Denise Milani Wikipedia.org

Jewish ritual slaughter

Many people wonder how it is possible that the Torah, the promoter of universal values \u200b\u200bof sensitivity and compassion for others, Consider that Jewish ritual slaughter shechittà the only possible method of slaughter, excluding any other. The question acquires additional

weight when one considers that the Torah explicitly prohibits the provocation of unnecessary pain to animals 1, that shows, for example, by the precept that requires you to lift the burden of a beast collapsed under its load, even if the animal belongs to the enemy 2.

In this regard, the Talmud states that in case of an animal in pain, it is forbidden to give aid in return for money, as the creature's suffering must be alleviated with the highest priority 3.

The examples could be cited in this regard are legion.

again, the question emerges: if the Torah considers compassion a value so essential, why it needs to kill the animal with a knife, forbidding any other system among the most common, such as the firing of a nail on the head of the animal by means of a gun, which - apparently - ensure a faster and less death Painful? The Torah prohibits, in addition, to stun the animal in any way before you kill him or hitting him with a heavy object or by means of an electric shock (ECT), for example, both systems used now all over the world in order to reduce animal suffering.

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Below you will forward only to the question concerning the appropriate method for slaughtering livestock and birds, leaving deliberate the question of the legality of the consummation of the flesh.

Over the past centuries had spread, as well accept the view that the laws of shechittà ensure minimal pain to the animal and the least possible suffering. The Torah, in fact, required to perform the ritual slaughter by a particularly sharp knife perfectly. The slightest nick of the blade - making you scroll slightly perceptible the fingernail - the knife makes it unsuitable for shechittà and prohibits the consummation of any animal slaughtered by means of this instrument ⁴ .

Jewish law also requires that the shechittà is done with the utmost speed, with a rapid movement of the knife, so that the animal is subjected to less pain as possible, if not to anyone at all. The testimonies of persons subject to a cut like that - consider the case of medical emergency - confirm that it would not cause any pain as long as it runs with a sharp knife. It 's just following the leakage of blood that you feel the pain.

According to the sages, the slaughtering process adopted in other cultures cause, however, severe pain and great suffering for the animals ⁶ .

This traditional Jewish perspective - in itself convincing - was widely supported by a series of experiments concerning the structure of the blood vessels and arteries of the mammalian brain. These experiments leave no room for doubt about the slaughter and add that the Jewish shechittà the long list of evidence proving the divine origin of Torah.

the base of the skull of mammals is an anastomosis, ie a communication between blood vessels of the same level, which creates a sort of "Central Station" for all the blood flowing to the brain in humans this station is called "polygon of Willis, while in animals is called" rete mirabile ".

As is well known to those who are beginners with medicine, a sudden loss of blood pressure in this central part of the brain immediately leads to a state of unconsciousness. Upon execution of

shechittà , not just the knife severs the carotid arteries responsible for conducting the flow of blood from the neck to the brain, blood flow is interrupted, the pressure drops suddenly and the animal loses consciousness within a maximum time than two seconds, after which it no longer has any pain.

In summary, the shechittà not cause any pain to the animal through the affiliate of the knife, the speed with which the cut is made and the immediate loss of consciousness of the victim. Conversely, it is determined that the other slaughter methods cause pain to the animal. Also stunning the beast by electroshock - that should save any suffering - in fact it "fries" the brain and causes unnecessary pain. As for the killing by firing the head - it hurts, especially if the animal is carried out in an inaccurate due to an unexpected movement of the beast or imprecise aiming. In such cases, the intensity of pain is far from being reduced to a minimum, leaving room for unnecessary suffering 7.

Scientific research shows that although the animal's body jerks as a result of loss of consciousness following the shechittà , it's just a muscle reflex, comparable to the movement of the tail of a lizard detached from the body of reptile although, in fact, any involuntary movement and reflective, it is obvious that a separate queue from the body can not feel any pain.

At this point one might conclude the thesis with the arguments set out above - In itself convincing - but that would mean giving up a rather surprising that you would prefer not to be missed. The carotid arteries provide blood to the brain from the front of the neck. In its rear, close to the vertebrae, there are other arteries, those vertebrae. They also connect to the base of the brain, leading the blood. How, then, the shechittà - made on the front of the neck - to prevent the suffering of the animal? Passing through the vertebral arteries, the blood continues to flow to the Net perhaps admirable? Yet Jewish law prohibits the cutting of these arteries, since it would inevitably mean also one of the vertebrae, which would invalidate the fact shechittà .

