The Meat Trap

​​Imagine still clinging to a pacifier—pathetic, right? Yet, humanity clings to one: meat. After the flood, Noah failed his moral test by slaughtering animals for food. As a result, his weakness transformed meat into his "Meat-Pacifier."

Even THINKING that the Creator's permission for Noah to eat meat was as a concession is an AFFRONT to Divine Justice. Not only was there no concession, but Noah was held accountable for the weak decision-making that caused the animal kingdom to suffer: Permission is not a signature of immorality; it is the power to choose, given to Noah to test his true moral character. While the Creator offered him a new option he could choose to indulge in, Noah did not need to take a life for an extra pleasure.

The Creator established the world on the principle of mutual benefit; otherwise, it would not be a fair creation. When this balance is disrupted, Divine Justice steps in to administer karma, restoring the world's natural balance. Once Noah took advantage of his power and killed animals for meat, he disrupted the natural order, leading to a decline in animal populations and reproductive health. Even worse, Noah's decision triggered the law of "Cause & Effect,"* awakening predatory instincts in animals capable of taking advantage of their power to kill for meat, thereby causing the animal kingdom to suffer even more. Because Noah failed his moral test, Divine Justice stepped in, and he faced the karmic consequences of his actions through his son, experiencing a parallel punitive struggle in his own ability to multiply and flourish. Therefore, disrupting the natural order of creation means destroying ourselves.

​​The story of Noah teaches that can does not mean should, and that humanity must consider morality before killing animals to indulge in meat, even if the Creator said we can. Most importantly, we learn that killing animals limits our population growth. In other words, taking advantage of our power over the weak invites karma.

Because nature is the mother of all living beings, we humans and animals share the exact same mom, making us earthly kin. By eating them, we are essentially consuming the children of the very mother that birthed and sustains our own physical bodies. To this end, by divine decree, the Creator established our role as guardians for them, not predators. Instead of embracing this responsibility, humanity fell into a deep cycle of justification for being predators.

Before the Exodus, the Creator instructed every Jewish family to select a lamb or a goat and supervise it for four days before sacrificing it and placing its blood upon their doorpost. Keeping the animal close for four days naturally fosters a bond, transforming the livestock into a pet and making the eventual sacrifice more difficult. Through this, the Creator delivers a profound message: if we form an emotional attachment to an animal in just four days, then surely the mother of all beings, who gave birth to animals too by divine design, shares a far greater bond.

After the Exodus, the Creator sealed the commandment with a BROAD mandate—"Thou Shalt Not Kill"**—to protect animals too, proving their lives matter. ​Even so, despite forty years of Divine Justice's efforts to break Noah’s offspring of their dependence on the "Meat-Pacifier" to restore balance to the mutual benefit of the world, all He has heard until now are weak justifications for indulging in meat.

The punishment of Noah and the meat restriction after the Exodus proved that killing animals for food is an immoral act against Divine Justice; it also forces the animal kingdom to mirror and suffer. Now, let us face the truth behind these justifications:

1) Animals Are Not Plants: Saying animals are plants is the same as saying we are plants. We did not travel from another planet to Earth; we share a common origin with animals, born from the very same Earth. They share our blood and life force, possessing a sacred connection to human life. The role of animals as potential sacrifices for our sins indicates they are valuable substitutes for human life; plants can never pay that price. Adam's naming of animals demonstrates a close bond between humans and animals, much like how we name our own children; he never named plants. The Creator appointed Adam to rule over the animal kingdom, not to rule over the plants. After all, He designated plants to be food for both humans and animals, not to be looked at as flesh.

2) The Lie of Nutritional Necessity: Science consistently confirms that plant-based and vegetarian*** diets are healthier and more sustainable. These wholesome, nutritious foods require no killing and remain abundantly accessible to all. In fact, the Creator emptied His celestial refrigerator, providing a wide variety of food choices for His guests on Earth. These provisions are more than enough to sustain human strength in any environment. Even though during the forty-year training the Israelites did not have the food options we have today, they successfully fought and won battles without eating meat. This proves we do not need the energy of dead flesh to survive our physical or spiritual struggles.

​3) The Illusion of Spiritual Elevation: We often hear the claim that slaughtering and eating an animal "elevates" the animal. Do we apply this logic to the lamb killed by a lion for food? According to the law of "Cause & Effect," a lion preying on a lamb is the reflection of our own choice to kill for food. Could we elevate that tragedy too?

This proves true spiritual elevation cannot stem from harming other beings. If we refuse to see this reality, in what language must the Creator communicate with us regarding this law? We cannot deny the fact that immorality can never be elevated. We cannot fuel spiritual growth with a corrupted act and thank the Creator for it. Broken morality is a broken vessel; it cannot hold holy energy. Consuming a creature under the guise of "elevating" it only degrades our souls. We become what we eat, absorbing lower, animalistic traits, betraying our spiritual purity and poisoning our own nature.

For the above-mentioned reasons, theories like the Arizal's theory of 'elevating holy sparks' through kosher slaughter are fundamentally destructive. What happens to the holy sparks in billions of kosher animals not consumed by observant Jews? What happens to the holy sparks in all the non-kosher animals that observant Jews cannot consume? Are they left spiritually stranded? Focusing on a preferred subset of nature is not a solution for cosmic problems that may never have existed. Even so, no theory can alter the natural order or override the law of "Cause & Effect." So 𝗵𝗼𝘄 could he be right?

