Eating Meat

Shavua Tov. Until now, I thought that there was something admirable about refraining from eating meat. This sentiment was felt because of the wording of the Torah, כי תאוה נפשך לאכול בשר, when your heart desires to eat meat.

Meat that was not eaten as part of a sacrifice was referred to as בשר תאוה, which could also be translated as "meat of lust." This implied that the Torah was allowing us to meat if we have a "desire" to eat meat, that could be interpreted to mean that those who do not desire meat are on a high level.

Then I came across the commentary of the של״ה הקודש. Clearly, putting non-Kosher meat or food into our holy bodies is מטמטם את הלב, confuses the heart. However, when one meticulously observes the laws of שחיטה, ritual slaughter, is raising the level of the animal soul to its own high level of purity.

This implies that eating meat according to Halacha with the intention of strengthening our bodies to better serve Hashem, becomes an act of Kedusha that allows Hashem to dwell among us.

There is merit in being a vegetarian, but meat lovers need not feel inferior if they eat their meat with the right Kavana.