceptible notch in it. The knife was always tested before hand for this. If any of the following happened, the sacrifice was considered unfit.

The delay: there must be a continuous forward and backward motion of the knife without any delay. Pressure: the cut must be made gently, without the exercise of any force. Digging: the knife must not be inserted into the flesh, but drawn across the throat. Slipping: the cut must not be made except through a prescribed section of the neck. Tearing: the cut must be done without dislocating the windpipe. You can see why only special people were to do this task. Any one of those when violated would render the carcass unfit for consumption because it would have inflicted pain upon the animal. The Hebrew people loathed the arenas where animals were pitted one against another or against a human being. Josephus in his works gives testimony to the hatred the Hebrew people had for cruel sports. If you want to know what kind of person someone is, watch how they treat animals. After all, the way a person treats an animal is an “index of his character."