Oxen

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Liability for Goring Oxen

TANAKH

The Torah outlines specific legal and financial responsibilities for ox owners when their ox causes harm, emphasizing the consequences based on the ox's history of goring and the owner's negligence. The book of Exodus details these laws, differentiating between accidental harm and cases where the owner knew the ox was dangerous and failed to guard it.

When any party’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and it dies, they shall sell the live ox and divide its price; they shall also divide the dead animal. If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has failed to guard it, that person must restore ox for ox, but shall keep the dead animal.

Exodus 21:35-36

The Mystical Ox in Ezekiel's Vision

CHASIDUT

The ox is one of four faces in Ezekiel's vision of the divine chariot. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov's Likutei Moharan delves into the mystical symbolism of the different components of the chariot, considered as aspects of the soul, including the presence of the ox.

Shor (ox) in the aspect of soul is the clear light added to the soul because of the coming together, the uniting of the soul’s fragments. Then, the soul shines even more. For when the will does not shine, then the soul is in the aspect of “the soul hungers” (Psalms 107:9). The essence of the hunger [that a person feels] stems from a lack of light. As our Sages taught: “He made you suffer and let you go hungry, and He fed you the manna” (Deuteronomy 8:3) —from here we learn that a blind man is never satiated (Yoma 74b)…

Likutei Moharan 13:5:5-7

The Mystical Significance of the Ox

MUSAR

The ox holds mystical and spiritual significance in Jewish thought. In his 17th-century work, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz explores the mystical symbolism of the ox as derived from Ezekiel's vision of the divine chariot, particularly in its association with the emanation gevurah (strength) and its role in the transmigration of souls. .

The animal שור, ox, has its origin in the emanation גבורה, as we know from Ezekiel's vision of the מרכבה (Ezekiel 1,10): ופני שור מהשמאל, "And the face of the ox from the Left." The lamb mentioned in our verse (22,1), however, refers to Israel the lamb, in dispersion. Jacob's and hence Israel's attribute is תפארת, harmony, the Torah refers to this by hinting that transmigrations of souls due to either the attribute of שור or שה will not result in the souls ultimately becoming נדחים, outcast. The Torah did not need to tell us that transmigrations due to the attribute of חסד would not result in…

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Ki Teitzei, Torah Ohr 23

Handling Oxen with Care

TALMUD

The Talmud provides practical advice on handling animals, emphasizing the unique dangers posed by oxen. In the Talmudic tractate Pesachim, Rabbi Meir offers insights into the specific cries and commands used to lead different animals, with a special focus on the extreme caution required when dealing with oxen.

A Sage taught citing the name of Rabbi Meir, in an exaggerated vein: Even if the head of the ox is in its food basket, go up to the roof and kick the ladder out from underneath you to escape from it. Rav said: The cry that one says to lead an ox is hen hen. The cry to lead a lion is zeh zeh. The cry to lead a camel is da da. The cry to laborers using ropes to pull a ship along a river is heleni, hayya, hela, vehilook, hulya.

Pesachim 112b:8

The Princes and the Tabernacle

MIDRASH

According to this legend, the chieftains of the tribes, having failed to provide for the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, attempted to make ammends by providing wagons and oxen to carry the Tabernacle. Louis Ginzberg’s early 20th-century work, Legends of the Jews, weaves together a rich tapestry of midrashic stories, providing deeper insights into biblical events and characters.

When Moses called on the people to make their offerings for the erection of the sanctuary, it sorely vexed the princes of the tribes that he had not summoned them particularly. Hence they withheld their contributions, waiting for the people to give according to their powers, so that they might step in and make up the deficiency, and all should observe that without them the Tabernacle could not have been completed. But they were mistaken, for in their ready devotion the people provided all needful things for the sanctuary…

Legends of the Jews 3:3:87

When Oxen Cause Damage

TALMUD

The classification of animals as forewarned or innocuous has significant implications for liability in cases of damage. The Talmudic tractate Bava Kamma discusses the laws of torts, including a debate between Rabbi Tarfon and the Rabbis about an ox causing damage on the property of the injured party.

The Gemara notes: This interpretation of the mishna is also taught in a baraita: There are five damage-causing acts that animals can perform twice and remain innocuous, but if they were warned for performing those acts three times with regard to the five acts, they are considered forewarned. The next part of the mishna then provides another halakha: But for damage of the categories of Eating and Trampling, an animal is considered forewarned from the outset…

Bava Kamma 16a:9

A Higher Calling

COMMENTARY

Elisha's immediate and unwavering commitment to follow Eliyahu HaNavi, despite his wealth, represented by his ownership of twelve pairs of oxen, showcases his readiness to abandon his material possessions for a higher spiritual calling. This 21st century study of the Book of Kings by Chaim Jachter describes the moment when the prophet Elisha is called by Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) to follow him.

Elisha readily grasps the message and responds with alacrity by running to Eliyahu HaNavi. Elisha is clearly fully and instantaneously drawn and committed to Eliyahu HaNavi. The fact that he is at the head of a team of twelve pairs of oxen indicates, as noted by Ralbag, that he is quite wealthy. Nonetheless, Elisha unflinchingly displays his unconditional willingness to leave it all to come under the wings of Eliyahu HaNavi.

From David to Destruction, Eliyahu HaNavi and the Drought of Faith, The Great First Meeting of Eliyahu HaNavi and Elisha 7

The Grazing Habits of Oxen

COMMENTARY

Oxen have a unique way of grazing due to their lack of front upper teeth, which impacts the grass differently than other animals. The medieval Torah commentary Daat Zkenim by the Tosafists offers insights into this distinctive characteristic of oxen.

