{"id":12329,"date":"2026-07-15T00:06:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T21:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12329"},"modified":"2026-08-09T08:51:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T05:51:39","slug":"17-15-06","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-15-06\/","title":{"rendered":"06. When It Is Forbidden to Cause Suffering"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we have learned, a person may cause animals to suffer for the sake of livelihood or honor. Without need, however, one may not cause them to suffer. Therefore, someone who enjoys hitting and tormenting an animal may not do so, since there is no genuine need \u2013 only an evil desire to cause animal suffering.<\/p>\n

Even if cruel people were to offer the owner of a dog a very large sum of money to let them torture it, he may not give them his dog for any amount of money. No amount of money can turn cruelty itself into a legitimate need, and such cruelty is forbidden by Torah law. Similarly, a person who is nervous or in a bad mood may not hit an animal. Even if he claims that hitting the animal helps calm his nerves, it is prohibited by Torah law (Igrot Moshe<\/em>, EH 4:92; this also follows from \u1e24atam Sofer\u2019s definition in his comments to Bava Metzia<\/em> 32b).<\/p>\n

Accordingly, it is improper to hunt wild animals and birds for sport and amusement. The permission to kill animals for their meat or hides is a necessity, not something to celebrate; it is not fitting to kill them as recreation. It is not fitting for Jews to take pleasure in this, for the trait of Israel is compassion (Yevamot<\/em> 79a). The hunters mentioned in the Torah, Nimrod and Esav, were wicked people who enjoyed the cruelty of hunting (Or Zaru\u2019a<\/em>; Rema O\u1e24 316:2; Noda BiYehuda Tinyana<\/em>, YD 10).[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

However, there is no prohibition against fishing with a rod for enjoyment when the intention is to eat the fish. This is preferable to hunting in two respects. First, the intent is to eat the fish that are caught, so this is a real benefit and not cruelty for its own sake, whereas meat from hunted animals and birds is generally forbidden for Jews to eat. Second, fish are less cognitively complex than mammals and feel less pain and suffering, so fishing involves less cruelty. But it is not proper to fish with a rod for enjoyment when one intends to return the fish to the water afterward, because in that case the enjoyment is tied to causing suffering. Although fish are not cognitively complex and their suffering is slight (above, note 1), ideally one should not wound fish except when catching them for food.[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[3]<\/a>. Accordingly, my teacher and mentor R. Shaul Yisraeli ruled that hunting trips should not be advertised, so that one does not participate in the sin of these cruel acts (Be-mar\u2019eh ha-Bazak<\/em> 2:59). Meat obtained through hunting is generally forbidden for a Jew to eat, because if the animal dies from the shot, it is certainly forbidden, since it was not slaughtered properly. Even if the hunter\u2019s shot only wounds it, in most cases it will be considered a tereifa<\/em>, whose meat is forbidden.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>. \u1e24evel Na\u1e25alato<\/em> 10:37 permits recreational fishing, since it can calm a person and thereby serves a human need. In addition, since fish are less cognitively complex, it is not clear how much a fish suffers from a hook embedded in its mouth. By contrast, my colleague R. Ehud A\u1e25ituv prohibits recreational fishing when one does not intend to eat the fish, because of tza\u2019ar ba\u2019alei \u1e25ayim<\/em> (Emunat Itekha<\/em> 86).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we have learned, a person may cause animals to suffer for the sake of livelihood or honor. Without need, however, one may not cause them to suffer. Therefore, someone who enjoys hitting and tormenting an animal may not do so, since there is no genuine need \u2013 only an evil desire to cause animal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-15"],"yoast_head":"\n06. 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