Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 1:29/רמב"ן על בראשית א׳:כ״ט

אהִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כָּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע לֹא הִרְשָׁה לְאָדָם וּלְאִשְׁתּוֹ לְהָמִית בְּרִיָּה וְלֶאֱכֹל בָּשָׂר, אַךְ כָּל יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב יֹאכְלוּ יַחְדָּיו כֻּלָּם. וּכְשֶׁבָּאוּ בְּנֵי נֹחַ הִתִּיר לָהֶם בָּשָׂר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ט':ג'), "כָּל רֶמֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר הוּא חַי לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאָכְלָה, כְּיֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כֹּל" – כְּיֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב שֶׁהִתַּרְתִּי לְאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן הִתַּרְתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כֹּל. לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י. (רש"י על בראשית א':כ"ט) וְכֵן פֵּרֵשׁ הָרַב בְּמַסֶּכֶת סַנְהֶדְרִין (נט ד"ה לא הותר), "וּלְכָל חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ", לָכֶם וְלַחַיּוֹת נָתַתִּי הָעֲשָׂבִים וְאֶת הָאִילָנוֹת וְ"אֶת כָּל יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב לְאָכְלָה". וְאִם כָּךְ יִהְיֶה פֵּרוּשׁ "אֶת כָּל יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב לְאָכְלָה" "וְאֶת כָּל יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב". וְאֵינוֹ כֵן, אֲבָל נָתַן לְאָדָם וּלְאִשְׁתּוֹ "כָּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע" וְכָל פְּרִי עֵץ, וּלְחַיַּת הָאָרֶץ וּלְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם נָתַן "כָּל יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב", לֹא פְּרִי הָעֵץ וְלֹא הַזְּרָעִים, וְאֵין מַאֲכָלָם יַחַד כֻּלָּם בְּשָׁוֶה, אַךְ הַבָּשָׂר לֹא הֻרְשׁוּ בּוֹ עַד בְּנֵי נֹחַ כְּדַעַת רַבּוֹתֵינוּ, וְהוּא פְּשׁוּטוֹ שֶׁל מִקְרָא. וְהָיָה זֶה מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבַּעֲלֵי נֶפֶשׁ הַתְּנוּעָה יֵשׁ לָהֶם קְצָת מַעֲלָה בְּנַפְשָׁם, נִדְמוּ בָּהּ לְבַעֲלֵי הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַמַּשְׂכֶּלֶת, וְיֵשׁ לָהֶם בְּחִירָה בְּטוֹבָתָם וּמְזוֹנֵיהֶם וְיִבְרְחוּ מִן הַצַּעַר וְהַמִּיתָה, וְהַכָּתוּב אוֹמֵר "מִי יוֹדֵעַ רוּחַ בְּנֵי הָאָדָם הָעֹלָה הִיא לְמָעְלָה וְרוּחַ הַבְּהֵמָה הַיֹּרֶדֶת הִיא לְמַטָּה לָאָרֶץ" (קהלת ג כא). וְכַאֲשֶׁר חָטְאוּ וְהִשְׁחִית כָּל בָּשָׂר אֶת דַּרְכּוֹ עַל הָאָרֶץ, וְנִגְזַר שֶׁיָּמוּתוּ בַּמַּבּוּל וּבַעֲבוּר נֹחַ הִצִּיל מֵהֶם לְקִיּוּם הַמִּין נָתַן לָהֶם רְשׁוּת לִשְׁחֹט וְלֶאֱכֹל כִּי קִיּוּמָם בַּעֲבוּרוֹ. וְעִם כָּל זֶה לֹא נָתַן לָהֶם הָרְשׁוּת בַּנֶּפֶשׁ וְאָסַר לָהֶם אֵבֶר מִן הַחַי. וְהוֹסִיף לָנוּ בַּמִּצְוֹת לֶאֱסֹר כָּל דָּם מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא מַעֲמָד לַנֶּפֶשׁ, כְּדִכְתִיב (ויקרא יז יד) "כִּי נֶפֶשׁ כָּל בָּשָׂר דָּמוֹ בְנַפְשׁוֹ הוּא, וָאֹמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: דַּם כָּל בָּשָׂר לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ כִּי נֶפֶשׁ כָּל בָּשָׂר דָּמוֹ הִוא", כִּי הִתִּיר הַגּוּף בְּחַי שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְדַבֵּר אַחַר הַמִּיתָה, לֹא הַנֶּפֶשׁ עַצְמָהּ. וְזֶה טַעַם הַשְּׁחִיטָה, וּמָה שֶׁאָמְרוּ (ב"מ לב) "צַעַר בַּעֲלֵי חַיִּים דְּאוֹרָיְתָא", וְזוֹ בִּרְכָתֵנוּ שֶׁמְּבָרֵךְ "אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל הַשְּׁחִיטָה". וְעוֹד אֲדַבֵּר בְּעִנְיַן הַמִּצְוָה בַּדָּם בְּהַגִּיעִי שָׁם (ויקרא יז יא-יד) אִם גּוֹמֵר הַשֵּׁם עָלַי. וְטַעַם "אֶת כָּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע וְאֶת כָּל הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ פְרִי עֵץ זֹרֵעַ זָרַע לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאָכְלָה", שֶׁיֹּאכְלוּ זֵרוּעֵי הָעֵשֶׂב, כְּגַרְגְּרֵי הַחִטָּה וְהַשְּׂעוֹרָה וְהַקִּטְנִיּוֹת וְזוּלָתָם, וְיֹאכְלוּ כָּל פְּרִי הָעֵץ, אֲבָל הָעֵץ עַצְמוֹ אֵינוֹ לָהֶם לְאָכְלָה, וְגַם לֹא הָעֵשֶׂב, עַד שֶׁנִּתְקַלֵּל אָדָם וְנֶאֱמַר לוֹ: "וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה" (בראשית ג':י"ח).

