Parsha Ki Tetse: The Torah forbids cruelty to animals

The companion law is equally revealing: “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” (Deut. 25:4). The animal that labors is entitled to taste the fruit of its labor. The rabbis long ago noted the human parallel: a person capable of muzzling an ox is only a short step from muzzling his workers. History confirmed their suspicion. In Italy, vineyard owners once forced migrant…