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Moving beyond debates about the ethics of animal consumption to focus on animals' intimate lives, Beth A. Berkowitz examines the contribution of religious traditions and sacred texts to contemporary conversations about animals. Reading the four "animal family" laws of the Bible alongside their rabbinic interpretations from ancient times to today, she examines the bonds that animals form with each other and reimagines family to include new forms of life and alternative modes of kinship.
Humanitarian politics—and biblical law—tend to take for granted that human interests supersede animal interests and that our moral obligation extends only to avoiding unnecessary suffering, but necessity is determined by humans. What Animals Teach Us About Families looks at animal emotions, animal agency, family diversity, and human response to reconsider the obligations and opportunities the animal family presents.
"The writing is crisp, entertaining, informative and above all very thorough."
"It's the rare book of Jewish scholarship that cites ‘Bambi’ and ‘Finding Nemo’ alongside the Babylonian Talmud and the first-century philosopher Philo, and that includes a chapter on what readers can do to ensure that animals are treated more humanely."
“In What Animals Teach Us About Families, Beth A. Berkowitz offers a compelling and innovative contribution to the intersecting fields of biblical studies, rabbinic literature, and animal studies.”
“This book is an excellent contribution that breaks new ground in an understudied research area. . . . On every page, I found myself captivated by the little-known rabbinic tales, fascinated by the astute analysis, or provoked by the ethical implications of the work. . . . The book sheds new light on biblical laws, on rabbinic literature, on families, and on animals, and I recommend it to anyone interested in these topics.”
Introduction: What Animals Teach Us About Families
1. Do Animals Love Their Children? The Science of Animal Families
2. The Bible's Animal-Family Laws: What Are They, Are They Related, and Are They Humanitarian?
3. Animal Grandmothers: The Prohibition Against Same-Day Slaughter
4. Animal Mothers: The Prohibition Against Cooking a Kid in His Mother's Milk
5. Animal Fathers and Other Caregivers: Sending Off the Mother Bird
6. Animal Orphans: Keeping the Baby with the Mother for the First Week of Life
Conclusion: What Families Teach Us About Animals
Epilogue: Five Ways to Support Animal Families
With Rabbi Melissa Hoffman
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index of Sources
General Index