(כו) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (כז) שׁ֣וֹר אוֹ־כֶ֤שֶׂב אוֹ־עֵז֙ כִּ֣י יִוָּלֵ֔ד וְהָיָ֛ה שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים תַּ֣חַת אִמּ֑וֹ וּמִיּ֤וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי֙ וָהָ֔לְאָה יֵרָצֶ֕ה לְקָרְבַּ֥ן אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַיהוָֽה׃ (כח) וְשׁ֖וֹר אוֹ־שֶׂ֑ה אֹת֣וֹ וְאֶת־בְּנ֔וֹ לֹ֥א תִשְׁחֲט֖וּ בְּי֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃ (כט) וְכִֽי־תִזְבְּח֥וּ זֶֽבַח־תּוֹדָ֖ה לַיהוָ֑ה לִֽרְצֹנְכֶ֖ם תִּזְבָּֽחוּ׃
(26) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (27) When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall stay seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as an offering by fire to the LORD. (28) However, no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its young. (29) When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the LORD, sacrifice it so that it may be acceptable in your favor.
Connection to Circumcision
Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 22:27:2
[BUT FROM THE EIGHTH DAY AND THENCEFORTH.] Like a child that is circumcised, that is, until a quarter of the month has passed.
[BUT FROM THE EIGHTH DAY AND THENCEFORTH.] Like a child that is circumcised, that is, until a quarter of the month has passed.
Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed III, 49, as quoted in Nechama Liebowitz's New Studies in Vayikra, p.382
The circumcision must take place on the eight day, because all living beings are after birth, within the first seven days, very weak and exceedingly tender, as if they were still in the womb of their mother. Not until the eighth day can they be counted among those that enjoy the light of the world. That this is also the case with beasts may be inferred from the words of Scripture: Seven days shall it be under the sun, as if it had no vitality before the end of that period. In the same manner, man is circumcised after the completion of seven days. The period has been fixed, and has not been left to everybody's judgement.
The circumcision must take place on the eight day, because all living beings are after birth, within the first seven days, very weak and exceedingly tender, as if they were still in the womb of their mother. Not until the eighth day can they be counted among those that enjoy the light of the world. That this is also the case with beasts may be inferred from the words of Scripture: Seven days shall it be under the sun, as if it had no vitality before the end of that period. In the same manner, man is circumcised after the completion of seven days. The period has been fixed, and has not been left to everybody's judgement.
Connection to Days of Creation / Shabbat
Tur HaAroch, Leviticus 22:27:1
שור או כשב או עז וגו', “an ox or goat that will be born, etc.” After the Torah had given us a list of animals unwelcome on the altar due to various kinds of blemishes, it now adds a new type of disqualification, i.e. being under age, less than seven days old. Even though these animals do not display any blemish, being too young (or too old) can also disqualify an animal as a potential sacrifice. Some commentators claim that the reason is that if one were to sacrifice an animal on the very first day it was born, some onlookers might construe this as homage to that day, the first day heaven and earth existed. Similarly, offering such a young animal on any other of the seven days of its first week on earth might be misinterpreted as some form of idolatry. Hence, after a whole week has elapsed, such a misinterpretation of the owner’s intention is impossible. By waiting at least seven days before offering a newly born animal as a sacrifice, this amounts to an acknowledgment that God created the universe in six days and that He rested on the seventh day.
שור או כשב או עז וגו', “an ox or goat that will be born, etc.” After the Torah had given us a list of animals unwelcome on the altar due to various kinds of blemishes, it now adds a new type of disqualification, i.e. being under age, less than seven days old. Even though these animals do not display any blemish, being too young (or too old) can also disqualify an animal as a potential sacrifice. Some commentators claim that the reason is that if one were to sacrifice an animal on the very first day it was born, some onlookers might construe this as homage to that day, the first day heaven and earth existed. Similarly, offering such a young animal on any other of the seven days of its first week on earth might be misinterpreted as some form of idolatry. Hence, after a whole week has elapsed, such a misinterpretation of the owner’s intention is impossible. By waiting at least seven days before offering a newly born animal as a sacrifice, this amounts to an acknowledgment that God created the universe in six days and that He rested on the seventh day.
