The Treifah and Being Holy
You shall be holy people to me; you shall not eat flesh of an animal that was torn in the field, [rather,] you shall throw it to the dogs.[1]
Although the topic of permitted and forbidden foods will be presented at length in Chumash Vayikra,[2] our parsha already mentions an example of food that is prohibited for consumption. Indeed, the latter half of our parsha contains numerous brief references to various mitzvos such as Shabbos, shemitah, Terumah and maaser, the three Regalim festivals, etc. The Ramban explains this phenomenon based on his understanding that Parshas Mishpatim is the “Sefer Habris – the Book of the Covenant” mentioned at the end of the parsha[3] that Moshe read to the people at the time of the giving of the Torah. Hence, it contains these brief presentations of many different types of mitzvos of the Torah.
The Ramban further explains the reason the Torah introduces this prohibition with the words “You shall be holy people to me” is in order to emphasize that the prohibition of the various foods and species is not based on physical health concerns. Rather, these are foods which the Torah informs us are spiritually damaging to the person and, hence, by way of preface, it states that we must be holy and avoid any food that will be detrimental to a state of holiness. Indeed, the Netziv adds that this is why the Torah gives the specific example of an animal that has been “torn in the field.” Although conversationally we use the term “treif” to include all non-kosher food, the concept of treifah refers specifically to a rupture to one of various organs in the animal resulting in life-expectancy of less than twelve months. While some kinds of internal treifah ruptures might be seen as rendering the animal unhealthy for consumption, an animal that was torn apart in the field was one hundred percent healthy prior to that incident! By highlighting this kind of treifah in the prohibition, the Torah is emphasizing that it is not related to physical health concerns, but to spiritual ones.[4]
Finding Holiness
The verse concludes that an animal that has become forbidden for consumption due to being a treifah should be thrown to the dogs. Rashi provides the background to this unusual mitzvah. At the time of the plague of the firstborn in Egypt, in order to further emphasize the miraculous nature of that event, Moshe informed Pharaoh that no dog would whet its tongue against the Jewish people or their animals. Although it is natural for dogs to become agitated and incited when surrounded by death and confusion, in this instance, they would not act in any violent manner. Since Hashem does not withhold reward for any man or beast, He mandated that, henceforth, treifah animals should be given to the dogs as their reward.
R’ Shmuel Birnbaum offers a most beautiful insight here. It emerges that the verse contains two mitzvos:
1. The negative mitzvah of not eating treifah.
2. The positive mitzvah of throwing it to the dogs.
As we noted, the verse opens by exhorting us to be holy people. Those words, say R’ Birnbaum, introduce both mitzvos of the verse. Let us ask, what exactly did the dogs do that made them deserving of reward? The fact that they did not act in any violent manner is not due to a decision on their part, but because they were rendered unable to do so! Rather, the dogs’ inability to act on their instincts on that occasion was a cause of distress for them. It is in recognition of that distress that the Torah says that they should receive their reward, and this, too, is a fulfillment of the command to be holy. Ultimately, the verse is teaching us that holiness is expressed not only in the things that we do or do not eat, but also in the sensitivity that we have to the feelings of every living being, both human and animal.
Beautiful!
[2] Chap. 11.
[3] 24:7.
[4] Haamek Davar to our verse.