Based on article from Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
Question #1: Coffee and the concierge
“Was Noach permitted to have his morning coffee before he brought all the animals breakfast?”
Question #2: Dog’s best friend
“I would like to eat an apple. Must I first feed Fido?”
Question #3: Fish on Shabbos
“On Shabbos, may I make kiddush before I feed the fish?”
Introduction
Taking care of all the animals in the teivah was not easy and was even harder for an inexperienced zookeeper like Noach. Understanding Noach’s travails provides ample opportunity to discuss the ruling of the Gemara (Brachos 40a; Gittin 62a) that one may not eat without first feeding his animals, as the Torah says, in the second paragraph of Shema, And I will provide grass in your field for your animals, and only subsequently does the Torah say, and you will eat and be satisfied (Devarim 11:15).
Analyzing the mitzvah
There are numerous questions about this mitzvah:
- Is this required min hatorah or miderabbanan?
- Are we forbidden to eat only a full meal, or even just a snack?
- May I quench my thirst before I provide water or feed my animal? In other words, does the prohibition apply only to eating or also to drinking?
- Does this mitzvah apply on Shabbos and Yom Tov?
Torah or rabbinic?
Let us start with a basic question: Is the obligation to feed my animals before I eat min hatorah or miderabbanan? A prominent, early acharon, Rav Yaakov Reischer (Shu”t Shevus Yaakov 3:13), rules that, although the Gemara cites a pasuk as the source for this halachah, it is required only as a rabbinic mitzvah, and the pasuk is an allusion, what Chazal call asmachta. Although I have seen authorities quoted as holding that the requirement is min hatorah (see, for example, Sedei Chemed Volume I, page 40), I have not yet found anyone who rules this way clearly. Quite the contrary, the Rambam (Hilchos Avodim 9:8) states that feeding your animals before you eat is an exemplary way to act but is not required.
A full meal or a snack?
Are we forbidden to eat only a full meal before feeding our animals, or are we prohibited to eat even a snack? This question is subject to a dispute among early authorities, which appears to be based on how one reads and understands the pertinent passage of Gemara. The two times the Gemara cites this mitzvah in our published editions, it quotes varying and conflicting passages. In Brachos, the Gemara reads, It is prohibited to eat before you provide food for your animals, whereas in Gittin the passage reads, It is prohibited to taste [food] before you provide food for your animals. In Chazal’s lexicon, eating usually implies eating a full meal, whereas te’imah, tasting, implies eating a snack. Thus, the text in Brachos (eat) implies that the prohibition is limited to eating a full meal, but that one may eat a snack even though he has not yet fed his animals. On the other hand, the version in Gittin (taste) implies that a snack is prohibited. However, I found variations on the Gemara texts, including versions in both places that prohibit tasting, and versions in both places that only prohibit eating. Most significantly, both the Rif and the Rosh, two of the most preeminent authorities, state in their comments to the passage in Brachos that tasting is prohibited. It seems that they prohibit even snacking prior to feeding one’s animals, which is also implied by the Beis Yosef (Orach Chayim 167).
