What does Judaism teach about the proper treatment of animals?
Judaism teaches that we are forbidden to be cruel to animals and that we must treat them with compassion. Since animals are part of God’s creation, people have special responsibilities to them. These concepts are summarized in the Hebrew phrase tsa’ar ba’alei chayim, the biblical mandate not to cause “pain to any living creature.” While the Torah clearly indicates that people are to have “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creeps upon the earth” (Gen. 1:28), there was to be a basic relatedness, and people were to consider the rights of animals. Animals are also God’s creatures, possessing sensitivity and the capacity for feeling pain; hence they must be protected and treated with compassion and justice. God made treaties and covenants with animals, just as with humans: “As for me,” says the Lord, “behold I establish My Covenant with you and with your seed after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the fowl,