In this respect, modern research has made a surprising discovery. While it is true that all mammals are characterized by anterior and posterior arteries, in all the cloven-hoofed ruminants - animals that kosher that the Torah allows us to consume - the posterior arteries have a different structure.

As in all mammals is not kosher the arteries feeding into the so-called central station of the brain (see above), in animals whose consumption is permitted from the Torah, they are connected to the front before reaching the brain. Therefore, the shechittà -animal kosher exclusively on the front of the neck, almost instantly stops the flow of blood to the brain. The flow that reaches the brain via the vertebral artery immediately exits the opening of the cut away from the brain, a fact which implies an immediate drop in blood pressure and loss of consciousness on the part of the animal, sparing him any pain.

Finally, thanks to research carried out recently on the circulatory system of various animals, the question on the Torah of the Creator of the world has become essa stessa prova della sua origine trascendentale. Infatti, chi altri se non D-o stesso, avrebbe potuto operare la meravigliosa distinzione fisiologica fra i diversi mammiferi, creando il legame esistente fra gli animali definiti kashèr dalla Legge ebraica e la loro struttura fisiologica, richiedendoci di macellarli in una maniera che non infligga loro né pena né dolore?●●

Esiste un’altra differenza fra gli animali kashèr e quelli non kashèr sulla quale è opportuno soffermarsi in questa sede.

Uno studio condotto nel 1961 dimostra che cavalli, cani e altri animali oppongono resistenza alla macellazione as sensitive to impending death. ● ● ● shake, even kicking and struggling until the last moments of life. Kosher slaughterhouses this phenomenon is almost entirely absent. Lambs attending the slaughter of other animals, for instance, show no sign of fear. There was also a case in which a calf, which had been allowed to roam freely during the shechittà conducted on other samples, no attempt at all to escape, despite the slaughterhouse door was open. In addition, although normally the ruminant digestive cease their activities when they are in a state of tension, where it is practiced in slaughterhouses the shechittà they are so quiet lie down to ruminate on while other specimens of their species are killed in the area.

This reveals that the animals kosher not only do not suffer during the shechittà but do not feel any emotional distress even before the act, nor feel the impending death.

However, the possibility exists that a specimen is more sensitive to pain than others 9, the Jewish law prohibits the killing of an animal in the presence of a similar order to save even the minimum sentence to life in the 10.

In this regard, is also interesting to report the views of dott.sa Temple Grandin, a leading expert in research on the treatment of cattle, which has developed various techniques aimed at reducing the suffering of animals on ranches and in slaughterhouses. The researcher argues that the moment of greatest suffering of animals in slaughterhouses has led not reached during their killing, but in the time of arrival at the slaughterhouse to the death, because of the rough treatment they undergo 11. From studies of the Grandin shows that, if treated appropriately, cattle arrive relaxed at the time of slaughter and the risk that they are not causing them presents. Since in the case of shechittà the real pain is nonexistent, it is clear that appropriate treatment eliminates any possibility that the animal suffers in the course of his killing.

E 'can go even further in the analysis of issues underlying the shechittà . The butchered meat and intended for consumption must be kept in good hygienic conditions, both for health reasons - to prevent food poisoning - both for economic reasons - lest wasting food. In general, the meat quality is higher and is kept fresh less it should be discarded and, consequently, fewer animals must be killed. According to some researchers, the shechittà ensures a better quality meat. The shot, for example, left in the carcase of an excess of blood due to the interval between death and bleeding of the inanimate body, causing the meat to deteriorate more quickly. For the other systems the situation is even worse than slaughter 12.

