EVER MIN HA-CHAI FOR BNEI NOACH · Sukkat Shalom B'nei Noach

בס”ד

A THOUGHT ABOUT PARSHAT RE’EH 5786

Deuteronomy 12:23–24 says: “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water.”¹

From Adam to Noach: When Was Meat Permitted?

According to the Torah, Noach was granted permission to eat meat after the Flood. In Genesis 9:2–3, the animal kingdom is placed under human dominion, and every moving living creature is given to man as food, just as green plants had previously been given.²

The Talmud derives from this that this permission was granted only to Noach and his descendants. Adam was originally not permitted to eat meat; in Genesis 1:29–30, the human being was given only seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees as food. Only after the Flood was the eating of animals also permitted.³ ⁴

G-d immediately attached an important limitation to this permission. Genesis 9:4 states: “But flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat.” From this verse the Sages derive the prohibition of *ever min ha-chai*: eating flesh, or a limb, taken from a living animal.³ ⁵

What Does Ever Min Ha-Chai Mean?

Ever min ha-chai literally means “a limb from a living creature.” In Noahide halacha, it refers to the prohibition against eating flesh, or a limb with flesh attached, that was cut from an animal while the animal was still alive.⁵ ⁶

According to Rambam, a Ben Noach is liable for this even if he eats only a very small amount — *kol shehu* — whereas many Jewish food prohibitions ordinarily require a minimum measure, such as a *kezayit*(approximately the size of an olive in the time of the Sages) , for full liability. In this respect, ever min ha-chai is stricter for Bnei Noach than for Jews.⁶

Rambam also writes that a Ben Noach is liable not only for a whole limb, but also for flesh that was cut from a living animal. This therefore does not refer only to a leg, wing, or organ, but also to a piece of meat removed while the animal was still alive.⁶

An important detail is the moment at which an animal is considered dead according to Torah Law. The formulation is not simply “as long as the heart is still beating.” Rambam refers to an animal that continues to show involuntary spasmodic movements after slaughter. Flesh cut off in that stage remains forbidden to Bnei Noach as ever min ha-chai.⁷

Which Animals Are Included?

According to Rambam, the core of the prohibition applies to domesticated and wild land animals: domesticated land animals and wild land animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and deer. A Ben Noach therefore may not eat flesh taken from such an animal while it is still alive.⁶ ⁸

Birds are the subject of an important discussion. According to Rambam, it appears that a Ben Noach is not subject to capital liability for eating a limb or flesh from a living bird. Ra’avad is more stringent and understands birds to be included as well. Practically speaking, it is therefore proper not to eat anything from a living bird, both because of the stricter view and because of the broader principle of avoiding animal suffering.⁸

Creeping creatures, insects, and similar beings are excluded in the Gemara on the basis of the words “its blood”: the prohibition applies to animals whose blood is halachically treated as distinct from their flesh. Therefore, creeping creatures are not treated in the same way under ever min ha-chai.⁹

For this reason, live fish, certain insects, and a locust are technically not the classic Noahide case of ever min ha-chai. A lobster also does not fall under the core category of behemah or chayah. This does not mean, however, that it is morally proper to eat animals alive or to cause unnecessary suffering. Halacha and moral sensitivity must be read together here.⁸ ⁹

The Connection With Blood

The Torah strongly links an animal’s life with its blood. Leviticus 17:11 states: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Deuteronomy 12:23 likewise says: “for the blood is the life.” It is therefore understandable that one might think Genesis 9:4 implies that the Noahide prohibition also includes blood.¹ ¹⁰

Yet according to Rambam, the halacha is different. Rambam explicitly writes that a Ben Noach may use blood from a living animal. In other words, according to Rambam, the Noahide prohibition of ever min ha-chai is directed at flesh or a limb from a living animal, not at blood as a separate category.⁶

This is an important distinction between Jewish halacha and Noahide halacha. For Jews, there is a separate Torah prohibition against consuming blood. The Torah repeats this prohibition in several places, including Leviticus 3:17, Leviticus 7:26–27, Leviticus 17:10–14, Deuteronomy 12:16, Deuteronomy 12:23–24, and Deuteronomy 15:23.¹ ¹⁰ ¹¹

