What Animals Teach Us About Families: Kinship and Species in the Bible and Rabbinic Literature

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Beth A. Berkowitz

What Animals Teach Us About Families

Kinship and Species in the Bible and Rabbinic Literature

Beth A. Berkowitz

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English

University of California Press
06 January 2026

Ethics & moral philosophy; Bibles; Judaism: sacred texts; Animals & society

Reading the Bible and rabbinic literature to reimagine the bonds between animals.

Moving beyond debates about the ethics of animal consumption to focus on animals' intimate lives, Beth A. Berkowitz examines the contribution of religious traditions and sacred texts to contemporary conversations about animals. Reading the four ""animal family"" laws of the Bible alongside their rabbinic interpretations from ancient times to today, she examines the bonds that animals form with each other and reimagines family to include new forms of life and alternative modes of kinship.

Humanitarian politics—and biblical law—tend to take for granted that human interests supersede animal interests and that our moral obligation extends only to avoiding unnecessary suffering, but necessity is determined by humans. What Animals Teach Us About Families looks at animal emotions, animal agency, family diversity, and human response to reconsider the obligations and opportunities the animal family presents.

By: Beth A. Berkowitz
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9780520405233
ISBN 10: 0520405234
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 06 January 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Beth A. Berkowitz is Ingeborg Rennert Chair of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion at Barnard College.