[Avodah] Shiluach Hakan

[Alan Rubin]

While browsing in a bookstore a few days ago I came across a book on
Shiluach Hakan. I was a little surprised that there was enough to
write about this mitzvah to fill a book I had a brief look through its
pages and I was a little surprised by some of what I read.

Now if you think about it there are three attitudes one could have to
this mitzvah.

1. To actively seek out nests to perform the mitzvah on.
2. To not actively seek out nests but to perform the mitzvah if one
came across one
3. To only perform the mitzvah if one needed eggs from a nest.

I had always assumed that No 3 was correct. And if the mitzvah is at
least partly to do with minimising pain to animals then to send away
the mother bird when one does not really need the eggs is
contradictory. Now I only glanced at the book for a few seconds but I
was surprised that there could even be a hava aminah that 1 was
correct or that there was a body of opinion that 2 was correct.

 I was also surprised that there was an opinion that everyone should
try and perform this at least once in their life. There was a
suggestion (R. Vital?) that one would be brought back as a gilgul
until one had performed every mitzvah. According to this opinion would
one be brought back as a gilgul if one had not performed the
commandments relating to eshes yefas toar? Now I am aware of the
promised rewards for shiluach hakan but I cannot believe we are
supposed to be tramping through woods frightening birds to secure long
life.


Alan Rubin