The More Stringent View on Blood

The Talmud does record a stricter opinion. Rabbi Chanina ben Gamliel teaches that Bnei Noach are also prohibited from blood of a living animal. The Sages, however, read Genesis 9:4 as referring to ever min ha-chai, not to an independent prohibition on blood for Bnei Noach. The practical halacha follows Rambam, who permits blood from a living animal for Bnei Noach.⁶ ¹²

Ramban, in his commentary on Leviticus 17:11, also appears to formulate the matter more broadly: the permission granted to Noach applied to the animal’s body and flesh, but not to the blood as the bearer of the lifeforce. That aligns conceptually with the Torah’s view of blood as sacred, but it is not how Rambam codifies the practical Noahide halacha.¹³

Why Is Blood Forbidden for Jews?

For Jews, blood is not ordinary food. According to Rashi on Leviticus 17:11, the nefesh of the animal depends on the blood, and therefore G-d gave blood on the altar to effect atonement: life is brought for life.¹⁴

Sefer HaChinuch explains that eating blood can also affect a person’s character. Because blood is linked to the animal’s life-force, consuming it may lead to cruelty and moral coarseness.¹⁵

Ramban writes along similar lines that the soul-force of the animal resides in the blood. When a person eats blood, he takes something of the animal nefesh into himself, which can lower and coarsen the human soul. Therefore, blood is designated for the altar and not for human consumption.¹³

Practical Conclusion for Bnei Noach

The practical halacha for Bnei Noach is therefore as follows: a Ben Noach may not eat flesh or a limb taken from a living land animal. According to Rambam, this applies even to the smallest quantity. This is the core of ever min ha-chai.⁶

Blood, by contrast, is not prohibited to Bnei Noach according to Rambam, even when it comes from a living animal. Nevertheless, it is understandable and even fitting that a Ben Noach voluntarily refrains from eating or drinking blood, because the Torah views blood as the bearer of life and because consuming it can make a person less sensitive to the sanctity of life.⁶ ¹⁰ ¹³ ¹⁵

That voluntary abstention must, however, be stated correctly. One should not say that blood is absolutely prohibited according to the accepted Noahide halacha, because Rambam says otherwise. One may say, however, that it is morally and spiritually better to refrain from it, especially when it is associated with animal suffering, cruelty, or disrespect for life.⁶ ¹⁶

When different views exist — such as those of Rambam, Ramban, Ra’avad, and Rabbi Chanina ben Gamliel — practical Noahide halacha is not determined by personal intuition, but by accepted halachic codification and by qualified rabbinic authorities who are familiar with these sugyot.⁶ ⁸ ¹² ¹³ ¹⁷

Core Message

Ever min ha-chai teaches that permission to use animals is not unlimited. Since Noach, human beings may eat meat, but they may not treat life brutally or cruelly. Man may rule over the animal world, but not as a tyrant. He must eat with responsibility, with reverence for life, and with awareness that the animal world also belongs to G-d’s creation.² ⁵

By Rabbi Avriel Rabenou and Angelique Sijbolts
With thanks to Rabbi Tani Burton for the feedback

Notes

1. Deuteronomy 12:23–24.

2. Genesis 9:2–3.

3. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 59b.

4. Genesis 1:29–30.

5. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a–59b.

6. Maimonides (Rambam), Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot 9:10.

7. Ibid., 9:12.

8. Ibid., 9:11; cf. Ra’avad ad loc.

9. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 59b.

10. Leviticus 17:10–14; Deuteronomy 12:23.

11. Leviticus 3:17; Leviticus 7:26–27; Deuteronomy 12:16; Deuteronomy 15:23; Keritot 4b; Rashi on Deuteronomy 12:24.

12. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 59a.

13. Nahmanides (Ramban), commentary on Leviticus 17:11.

14. Rashi on Leviticus 17:11.

15. Sefer HaChinuch, mitzvah 148.

16. Maimonides (Rambam), Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot 10:10.

17. Rabbi Moshe Weiner, The Divine Code, 4th ed., Part IV, “Eiver Min Ha’chai” (please verify the exact page in the edition used; in the source text it is cited as approximately p. 256). [asknoah](https://asknoah.org/books/the-divine-code-4th-edition-ebook)