Insights
● Judaism teaches that the infinite details of creation are there to help the man - who is the crown, the pinnacle - to reach lo scopo divino per il quale è stato creato, sia materialmente che spiritualmente. L’illustre cabalista Rabbi Moshé Cordovero (ca. 1522 - Safed, 1570) si sofferma su questo concetto nel quarto capitolo della sua famosa opera Tomèr Devorà dove scrive che gli esseri umani sono tenuti “ad avere compassione di tutte le creature e a non arrecare loro danno alcuno, se non per portarle da un livello all’altro: da quello vegetale a quello animale e da quello animale a quello umano. Solo a questo scopo è consentito sradicare piante e uccidere, ossia provocare una carenza [di vita] al fine di elargire [un livello superiore]. In altri termini, esiste una forma di tikkùn – rettificazione and transformation - even for the plants and animals: it happens as soon as they become part of the human world, "the crown of creation."
For this reason there is no conflict between the consumption of meat by humans living el'ingiunzione to preserve any element of creation.
Again quoting the words of Rabbi Cordovero: "The mercy must extend to every human creature, not diminish nor destroy, as the Superior Wisdom encompasses every element of creation - minerals, plants, animals and humans. E 'for this reason that we may not wasting food. Greater Wisdom does not diminish anything and everything flows From it, as it is written: ' thou didst create them wisely ' 5. Similarly, a person must have compassion for all creatures of the Lord and shall not diminish any of the things in the world, all created with wisdom. You do not eradicate plants except when necessary and did not kill any living being except for necessities. "

● ● "The main blood flow reaches the brain by the polygon of Willis. In mammals, the structure of the firing range (or rete mirabile) and blood vessels that leak is smooth in a clear manner. However, there are differences between different mammals as part of the arteries bring blood to the polygon and in the direction of blood flow in different arteries "
Dyce, Sack and Wensing, Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy 3rd edition (Oxford: Saunders, 2002), p.. 302
"In the pig, the vertebral artery is similar to that of the horse ... and connect the rete mirabile to the brain."
Sisson, Grossman and Getty, Sisson and Grossman's The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals , p.. 1309)

● ● ● For more details on this research, you can consult the book "S chittah and Animal Suffering" ("The shechittà and suffering of Pets ") where, among other things, explains that while the human being the mere sight of a knife can cause a feeling of fear, the animals - who do not know the function of this tool - do not fear him even before he killed. This conclusion was reached when it was shown to some animals a knife covered with blood and they not only did not react negatively to the sight of the object, but even licked the fluid that dripped from the blade.

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Notes and sources

1. For details, see the excellent work of David Sear: The Vision of Eden: animal welfare and vegetarianism in Jewish law and mysticism (Spring Valley, NY; Orotava, 2003)

2. Exodus 23, 5

3. Talmud Baba Metzi'à 22nd

4. Shulchan 'Aruch, Yore De'à Hilchòt Shechittà 6, 1.

5. See also the work of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Levinger, Jewish Ritual Suffering and the Suffering of Animals (Hebrew) ( Maskil Ledavìd ).

6. For a detailed comparison between the shechittà and other methods of slaughter, cf Levinger, ch. XVI

7. Cf the story of Rabbi Judah the Prince and the calf in the Talmud Baba Metzi'à 85th

8. Shulchan 'Aruch, Yore De'à 26, 14.

9. Dott.sa Grandin's article was also published on the following website: http://files.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/MARKStateofAnimalsCh06.pdf .

10. This data is based on the results of tests carried out over the heads of eighty head of cattle, using a technique developed by researchers from chemical and Miroslav Radan. Cf Levinger, ibid , ch. XV. In this regard it is worth mentioning that the law requires you to salt the meat after slaughter to remove residual blood. This process derives from the prohibition of consuming blood - essentially spiritual nature of prohibition which also benefits the environment healthy.

