These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand’s Commuter Chavrusah Series on the weekly portion: #1435 – Paying a Worker on Time- A Mitzva D’Oraisah. Good Shabbos.
One of the more famous mitzvos in Parshas Ki Seitzei is the mitzva of shiluach hakan. There is a negative Torah prohibition of taking chicks or eggs in the presence of the mother bird. “If a bird’s nest happens to be before you on the road, on any tree or on the ground – young birds or eggs – and the mother is roosting on the young birds or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother on the young. You shall surely send away the mother and take the young for yourself…” (Devorim 22:6-7) Therefore, you must first send away the mother bird, before taking the chicks or eggs. As a reward for the performance of this mitzva, the pasuk says: “It will be good for you and you will have a long life.”
The Avnei Nezer explains why the Torah says to send away the mother bird. Really a person should not even have an opportunity to take the mother bird, because the mother should fly away as soon as a person approaches her nest. That is the nature of birds – they fly away at the first sight of an approaching human being. However, this bird will not instinctively fly away. She wants to protect her brood. She has mercy and concern for her chicks.
The Avnei Nezer writes that a person’s entire ability to take the mother bird is enabled by her acting with compassion for her offspring. Once she demonstrates this emotion of compassion, she is no longer just an animal. She has elevated herself by demonstrating a higher emotional concern for others, namely her children.
The sefer Bei Chiya from Rav Elisha Horowitz (from Five Towns) relates this to a pasuk in Parshas Noach, “Kol remes asher hu chai, lochem yihiyeh l’ochla.” (Everything that lives shall be for you to eat) (Bereshis 9:3) After the flood, the Ribono shel Olam gave man dominion over the entire animal kingdom. While Adam and Chava were vegetarians, Noach and his offspring were permitted to eat meat, chicken, etc. Whatever crawled on the earth was given to them to eat – because ‘man’ was on a higher spiritual level than the animal kingdom. Man can kill a cow, he can kill a chicken, he can kill whatever he wants. But only three pesukim later: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of G-d He made man.” (Bereshis 9:6). You can’t kill a human being. You do not have dominion over other human beings because man is a Tzelem Elokim (in the Image of G-d). An animal is not a Tzelem Elokim. Man is on a higher level than animals, and therefore animals are available for man’s enjoyment.
What does the term Tzelem Elokim mean? The Abarbanel on Chumash relates the expression Tzelem Elokim to the term tzel (shadow). A shadow follows a person. The reason a person is a Tzelem Elokim is because he needs to try to follow the Ribono shel Olam like a shadow follows a person. How does a person follow the Ribono shel Olam? “Is it then possible to cling to the Shechina? How can a person ‘walk in His ways'” (as implied by the mitzva “and you shall walk in His ways” (Devorim 28:9))? The Gemara (Shabbos 133b) explains how we can walk in His ways: Just as He is merciful, so too, you be merciful… A person needs to emulate Hashem’s attributes of kindness and mercy. That is how we become a Tzelem Elokim.
If so, now we can appreciate the Avnei Nezer even more. When that mother bird has mercy on her children, she is now acting more G-d-like. The only reason the bird is under man’s dominion is because it is spiritually inferior to man; it is not a Tzelem Elokim. But once a bird acts altruistically, it becomes – at least slightly – G-d-like, and therefore, we are not permitted to take advantage of it.
“In Order That It Will Be Good for You”: Shiluach Hakan Part 2
I would like to share another thought about shiluach hakan:
There are two mitzvos about which the Torah says, “in order that it will be good for you and you will have long life.” One of them is the mitzva of sending away the mother bird. The other one is the mitzva of honoring our parents. Apparently, there is some kind of similarity between these two mitzvos.
The Talmud Yerushalmi in Maseches Peah expresses this idea in even sharper form: “The Torah equates the easiest mitzva with the hardest mitzva. The easiest mitzva is shiluach hakan. The hardest mitzva is kibbud av v’eim. By both, it is written, “you will be rewarded with long life.”
