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Yitro 5779: Selections From דבר תורה טבעוני, translated by Eliran Sobel
In Parashat Yitro, God gives the Israelites the Ten Commandments, which describe the most important commandments for the Jewish people, and constitute foundational laws. The commandments include the belief in one God, not believing in another, honoring parents, and various prohibitions that deal with social relations between a person and their environment - such as the prohibition on murder, adultery, and theft. Among all these important commandments is the mitzvah of Shabbat, in which God also gives consideration to animals and their well-being.
In the [fourth] commandment..., Shabbat, we are commanded to observe the Shabbat and rest on it. Not only are we supposed to rest on it, but also everyone under our protection - our sons, our daughters, male and female servants, and. . . our animals. We also have a duty to allow the stranger to rest on Shabbat. Observing the Shabbat, besides its holiness, is a social mitzvah that provides rest for all. Including animals.
"Remember the Shabbat day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath of the Eternal your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. For in six days the Eternal made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Eternal blessed the Shabbat day and sanctified it" (Exodus 20, Adapted from NJPS translation).
Many halakhot (Jewish laws) deal with animals' resting on Shabbat. I will bring one of them (from an article by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed) here:
Just as the commandment for Israel to stop working on Shabbat, so too they have a commandment to let their animals rest from work on Shabbat. Although the Torah only mentions cattle, oxen, and donkeys, the prohibition applies to all animals, including birds and fish. Therefore, it is forbidden to send carrier pigeons on Shabbat, nor is it permitted to draw a boat using trained dolphins. The Torah only mentions an ox and a donkey, for they are standard work animals for [relieving] burdens. In any case, when a person causes an animal to go with a burden, whether by beating, or pulling, or even with their voice, they violate the prohibition of the Torah... And even the animal that belongs to a non-Jew or that does not have an owner, it is prohibited to make them go with such a burden...
In conclusion, God commands Israel to keep the Shabbat, which is one of the Ten Commandments, one of the most foundational mitzvot given to the People of Israel, and this commandment includes letting animals rest. If God does not forget the animals and their rest as a major and central part of the Ten Commandments, places our responsibility for animals together with our responsibility for male and female servants and for strangers, and among other important mitzvot, we should have no shame being concerned with animal welfare. This is a central and important issue in our lives, and we should not be deterred from defending... why animal welfare is important to us.
Yitro 5779: Selections From דבר תורה טבעוני, translated by Eliran Sobel
In Parashat Yitro, God gives the Israelites the Ten Commandments, which describe the most important commandments for the Jewish people, and constitute foundational laws. The commandments include the belief in one God, not believing in another, honoring parents, and various prohibitions that deal with social relations between a person and their environment - such as the prohibition on murder, adultery, and theft. Among all these important commandments is the mitzvah of Shabbat, in which God also gives consideration to animals and their well-being.
In the [fourth] commandment..., Shabbat, we are commanded to observe the Shabbat and rest on it. Not only are we supposed to rest on it, but also everyone under our protection - our sons, our daughters, male and female servants, and. . . our animals. We also have a duty to allow the stranger to rest on Shabbat. Observing the Shabbat, besides its holiness, is a social mitzvah that provides rest for all. Including animals.
"Remember the Shabbat day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath of the Eternal your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. For in six days the Eternal made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Eternal blessed the Shabbat day and sanctified it" (Exodus 20, Adapted from NJPS translation).
Many halakhot (Jewish laws) deal with animals' resting on Shabbat. I will bring one of them (from an article by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed) here:
Just as the commandment for Israel to stop working on Shabbat, so too they have a commandment to let their animals rest from work on Shabbat. Although the Torah only mentions cattle, oxen, and donkeys, the prohibition applies to all animals, including birds and fish. Therefore, it is forbidden to send carrier pigeons on Shabbat, nor is it permitted to draw a boat using trained dolphins. The Torah only mentions an ox and a donkey, for they are standard work animals for [relieving] burdens. In any case, when a person causes an animal to go with a burden, whether by beating, or pulling, or even with their voice, they violate the prohibition of the Torah... And even the animal that belongs to a non-Jew or that does not have an owner, it is prohibited to make them go with such a burden...
In conclusion, God commands Israel to keep the Shabbat, which is one of the Ten Commandments, one of the most foundational mitzvot given to the People of Israel, and this commandment includes letting animals rest. If God does not forget the animals and their rest as a major and central part of the Ten Commandments, places our responsibility for animals together with our responsibility for male and female servants and for strangers, and among other important mitzvot, we should have no shame being concerned with animal welfare. This is a central and important issue in our lives, and we should not be deterred from defending... why animal welfare is important to us.