11. Psalm 104, 4.

12. Cf Levinger, ch. 14.

The Shechittà and suffering of animals Summary of research conducted by veterinarian Dr. Norberto Netanya Klein In the past, attempts to ban Jewish ritual slaughter in Europe have been numerous. The shechittà , in fact, was considered cruel and contrary to the method of slaughter preceded by stunning, the most widely adopted around the world. As a veterinarian in the course of my career I have conducted research on the issue of medical shechittà and suffering of animals, what follows is, therefore, a summary of the research aiming to prove that the system more humane slaughter and less painful for the animal is just like the shechittà . the sensation of pain How dimostratomi from my personal experience on the sensation of pain from the outside, a sharp cut does not cause any physical perception, that perception, as well as the processing and transmission of pain, takes too much time to the brain, which, sometimes, these messages do not even see. Very often, the perception of the kind of cuts you are not at all when they are performed, but only after the bleeding that follows. With regard to internal pain, I sit here on two surprising discoveries: 1. The immediate loss of consciousness There are three ways to measure blood flow and brain response. The first is the measurement of brain waves (EEG or by encephalography), the second involves a water-soluble contrast medium within the blood vessels (angiography) and the third is by means of a pressure gauge, a special measuring instrument fluid. The loss of oxygen caused by shechittà affects primarily the brain, which stops all activity within a maximum time of two seconds. Only at a later time, the cardiac system, which can operate independently of the brain for a very limited period of time, begins to react to the loss of oxygen, because the nervous system controlled by the brain affects only the pace and intensity del battito cardiaco. Inoltre, benché costituisca solo il due per cento del peso totale del corpo, il cervello riceve il venti percento del sangue pompato dal cuore. In generale, la maggior parte del sangue viene condotta al cervello dall’arteria carotide, mentre solo una piccola parte da quelle vertebrali. I vasi sanguigni si dirigono verso una zona detta Rete Mirabile negli animali e Circolo (o Poligono) di Willis negli esseri umani, che funge da “stazione centrale” per il controllo del flusso sanguigno. Da queste zone il sangue viene distribuito alle varie parti del cervello, partendo dalla corteccia, responsabile della conoscenza. Nel corso della shechittà , l’apporto di sangue al cervello si interrompe e il sangue fuoriesce completamente a causa dei mutamenti della pressione sanguigna interna. Analogamente, il sangue che scorre nell’arteria vertebrale abbandona il corpo passando per l’arteria carotide. La perdita di conoscenza, dovuta alla mancanza di ossigeno, avviene entro pochi secondo. E’ importante notare che la fuoriuscita del sangue avviene così rapidamente che il trentatré per cento della sua quantità totale presente nel corpo fuoriesce entro trenta secondi dal taglio, mentre il cinquanta per cento di essa entro sessanta. Inoltre, il movimento percepito negli animali in seguito alla shechittà è un riflesso involontario dei muscoli dovuto alla perdita di ossigeno e alla mancanza ATP, or adenosinitrifosfato, the key molecule in energy metabolism of the cell. The cells lose their ability to function are no longer able to absorb calcium. What remains in them leads to an irreversible contraction of the muscles, precisely due to the absence of oxygen within the cells. 2. Blood flow to the brain in the kosher animals In animals, consumption of which is permitted by Jewish law, namely in the cloven-hoofed ruminants, the vertebral arteries are less developed and do not reach the rete mirabile. In other words, they drain into the carotid artery. The phenomenon is very evident in sheep, where the arteries vertebrali sono del tutto vestigiali e non contribuiscono in modo alcuno al flusso sanguigno. Diversamente, negli animali la cui consumazione è vietata dalla Torà, le arterie vertebrali rivestono una funzione essenziale nel flusso del sangue al cervello. Il cavallo, il cane, il maiale e l’essere umano, ad esempio, presentano una struttura arteriale molto simile. Nel cavallo e nel cane la Rete Mirabile è relativamente sottosviluppata, e le arterie vertebrali apportano il flusso sanguigno direttamente alla zona cerebrale: ciò significa che in questi animali la perdita di conoscenza al momento della shechittà richiede più tempo che in quelli kashèr , rischiando di causare loro dolore. In conclusion, we can say that a shechittà performed according to the dictates of the Torah does not cause pain and suffering to animals that are subjected. Notes and sources Rosen, SD Physiological Insights Into Shehata, The Veterinary Record, (June 2004) 154, 759-765. Getty-Sisson and Grossman Shechittà, The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals , published in Italy by Edizioni Piccin Nuova-librarian with the title: Anatomy of Domestic Animals. Kallwei CC Daly, E. & Ellendorf, F. (1988), Cortical Function in Cattle During Slaughter , Veterinary Record 122, 325-329. Dukes, H. H. (1958), A Study of Blood Pressure and Blood Flow in The Vertebral Arteries of Ruminants , Report to the Humane Slaughter Advisory Committee, US Department of Agriculture , Ithaca University. Levinger, I.M. (1995b), Effects of Shehita on the Nervous System . In: Shehita in the Light of the Year 2000 , Jerusalem, Maskil L’David. Pagg. 69-74. Septimus Sissons (revised by James Daniels Grossman), The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals .

From: Zamir Cohen, The Great Turning , Mamash.