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Translated from the Writings of the Ari, Shaar HaMitzvot, by
Moshe-Yaakov Wisnefsky
Regarding killing animals, it is mentioned in the
Zohar (2:68b) that no creature was created purposelessly.
It is [therefore] forbidden to kill purposelessly.
As the sages state:
"All that the Holy One, blessed
be He, created, He created only for His honor, as it is written, 'All that is
called in My Name and for My honor, I created it, I formed it, I even made
it.'"
(Avot 6:11; Isaiah 43:7)
We will see now how the Arizal took this statement
to extreme conclusions, conducting himself with extreme piety in this matter.
My teacher [the Arizal] was very careful not to
kill any bug, even the smallest and lowliest, such as fleas, lice, flies, and
the like, even when they bit him.
We know what the sages say, commenting on the
verse, "His enemies will also make peace with him," (Proverbs 16:7) that some
say this refers to the dog and others say this refers to the snake, and still
others say this refers to the flea.
(Y. Terumah 8:3)
This idea is the answer of Rabbi Elazar to Rabbi
Chizkiyah recorded in the Zohar (2:68b), where the mystical meaning of the verse
"Will the snake bite without whispering?"
(Eccl. 10:11)
is explained. | | " Will the snake bite without whispering?" | | |
Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Chizkiyah were walking and
came across a snake. Rabbi Chizkiyah was about to kill it, but Rabbi Elazar told
him not to. When Rabbi Chizkiyah protested, saying that it is a dangerous
creature, Rabbi Elazar quoted the above verse, interpreting it to mean that a
snake only bites a person if G-d "whispers" to him to do so. G-d created snakes
in order to kill certain people and thereby prevent them from doing some evil.
To be sure, we should not kill any creature
unnecessarily, but refraining from killing animals that pose a threat to human
life (or communicate diseases) contradicts the requirements of Jewish law, and
it is doubtful whether any Torah authority would permit this. Indeed, it is
permitted to kill harmful snakes on the Sabbath, when killing is otherwise
altogether prohibited.
The Arizal, we may presume, did not have to worry
about leaving snakes alive because he did not have to fear being stuck down by
one to prevent him from sinning. On the other hand, we see that he was bitten by
insects and bugs. The question is how the Arizal could refrain from killing
snakes and the like and allow them to pose a threat to others' lives. Perhaps
the Arizal only meant that we should not kill snakes in their natural, wild
habitat, but that if they venture into heavily peopled areas, we should kill
them (or if possible, return them back to the wild).
But all of this is just conjecture. It could just
as well be that the Arizal advocated avoiding killing creatures altogether, even
at the expense of human life.
It is also not proper to kill or despise lice,
which are born and created out of sweat. This is true especially [of lice
produced on the heads] of good people. Sweat is the excess [energy] of the
person and his dross, and from it these lice are created; this being the case,
it is a boon and a rectification for the person when lice are created out of the
sweat of his body, for in this way his excess, dross, and evil is excreted.
[Since they perform a positive function,] we should not despise them.
Visitor Comments: 5
Anonymous, 8/15/2005
I am a big animal lover and amAnonymous, 8/3/2005
We are still MORDERING MILLION James Osterhage,11/12/2005
To the person who commented ab
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