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צער באלי חיים tsa'ar baalei ḥayyim tag: צער באלי חיים tsa’ar baalei ḥayyim 💬 קריאות לראש השנה לבהמה | Torah and Haftarah Readings for Rosh haShanah la-Behemot on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul![]() ![]() ![]() A reading for the New Year’s Day for Animals — Rosh haShanah laBehemot — on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul. . . . Kavvanah before Shofar Blowing on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul for Rosh haShanah la-Behemah (the Jewish New Year’s Day for Animals)![]() ![]() The text of this ritual shofar blowing for Rosh Ḥodesh Elul on Rosh haShanah La-Behemah developed as part of the annual ceremony taking place at the dairy barn on the campus of the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center beginning in 2009 under the auspices of Elat Chayyim Center for Jewish Spirituality and the Adamah Farm & Fellowship. The first Rosh haShanah ritual ceremony was co-developed by Rabbi Jill Hammer and Kohenet Sarah Chandler. My contribution of the kavvanah came a year later in 2010. The text presented here was built upon that ceremony and was presented first at the Hazon Detroit Jewish Food Festival in 2016. . . . 📄 הגדה לסדר אלף באלול, ראש השנה לבעלי־החיים (זנגביל) | Haggadah for the Alef b’Elul Seder, the New Year’s Day for Animals (Ginger House 2013)![]() ![]() ראש השנה לבעלי־החיים – על מה ולמה? מקורו של ראש השנה לבעלי־חיים הוא באותה משנה שבה המקור לט”ו בשבט: “ארבעה ראשי שנים הם: באחד בניסן ראש השנה למלכים ולרגלים. באחד באלול ראש השנה למעשר בהמה; רבי אלעזר ורבי שמעון אומרין, באחד בתשרי. באחד בתשרי ראש השנה לשנים לשמיטים וליובלות, ולנטיעה ולירקות. באחד בשבט ראש השנה לאילן, כדברי בית שמאי; בית הלל אומרין בחמישה עשר בו”. (משנה ראש השנה א, א). . . . Explanation and ritual for the Jewish New Year’s Day for Animals, Rosh haShanah la-Behemah on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul![]() ![]() Once upon a time when the Temple still stood, the Rosh haShanah la-Behemah celebrated one means by which we elevated and esteemed the special creatures that helped us to live and to work. Just as rabbinic Judaism found new ways to realize our Temple offerings with tefillot — prayers — so too the Rosh haShanah la-Behemah challenges us to realize the holiness of the animals in our care in a time without tithes. The Jewish New Year’s Day for Animals is a challenge to remind and rediscover what our responsibilities are to the animals who depend on us for their welfare. Are we treating them correctly and in accord with the mitsvah of tsa’ar baalei ḥayyim — sensitivity to the suffering of living creatures? Have we studied and understood the depth of ḥesed — lovingkindness — expressed in the breadth of our ancestors teachings concerning the welfare of animals in Torah?haShanah la-Behemah is the day to reflect on our immediate or mediated relationships with domesticated animals, recognize our personal responsibilities to them, individually and as part of a distinct and holy people, and repair our relationships to the best of our ability. . . . 💬 Proklamation der Grundrechte der Tiere | Proclamation of Fundamental Animal Rights | Proclamation des Droits Fondamentaux de L’animal (Die Grünen Bundesarbeitsgruppe “Mensch und Tier,” April 1989)![]() ![]() ![]() A Proclamation of Fundamental Animal Rights drafted by the West German Green Party in 1989 upon the 200th anniversary of the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” (1789), in German with translations in English, French, and Portuguese. . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (UDAR) was first proclaimed in Paris on 15 October 1978 at the headquarters of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) with the ambition of it being formally adopted in the United Nations General Assembly. The French League of Animal Rights spurred the development of a revised text written during the General Assembly of the International League of Animal Rights, held June 3–4, 1989 in Luxembourg, and adopted on October 21, 1989. The declaration was submitted to the UNESCO Director General in 1990 however it has never been formally adopted. . . . ![]() ![]() ![]() The poem “Wormicide” (1931) by Rabbi Alter Abelson. . . . צער בעלי־חיים | Tsaar Baalei Ḥayyim [It is forbidden to cause] suffering to a living creature, a song in Yiddish![]() ![]() ![]() “Tsaar Balei Ḥayyim” ([It is forbidden to cause] suffering to a living creature), source unknown. Many thanks to Tiferet Zimmern-Kahan for recording the niggun for the song and to Naftali Ejdelman and The Jewish Daily Forward for providing the lyrics. . . . הֵיאַךְ יַרְגִּיל הָאָדָם עַצְמוֹ בְּמִדַּת הַחָכְמָה | How a person should conduct themself with Wisdom — chapter three from Tomer Devorah by Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (ca. 16th c.)![]() ![]() Chapter three of Rabbi Mosheh Cordovero’s Tomer Devorah, concerning the relationship between Wisdom and Empathy and its expression in the humane treatment of all living creatures. . . . 📜 פָּרָשַׁת כִּי־תֵצֵא | Parashat Ki Tetsei (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19), color-coded according to its narrative layers![]() ![]() ![]() 7th century B.C.E., predatory nature, 34th century A.M., sexual predation, let's review, mythopoesis, פרשת כי־תצא parashat Ki Tetsei, supplementary hypothesis, annual Torah reading cycle, פרשת השבוע Parashat haShavua, צער באלי חיים tsa'ar baalei ḥayyim, redaction criticism, predation, פרשות parashot, predatory gaze, the Plains of Moav, anti-predatory The text of parashat Ki Tetsei, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . . 📜 פָּרָשַׁת כִּי־תָבוֹא | Parashat Ki Tavō (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8), color-coded according to its narrative layers![]() ![]() ![]() sexual predation, 34th century A.M., curses, let's review, mythopoesis, פרשת כי־תבוא parashat Ki Tavo, supplementary hypothesis, amen, blessings, annual Torah reading cycle, צער באלי חיים tsa'ar baalei ḥayyim, פרשת השבוע Parashat haShavua, predation, redaction criticism, predatory gaze, פרשות parashot, anti-predatory, the Plains of Moav, predatory nature, 7th century B.C.E. The text of parashat Ki Tavo, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . . |