Kisuy HaDam (covering the blood of a slaughtered animal)

Leviticus 17:13 "And he shall pour out its blood, and cover it with earth" The Torah permits us to slaughter a kosher animal in order to derive nourishment from the animal. Nevertheless, its life force, its blood, must be respected and treated with dignit...

Upon ritual slaughtering of fowl or undomesticated animals, we are commanded to cover the spilled blood with earth. Gain a deeper understanding of this mitzvah of Kisuy HaDam (covering the blood) on five levels.

Study the daily lesson of Sefer HaMitzvos for day 102 with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, where he teaches the mitzvah in-depth with added insight and detail.

This class addresses the reason for the mitzvah of kisoy hadam; covering the blood of animals with sand after ritual slaughter.

Blood represents life, warmth and enthusiasm.

For the record, I should state that I value moderation. I try to practice it and I teach it to my kids. So when the reporter blurted out, "You're pretty radical!" I took that as a pejorative comment...

Now the Talmud discusses whether it’s permitted to benefit from the light of the Chanukah menorah. This leads us to analyze the notion of respect for mitzvahs, derived from the mitzvah of covering the blood after shechitah (kosher slaughter).

The somber "kaparot" rite reminds us of the fragility of life