Midrash Tanchuma, Emor 12
R. Joshua of Sikhnin says in the name of R. Levi, “[The situation] is similar to a king who entered a province (Lev. R. 27:10; PRK 9:10). where he issued a proclamation and said, ‘Let no strangers who are here see my face before they first see the face of [my] matron.' Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, ‘My children shall not approach me with an offering until the Sabbath [queen] has passed over it. For there are no seven [days] without a Sabbath, and there is no circumcision without [the passing of] a Sabbath.’” R. Isaac said, “An ordinance for humanity and an ordinance for beasts [are on a par]. An ordinance for humanity is (Lev. 12:3), ‘And on the eighth day [the flesh of his foreskin] shall be circumcised.’ And an ordinance for beasts is (Lev. 22:27), ‘and from the eighth day on, it shall be acceptable [for an offering by fire to the Lord].’”
R. Joshua of Sikhnin says in the name of R. Levi, “[The situation] is similar to a king who entered a province (Lev. R. 27:10; PRK 9:10). where he issued a proclamation and said, ‘Let no strangers who are here see my face before they first see the face of [my] matron.' Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, ‘My children shall not approach me with an offering until the Sabbath [queen] has passed over it. For there are no seven [days] without a Sabbath, and there is no circumcision without [the passing of] a Sabbath.’” R. Isaac said, “An ordinance for humanity and an ordinance for beasts [are on a par]. An ordinance for humanity is (Lev. 12:3), ‘And on the eighth day [the flesh of his foreskin] shall be circumcised.’ And an ordinance for beasts is (Lev. 22:27), ‘and from the eighth day on, it shall be acceptable [for an offering by fire to the Lord].’”
Neccessity of time
Bekor Shor, Leviticus 22:27:1
It shall stay seven days with its mother. In case the animal is non-viable. And further -- everything which separates from a place of impurity and a place of stench needs separation before it enters into the camp of God's Presence...
It shall stay seven days with its mother. In case the animal is non-viable. And further -- everything which separates from a place of impurity and a place of stench needs separation before it enters into the camp of God's Presence...
R. Yitzhak Arama, Akeidat Yitzchak, Parashat Shemini, as quoted in Nechama Leibowitz' New Studies in Vayikra, p. 383-384.
"And you shall abide at the door of the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord" (Lev 8:35)
God in His superior wisdom commanded Aaron and his sons, on entering their holy service, to observe an inaugural period of seven days in which to contemplate and gain comprehension on the holy charge of the Eternal...During these seven days, they were not allowed to leave the Sanctuary but were to spend them in the House of the Lord. Their stay there was to stimulate them to ponder on the Divine work of Creation and realize God's power and window. Such meditation leads man to love and serve his Creator.
....This is the purpose of the seven-day period of seclusion which should aid a sensitive person to become fully conscious of his task...just as the priests were enjoined to do upon their consecration in order to bring home to them their holy task of serving God, the Creator of all things, omnipotent and omniscient...and their obligations to divest themselves of their everyday garments, replacing them by the holy vestments in which to carry out their sacred tasks in the Sanctuary, in a clean and pure state...
This approach is of the utmost importance for any sensitive person who aspires to perfection. An excellent example is the commandment, "It shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be acceptable." Just as an animal is not fit for the altar before this special seven-day period has passed and its vitality has been proved, so also should any discerning person allow himself seven days of preparation before embarking upon his enterprise.
"And you shall abide at the door of the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord" (Lev 8:35)
God in His superior wisdom commanded Aaron and his sons, on entering their holy service, to observe an inaugural period of seven days in which to contemplate and gain comprehension on the holy charge of the Eternal...During these seven days, they were not allowed to leave the Sanctuary but were to spend them in the House of the Lord. Their stay there was to stimulate them to ponder on the Divine work of Creation and realize God's power and window. Such meditation leads man to love and serve his Creator.
....This is the purpose of the seven-day period of seclusion which should aid a sensitive person to become fully conscious of his task...just as the priests were enjoined to do upon their consecration in order to bring home to them their holy task of serving God, the Creator of all things, omnipotent and omniscient...and their obligations to divest themselves of their everyday garments, replacing them by the holy vestments in which to carry out their sacred tasks in the Sanctuary, in a clean and pure state...
This approach is of the utmost importance for any sensitive person who aspires to perfection. An excellent example is the commandment, "It shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be acceptable." Just as an animal is not fit for the altar before this special seven-day period has passed and its vitality has been proved, so also should any discerning person allow himself seven days of preparation before embarking upon his enterprise.
