The Trait of Mercy

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

Parshas Ki Seitzei discusses the mitzvah of shiluach hakein. One who chances upon a bird’s nest and sees the mother bird sitting on her chicks or eggs must send the mother bird away before taking the eggs or chicks for himself. The Midrash Devarim Rabbah 6:5) states, “Because the mother bird was engaged in building the world, she deserves to be saved.” The Ramban explains that shiluach hakein is intended to inculcate the trait of rachmanus (mercy) in us.

In our day and age, when the supermarket’s poultry section seems light years away from a bird’s nest, it’s hard to imagine how shiluach hakein engenders mercy. However, if you think back to a time when live chickens were brought to a slaughterer, bird trapping was a legitimate way of procuring food. A mother bird that was unwilling to abandon her nest was an easy target.

However, if the Torah wants to teach us mercy, why is the mitzvah limited to birds? Why not command us to send away a mother deer? After all, undomesticated animals and fowl have the same laws regarding a number of mitzvos, such as covering their blood and the halachos of forbidden fats. Why are birds singled out for this mitzvah?

Rav Zalman Sorotzkin writes in his sefer Oznayim LaTorah that the mother bird risks her life for her offspring to a far greater degree than other animals. Most baby animals look exactly like their mother when they are born, but bird eggs look nothing like their species and exhibit no signs of life whatsoever. Nevertheless, the mother bird sits on her nest, depriving herself of food and drink, loyally guarding and warming her offspring. Even when a predator approaches, the mother bird represses her natural instinct to flee for her life, holding fast to her young. This is only possible, explains Rav Sorotzkin, because Hashem imbued the mother bird with a special love for her offspring. Shiluach hakein is predicated on a mother bird’s mercy for her young. This is the Torah’s lesson to us: we must empathize with that love and respect it, and we must certainly not exploit it. She is engaged in building the world, and she deserves to be saved.

The Gemara (Shabbos 151b) states that one who has mercy on others is dealt with mercifully in heaven, but one who is not merciful toward others will not be dealt with mercifully in heaven. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz notes that we can see the tremendous importance Hashem places on the trait of mercy.

Rabbeinu HaKadosh (Rabi Yehuda HaNasi, author of the Mishnah) taught this lesson with his own experience. The Gemara (Bava Metzia 85b) states that once a calf fled to him because it was being led to the slaughterhouse, and he sent it on its way, saying, “Go, you were created for this.” For this act, Rabbeinu HaKadosh suffered thirteen years of affliction. His afflictions only ended when he stopped his maidservant from sweeping a weasel out of his house, saying, “The verse states (Tehillim 145:9) that His [Hashem’s] mercy is upon all of His creations.” If Rabbeinu HaKadosh’s mercy towards animals was deemed lacking, resulting in years of affliction, how much more so must we be merciful towards the people we interact with!

Rav Shlomo Wolbe points out that being merciful is not as easy as it seems. Many of us think that we are considerate of others, when in fact we may be causing people harm. Everyone is different, and each person has different needs. One person may need a smile and patience, while another needs an encouraging nudge. Some need advice while others need material assistance. For the proper application of mercy and compassion, we must first understand the needs of those around us.

Rav Avraham Genichovsky, one of the roshei yeshivah of Tchebin, was a shining example of sensitivity to others. He engaged in acts of kindness that others were not interested in. One day, he arrived late to a learning session. This was so out of character for him that his students pressed him for an explanation. He told them that he had attended a funeral. When asked who had passed away and what his connection was, Rav Genichovsky reluctantly disclosed that he had not known the deceased, but he had noticed that there were few people attending, and giving honor to this deceased Jew took precedence over his learning.

Another time, Rav Genichovsky overheard children crying from an upstairs apartment while he was walking. He climbed up the stairs to inquire if everything was all right. When the children were unable to open the door for him, he understood that the parents were not home, and had irresponsibly locked their children inside. Rav Genichovsky went to his home, returning shortly thereafter with a ladder. He climbed up until he reached a window through which he could talk to the children. He calmed them down, and proceeded to tell them a long, entertaining bed-time story.

May we be zocheh to develop the trait of mercy!