Dear Gal,



The act of the 12 Charedi youth who crushed the skulls of kittens in Ashdod (as publicized [in Hebrew] by Ynet) is not in keeping with the spirit of Halacha, and even contradicts it. Even so, the Charedi educational system cannot ignore its responsibility for these shocking acts.

One of the central problems with Charedi education is that students are taught to obey the commandments without being taught to obey their own consciences. The main emphasis in the Jewish religion is acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, total submission of thoughts, feelings, and man’s human conscience to the will of G-d (that is, to the will of the rabbis who speak in the name of G-d). An illustrative example of this is the issue of animal abuse. On the one hand, the Torah is sensitive to animals’ pain and forbids the muzzling of an ox’s mouth when he threshes: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). On the other hand, the sages of the Talmud (Bava Metzia 90a) permit a gentile to muzzle the mouth of a Jew’s cow. The demand for mercy, for sensitivity to the animal’s suffering, applies only to Jews, but gentiles are permitted to be cruel.

Religious Jews do not behave mercifully and with sensitivity because of human nature, because they pity the animals, but because they are obeying a “Divine” commandment. Were pity their reason, they would not permit gentiles to cause pain to animals. It may be said that a Charedi will refrain from abusing an animal, not from pity, but because of a Divine command, and that is what he is taught in the Charedi educational system.



Sincerely,



Daat Emet

Dear Gal,



The act of the 12 Charedi youth who crushed the skulls of kittens in Ashdod (as publicized [in Hebrew] by Ynet) is not in keeping with the spirit of Halacha, and even contradicts it. Even so, the Charedi educational system cannot ignore its responsibility for these shocking acts.

One of the central problems with Charedi education is that students are taught to obey the commandments without being taught to obey their own consciences. The main emphasis in the Jewish religion is acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, total submission of thoughts, feelings, and man’s human conscience to the will of G-d (that is, to the will of the rabbis who speak in the name of G-d). An illustrative example of this is the issue of animal abuse. On the one hand, the Torah is sensitive to animals’ pain and forbids the muzzling of an ox’s mouth when he threshes: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). On the other hand, the sages of the Talmud (Bava Metzia 90a) permit a gentile to muzzle the mouth of a Jew’s cow. The demand for mercy, for sensitivity to the animal’s suffering, applies only to Jews, but gentiles are permitted to be cruel.

Religious Jews do not behave mercifully and with sensitivity because of human nature, because they pity the animals, but because they are obeying a “Divine” commandment. Were pity their reason, they would not permit gentiles to cause pain to animals. It may be said that a Charedi will refrain from abusing an animal, not from pity, but because of a Divine command, and that is what he is taught in the Charedi educational system.



Sincerely,



Daat Emet

Dear Gal,



The act of the 12 Charedi youth who crushed the skulls of kittens in Ashdod (as publicized [in Hebrew] by Ynet) is not in keeping with the spirit of Halacha, and even contradicts it. Even so, the Charedi educational system cannot ignore its responsibility for these shocking acts.

One of the central problems with Charedi education is that students are taught to obey the commandments without being taught to obey their own consciences. The main emphasis in the Jewish religion is acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, total submission of thoughts, feelings, and man’s human conscience to the will of G-d (that is, to the will of the rabbis who speak in the name of G-d). An illustrative example of this is the issue of animal abuse. On the one hand, the Torah is sensitive to animals’ pain and forbids the muzzling of an ox’s mouth when he threshes: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). On the other hand, the sages of the Talmud (Bava Metzia 90a) permit a gentile to muzzle the mouth of a Jew’s cow. The demand for mercy, for sensitivity to the animal’s suffering, applies only to Jews, but gentiles are permitted to be cruel.

Religious Jews do not behave mercifully and with sensitivity because of human nature, because they pity the animals, but because they are obeying a “Divine” commandment. Were pity their reason, they would not permit gentiles to cause pain to animals. It may be said that a Charedi will refrain from abusing an animal, not from pity, but because of a Divine command, and that is what he is taught in the Charedi educational system.



Sincerely,



Daat Emet

Dear Gal,



The act of the 12 Charedi youth who crushed the skulls of kittens in Ashdod (as publicized [in Hebrew] by Ynet) is not in keeping with the spirit of Halacha, and even contradicts it. Even so, the Charedi educational system cannot ignore its responsibility for these shocking acts.

One of the central problems with Charedi education is that students are taught to obey the commandments without being taught to obey their own consciences. The main emphasis in the Jewish religion is acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, total submission of thoughts, feelings, and man’s human conscience to the will of G-d (that is, to the will of the rabbis who speak in the name of G-d). An illustrative example of this is the issue of animal abuse. On the one hand, the Torah is sensitive to animals’ pain and forbids the muzzling of an ox’s mouth when he threshes: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). On the other hand, the sages of the Talmud (Bava Metzia 90a) permit a gentile to muzzle the mouth of a Jew’s cow. The demand for mercy, for sensitivity to the animal’s suffering, applies only to Jews, but gentiles are permitted to be cruel.

Religious Jews do not behave mercifully and with sensitivity because of human nature, because they pity the animals, but because they are obeying a “Divine” commandment. Were pity their reason, they would not permit gentiles to cause pain to animals. It may be said that a Charedi will refrain from abusing an animal, not from pity, but because of a Divine command, and that is what he is taught in the Charedi educational system.



Sincerely,



Daat Emet