Compassion
Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed II, 48, as quoted in Nechama Leibowitz New Studies in Vayikra, p.388-9.
"The commandment concerning the killing of animals is necessary because the natural food of man consists of vegetables and of the flesh of animals....It is not allowed to torment the animals by cutting the throat in a clumsy manner, by pole-axing or by cutting off a limb while the animal is alive. It is also prohibited to kill an animal with its young on the same day (Leviticus 22:28) in order that people should be restrained and prevented from killing the two together in such a manner that the young is slain in sight of the mother, for the pain of the animal under such circumstances is very great. There is no difference in this case between the pain of man and the pain of other living things, since the love and tenderness of the mother for her young ones is not produced by reasoning, but by imagination, and this faculty exists not only in man but in most living beings...."
"The commandment concerning the killing of animals is necessary because the natural food of man consists of vegetables and of the flesh of animals....It is not allowed to torment the animals by cutting the throat in a clumsy manner, by pole-axing or by cutting off a limb while the animal is alive. It is also prohibited to kill an animal with its young on the same day (Leviticus 22:28) in order that people should be restrained and prevented from killing the two together in such a manner that the young is slain in sight of the mother, for the pain of the animal under such circumstances is very great. There is no difference in this case between the pain of man and the pain of other living things, since the love and tenderness of the mother for her young ones is not produced by reasoning, but by imagination, and this faculty exists not only in man but in most living beings...."
(ו) כִּ֣י יִקָּרֵ֣א קַן־צִפּ֣וֹר ׀ לְפָנֶ֡יךָ בַּדֶּ֜רֶךְ בְּכָל־עֵ֣ץ ׀ א֣וֹ עַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֶפְרֹחִים֙ א֣וֹ בֵיצִ֔ים וְהָאֵ֤ם רֹבֶ֙צֶת֙ עַל־הָֽאֶפְרֹחִ֔ים א֖וֹ עַל־הַבֵּיצִ֑ים לֹא־תִקַּ֥ח הָאֵ֖ם עַל־הַבָּנִֽים׃
(6) If, along the road, you chance upon a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young.
Nachmanides on Deuteronomy 22:6 (trans. from The Rubin JPS Miqra'ot Gedolot)
Maimonides, in the Guide, says the point is that the mother should not have to watch her offspring being killed, since animals have as strong feelings about that as humans do. A mother's love and nurturing of her children do not come from the intellect, but but from the imaginative faculty, which animals and people alike have. If this were correct, the main point of Lev. 22:28 would be to prohibit slaughtering the young first, and the prohibition of the mother first would just be a precaution. But it is more correct to say that we are being instructed not the inure ourselves to cruelty....These decrees are for our benefit. It is not that the Holy One takes pity on the nest, or on the mother animal and her young. He does not prevent us from doing what we need to do to them....The point is to teach us to to be merciful and to prevent us from being cruel--for cruelty spreads easily through the human soul.
Maimonides, in the Guide, says the point is that the mother should not have to watch her offspring being killed, since animals have as strong feelings about that as humans do. A mother's love and nurturing of her children do not come from the intellect, but but from the imaginative faculty, which animals and people alike have. If this were correct, the main point of Lev. 22:28 would be to prohibit slaughtering the young first, and the prohibition of the mother first would just be a precaution. But it is more correct to say that we are being instructed not the inure ourselves to cruelty....These decrees are for our benefit. It is not that the Holy One takes pity on the nest, or on the mother animal and her young. He does not prevent us from doing what we need to do to them....The point is to teach us to to be merciful and to prevent us from being cruel--for cruelty spreads easily through the human soul.
Ibn Kaspi, as quoted in Nechama Leibowitz' New Studies in Vayikra, p. 393.
Summing up, we learn that God has through this principle acquainted us with a great part of existential wisdom and at the same time taught us the quality of modesty and humbleness, so that we may always bear in mind that we are not very unlike a donkey or a mule, a cabbage or a pomegranate or even an inert rock. But He has also instilled in us the quality of compassion, to be shown to deserving people, for this was the main reason for the creation of the world.
Summing up, we learn that God has through this principle acquainted us with a great part of existential wisdom and at the same time taught us the quality of modesty and humbleness, so that we may always bear in mind that we are not very unlike a donkey or a mule, a cabbage or a pomegranate or even an inert rock. But He has also instilled in us the quality of compassion, to be shown to deserving people, for this was the main reason for the creation of the world.