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Animals
During the Messianic Age
From The Vision of Eden: Animal
Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism
by Rabbi David Sears
And a wolf shall dwell with a lamb, and a leopard
shall lie with a kid, and a calf and a lion cub and
a fattened ox will flock together, and a small child
shall lead them. And a heifer and a bear shall graze
together; their young shall lie down together, and a
lion, like the ox, shall eat straw. And a suckling babe
shall play over a viper's hole, and over an adder's
den a weaned child shall stretch forth his hand. They
shall neither harm nor destroy in all My holy mountain;
for the knowledge of God shall fill the Earth as the
water covers the sea (Isaiah 11:6-9).
Commentary 1: Some authorities explain that in
the Messianic era, the nature of animals and beasts
will revert to its original state, as it was at the
beginning of creation and in Noah's ark (MaHari Karah,
Metzudas David). For in the beginning of creation,
if the lion had eaten the lamb, the [Divine order of]
Creation would have been destroyed. What did the lion
or the other carnivorous animals eat? If they had consumed
the flesh of other animals and beasts, the world would
have lacked that species; for they were created male
and female, not more, and they did not wait to eat until
their prey had offspring. Surely, they consumed the
grasses of the field until their prey mated and increased.
From then on, their nature was carnivorous. Similarly
in Noah's ark, if they had eaten their prey, that species
would have been lacking in the world; for they entered
the ark in pairs, not more, except for the "clean"
species, which entered in pairs of seven. However, other
authorities interpret this entire passage as an allegory
for the peace that will exist between all people and
all nations during the Messianic era (Rabbi David Kimchi,
ad loc.).
Commentary 2: "And a heifer and a bear shall
graze together." And if you should wonder, "What
will predatory animals eat then?" [the verse goes
on to explain] that the bear will graze in the meadow
and no longer need to kill its prey. Also, the offspring
[of predatory animals and their prey] will grow up together,
as if they belonged to the same species. Not only of
the bear, which even today eats other foods [i.e., vegetation],
but also the lion, which is strictly a carnivore, shall
eat straw, as does the ox (Rabbi Meir Leib Malbim, Chazon
Yeshayahu, ad loc.).
And it shall be on that day, says God, that you shall
call Me "my Husband (Ishi)," and you
shall no longer call Me "my Master (Ba'ali)."[1]
And I will remove the names of the idols from her mouth,
and no more shall they mention their names. I will make
a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens and the creeping things
of the ground; and the bow and sword and warfare shall
I destroy from the Earth, and I shall cause them to
lie down in security. And I will betroth you to Me forever;
and I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, and in
justice, and in kindness, and in mercy. And I will betroth
You to me in faith, and you shall know God (Hoshea 2:18-22).
Commentary: "And I shall cause them to lie
down in security." This refers to the animals,
which "shall neither harm nor destroy" one
another, as Isaiah states, "The wolf shall dwell
with the lamb..." (Isaiah 11:6, 9). The condition
of peace on Earth will not only be for humankind, but
also will include the animals (Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel,
Pirush al HaTorah, ad loc.).
When Adam sinned, all souls and all animals fell into
the depths of the klippos (forces of unholiness).
Now the souls must ascend [to their Supernal Source]
through the mystery of the Feminine Waters [i.e., through
various efforts, even to the point of self-sacrifice,
in Divine service]. Only animals deemed pure by the
Torah attain spiritual rectification through our partaking
of them, as do vegetation and "silent" things
[such as earth and sand]. However, in the future all
animals will be rectified, even those deemed impure
today (Rabbi Chaim Vital citing Rabbi Yitzchak Luria,
Eitz Chaim II, Hechal A-B-Y-A, Sha'ar
Klippas Nogah, 3).
NOTES
[1] The term ba'al has the double
connotation of a master or owner and a pagan deity.
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Sears Collection
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