Rabbi Yochanan said that an idolater who engrosses himself in Torah study is liable to death, as it says "Moses commanded us the Torah; it is an inheritance..." But did not Rabbi Meir say that he is rather like a High Priest, because it says about that laws of the Torah "...That a man should keep them and live by them." - any man, even an idolater? - This refers to the seven Noahide laws.
Adam, the first man, was commanded to subsist on vegetation, "...it shall be yours for food..." If so, why was he given dominion over animals? Only for work. For fish? Only for work. But can fish do work? - Yes, since it is prohibited to use a combination of fish and goat for pulling a wagon. Why was he then specifically prohibited a limb torn from a living animal? - Adam was allowed to eat an animal that died of itself.
Art: Jean Simeon Chardin - Girl Peeling Vegetables
2 comments:
1. Can fish work? I, too, am amazed by this question, but the logic of the Talmud here is very interesting. Since there is a law (actually, not even a law but a legal inquiry) for fish and goat doing work together, it must be that fish can do work.
2-3. Aver min hachay, or a limb torn from a living animal, is indeed mid'Oraysa, that is, commanded by the Torah. It may not need a reason, but it does need a source. The source is in the commandment given to Adam, "from every tree you shall eat," which is interpreted to mean "but not a limb torn from a living animal." This is Tosafot on 56B, which asks "but we said Adam could not eat meat anyway?" - and answers, "from here we see that he was allowed to eat the meat of animals that died.
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