We need no explanation for why kibbud av v’eim is amongst the hardest of mitzvos to keep. We all know very well that we have such close relationships with our parents that there are certain liberties we take with them. We don’t always afford them the honor they deserve. Sometimes we lose our patience with our parents. Sometimes we speak disrespectfully to them. And the list goes on. Clearly it is among the hardest of mitzvos to properly observe – to the extent that the Gemara famously says (Kiddushin 31b) that Rabbi Yochanon, who was an orphan from birth, stated, “Lucky is the person who never saw his parents.” In other words, he was saying that he was fortunate to never have faced the difficult test of properly honoring his parents.
I recently saw a psak from Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, zt”l. In Israel, the law is that an adopted child, upon turning twenty years old, is allowed to look up the identity of his birth parents. Rav Shteinman was once asked if such a child should indeed try to find out who his birth parents are so that he is able to fulfill the important mitzvah of kibbud av v’eim. Rav Shteinman answered that the adopted child should not seek out such information. He advised, in effect, that ignorance is bliss. “If you don’t know who your parents are, that is preferable because this is an impossible mitzva to fully observe properly.”
So the question is, what is this apparent connection between such a hard mitzva and such a very easy mitzva? Shiluach hakan only requires taking a broomstick, banging on a tree, and chasing away the mother bird. It doesn’t cost a penny, unlike mitzvos like esrog and matzah. Literally, it is amongst the easiest of all mitzvos!
Why do both of these mitzvos have this reward of “arichas yomim” (long life)? At first blush, it seems that they both are about rachmanus (having mercy). True kibbud av v’eim is not standing up for your father when you are ten years old. True kibbud av v’eim is when your father is eighty-five years old, is very difficult to take care of, and you need to wheel him every Shabbos in a wheel chair. That is true kibbud av v’eim. Why does a person do that? It is out of rachmanus. He realizes what his parents have done for him over his life. He has rachmanus on them.
Shiluach hakan is also about midas harachmanus. I don’t want the mother bird to suffer by seeing me take her chicks. This is what both the Rambam and the Ramban say about the purpose of this mitzvah – to teach us to have mercy on birds so that we will have mercy on people as well. It is not that the Torah has compassion for birds per se. However, this teaches us to be compassionate in general. The similarity between these two mitzvos seems to be that they are both mitzvos of rachmanus. The Torah likes people who are merciful. Therefore, the reward for both is long life.
However, this is all well and good for those who learn like many Rishonim that shiluach hakan is about rachmanus. But the Zohar says that shiluach hakan is not about rachmanus. On the contrary, according to the Zohar, the mitzva of shiluach hakan is about achzariyus (cruelty)!
According to the Zohar, the intention is to make the poor mother bird suffer and fly away, helpless to save her chicks. Why in the world would there be such a mitzva that seems to fly in the face of the entire Torah outlook? The Zohar says that the bird will be so upset that it will fly away to the “Angel appointed over birds” and complain. The bird will thereby arouse the mercy of the Ribono shel Olam. The Ribono shel Olam views Klal Yisrael as “His chicks.” The bird’s crying will reach the Kisay Hakavod (Throne of Honor) of the Almighty, and hopefully will arouse His mercy on behalf of Klal Yisrael and lead to Him rebuild the Beis Hamikdash. So writes the Zohar.
According to the Zohar, shiluach hakan and kibbud av v’eim are not similar mitzvos. They are opposite mitzvos. One of them is about rachmanus – making sure that everything is well with one’s elderly parents. The other one is about achzariyus! If so, the Vilna Gaon says, that is why the reward for shiluach hakan and kibbud av v’eim are the same. It is because faithful observance of both a “merciful mitzva” and a “cruel mitzva” demonstrates the nature of our commitment to Hashem and his mitzvos.
People have different natural inclinations. Some people find certain mitzvos very easy. For others, the same mitzvah is very difficult. Some people love having company for Shabbos. They are conversationalists, they are gregarious, they love having guests around their Shabbos table. Some people are shy or are not very articulate. They find it very difficult to host company for Shabbos. But sometimes it is necessary for a person to go against his natural inclinations and proclivities and do a mitzva anyway.