כלחוך השור, “just like oxen lick up;” oxen are known not to have teeth in the upper parts of their gums, so that instead of chewing the grass they rub it in their mouths, unlike horses or donkeys. As a result also the roots of the grass are destroyed and will not grow again.

Da'at Zekenim on Numbers 22:4:2

The Ethics of Muzzling an Ox

GUIDES

The prohibition against muzzling an ox while it threshes grain raises important questions about animal welfare and labor rights in Jewish law. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, in his commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, explores whether this law applies only to oxen or to other animals and forms of labor, and discusses the circumstances under which this mitzvah is applicable.

Incidental to the discussion of laborers' rights, this chapter addresses a similar halakha, the prohibition against muzzling an ox when it threshes grain. This halakha also requires clarification: Does it apply only to an ox, or are other animals also included in the prohibition? Similarly, does it refer solely to the specific action of threshing grain or to other forms of animal labor as well? The Gemara also discusses in which cases this mitzva applies, and whether or not one may use artifice to avoid this obligation.

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia, Introduction to Perek VII 7

Ethical Treatment of Animals

SECOND TEMPLE

The Torah’s prohibition against yoking an ox and a donkey together underscores the ethical consideration for animal welfare. Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, elaborates on this Torah law, emphasizing compassion and fairness.

[146] But since I have mentioned the kindly and benevolent injunction on behalf of the oxen when treading the corn, I will cite next the law enacted in behalf of cattle which plough the land. This is a law of the same family. It forbids the yoking together of an ox and an ass for ploughing the land, and has in view not merely the incongruity of the animals, since the ox is clean and the ass belongs to the unclean, and it is not fitting to put together creatures so alien in status, but also their disparity of strength…

On the Virtues 27:2

Cultivating Compassion through Kindness to Animals

JEWISH THOUGHT

Compassion towards animals is not only for their benefit but also to cultivate kindness in humans. Samuel David Luzzatto, a 19th-century Italian Jewish scholar, emphasizes the ethical importance of treating animals with kindness, citing particular Jewish laws regarding the treatment of oxen and other animals.

And not towards man alone did the Torah command compassion and kindness, but also towards beast and bird — on the one hand, for the sake of the animals themselves, "for His mercies are on all living things" (Tehillim 145:9), and on the other, for the benefit of man himself, so that he habituate himself to the trait of compassion and not adopt that of cruelty. Of this type are (Devarim 25:4) "Do not muzzle an ox in its threshing" and (Ibid. 22:10) "Do not plow with an ox and an ass together." For (as Ibn Ezra says) the strength of the ass is not equal to that of the ox…

Sefer Yesodei HaTorah 21:1

A Grand Display of Devotion

TANAKH

The communal and abundant sacrificial offerings by King Solomon and the entire community of Israel demonstrate their collective religious devotion and the grand scale of their sacrifices. The biblical book of Kings I recounts the numerous sacrifices of sheep and oxen offered by King Solomon and the Israelites before the Ark.

Meanwhile, King Solomon and the whole community of Israel, who were assembled with him before the Ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen in such abundance that they could not be numbered or counted.

I Kings 8:5

Dividing the Ox

TALMUD

The legal distinction in the case of an ox purchased for plowing but used for slaughter highlights the principle that each partner takes their portion according to their monetary investment. The Talmudic tractate Ketubot discusses various legal scenarios, including the division of assets in joint business ventures.

The Gemara answers: That is indeed what the Tosefta is saying: In what case is this statement said? In the case of an ox purchased for plowing and used for plowing, but in the case of an ox purchased for plowing but used for slaughter, it becomes like a case where this partner purchased oxen with his own funds and that partner purchased oxen with his own funds, and they became mixed when the two owners entered a joint business venture…

Ketubot 93b:6

The Primary Category of Ox

MISHNAH

The Mishnah categorizes different types of damages, including one sort of damage categorized under the heading of 'ox' . The Mishnah, compiled around 200 CE, in tractate Bava Kamma, outlines principles of liability and responsibility for various types of damages, including those caused by oxen.

There are four primary categories of damage: The category of Ox; and the category of Pit; and the category of Maveh, which, based on a discussion in the Gemara refers either to the tooth of an animal that causes damage or to a person who causes damage; and the category of Fire. Each of these categories is unique; therefore, the halakhot of one cannot be derived from another. The defining characteristic of the primary category of Ox is not similar to the defining characteristic of the primary category of…

Mishnah Bava Kamma 1:1

Evaluating Damages from an Ox

HALAKHAH

The value of an ox can change between the time it is injured by another party and the time of the trial, affecting the compensation owed. In his 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides addresses the complexities of evaluating damages to an ox.

[The amount that the person whose ox caused the damage must pay is subject to change in some, but not in all, circumstances. To illustrate:] An ox that was worth 200 [zuz] gored another ox worth 200 [zuz], causing it to depreciate 50 [zuz]. At the time of the trial, its value increased and it was worth 400 zuz. If, however, it had not been gored, it would have been worth 800 [zuz]. Whether its value increased because it was fattened or because of market fluctuations, the damages are evaluated according to the loss at the time the damage took place…

Mishneh Torah, Damages to Property 7:11

Oxen for the Tabernacle

TARGUM

The allocation of oxen and wagons for the Tabernacle service underscores the meticulous organization and resource distribution for sacred duties. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, an Aramaic translation and interpretation of the Torah, provides insight into the practical aspects of the Levites' service in the Tabernacle.

Take them, and let them be used for the need of the appointed (work), and let the oxen and the wagons be for the work of the service of the tabernacle of ordinance, and give them to the Levites, to each according to the measure of his work.

Targum Jonathan on Numbers 7:5

Ox grazing, Benedito Calixto (1853–1927)

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Goring

Damages

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