There is a mitzvah in the Torah portion today, known as
shiluach ha keyn...sending away the bird's nest. It reads: If
a bird's nest chances before you on the road, on any tree, or on the ground,
and (it contains) fledglings or eggs, if the mother is sitting upon the
fledglings or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother upon the young. You
shall surely send away the mother and take the young for yourself, so that it
will be good for you and you will prolong (your) days.
The only other place in the Torah where we are told that our
days will be prolonged if we perform a mitzvah, is that of honoring one's
parents.
Some have looked at this mitzvah and have attempted to
assign meaning to it. For example, by noting that it will prolong one's
life just as honoring parents will prolong life, the argument is made
that: By sanctifying life – one deserves life. If we " Treat
every human being – especially parents – with kindness, dignity, and
appreciation and show sensitivity to animals, nature, and everything that lives
in the kingdom of God then we are sanctifying life, and we’ll be blessed with
life."
At first glance, this kind of reasoning might seem logical,
but the Talmud in Berachot 33b suggests otherwise. In a section about the
recitation of the Amidah by a shaliach tzibbur (representative of the
community), the Mishnah states. "If one says: 'Your mercy extends to
a bird's nest..' we silence him." The Gemarah asks: "What
is the reason for silencing him if he says 'Your mercy extends to a bird's
nest." One sage says it is because such a statement creates jealousy
among G-d's creatures,another sages says it is because he presents the measure
taken by the Holy One, blessed be He, as springing from compassion, whereas
they are only decrees. Rashi states He (G-d) did not do them, command
them, out of mercy, but in order to impose on Israel the statutes of his
decrees; to inform them that they are His servants and the guardians of his
commandments." This section of the Talmud concludes by saying that
we should feel this way even in those matters where others taunt us by saying,
"What purpose is there in doing this mitzvah."
Rambam (Moses Maimonides) in his Mishneh Torah comments on
this section of the Talmud as well. He concurs with the the idea of
silencing the of one who says in his supplication prayers, "May He who
showed mercy on a bird's nest prohibiting the taking of the mother together
with the chicks, or the slaughter of animal and its calf on the same day, also
show mercy on us." His reasoning is that these statements in Torah
are not expressions of mercy, because if they were, G-d would not permit us to
slaughter animals at all. This not being the case, Rambam sees them as
merely decrees...G'zairot.
Maimonides wrote the Mishnah Torah for the common man,
not for the individuals that he considered capable of understanding the higher
truths in life. He saved those arguments for those who read his
Guide to the Perplexed. His basic argument in that book is that all of G-d's
actions have a purpose. Some of the commandments have reasons that are
known to us and others have reasons that are unknown to us. Even the ones
like not boiling meat and milk together and prohibiting the wearing of garments
made of wool and linen together have a cause, although it is not known to us
either because of our deficient knowledge or the weakness of our
intellect. He goes on to argue that there is a purpose in general for the
commandments which seem to have no apparent reason other than the fact that
they are commanded. (i.e. how to slaughter an animal). What becomes
useless in his eyes is to debate the reasons for the details of such
commandments. "Those who believe that these detailed rules originate
in certain cause, are as far from the truth as those who assume that the whole
law is useless...We must not ask why it has this form and not another
which is likewise possible." When he talks about sending the
mother away from the young before taking them from the nest, he comments that
the eggs over which a "bird sits and the young that are in need of their
mother are generally unfit for food, and when the mother is sent away she does
not see the taking of her young ones and does not feel any pain. In most cases
however, this commandment will cause man to leave the whole nest untouched,
because the young or the eggs which he is allowed to take, are as a rule unfit
for food. If the Law provides that such grief should not be caused to
cattle or birds, how much more careful must we be that we should not cause
grief to our fellowmen. When in the Talmud those are blamed who use in
their prayer the phrase, "Your mercy extends to the bird's nest," it
is the expression of the one of the two opinions mentioned by us, namely, that
the precepts of the Law have no other reason but the Divine will. We
follow the other opinion." Rambam in his Guide to the Perplexed
actually contradicts the statement he made in the Mishnah Torah that one need
not look for meaning while performing mitzvot beyond understanding that it is
merely commanded.
Nachmanides, the Ramban, who lived at the end of the 1200's,
also commented on this passage made in today's Torah portion. He said,
"This commandment is similar to the prohibition 'You shall not kill it
(the mother) and its young both in one day'- the reason for both commandments
is that we should not have a cruel heart and be uncompassionate; or it may be
that Scripture does not permit us to destroy a species altogether, although it
permits slaughter (for food) within that group. Now he who kills the
mother and the young in one day or take them when they are free to fly (it is
regarded) as though he cut off that species. Nachmanides argues that the
prohibition in Torah is to prevent us from acting cruelly. It was not to
have mercy to the bird's nest but to teach us that we must be compassionate and
not be cruel. From Nachmanides point of view, the point of all the
mitzvot is to make us better human beings.
This discussion about two sentences in today's parasha,
impacts us on a daily basis, not because we are so worried about finding a
bird's nest and shooing away the mother before taking the eggs or the
fledglings from the nest. It impacts us because we are often concerned
about searching for meaning in the mitzvot. Some mitzvot have apparent
rationale, others do not. Do we say we must understand the rationale behind
a mitzvah in order to follow it? Do we say we must find it meaningful
before we will observe it? Or do we say that being commanded by G-d is
the rationale that matters first and foremost and that meaning will be found
after we obey the mitzvah? Do we believe that we can understand the
general purpose of a commandment even if we cannot understand the object of
each detail as Rambam suggested.
As we interact with Torah, as we attempt to pattern our
lives by taking on mitzvot, these are questions with which we must wrestle.
Shabbat Sh
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