There are people who are naturally compassionate, naturally rachmonim. For them, kibbud av v’eim is a piece of cake. It is a mitzva that ‘speaks to them.’ But for such a compassionate person to go over to that poor bird, sitting there taking care of its brood, and chase it away, is very difficult. But if the Torah says that is how he must act, he does so anyway.
On the other hand, there are people who don’t mind inflicting pain on a “poor stupid bird.” “I don’t care.” However, for him, kibbud av v’eim is much more difficult because he does not have those natural feelings of rachmanus.
The Vilna Gaon explains that the avodas ha’adam (man’s service) (to the Almighty) in this world is not merely doing the mitzvos that he likes or enjoys or come easy to him. If someone really wants to show his devotion to the Ribono shel Olam, he needs to both do the mitzvos that are in line with his natural inclinations and those that go against his grain.
That is why these two mitzvos both have the same reward. Someone who does both of these mitzvos – representing polar opposites of human inclinations (rachmanus and achzariyus) – is not merely doing so because he likes to do them, but rather, he is doing them because the Ribono shel Olam said to do them. At the end of the day, that is what it is all about.
Transcribed by David Twersky; Jerusalem [email protected]
Edited by Dovid Hoffman; Baltimore, MD [email protected]
This week’s write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissochar Frand’s Commuter Chavrusah Series on the weekly Torah portion. A listing of the halachic portions for Parshas Ki Seitzei is provided below:
- #020 – Non-Halachic Marriage Ceremonies
- #065 – Polygamy and the Cherem of Rabbeinu Gershom
- #110 – Mamzeirus: Possible Solutions?
- #156 – Reconciling Divergent Customs Between Husband and Wife
- #203 – The Pre-War “Get”
- #250 – The Mitzvah of Ma’akeh
- #293 – “Get Me’useh”: The Prohibition of the “Forced Get”
- #339 – Shana Reshona: The First Year of Marriage
- #383 – The Mitzvah of Burial
- #427 – Trying on Suits that May Have Shatnes
- #471 – Autopsies on Non-Jews
- #515 – Women Wearing Men’s Clothing
- #559 – The Double Portion of the Be’chor
- #603 – Burying a Rasha Next to a Tzadik
- #647 – Ramps and Stages – Do They Need a Maakeh?
- #691 – Chassanah Minhagim
- #735 – Brachos in a Bathroom?
- #779 – Shehecheyanu at a Chasuna
- #823 – Tzar Ba’al Hachayim – Does It Apply to People?
- #867 – Dying Hair For Men – Asur or Mutar?
- #911 – Returning a Lost Pacifier
- #955 – The Un-Cancelled Stamp – Can You Re-use it?
- #998 – Making a Bracha for Building a Ma’akeh?
- #1042 – Dressing Up As A Woman for Chasunah Dancing and on Purim?
- #1086 – A Bracha for Shiluach Hakein?
- #1129 – The Ani Who Picked Up Your $20 bill
- #1171 – Dating Someone Before You Are Divorced?
- #1259 – Shiluach Hakain – On Shabbos? From Your Back Porch?
- #1303 – Is A Woman Allowed to Carry a Gun?
- #1347 – The Case of the Frail Grandfather and the Bracha Under the Chupa
- #1391 – Shalom Aleichem – Before or After Kiddush?
- #1435 – Paying a Worker on Time- A Mitzva De’oraisah
- #1479 – The Famous/Infamous Case of the Get of Cleeves
- #1523 – The Lesser of Two Evils? Autopsy Versus Cremation
- #1565 – Shana Rishono – First Year of Marriage: What You Must or Must Not Do
- #1605 – Can – Should Women Wear Tzizis?
A complete catalogue can be ordered from the Yad Yechiel Institute, PO Box 511, Owings Mills MD 21117-0511. Call (410) 358-0416 or e-mail [email protected] or visit http://www.yadyechiel.org/ for further information.