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.
To clarify this in detail...
What does eating a fruit have to do with dooming nature?
It looks like they are not related to each other at all.
But wait...
Ever wonder why women's nature is to be a follower?
It's only because Mother Nature is a follower.
Yes, Mother Nature is the mother of all beings, and her nature is to follow...
That is to say, if humans act weak, nature will follow and act weak too, and if they act strong, nature will follow 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, act weak, and be doomed.
In essence, the Creator told Adam and Chava that what they witness in nature is the REFLECTION of their own behaviors.
In the beginning of the creation, the Creator appointed Adam and Chava to rule over all animals.
Since Adam was created from the same source as animals, a spark of all the characteristics of animals was concealed within him.
After the warning, the Creator commanded Adam to name all the animals to recognize his animalistic traits within him and control them.
In other words, the Creator informed Adam that animals have a special place in nature and reassured him that they would follow his behavior.
Yes, humans' behaviors will have an impact on nature...
If humans become meat addicts, animals will follow and also become meat addicts. Humans and animals were all vegetarians before the flood of Noah. For this reason, Noah was able to feed all the animals vegetables for forty days in his ark. After the flood, humans began hunting animals for food, taking advantage of their power over the weak. As a result, the stronger animals also started preying on the weaker ones. So, if you witness a wild animal preying on a weak one, you know who is responsible.
If humans become invaders and don't respect their borders, animals will follow and won't acknowledge their own boundaries. We have been witnessing wild animals invading our cities for years, not realizing it is because humans have become invaders.
If humans were attracted to the same gender, it would affect the same-sex behavior in animals. Studies show that same-sex sexual behavior is common across many animal species.
If humans do evil or commit sins, animals will follow and also do evil. Alternatively, the animals will carry humans' sins. That's why, in Noah's time, when the creator killed evil people, He also killed the animals. For the same reason, Pharaoh's horse and his army's horses were killed when they followed the Jewish people 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 (affected) 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 humans had the power of speech, it could affect their animals, too. Torah tells us that Bilaam's donkey spoke. Yes, you read that right. You might think this is a made-up story but based on the law of "Cause & Effect", it's possible. Bilaam had an EXTRAORDINARY power of speech. Therefore, his donkey was affected and was able to talk. The angel opened its mouth, but it did not give the donkey the power of speech that Bilaam did.
If humans become kind to others, animals will follow and also become kind to others. We witness this kindness in some animals, especially dogs, all the time.
The law of "Cause & Effect" teaches us that because we humans are created to be the "cause," taking advantage of our powers for wrong reasons will work against our physical and/or spiritual growth.
A good example is that when humans take advantage of their powers against animals for food, unless they are offerings, they may be affected by all those sins upon the animals and thereby diminish themselves spiritually.
Another good example is that when humans take advantage of their powers and kill animals to fill up their stomachs, wild animals will follow and take advantage of their powers against the weak ones to kill and fill up their stomachs too, which is, of course, destructive and against the will of our Creator.
Above all, animals are considered pets by our spiritual father. He made us in His image so that we understand Him. Yes, they are His pets, and He loves and cares for them just as we love and care for our own pets. Taking advantage of our powers against them for the wrong reasons will not go unpunished. What would you do to someone who killed your pet and ate it as regular food? When we are kind to animals, we respect our spiritual father and Mother Nature since she is their mother, and like any mother, she loves and cares for them too. Never forget we come from dust, which is the same source of all red meat animals, and must respect that as much as possible. When we say the Creator is kind, remember His kindness is not only for humans. He is kind because His essence is kind. So, He is kind to animals too and does not want them to be killed for the wrong reasons.
That is why for forty years the Creator trained the Jews to be in control of their craving for meat and to eat animals for a higher purpose, such as offerings, or when we are allowed to eat them, like when we have an extreme craving for meat and not as a routine practice. He even killed many of those who were the reason for others to crave and eat meat.
The Creator doesn't want a WEAK nation ADDICTED to meat.
You cannot possibly be addicted to meat and claim you're a religious person or in control of your bodily desires.
The Creator made you to be strong because He NEEDS you to be strong.
By creating you, the Creator hired you to be the connector of the relationship between the upper and lower worlds. Failure to do so will cause weakness, followed by separation and destruction.
For this reason, you cannot be attached to any physical pleasures, especially meat that your body does not even need, and be the connector the Creator expects from you to be.
I know, I know...
You were told that you can eat meat in routine practice and must eat meat on Shabbat.
But who told you that?
The Creator?
If yes, where in the Torah says that?
Is that why He took the meat away from the Jews and even killed those who tempted others to eat meat??
After leaving Egypt, for forty years the Creator did not give meat to the Jews, and that includes Shabbat too.
Stop worshipping humans...
Trust that the Creator knows more than all those who instruct you to eat meat.
The meat that the Creator allowed Noah to eat was similar to a pacifier that you give to your newborn and take away from your child at the right age, only to make your child strong.
Interestingly enough, Noah was like a newborn when he stepped out of his boat!
That's why, after leaving Egypt, the Creator took away the meat or the pacifier from the Jews to make them strong.
But only because they had a strong craving for meat and complained, the Creator gave them meat.
What does that tell you?
If you don't know that action clearly states that the Creator wants you to eat meat only when you have a strong craving for it.
But He doesn't want you to be the reason for others to crave meat. Bamidbar - Chapter 11 (Graves of Craving)
For this reason, never tempt others to eat meat and never support those who do so.
You cannot be a moral person but support the killing of animals for food.
During the Holocaust, millions of Jews were put into ovens, perhaps a sign of being addicted to meat.
You cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.
That's probably why we witnessed the same thing again, and even worse than that, on Oct 7, 2023.
Think karma!
The creator cannot possibly help us to grow on our own if He doesn't show us our behavior toward others and animals.
Again, the Creator NEEDS us to be strong.
That's why He forced the Jews to accept all His commandments or die.
Don't fool yourself...
Unless it's an offering, eating animals won't elevate you; it may elevate the animals, not you.
Learn to elevate yourself...
You are created to be the reason for everything that happens in nature, and therefore, once you improve your behavior or elevate yourself, nature will follow and also become elevated.
Be sure that the same way wild animals started eating meat in Noah's time, they can start eating vegetables again and save millions of animal lives, only if you change your behavior toward meat.
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 not behaving peacefully, it is only because humans are not behaving peacefully.
Note again 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 see the reflection of our behaviors in nature like a mirror and thereby correct our mistakes.
Yes, 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.
Bahram Cohanfard
