Star of Unity
כוכב האחדות
Cause & Effect
The very first lesson and warning the Creator gave Adam and Chava was about the law of "Cause & Effect."
The Creator warned Adam and Chava not to eat from the forbidden tree, as if they did, nature would be doomed.
While the punishment seemed to be directly from the Creator, the Creator had made Adam and Chava the reason for everything that happens in nature.
This means that Adam and Chava were responsible for any changes in the natural order or in the default setting of nature.
So, how could eating a fruit doom nature?
It looks like they are not related to each other at all, but they actually are.
Ever wonder why women are drawn to leaders?
Women are naturally followers because Mother Nature is a follower.
Yes, Mother Nature is the female aspect of the creation, mother of all beings, and like other women, her nature is to follow.
That is to say, if humans act weak, Mother Nature will follow suit and act weak, and if they act strong, Mother Nature will follow suit and act strong as well.
For this reason, the Creator warned Adam and Chava to be in control of their behavior and not to act weak, since Mother Nature would follow suit, act weak, and be doomed.
In essence, the Creator told Adam and Chava, "Nature is their nature," and that what they witness in nature is actually a direct reflection of their own behaviors.
However, as a major part of Mother Nature, animals became the mirror of nature.
At the beginning of the creation, the Creator appointed Adam to rule over all the animals and name them, demonstrating a close bond between humans and animals.
After all, we humans rule over our children and name them.
By commanding Adam to follow the same instructions for animals, the Creator is reminding Adam that not only is he the role model for his children, but also a role model for all the animals since they are both followers.
Therefore, by assigning Adam to rule over all animals, the Creator implied that Adam is responsible for any change in animals' behaviors.
In other words, by unleashing his behaviors, Adam would unleash all the animals as a consequence.
Yes, our behaviors will have an impact on Mother Nature and specially on animals:
If we take advantage of our power to kill animals for food, stronger animals will follow suit and prey on the weaker animals for food too. According to the Torah, both humans and animals were originally vegetarians before the Flood of Noah, suggesting that during the forty-day Flood, all creatures on Noah’s ark were sustained by stored vegetation. Alternatively, if the lions were already carnivorous when they left the ark, they would have eaten all the other species almost immediately, making it impossible for any other species to survive with only two of each.
If we become invaders and don't respect our borders, capable animals will follow suit and won't acknowledge their own boundaries. We are witnessing animals like bears, mountain lions, and coyotes invading our cities, failing to realize it is because humans became the invaders.
If we were attracted to the same gender, it would affect the same-sex behavior in animals too. Studies show that same-sex sexual behavior is common across many animal species.
If we cheat on our partner, it will affect the sexual behavior in animals too. Studies have shown that animals frequently cheat on their partners, even those that mate for life.
If we intentionally set the forest on fire, capable birds like brown falcons and kites follow suit, using burning sticks to spread fire and hunt fleeing prey.
If we had the power of speech, it could affect our animals, too. The Torah tells us that Bilaam's donkey spoke his language. You might think this is a made-up story, but based on the law of 'Cause and Effect,' it is possible. Because Bilaam had an 'extraordinary' power of speech, his donkey was affected and followed suit, allowing it to speak his language. The angel opened the donkey's mouth but did not give the donkey the power of speech that Bilaam did.
If we do evil or commit sins, our animals will be affected and carry our sins. That's why, Pharaoh's horse and his army's horses were also killed when they followed the Jewish nation into the sea. If humans do evil or commit sins, their belongings may also be affected or carry their sins. And that is why the Creator instructs us to bring our kosher animals and sacrifice them to free us from our sins. With that said, if you experience a financial loss, consider it a sacrifice, and therefore, you should not stress yourself over it. Torah tells us that Korah's belongings were also taken by the earth when he sinned. This is an indicator that his belongings were also affected by the law of "Cause & Effect."
If we become kind to others, animals will follow suit and also become kind to others. We witness this kindness in some animal species, especially dogs, pigeons, and dolphins all the time.
Therefore, whenever we see animals doing something, we know exactly who is behind it.
Because the lion preying on the lamb is a reflection of our choices, the ultimate question is no longer whether we can eat meat, but whether we should.
Killing animals for offerings does not doom nature; rather, it serves a higher purpose. In fact, consuming offered meat can be a necessary act for self-elevation. What dooms nature is the killing and eating of animals for mere indulgence.
Justifications are a pretext for indulging in meat, used to ease moral discomfort; the Creator never ordained such acts. Animals' role as potential sacrifices indicates they are valuable substitutes for human life, not mere sustenance. They share our blood and life force; vegetables can never pay that price. Plant-based diets are consistently found to be more sustainable and healthier according to science. Shabbat is meant to be a taste of the 'World to Come,' where there is no killing; tasting animals is not the taste of that world. We are called to be holy, a state that requires spiritual strength—not the taste of flesh.
To consume a creature under the guise of 'elevating' it only serves to degrade our own souls; we become what we eat, absorbing lower animalistic traits. Furthermore, according to the law of 'Cause & Effect,' animals may be affected by humans' immoralities, and when we feast on them, we betray our spiritual purity and poison our own nature. Ultimately, offering a blessing over food that causes nature to suffer is immoral.
Meat served as a pacifier for humanity, helping man control his bodily desires after Noah failed his strength test. Therefore, indulging in meat is acceptable only when the cravings are intense or out of control. Furthermore, while animal cruelty is unacceptable, consuming animal products is permissible if the owners legally hold the livestock. If cruelty is the concern, people can raise animals in their own backyards.
Make sure to read my article: The Meat Trap
The law of "Cause & Effect" teaches us that because we humans are created to be the cause for everything that happens in nature, taking advantage of our powers for wrong reasons will work against our physical and/or spiritual growth.
The Creator never takes advantage of His power for wrong reasons, and He wants to see the same in humans. He made us in His image to show He wants similarity.
The Creator did not give formal, public commandments to humanity before Noah's Flood, yet He destroyed the world because of rampant immorality. As described in the Torah, when strong men used their power to exploit and take advantage of the weak, the Creator destroyed them. This teaches us that the Creator expects humans to follow a simple universal, moral code: 'If you wouldn't like it done to you, don't do it to others.'
This proves that no matter what our religious beliefs are, morality always comes first.
Yes, we live in a world shaped by our behaviors.
But life should not be like the way we are experiencing it.
When we witness wildlife is not behaving peacefully, it is only because humans are not behaving peacefully.
Be sure that in the same way animals started showing their wild behaviors, they can start showing their peaceful behaviors.
Note that almost everything the creator shows us is about showing our behavior to us, since that's the only way we can reach our potential.
The law of 'Cause & Effect' helps us to see a reflection of our behaviors in nature like a mirror and thereby correct our mistakes.
That is why Mother Nature is our best teacher.
The Creator did not change the default setting of nature after He created it; humans did. We are the cause and are responsible for restoring nature to the way it was created.
And yes, we do have the power to change nature... If we change our nature, nature will change for us.
Nature is our nature.
— Bahram Cohanfard
