The Rabbi
and the Ox
By Yanki Tauber
One day, the neighborhood butcher came to
the study of Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz
(1730-1805), the famed rabbi of Frankfurt,
with an halachic (Torah law) query. A defect
had been discovered in the lung of a
slaughtered ox, raising the possibility that
it might be treif, forbidden by Torah law to
be eaten. It was a complex borderline case,
and the rabbi spent many hours studying the
rulings of the great halachic authorities of
previous generations, several of whom where
inclined to forbid the meat under such
circumstances. Finally, Rabbi Pinchas issued
his ruling: the ox was kosher.
Later, one of his disciples asked him:
"Rabbi, why did you go to such lengths to
render the ox kosher? After all, the Shach
(Rabbi Shabtai HaKohen, the great 17th
century halachist) deemed it treif. Would it
not have been more advisable to simply throw
away the meat rather than risk transgressing
such a serious prohibition?"
Rabbi Pinchas smiled and replied: "You know,
for every man there comes the day when he
must stand before the heavenly court and
account for his life. I imagine that, when
that day comes for me, I shall have to
defend the decision I arrived at today. The
'prosecution' will undoubtedly call a most
prodigious witness to testify against me:
the 'Shach' himself will explain how I
permitted the eating of meat whose kashrut
is in serious question. I shall have to
respond by citing the opinions of his lesser
colleagues who ruled that the ox is indeed
kosher, and by explaining why I preferred
their rulings over his. You can be sure that
the prospect fills me with trepidation.
"But what if I had ruled that the meat is
treif? Then I would have to contend with
another accuser -- the ox. He will take the
stand against me and bellow his rage: 'How
many hungry mouths might I have fed!' he
will cry, 'How many hours of Torah study and
prayer might I have sustained! How many good
deeds might I have energized! And this man
consigned me to the garbage heap, while
there were grounds for rendering me kosher.'
To be sure, I could call on the great Shach
to defend me. But, all things considered, I
would rather take my chances against the
Shach than confront an angry ox in court..."
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