1BEHOLD, I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERY HERB YIELDING SEED. He did not permit Adam and his wife to kill any creature and eat its meat, but all alike were to eat herbs. But when the era of “the sons of Noah” came, He permitted them to eat meat, as it is said, Every moving thing that liveth shall be for food for you; as the green herb have I given you all;²¹⁷ even as the green herb that I permitted to the first man, so do I permit you everything. Thus is the language of Rashi. And so did the Rabbi²¹⁸ explain it in Tractate Sanhedrin:²¹⁹ “And to every beast of the earth²²⁰ — to you and to the beasts I have given the herbs and the fruits of the trees, and every green herb for food.”²²⁰But if so, then we must explain the expression, every green herb for food,²²⁰ to mean “and every green herb.”²²¹ and concludes with every green herb for food, are to be understood as one command since both man and beast were permitted the same food. In that case, Verse 30 should read: “and every green herb,” that is, in addition to every herb yielding seed… and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed mentioned in Verse 29, they could also eat every green herb. But this is not so. Rather, He gave to man and his wife every herb yielding seed and all fruit of the trees [as mentioned in Verse 29], and to the beasts of the earth and the fowl of the heaven He gave all green herb [as mentioned in Verse 30] but neither the fruit of the tree nor the seeds. The food of all of them was thus not the same. However, meat was not permitted to them until the time of the “sons of Noah,”²²² as is the opinion of our Rabbis. And this is the plain meaning of the verse.The reason for this [prohibition of eating meat] was that creatures possessing a moving soul have a certain superiority as regards their soul, resembling in a way those who possess the rational soul: they have the power of choice affecting their welfare and their food, and they flee from pain and death. And Scripture says: Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goes downward to the earth?²²³But when they sinned, and all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth,²²⁴ and it was decreed that they die in the flood, and for the sake of Noah He saved some of them to preserve the species, He gave the sons of Noah permission to slaughter and eat them since their existence was for his sake.²²⁵ sake,” a reference to all three sons of Noah who were also righteous. See Ramban further, 2:3, where he discusses the profounder meanings of the elements created on the second day, and he writes that they symbolize Noah and his sons as all having been tzadikim (righteous men). Yet with all this, He did not give them permission regarding the soul thereof, and He prohibited them from eating a limb cut off from a living animal, and in addition He gave us [the children of Israel] the commandment prohibiting the eating of all blood because it is the basis of the soul, as it is written: For the life of all flesh, the blood thereof is all one with the life thereof; therefore I said to the children of Israel: Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof.²²⁶ Thus He has permitted the eating of the body of dumb animals after death, but not the soul itself.This indeed is the reason for the commandment of killing [animals in the prescribed manner before eating their flesh], and for the saying of the Rabbis:²²⁷ “The duty of relieving the suffering of beasts is a Biblical requirement.” And this is the meaning behind the benediction which we make before killing animals: “[Blessed art Thou, O Eternal our G-d, king of the universe] Who hast sanctified us by His commandments and commanded us concerning the killing [of animals].” I will yet discuss the purport of the commandment prohibiting the eating of blood when I reach thereto,²²⁸ if G-d will reward me.The meaning of the expression, every herb yielding seed… and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food, is that they should eat the seeds of herbs, such as the grains of wheat, barley, beans, and the like, and that they should eat all fruits of the tree; but the tree itself was not given to them for food, nor was the herb itself until man was cursed and he was told, And thou shalt eat the herb of the field.²²⁹