Sefer Vayiqra

VaYiqra 1-5

The Prohibitions of Helev and Blood: Affirming Life When We Eat

Aryeh Bernstein, 5763

This week's parashah opens the book of VaYiqra with the foundational regulations for the various sacrifices to be brought in the Mishkan and later, the Temple. We learn which kinds of animals to bring, what to do with which parts, and the slaughtering and sacrificing procedures for the ‘Olah ("Burnt offering", 1:3-17), the Minhah (grain offering, chapter 2), Shelamim ("peace offering" or "well-being offering", chapter 3), and the different varieties of Hattat and Asham offerings ("sin offerings", or, better, "purification offerings", chapters 4-5). In the middle of the parashah, the Torah records a very important rule (3:16b-17):

This law is interjected at the conclusion of the instructions for the Shelamim offering, which is the only sacrifice of which the sacrificer (and not just the Kohen) eats a part. In the only context in which an Israelite would be eating meat, then, the Torah issues a grave warning regarding meat consumption: DO NOT eat helev or blood. This verse links the prohibitions of helev and blood as though they are one prohibition with one explanation. Further review will show us, however, that each one represents distinct, but related values, which I would like to pursue here. My analysis relies heavily on Prof. Jacob Milgrom's magisterial commentary on VaYiqra in the Anchor Bible series.

HELEV:

Above, I translated "helev" as "fat", but that is not exactly precise, because most fat is permitted for human consumption. "Helev" specifically refers to "suet", the fattiest fat in the animal's body, around the kidneys, used in many cultures to make candles, soap, and other lubricants. This seems to be precisely the point. As the fattiest part, it is the fittest for the altar, because it is so combustible. Helev is the best part for sacrifices, because it produces the biggest fire. This is God's portion. When we sacrifice animals, we are showing tribute to God; to do this effectively, we give God the richest part. Helev, then, is forbidden only in sacrificial contexts. In our parashah, the Torah issues an across-the-board prohibition-"all helev is Hashem's"-because the context is the laws of sacrifices. In next week's parashah (7:23-24), we will read a more qualified statement, informing us that while we may not eat helev of beef, lamb, or goat, the special prohibition of helev does not apply to animals that die naturally-without proper, kosher slaughtering-or after being wounded. (An animal is not kosher if it has a terminal illness at the time of its death, even if one slaughters it properly.) Of course, that does not mean that such helev is permitted; it is forbidden since the entire animal is forbidden. However, there is no additional prohibition of helev. That is, one who eats the helev of a forbidden animal has broken only one law, and not two. Moreover, eating non-kosher meat is a standard prohibition, whose punishment is lashes by the court, while eating helev is a prohibition of the highest order, with the most severe punishment of karet, being cut off by God. Helev is prohibited when the animal is fit to be a sacrifice. The essence of the prohibition is that one is stealing from God, practicing gluttony exactly where one should express one's humility and graciousness. Even in our days, when we have no sacrifices, we are prohibited from eating helev of animals that could be sacrifices. This instills in us a consciousness, even when we cannot sacrifice, that eating is a sacred act that demands our humility.

BLOOD:

The commonality between helev and blood is that in the context of the Temple, they are both "food" for God. (See Yehezqel 44:7.) Just as the helev is burned up on the altar, the blood is sprinkled on the altar as a major component of sacrificial offerings. That is about where the commonality ends. We saw above that next week's parashah limits the prohibition of helev to contexts connected to sacrifice. In the next verse, the Torah states clearly that no such limitation applies to the blood prohibition (7:26):

The explanation for this can be found back in Bereishit, in God's first words to humanity after the Flood (Bereishit 9:1-6):

On the surface, this passage seems strange. Why is the Torah mixing up meat-eating with murder? That is precisely the point, though. Blood symbolizes life. The same word used to describe life in humans ("נֶפֶשׁ") is used in animals throughout the Torah. Indeed, the Torah seems acutely aware of the similarity of human and animal blood. One who becomes desensitized to blood becomes desensitized to life, if first in animals, then in humans. Up until the Flood, humankind was required to be vegetarian (1:29). The generations leading up to Flood saw murder and violence enter the human community, leading God to decide to start over. After the Flood, God ceded to humans more control over the animal world, allowing them to eat animals, but in doing so, became ever warier of the violence this power could produce. God restarts the clock on the world with a warning of the inviolable sanctity of life. We may not spill human blood and we may not eat human blood. As Prof. Milgrom describes it, the Torah sees this precious concern for life as "the basis for a viable human society".

The prohibition of blood, then, is absolute, and not necessarily confined to sacrificial animals. Because blood represents life, it is insufficient to refrain from eating it. Instead, we must dispose of it in a way that returns it to its source and demonstrates the regeneration of life, and not its abuse. Sacrificial blood is poured on the altar, returning to God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life. We have violated the sanctity of life by killing the animal, even for a sacrifice, and are besmirched as murderers if we don't reinforce our value of life by giving the blood back to God (VaYiqra 17:11):

When one slaughters animals not for sacrifices but for regular food consumption (which is always the case today), "וְשָׁפַךְ אֶת דָּמוֹ וְכִסָּהוּ בֶּעָפָר"-"one shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth" (17:13). The Mishnah spells out this law (Hullin 6:7):

Alongside the negative mitzvah not to eat blood is the positive mitzvah to cover the blood. This mitzvah is not that we throw the blood away, but that we affirm life through it. This we accomplish by pouring it into earth that will sprout new life.

I wish to argue that blood and helev stand at the center of halakhah's system of laws regarding eating. These two laws most directly confront the fact that our bodies can be treated as sacred vessels of life, brilliant reflections of God's image which must be treated with the utmost of care and respect, or they can be treated as vessels of power, abuse, and violence. It is for that reason that laws about eating and sex so dominate all sorts of religious systems. Through the laws regarding helev and blood, the Torah requires that in the preparation, process, and aftermath of eating, we reinforce our humble graciousness to the Source of our bounty and that we reinforce our deep value for life precisely at the moment when that value might be jeopardized.