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Why is causing pain to animals forbidden d'Oraisa while rescuing animals from pain is only d'rabbanan? The shiur develops a yesod that tzaar baalei chayim is fundamentally about destroying one's tzelem Elokim through cruelty, not about obligations to animals. This bein adam l'atzmo framework explains why gentiles are also bound by this prohibition - cruelty damages the divine image within every human being.
The shiur begins with a vort from Rabbi Zweig's rebbe regarding the nature of tzaar baalei chayim (causing pain to animals), analyzing a fundamental disagreement between the Rambam (רמב"ם) in Moreh Nevuchim and the position cited by the Gra. The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim 3:17 brings proof from Parshas Balak that tzaar baalei chayim is an issur d'Oraisa based on the angel's rebuke of Bilaam for hitting his donkey. However, the Gra in Orach Chaim 305 argues that the Rambam actually holds tzaar baalei chayim is only d'rabbanan, citing as proof that there is no obligation of perikah (unloading a burden) from a gentile's animal - if tzaar baalei chayim were d'Oraisa, it should apply to gentiles' animals as well. The rebbe's fundamental insight distinguishes between two aspects of tzaar baalei chayim: actively inflicting pain versus rescuing animals from existing pain. The Torah (תורה) prohibition is specifically against inflicting pain - as demonstrated by the angel's rebuke of Bilaam for hitting his donkey. Taking an animal out of pain, however, is a separate obligation that may only be rabbinic in nature. This distinction resolves the apparent contradiction between the Rambam's sources.
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Parshas Balak - Angel's rebuke of Bilaam
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