​Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, 5786, 2026: "Thirsting for The Freedom of Life"

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Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The prohibition of ingesting blood (Sefer Vayikra 17:12) is one of the better-known mitzvot in our parasha. The Rambam (1135-1204) adopted a causal-historical explanation as to why the Torah forbade this act:

Know that the Sabians held that blood was most unclean, but in spite of this used to eat of it, deeming that it was the food of the devils and that, consequently, whoever ate it fraternized with the jinn [supernatural beings] so that they came to him and let him know future events…Thereupon the Law [that is, the Torah]… prohibited the eating of blood, putting the same emphasis on this prohibition as on the prohibition against idolatry. For, He, may He be exalted, says, I will set My face against that soul that eateth blood, and so on (Lev. 17:10) just as He has said with regard to him who gives of his seed to Molech (cf. Lev. 20:4-6): I will even set My face against that soul, and so on. No such text occurs regarding a third commandment other than the prohibition of idolatry and of eating blood. This is so because the eating of blood led to a certain kind of idolatry, namely, to the worship of the jinn. (The Guide of the Perplexed, translation, Shlomo Pines, volume II, III: 46, pages 585-586, brackets and underlining my own)
 
In sum, the Rambam presents the prohibition of eating blood as Hashem’s strategy for deterring us from adopting an existing avodah zarah-based behavior.
 
The Ramban (1194-1270) on Sefer Vayikra 17:10-11 maintains that even though the Rambam’s presentation is sound (“v’alu devarim miyushavim”), it lacks any textual support (“aval haketuvim lo yoru kane”), since the Torah never mentions the Sabians and their perverse practices. In addition, many of the verses that mandate the prohibition of eating blood consistently employ the word, “nefesh” (soul), as seen in the following examples:

For the soul of the flesh is in the blood…
 
For [regarding] the soul of all flesh its blood is in its soul, and I said to the children of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the soul of any flesh is its blood; all who eat it shall be cut off.
 
However, be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the soul; and you shall not eat the soul with the flesh. (Sefer Vayikra 17:11, 14 and Sefer Devarim 12:23, Torah translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
The Ramban’s recognition of the Torah’s emphasis of the term, “nefesh,” leads him to a 13th century statement of “you are what you eat,” and to a cogent analysis of the underlying rationale of our mitzvah:

It is further known that what is eaten becomes part of the body of the one who has eaten the food material and they merge into one entity. Therefore, if a person eats the soul of all flesh [that is, blood], and joins it with his blood, they become united in his being; this results in a thickness and arrogance in the soul of man. Moreover, he will enter into a [spiritual] state that is close to the animal soul that has been eaten… as the man’s soul will be combined with the blood of the animal…Therefore it states, “For [regarding] the soul of all flesh its blood is in its soul…” (Sefer Vayikra 17:14) for in all the flesh of both man and the animals, the soul is to be found in the blood. [Moreover,] it is not fitting to mix the soul that has been cut off [the animal that has been killed] with the soul that continues to live [that of the man] … And this is the reason why I [Hashem] have said to the Jewish people [not to eat blood], since the blood is the soul, and it is not fitting for a soul to eat another soul. (Commentary on Sefer Vayikra 17:11-12, translation, underlining and brackets my own)
 
In sum, the Ramban’s explication of our mitzvah incorporates the three major elements:

• Ingesting blood results in thickness and arrogance in a person’s nefesh
• Eating blood will cause one to enter a spiritual state similar in kind to that of the animal he/she has eaten
• It is not fitting to mix the soul that has been cut off [animal] with the soul that continues to live [human being]

 
The Ramban’s rejection of the Rambam’s analysis of our mitzvah is part of a much larger struggle in Jewish philosophy that created two radically opposing camps: the Maimunists and the Anti-Maimunists. The former advocated on behalf of the Rambam’s rationalistic approach in the Guide to the Perplexed, whereas the latter rejected it in its entirety. My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his followers and disciples, offers this explanation as to why the Anti-Maimunists ultimately held sway in this crucial controversy:

Judging Maimonides’ undertaking retrospectively, one must admit that the master whose thought shaped Jewish ideology for centuries to come did not succeed in making his interpretation of the commandments prevalent in our world perspective. While we recognize his opinions on more complicated problems such as prophecy, teleology and creation, we completely ignore most of his rational notions regarding the commandments. The reluctance on the part of the Jewish homo religious [religious being] to accept Maimonidean rationalistic ideas is not ascribable to any agnostic tendencies, but to the incontrovertible fact that such explanations neither edify nor inspire the religious consciousness. They are essentially, if not entirely, valueless for the religious interests we have most at heart. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Halakhic Mind: An Essay on Jewish Tradition and Modern Thought, page 92, underlining my own)
 
In a word, the Rav’s analysis as to why Maimonidean rationalistic explanations of the mitzvot were rejected by most Jewish thinkers maintains that “such explanations neither edify nor inspire the religious consciousness. They are essentially, if not entirely, valueless for the religious interests we have most at heart.” What, then, are the hallmarks of the religious consciousness and the religious interests we have most at heart? The Rav provides a poetic answer to this question in his presentation as to why man ultimately seeks the Almighty:

Man seeks God out of a thirst for the freedom of life, a desire to expand and deepen the universe. The search for God means liberation from the burden of tyrannical nature weighing heavily upon him, release from the blind forces besetting man’s life. Weary from the travail of dull life, man flees to the region of complete liberty and conjoins with God. Man desires peace of mind and seeks to wipe the tears of sorrow from his face. Out of the totality of spiritual experience that flows from the inner uniqueness and independence of the creative spirit that rises ever higher, the religious experience is revealed. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, And From There You Shall Seek, translation, Naomi Goldblum, pages 41-42)
 
May we ever be zocheh to have “a thirst for the freedom of life, [and] a desire to expand and deepen the universe,” as we seek Hashem and keep His mitzvot. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
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