“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 send away the mother, and [then] you may take the young for yourself, in order that it should be good for you, and you should lengthen your days.
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, that the one who falls should fall from it [the roof].[1]”
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch zt’’l points out that there is an important connection between these two seemingly disconnected mitzvos. The mitzvah of sending away the mother bird is a hint to appreciate the importance of the home and of the woman’s activities for the sake of her household. The next set of mitzvos make us aware of the higher dignity of the human home and of human domestic activity that completes the picture.
Animals and birds build their nests and care for their young instinctively, whereas for man, these natural drives are joined by the demands of moral law, we are responsible for our families’ wellbeing. The bird constructs a nest for itself and for its young in an endeavour guides solely by the natural drive of self-preservation. When we build our homes we have a loftier ideal in mind.
In building his house, man must be motivated from the outset by consideration for the welfare not only of the people who currently dwell in it, but of all who may enter it at any time, now or in the future. In the whole sphere of his home, he may not keep anything that may cause injury to someone else. Our homes are not just meant to be a place where the family can live nicely, shut the door and ignore everyone else. Rather as Chazal say in Pirkei Avos[2], Yosi ben Yoezer of Tzreidah, and Yosi ben Yochanan of Yerushalayim, received the tradition from them. Yosi ben Yoezer of Tzreidah would say: Let your home be a meeting place for the wise; dust yourself in the soil of their feet, and drink thirstily of their words. Yosi ben Yochanan of Yerushalayim would say: Let your home be wide open, and let the poor be members of your household.
In all we do to provide for ourselves and our families, in all of our activities that seek to harness or master nature and in everything we do as human beings, we have a moral code. This code was given to us by the great Lawgiver of the universe and we were create to choose to fulfil these laws through utilising our moral freedom unlike the animals who fulfil Hashem’s laws of nature instinctively, without a will of their own.
Above all, says Rav Hirsch, man must always remember that wherever his pursuits take him, the only way that he can truly prove his manly strength and dignity is by showing self-discipline through observing the Torah’s laws and through taking care of other people both physically and spiritually in the comfort of his own home.
Wishing you a good Shabbos
[1] Devarim 22:6-8
[2] 1:4-5
Discover more from Rabbi Roodyn
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
