This short, practical Lelamed Dvar is also available in your local App
Store (iTunes and Android). I hope you enjoy...
Parshat Ki Tetzei contains the commandment of Shiluach Hakan (22:6,7),
sending away the mother bird before taking her children/eggs. According to
the Rambam (Maimonides) the idea is that making the mother watch as you
take her children is cruel, even for animals, and one should be sensitive.
The Ramban (Nachmonides) sees it differently, arguing that while the Torah
gave humans the right to consume animals, taking two generations at once is
an over-consumption of that species, and wrong. However, as Rabbi David
Fohrman asks, why is this Mitzvah phrased in reference to birds? The
reasons above would seem to apply to any animal. Further, the words in the
Passuk (verse) don’t seem to fit with either explanation: “Don’t take the
mother with her children there” (22:6) sounds like we shouldn’t take the
mother, but according to the Rambam we’d be taking the children, and
according to the Ramban we’d be taking both. How do we resolve these issues?
Rabbi Fohrman explains that the answers lies in the reward for this
commandment: Long life. Aside from this commandment, there is only one
other commandment with the same reward – honoring one’s parents. The
connection is the honoring of motherhood. He goes on to explain that it’s
very difficult to capture a bird, unless it’s a mother bird protecting its
young. The Torah tells us not to take advantage of a mother’s love and
sacrifice for her offspring for your own benefit. This lesson is true for
all of us – our parents will always love us, but we should not desecrate
that love by taking advantage of it. Parental love is meant to help us
grow, not to be used as a trap against them. If we honor our parents,
appreciating everything that we have because of them, may our reward be a
long and healthy life.
Shlomo Ressler
Quotation of the Week:
"Love your parents. We are so busy growing up, we often forget they are
also growing old."
This short, practical Lelamed Dvar is also available in your local App
Store (iTunes and Android). I hope you enjoy...
_______________________________________________
Parshat Ki Tetzei contains the commandment of Shiluach Hakan (22:6,7),
sending away the mother bird before taking her children/eggs. According to
the Rambam (Maimonides) the idea is that making the mother watch as you
take her children is cruel, even for animals, and one should be sensitive.
The Ramban (Nachmonides) sees it differently, arguing that while the Torah
gave humans the right to consume animals, taking two generations at once is
an over-consumption of that species, and wrong. However, as Rabbi David
Fohrman asks, why is this Mitzvah phrased in reference to birds? The
reasons above would seem to apply to any animal. Further, the words in the
Passuk (verse) don’t seem to fit with either explanation: “Don’t take the
mother with her children there” (22:6) sounds like we shouldn’t take the
mother, but according to the Rambam we’d be taking the children, and
according to the Ramban we’d be taking both. How do we resolve these issues?
Rabbi Fohrman explains that the answers lies in the reward for this
commandment: Long life. Aside from this commandment, there is only one
other commandment with the same reward – honoring one’s parents. The
connection is the honoring of motherhood. He goes on to explain that it’s
very difficult to capture a bird, unless it’s a mother bird protecting its
young. The Torah tells us not to take advantage of a mother’s love and
sacrifice for her offspring for your own benefit. This lesson is true for
all of us – our parents will always love us, but we should not desecrate
that love by taking advantage of it. Parental love is meant to help us
grow, not to be used as a trap against them. If we honor our parents,
appreciating everything that we have because of them, may our reward be a
long and healthy life.
Shlomo Ressler
_______________________________________________
Quotation of the Week:
"Love your parents. We are so busy growing up, we often forget they are
also growing old."
