Animal Sentience in Judaism

Question

Leaving aside related concepts that might stem from this conversation such as veganism or animal rights...The more I read Tanakh the more it seems to me that the Torah and Tanakh as a whole view animals as sentient beings. God open's up the Donkey's mouth, but scripture doesn't imply that God told the donkey what to say. The donkey instead takes the opportunity to air its personal grievances, and even discusses its long memory of being good to its master.

Nineveh is spared not just because of people, but because of the animals who live there. The psalms discuss how the animals cry to God for their food. The animals in the story of Noah seem to travel to the ark on their own, as if God told them to go there and they figured it out without needing to be rounded up. God sends ravens to feed Elijah, and it's spoken of in a matter of fact way and not in a overtly miraculous way. We can't forget the serpent in the garden of eden, who was described as the most wise of the animals, implying that animals were made with a capacity for wisdom. Proverbs discusses learning from ants and other animals. But even after Tanakh I've also noticed various midrashim that discuss speaking animals that argue and reason, such as Elijah's bull which didn't want to be sacrificed to Baal. Or a donkey sold to a non Jew that refused to work on the Sabbath. Or Rabbis talking about learning traits of holiness from animals. It seems like Judaism early on took for granted that animals possessed more sentience than what we see in later Jewish works.

As other's have answered, the Rambam is a pivotal figure in arguing that animals have emotion and imagination but he also argues that animals have no intellect or reasoning abilities. This argument seems to be counter not only to Tanakh and Talmudic sayings, but also to modern science which shows without a doubt that animals can reason, plan ahead, and build compound tools.

So does Judaism have a core concept of animals being sentient (not just emotional) beings? And if so, where is this discussed?

Answer 1

In Guide for the Perplexed 3:48 Rambam writes:

There is no difference in this case between the pain of man and the pain of other living beings, 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.

(Friedlander translation)

According to this, animals have the faculty of imagination but not the faculty of reasoning.

Answer 2

It would seem that if a human soul can be reincarnated as an animal then at least some animals have a connection to a soul (which assumes intelligence at some level) see this link for many sources for reincarnation.

https://jewishclarity.com/difficulties-bereavement-and-comfort-2/gilgulim-part-4-levels-of-gilgulim-and-tikunim/

Here is one excerpt;

The rectification process is not necessarily straightforward. Past aveirot can be so severe that a person cannot yet reincarnate as a human being. Instead, he or she may need to reincarnate as an animal, vegetation, or something inanimate like a rock. Bilaam the rasha, for example, had power in his mouth and was able to curse people. He ended up reincarnating into a rock, the level of the inanimate, to atone for what he had done with his mouth. (Sha’ar HaGilgulim, chap. 22).

As far as the difference between an animal and human in regards to their soul, many sefarim discuss the "nefesh habahamis" referring to an animalistic soul within a person. It would infer that animals themselves possess this trait as well. See this link for a little more information on this topic

https://www.aish.com/atr/Animal_Souls.html?mobile=yes

Here is one excerpt that states animals possess intelligence

The great kabbalists explain that all living things – human and animal – have souls. However, not all souls are created equal. As described in Genesis 2:7, every human being has both a "nefesh" and a "neshama." The nefesh is defined as an animal soul – the life force, the instinctual, animalistic drives. The neshama, in contrast, is a purely spiritual component, a divine spark which distinguishes man from animal. This is the part of us which yearns for spirituality and closeness to God.

Humans and animals all engage in emotional responses such as love, fear, loyalty, imagination, memory, intelligence, etc. We run from danger, have survival instincts, and are driven to procreate. This all emanates from the lower animal soul.

Lastly, you mentioned Billam's donkey. The Gemarah Pesachim 54a mentions it as one of the 10 things created on the first Erev Shabbos of creation, so it was not an ordinary donkey but rather a special creation which may not have bearing on other animals.

Answer 3

As one of the answers noted, Rambam is what first comes to mind. The Rambam had compassion for animals. For example, Rambam explains that we scare away the mother bird to prevent her from seeing her young being taken. If, however, the eggs are unfit for food, we may leave them as they are.[1]

In the Guide of the Perplexed, (3:48. Translation of M. Friedlander) Rambam explained that animals also have feelings. Yet despite this ruling, today many still practice cruelty when they do kapparos. It is a horrible mistreating of chickens. It is why Rambam did not list it in his code of Jewish law book. Rambam felt the pain of animals. He was very sensitive and showed compassion for them. This was why Rambam took a strong stand against sacrifices, saying that G-d neither needs nor wants sacrifices. G-d declares:

“For I (G-d) spoke not unto your fathers nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifice. But this thing I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice.’”

Regarding the animals mentioned in Scripture, snakes do not speak and neither did the donkey to Balaam. These are metaphors. Regarding the feeding by ravens, it was most likely locals (ravens) who brought Elijah food. But yes, animals are sentient beings and have souls. They must be treated as you wish to be treated. For example, according to Jewish law, you must feed your pet before yourself.

[1] The Zohar takes the cruel position that it is permitted to eat the eggs regardless.