[Avodah] Shemini Olam Chesed Yiboneh
Cantor Wolberg
cantorwolberg at cox.net
Mon Mar 24 03:15:24 PDT 2008
There's a verse in this week's Sidra (Lev. 11:13) which states: "These
shall you abominate from among the birds, they may not be eaten; they
are an abomination..." In other words, fowl that are cruel are not
eligible to be kosher. One will not always find cruel fowl necessarily
exercising cruelty (we see this in the human species as well). It
would therefore have been impractical and impossible to have
positively identified a specific bird as being unfit. Therefore, the
Torah must list all the fowl that are unsuitable for eating.
There is an overriding concept in the laws of kashruth that the
characteristics of what we eat somehow have a great influence on the
way we behave. The old saying: "You are what you eat." We do not want
to associate ourselves for instance with cruelty, therefore we are
forbidden to eat cruel animals, and in this case, some species of
fowl. Among the fowl that are listed as being non kosher is the
chasidah, the white stork. You may ask what cruel character trait does
the stork possess. Rashi mentions that the reason it is called a
"chasidah" is because it does chesed only with its friends regarding
the food it finds. On the surface this seems strange. If the stork
acts kindly with its food, why is it disqualified as being kosher?
A beautiful explanation to this difficulty has been given by the
Chidushei Harim, in which he explains the nature of the stork. He says
that the fact the stork only shows its kindness with its friends
defines its cruelty. A fowl who is not in the circle of the stork's
good buddies is excluded from getting any help from the stork in
finding food. In other words, the stork is very selective in its
kindness. This type of kindness is misleading. We, as Jews, are
commanded even to help our foes. If we come across someone we dislike
intensely who needs help, we are commanded to help. The stork, on the
other hand, helps only his inner circle of friends. It is this
character trait of differentiating between close friends and others
when it comes to providing food that makes the stork non-kosher.
Chesed means reaching out altruistically, with love and generosity to
all. The process of maturing involves developing our sense of caring
for others. This is crucial for spiritual health. The Talmud likens
someone who doesn't give to others as the "walking dead." A non-giving
soul is malnourished and withered. It is only through unconditional
love that our successful future will be built. In the words of King
David (Psalm 89:3): Olam chesed yiboneh - "the world is built on
kindness." The more this kindness dissipates and degenerates, the more
danger of the foundation collapsing.
ri
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