Lion Hunting and Torah Teachings
Although we are now occupied with far weightier issues than a recent illegal lion hunt – issues such as the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, and acts of killing and assault by deranged/incredibly misguided zealots, along with counter-accusations, which are prominently addressed in these webpages – I posted this brief article in Times of Israel, in an attempt to elucidate and glean some basic Torah lessons from the cruel lion hunt by a Minnesota dentist.
Especially now that I have read the more detailed account of what that dentist did to that lion, I, too, am horrified by what he did. Frankly, I do not understand how anybody can live with themselves after being so horrifyingly cruel. Animals in particular bring out the compassion in me, because I know that they never consciously choose to do evil, nor do they ever come close to committing the evil acts that human beings have committed over the centuries. No animal engages in genocide, suicide bombings, or beheadings, for example. Plus, from a Jewish legal perspective, let us be reminded that one of the Seven Noachide laws is to not tear a limb off of a living animal, which I presume to mean in a more general sense to not be unnecessarily cruel to sentient animals. And, contrary to the claims made by various animal rights organizations, I would like to think that the kosher laws are designed to help one avoid being cruel to animals as well.
Having said that, when one takes a good idea and takes it to too far of an extreme, it makes those moral strivings perverse. Yes, the lion is indeed majestic in its appearance and movements, but let us not forget that lions are also very violent, dangerous animals. That in itself makes me feel less compassion for them then I would feel for gentler animals such as rabbits and dolphins. Worse, the dentist who committed this admittedly barbaric act, has now lost his livelihood, and is in hiding, due to having his life threatened. Certainly, he needs to take sensitivity training and perhaps fined many thousands of dollars for what he did, but he certainly does not deserve to have his livelihood taken away or his life threatened. Also, it has been correctly pointed out that there seems to be a whole lot more compassion being expressed for that lion, then the tens of millions of helpless, unborn babies who have been killed in the name of Feminism. And so what would have been proper compassion for this lion, has now gone so far, that those who are attacking this dentist, are morally far worse than the dentist himself.