Ki Teitzei: Birds’ Nests and Bringing Mashiach
Original author - Rabbi Dovid Sears, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021
View Accompanying Source Sheet Here
If you chance upon a bird’s nest along the way in any tree or on the ground, whether it contains young birds or eggs, and the mother is sitting upon the young birds or upon the eggs; you shall not take the mother bird together with her children. You shall surely send away (shalei’ach tishlach) the mother, and only then may you take the young for yourself; that it may go well for you, and you may prolong your days.[1]
Throughout the Torah, numerous mitzvot convey the notion to regard animals with compassion. Parshat Ki Tisa contains the prohibition of cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk.[2] Our parsha, Ki Teitzei, relays many such mitzvot, including the prohibition of muzzling a grazing animal,[3] of leaving a fellow’s animal that fell under its burden,[4] and the mitzvah of shilu’ach hakein. While humanity is placed above the animal kingdom, as Adam is instructed to rule over the fish, birds, and land creatures,[5] it also mandates respect for all creatures. The term nefesh chayah (living soul) is used to refer to both animals and humans.[6]
Gan Eden provides the Jewish paradigm of a perfect world. Our tradition teaches that the times of Mashiach will restore an Edenic state of harmony and peace. According to Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel, all creatures will then return to their original vegetarian diet, for the tikkun (spiritual rectification) accomplished by meat-eating will have been fully accomplished.[7] As the prophet Yeshayahu states, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb…the lion shall eat straw like the ox…”[8]
The Jewish approach towards animals is well represented in the Psalmist’s declaration: “His compassion is upon all of His works.”[9] Because the Creator shows compassion to all creatures, so should we.
The mitzvah of shilu’ach hakein brings this compassion into much clearer focus. According to the Midrash,[10] our compassion towards animals is an extension of Hashem’s compassion for us:
Why is an infant circumcised after eight days? The Holy One, blessed be He, extended mercy to him by waiting until he became strong enough. And just as the Holy One, blessed be He, has mercy on human beings, so does He have mercy on animals; as it is written, “A bullock, a lamb, or a kid goat, when it is born, it shall be seven days under its mother, but from the eighth day and thenceforth it may be accepted as an offering to God.” [11] Not only this – but the Holy One, blessed be He, declared, “[A mother cow] and her young you shall not slaughter on the same day.” [12] And just as the Holy One, blessed be He, has mercy upon beasts, so does He have mercy upon birds, as it is written, “When you encounter a bird’s nest…”[13]
According to this Midrash, shilu’ach hakein comes to prove that Hashem extends his mercy even to birds, just as He is compassionate towards humans and other mammals.
But the significance of shilu’ach hakein even goes beyond that. Concerning the phrase “shalei’ach tishlach,” the Midrash [14] asks:
Why does the verse use a double expression? Because one who fulfills the “sending forth” of this precept will be granted the privilege of “sending forth” a slave to freedom. As it is written, “And when you send him forth free . . .”[15] Fulfilling the precept of sending forth the mother bird also hastens the advent of the Mashiach. . . Rabbi Tanchuma said: Fulfilling this precept hastens the arrival of Eliyahu HaNavi, whose coming is associated with the expression “to send forth.” As it states, “Behold, I shall send forth to you Eliyahu HaNavi before the coming of the great and awesome day of G-d. . .” [16] [17] and he shall console you as it says, “He will return the hearts of the parents towards the children.” [18]
The connection between the mitzvah of sending forth the mother bird, freeing a slave, and Mashiach is profound. In sending away a bird from her nest before taking her eggs, we fulfill an act that has a parallel impact to freeing a slave. This small act has the power to hasten Mashiach, an ultimate expression of the peace and goodness inherent in the mitzvah. The smallness of the act is no reason to overlook it.
Shilu’ach Hakein affirms the Jewish belief in fair and merciful treatment of animals, but it does even more than that. The example here of sending away the mother bird shows that compassion is not only measured in terms of its direct impact. As a way of putting aside self-concern and refocusing our attention on the bird, a small act of compassion can be as powerful as a large one. This means that we must care for creatures and for our environment in a way that accounts not only for the large-scale problems and solutions but also the individual. Then, to paraphrase the words of our sages, the Merciful One will surely have mercy on those who are merciful.[16]
Suggested Action:
Opportunities for small acts of compassion are all around us. For instance, though most of us are unlikely to have a chance encounter with a bird’s nest on the road, we regularly encounter animals by way of the products they provide for us. Avoid products that entail avoidable tza’ar ba’alei chaim (cruelty to animals), such as foie gras and white veal. You can also try to use products from animals that are raised more humanely, such as free-range eggs and free-range kosher poultry, or try to avoid animal products to the best of your ability. Although personal abstention will not fix animal agriculture, small reminders and individual actions can have a profound impact on a spiritual level, and can help focus us on the work required to build a better world.
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Notes:
[1] Devarim 22:6-7. (All translations are the authors.)
[2] Shemot 23:19
[3] Devarim 25:4
[4] Devarim 22:4
[5] Bereishit 1:26
[6] Bereishit 1:21, 1:24.
[7] Olat Re’iyah 2: 292; cf. Rabbi Chaim Vital, Sha’ar ha-Mitzvot, Eikev, et al.
[8] Isaiah 11:6-7.
[9] Psalms 145:9.
[10] Devarim Rabbah 6:1.
[11] Vayikra 22:27.
[12] Vayikra 22:28.
[13] Devarim 22:6.
[14] Devarim Rabbah 6:7.
[15] Devarim 15:12.
[16] “The great and awesome day of God” mentioned here is a reference to the coming of Mashiach, teaching us that his arrival is closely associated with and will be preceded by the coming of Elijah the Prophet.
[17] Malachi 3:23.
[18] Ibid.
