On taking a life, the Torah’s view is sensitive

One of the more blatant ways in which the Torah indicates an anti-cruelty manner of behavior is in the rule of “oto v’et b’no” which creates an awareness that an animal and its offspring are not to be slaughtered on the same day.

(I am ignoring the viewpoint that any slaughtering animals is an act of cruelty. Students of the Torah know that sacrifices and an order for how to take the life of an animal is a clearly defined part of Jewish tradition.)

Just as the sending away of the mother bird is meant to instill in us a sensitivity to how the parent views its young, this mitzvah regarding the slaughtering of an animal and its offspring is meant to raise our sensitivity to not destroying an entire family — even an animal family — in one day. This mitzvah is particularly played out in Jewish law when an animal is sold on Erev Yom Tov; the purchaser must be told if its parent or offspring was sold that day, so as to be sure to avoid slaughtering the animal that day. (See Rav Ovadiah Yosef, Yechaveh Daat 2:64)

And so the midrash on this verse teaches us a profound lesson about the difference between how we operate — even in the permitted realm of taking the lives of animals for food or sacrifice — versus how the cruel enemies of Israel have always conducted themselves, if not in deed then certainly in mindset. Haman is the classic example of a person who wanted to kill all of Israel, young and old, children and women.

Once the midrash (Vayikra Rabba 27:11) opens the door discussing Haman, it goes on to describe how the ancient Biblical enemies of the Jews each operated, hoping to succeed in destroying the line leading to or stemming from our forefather Avraham.

Eisav declared Kayin a fool because he murdered his brother while his father was still alive. Sure enough, Adam had another son who opened the line to Noach. Eisav said, “When my father dies, I will kill my brother!”

Pharaoh declared Eisav a fool because by the time Eisav would have killed his brother, Yaakov had already fathered the next generation. This is why Pharaoh declared, “Kill the boys as soon as they are born!”