For years I was under the impression that until after the flood man was vegetarian.
That HaShem grudgingly allowed us to slaughter and eat living things after Noah and family disembarked from the boat.
Last Shabat - Shabat Bereshith - as I listened to the Torah portion I discovered otherwise.
After Adam and Havah (a/k/a Eve) were banished from Gan Eden and after the couple's two sons grew to manhood, the Torah tells us (Chapter 4, beginning with Verse 2) - in the Soncino Press translation -
2) "And Abel was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3) And in the process of time, it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord.
4) And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of the flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Able and to his offering.
5) But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect.
I'm going to make a number of "assumptions," always a dangerous thing to do.
Assumption Number 1 is that Abel slaughtered the sheep, ergo the appended words "and of the fat thereof." It suggests that Able killed the animal rather than send it off to Azazal as we later did with the sacrificial goat.
Assumption Number 2 is that HaShem's approval of Abel's (apparent) sacrifice indicates permission to slaughter and devour living creatures.
The Torah never states that anyone ATE the sacrificed animal, although I posit that this is a "reasonable" assumption.
If my "assumptions" are valid, then ben adam did, indeed, have permission from HaShem to eat anything he could catch - fish, fowl, and hoofed. At this time Adam and family lacked the Torah to instruct them on how to kill, cook, and eat anything.
Bereshith leaves me with another question, a "legal" one.
HaShem tells Adam (Chapter 2, Verse 17)
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in that day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Later on, we know that Havah - who according to Chapter 3, Verses 2 and 3 KNEW the fruit of this particular tree was forbidden - caved to the snake's charms and ate some of the tree's fruit, later giving some to a weak-willed Adam (Chapter 3, Verse 6).
MY problem is that HaShem threatens Adam with death - "for in that day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Problem One: Adam, being in Gan Eden, had no conception of "death." No one had died in the Garden during Adam's tenure there, nor had anyone been born for that matter. There is no indication that HaShem explained the concept of death to Adam - or that Adam understood it. To this point, there had been no (recorded) punishments.
Problem Two: The Author of the Torah tells us that in order to punish a sinner, several things must occur. First, the sinner must be warned; Adam and Halvah were warned well in advance of the transgression. I think - but can't cite a source - that there needs to be two witnesses and at least one must do everything within his or her power to prevent the offense.
Since a person cannot testify against himself, neither Adam nor Halvah are valid witnesses. The snake was there, but it was the instigator (and therefore not a valid witness as being "an accessory before the fact" ).
That leaves HaShem as the lone witness to a capital offense. Even if the accuser can be a witness, as we recite daily, "The Lord is One"; we're still short a witness. Besides, apparently HaShem failed to make every effort to prevent the sin.
Granted, HaShem did not end Adam's and Halvah's lives on the spot - on "first bite" as it were - although He did put their trials and tribulations and eventual demise into motion.
On to Noah, "righteous" for his era.
Every year it's the same ol' thing. From Bereshith to Zachor.
But as one very smart person noted: turn it and turn it, there's always something new.
הריני מקבל עלי מצוה עשה של ואהבת לרעך כמוך, והריני אוהב כל אחד מבני ישראל כנפשי ומאודי
