Until this time i thought that difference between us and animals is morality,free will that we can make moral decisions. But there is a science which firmly states that community of animals – like gorillas – also have moral principles and animal instincts, and that they can decide morally or instinctively if there is a concrete situation. For example they share their food, and take care of an injured or sick member of the community so they are compassionate to each other, but can decide wether they help , or not. Thank you for answering !

Hi,
Thanks for asking this great question. The truth is that animals have a soul. They are G-d’s creatures and need to be treated appropriately. As a matter of fact, the Torah tells us that it is forbidden to mistreat an animal. It is a clear Torah prohibition.

With that said, the concept of free will is very complicated. We usually think of “freedom” as the ability to do what we want when we want. If that would be our definition then animals would also be free. Judaism’s definition of free will, however, is not that. We base our definition on our mystical understanding of the way the world works. Freedom is not simply the ability to do what we want when we want but rather the binding of the Jewish soul to a definitive law, i.e. the Torah. That is true freedom. True freedom is being bound to obligations. That seems contradictory, but it is true.

The best example of this that I know of is to think of violin strings. If you were to lay violin strings on a table and pluck them nothing would happen. No sound would come out. As soon as you bind them to the violin they are free to make their beautiful music. Think about that analogy for a few minutes. Relate it to your life. When a person has no boundaries there is no real freedom. They are actually bound by what they think is freedom, but is really a prison. The Torah is an ethical guidebook for living. No other creature has the ability to tap into the world of Torah. No other creature other than the Human can do Torah commandments.

With that said, let’s take a step back. Animals do have souls. They do not, however, have a soul like a Human Being does. They are “living.” They were not created in the image of G-d. The animal can make choices, but they are not “free will” choices because their choices do not involve ethics. When you see a mother bear protecting her young or a father monkey watching over his child and playing with him what you are seeing is the ability to care for other creatures because that is nature’s way (G-d’s way) of running the world. Many scientists today claim that this is simple anthropomorphism, the projection of human traits onto animals. We look at it and want to see human traits in these animals. In reality, their decisions are not ethical ones. Their decisions are based on instinct. Hashem, G-d, created them with the instincts to take care of the needs of one another. That does not make them moral beings. I can appreciate how a person could look at them and think that, but after knowing what morality and ethics truly are it is not possible.

I advise you to look at the Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato. He has a book entitled, “Derech Hashem,” “The Way of G-d.” In it he goes into detail about the differences between animals and Humans. Please read this and you will understand much more about this topic.

Be Well,
Rabbi Gershon Litt