Берешит 9:2 Комментарий: Rashi, Kli Yakar, Radak & Tur HaArokh

וחתכם means AND THE DREAD OF YOU, similar to (Job 6:21) “ye see a terror (חתת)." The Agada takes the word as signifying “life”, “vitality” (חיות): So long as a baby, even one day old, has life you do not have to guard it against the attacks of mice, whilst Og, king of Bashan, when dead needs to be guarded against the attacks of mice, as it is said, “And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be [upon the beasts of the field etc.].” When will the fear of you be upon the beasts? So long as you are alive (חתכם) (Shabbat 151b).

“And your fear and dread etc.” Although it was already stated and they shall rule over the fish of the sea etc., nevertheless, [God] added here [the elements of] fear and dread because He permitted [humans] to kill and eat from them [the animals]. For why would an ox go to slaughter and not protest against its owner if not for the fact that the hand of God did this by casting the fear of man upon all living creatures, to direct them wherever He desires. And since He permitted the killing of animals, one might think that killing humans was also permitted — therefore Scripture states However, your blood of your souls [I will demand]… And the reason why eating meat was not [originally] permitted to man was because any common person [am ha’aretz] is forbidden to eat meat. But Noah, who engaged in Torah study, was permitted to do so. The commentators gave a reason for this: Because every created being is sustained by what is beneath it. For inanimate matter, which is the lowest of all existing things, sustains itself. Plant life is sustained by inanimate matter, as it draws from the earth. All living creatures are sustained by plant life, and humans — the speaking species — are sustained by animals. However, this only applies when one is engaged in Torah study and has achieved perfection, for which one is called “human” [adam]. Without this, one is comparable to animals, so why should one eat one’s own kind? What perfection would be added to one’s equal when consuming them? For all food transforms into the nature of the one consuming it, and when a human eats from animals, perfection is added to the animal by entering into the ranks of the speaking species. But a person who is comparable to an animal — what would they give or add to what is eaten? In this vein it is said And you shall consume all the peoples (Deuteronomy 7:16) and it is written For they are our bread (Numbers 14:9), because you [Israel] are called “adam” [human] but not the [other] nations.

ומוראכם, this formulation is parallel to the words וכבשוה, which also referred to dominance over other creatures on earth (Genesis 1,28).