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Secondary Source: Caring for Animals

What does the way we care for animals say about us?

Proverbs 12:10  מִשְׁלֵי

יוֹדֵעַ צַדִּיק נֶפֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּוֹ

A righteous man knows the soul of his animal

You should not sit down to eat until you have first fed your animals
(Talmud, Berachot. 40a; Gittin, 62a)

You should not buy an animal unless you can guarantee it will have an adequate food supply
(Jerusalem Talmud, Ketubot, 4:8).

Moses and David are often described in our tradition as devoted shepherds who gave every animal in their flock personal attention. It was this trait of their personalities that made them worthy in God’s eyes of leading the Jewish people.
( Exodus Rabbah 2.2)

Once, while Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, one young sheep ran away. Moses ran after it until the sheep reached a shady place, where he found a pool of water and began to drink. When Moses reached the sheep, he said: ‘I did not know you ran away because you were thirsty. Now, you must be exhausted [from running].’ Moses put the sheep on his shoulders and carried him [back to the herd]. God said, “Because you tend the sheep belonging to human beings with such mercy, you shall be the shepherd of My sheep, Israel.”
( Exodus Rabbah 2:2)