Our Gemara on Amud Aleph explains a legalism that ends up creating a more stringent halacha for gentiles than Jews. Both Jew and gentile are prohibited from eating flesh or organs harvested from an animal while it is alive. While we cannot know the reasons for the commandments, some are more obvious than others. In the days before modern refrigeration, a method to keep meat fresh was to keep the rest of the animal alive. However, this is cruel and so the Torah understandably forbade the practice. An act of decency and renunciation of personal need in order to behave with mercy to all, even animals.

Halacha recognizes shechitta as the termination of life from the perspective of the Jew who is commanded to perform it. However, to the gentile, the animal is only dead when its life functions cease. Therefore, certain parts of the innards of the animal that are connected to the windpipe and foodpipe become disconnected from the animal immediately upon the slicing of the slaughterer’s knife. For a Jew, this is fine, as this flesh that is cut off comes from an animal that was slaughtered and halachically dead. For the gentile, the throat, lungs etc. are forbidden because the animal is still alive and these parts have been disconnected by the cut of the knife.

We have a rabbinic tradition that Yosef spoke critically of his brothers, accusing them of eating meat from a live animal, sexual immorality and denigrating the brothers who were birthed by the maidservants (see Rashi Bereishis 37:2).

Based on our Gemara, Mizrachi (ibid) explains a justification for the Shevatim in regard to Yosef’s accusation that they ate meat from a live animal. They conducted themselves within the tradition as Jews and therefore took fresh meat immediately after slaughter, but to Yosef, the animal was still thrashing about and he considered it to be alive.

I believe on a broad level, the difference of opinion between Yosef and his brothers was about their status as a nation or merely a tribe. The brothers saw themselves as already “the Nation of Israel.” This is why they considered their slaughter to be a halachic exemption.

We also see this attitude manifested in the rationale to take vengeance against the inhabitants of Shechem. While Yaakov was not pleased and saw this act as a provocation (Bereishis 34:30), the Shevatim saw Shechem’s behavior as an act of war, an international incident, and responded as a nation would — “an offensive matter was committed against Israel” (ibid 34:7) — referring themselves to the nation of Israel.

We can also see their response to Yosef in this light as well. There is a tradition that the brothers saw Yosef as an insurrectionist, via his taunting dreams of power, defying the leadership of Yehuda. On that basis they convicted him to death for Lèse-majesté, contempt for the crown (see Shalah, Torah Shebikhtav, Vayeshev, Miketz, Vayigash, TorahOhr.121 and Megalleh Amukos, Vayeshev.) Furthermore, perhaps their contempt for the brothers who were born from the maidservants also came from a nationalistic attitude, and even halachic in the sense that they viewed the maidservants and their children as not Jewish. In regard to sexual immorality, there are also certain sexual practices that are permitted to Jews but not Gentiles, such as the captive woman during warfare (see Tosafos on our Gemara “Echad.”) Perhaps the Shevatim during the conquest of Shechem conducted themselves as such, which Yosef saw as simply immoral behavior with no halachic rationale.

Despite the Shevatim’s elaborate halachic rationales, history and divine providence showed them to be wrong. Many acts of violence and war can be justified through the lens of nationalism. This is a part of human social and political process, and war itself unfortunately is at times a necessary human condition (see Ha’amek Davar Bereishis 9:5). However, we always must be careful about such rationales, as the story of Yosef and his brothers shows — an early warning at the twilight of the Jewish nation.

sponsored by https://empowermentaftertrauma.com/

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

Free resource for couples/families:

The Chosson and Kallah Shmooze You Wish You Had But Never Got

Over 80 lectures on heathy communication, marriage and sexuality from a Torah perspective  Click here

If you liked this, you might enjoy my Relationship Communications Guide. Click on the link above.

Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com