Historically, if his theory were true or we could elevate animals, the Creator would not have punished Noah for changing the natural order, nor would He have killed the Erev Rav for craving flesh while discouraging the Israelites during their forty years of training. Most importantly, inventing spiritual tasks to excuse an uncommanded act mirrors the fatal mistake of Aaron's sons, who brought unauthorized fire before the Creator and paid with their lives.

4) The Delusion of "Honoring Shabbat" with Meat: We honor Shabbat when we don't dine on animal flesh. During the forty-year training, the Creator did not permit the Israelites to eat meat on this holy day. We cannot call Shabbat a day of rest when we disturb the rest of nature. We are called to be holy, a state that requires spiritual strength, not the desire for slaughter. This sacred day is meant to be a taste of the "World to Come," where there is no killing—the taste of meat is not the taste of that world.

5) The Fallacy of the Kosher List: Kosher laws were never an endorsement of meat consumption but rather a concession for those struggling to control their cravings. When the Israelites lost self-control and complained about meat, the Creator provided it, demonstrating: Meat Consumption is Restricted for Moments of Intense Craving.

For thousands of years, our sages have failed to recognize the law of "Cause & Effect," yet they insist they possess greater insight than Moses himself—the very prophet who recognized that meat-eating was never meant to be a dietary staple. The truth remains that the Creator never ordained such acts in the Torah or the Oral Torah. These are fabricated justifications to indulge a habit of meat consumption. Restricting meat after the Exodus proves it is destructive, and ignoring this is an insult to His wisdom, recalling the "Graves of Cravings" where many perished from lusting after flesh.

Justifications are distractions that lead us to cling to the "Meat-Pacifier." They aim to pull us away from our "strength," which serves as the ladder to the spiritual world, as illustrated by Jacob’s dream. Without mastering this internal power rather than relying solely on ritual prayer, we cannot reach the spiritual level of angels.

​Trust that the Creator is kind, holds nothing against animals, and never intended them to be food for humans or for wild beasts, as it is an injustice to the mutual benefit of the world and to His moral values. Forcing these beings—who desire life and resist slaughter—to become our dinner is a direct betrayal of the Creator. Indeed, reciting blessings over forbidden food that causes nature to suffer is not appreciation; it is manipulation.​

​​​True elevation happens when we master our own behavior, not at the dinner table. The law of "Cause & Effect," dictates that when we stop eating meat, animals will mirror that shift and stop killing for meat too. Just as animals became carnivores because of us, they can become herbivores once again.

​Consuming fruits and vegetables is a profoundly constructive act. When we eat of the harvest, we participate in a sacred loop of sustenance: what we do not consume returns to the earth, feeding the very trees as food and fertilizer. This is a divine, unbroken cycle that yields mutual benefit for all living beings and the soil. Conversely, no such harmony exists in the slaughter of animals. Eating meat breaks the cycle entirely, offering humans nothing more than fleeting sensory pleasure while bringing destruction to the animal kingdom and ourselves. It is a dead end—there is no mutual benefit, and there is no cycle.

​The natural order of nature before the fall was for humans and animals to live forever. In other words, the ultimate destination for humans and animals is Earth. Therefore, we cannot truly desire life while taking animals' lives, changing the default setting of creation. By destroying animal life, our actions directly contradict our ultimate desire to return to that eternal default state, meaning we are actively working against our own will.

The Creator does not desire a WEAK nation ADDICTED to meat. He did not spend forty years training the Israelites to become STRONG only for those efforts to be dismissed as meaningless. Our continued justifications keep us in the "Meat Trap"—and have failed to prevent Divine Judgment in the past, and won't prevent it in the future either. As Noah's history warns us, causing a decline in animal population invites karma.

​​— Bahram Cohanfard

​Direct Link to This Page: TheMeatTrap.com

*The law of "Cause & Effect" dictates that because nature acts as the female aspect of creation, her nature is to follow human behavior. Because nature learns and follows, the Creator warned Adam and Chava not to eat the forbidden fruit. He knew that if they failed or behaved weakly, nature would learn, follow, and ultimately be doomed. Since animals are a major part of nature, they learn and follow as well; in essence, animals mirror human behavior. Because animals learn and follow, Bilaam's donkey learned to speak by following Bilaam, who possessed an extraordinary power of speech. Read the full analysis: Cause & Effect​

​​​**While the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill" protects animals, bringing them as offerings or for higher constructive purposes ordered by the Creator is permitted. Under certain conditions, consuming the offered meat is a necessary act for spiritual elevation.

​***Although cruelty to animals is unacceptable, consuming animal products is permitted if the owners legally own the livestock. If cruelty is a concern, people can raise animals safely in their own backyards. Furthermore, unfertilized eggs do not contain life and will never hatch.

​​​​​​Note: Please bear in mind that if you are a religious figure, you are the primary teacher and role model for your community. Leadership carries a heavy weight of responsibility. When those in power mislead the community, they bear the burden of the sins committed by those who follow them.