I was thinking of passages like Leviticus 11:42.
If unclean animals are an abomination, and that comes from a root that means
"to loathe" (as in God wants us to loathe them), wouldn't it be wrong to have
them as pets?
I've spoken to Moslems who hate dogs, consider them unclean, and tell me that
strays are stoned in their countries.
It seems to me that if תועבה means "to abhor" or "to loathe," that's precisely
the attitude the Torah is telling us to have toward dogs, cats, ferrets,
hamsters, gerbals, gecko's, etc. (though the Moslems I've spoken to seem more
tolerant of cats than other pets.)
Is that what the Torah means when it speaks of such animals as To'evah?
From: Yigal Levin <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 8:07 PM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] to'evah
To which I would add, that, as in many cases, the specific English word which
is closest in meaning to the Hebrew depends on the context, on your
interpretation of the Hebrew, and often on the connotation of the English word
that you're using as well. Which particular use of To'evah are you referring to?
Yigal Levin
From:[email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Yohanan bin-Dawidh
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2013 12:59 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] to'evah
Hello Michael,
The term תועבה in a ritual sense means something that is "unclean" or "impure",
and in a ethical sense means something that is "wicked". The word comes from
the root תעב, which holds the meaning of "to abhor" or "to loathe".
In trying to understand this term properly, I look at the texts where this term
is used, and one of the mest usages of the term is the fact that in Sefer
B'reshit 43 that is was תועבה for the Misrayim to eat with 'Ibrim. In this
situation it is an improper mixture between two different people, two different
social classes, i.e. an improper or impure union of people.
Sincerely,
Yohanan bin-Dawidh
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