Ki Tetzei: Shooing away cruelty
Rebecca is with IfNotNow Boston.
In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tetzei, Moses continues to recount laws to the Israelites. We hear 74 of the Torah’s 613 commandments. Some feel practical: “When you build a new house, you shall make a guard rail for your roof, so that you shall not cause blood to be spilled in your house” (Deuteronomy 22:9). Some seem arbitrary: “You shall not wear a mixture of wool and linen together” (Deuteronomy 22:11). And some seem practical to build a functional society: “you shall bring [a lost object] into your house, and it shall be with you until your brother seeks it out, whereupon you shall return it to him” (Deuteronomy 22:2).
In the long list, there is one mitzvah that stands out as particularly thoughtful. The parsha declares that if you see a bird’s nest and you wish to take eggs from it, you must first send the mother bird away before you are permitted to take the eggs. The reward for doing so is a longer life.
Sending a mother bird away to deprive her of experiencing the pain of seeing her offspring taken is a lovely notion. Still, it is a bit surprising that it warrants the reward of a longer life. The only other mitzvah that merits this reward is honoring your mother and father. Is this to suggest that protecting the feelings of a bird is morally equivalent to honoring the people who gave us life? Treating animals with respect is important, but it is surprising that it would be comparable to an idea that makes it into the famous Ten Commandments.
One of our sages, Nachmanidies, suggests that the commandment is not solely about how we should treat mother birds or even animals in general. Rather, he says, “it is to teach us compassion and prevent the trait of cruelty from taking root in our hearts.” He continues to explain that God does not command this of us simply for the sake of the bird, but to better our characters as overall human beings.
As this summer comes to a close, our world can use a reminder of this commandment.
Every day, it feels like we open our news apps to read about another failure, another tragedy, another example of a deteriorating moral compass.
It is clear that cruelty took root in our hearts when IDF troops raided the freedom camp in Sumud.
Cruelty took root in our hearts when our president declared that trans people are not welcome in our military.
Cruelty took root in our hearts when some Jewish organizations chose to continue working with white supremacist leaders after a march not only against people of color, but against Jews as well.
Perhaps we can change the story. Perhaps our generation will be the ones to prove that we have learned the Torah’s lesson that began with talk of a mother bird; that we reject cruelty and strive for compassion; that we treat all beings with dignity and respect.
Because if not us, who? And if not now, when?
