Table talk for Shabbat Ki Teitzei, August 20-21, 2010

In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, we find a long list of commandments.  Much of the book of Deuteronomy is devoted to several speeches Moses gives to the Israelites, as we mentioned last week, in the hopes that the commandments and rules he presents help the Israelites to establish a peaceful, harmonious, happy society once they enter the Promised Land and become established. 

Many of the rules in this week’s Torah portion have to do with being kind and nice to our families and friends and members of our community.  But not all of the members of the community that this week’s Torah portion reminds us to protect and be kind to are human—they are animals! 

A few commandments in particular teach us about how to be kind to animals.

"If an animal has fallen on the road, you must help its owner lift it up."  (This means that even if you are not friends with the animal’s owner, even if the animal’s owner is mean to you, you have to think of the pain of the animal and help for the animal’s sake.)

"If you see a mother bird on her nest, you must let her go before you can take her eggs or baby birds."  (This means that you must show kindness to the feelings of animals—even birds.  Many scholars have studied and thought about this commandment, and many think that letting a mother bird go free before taking her eggs or baby birds, you make sure the mother is not sad or pained to see her eggs or baby birds go.)

"You shouldn’t plow using two different kinds of animals."  (This commandment is talking about farm animals.  If two are tied together doing farm work, and one is stronger than the other, it can be really hard or even painful for the weaker, smaller animal to keep up, and it causes discomfort to the bigger, stronger animal that has to work harder.)

"Do not muzzle an ox when it is threshing."  (This is also talking about a farm animal that is helping to collect the crops at harvest time.   Essentially an animal is tied to a post or a pivot and walks in circles treading, or walking, on the corn to break it up.  If the animal has to wear a muzzle, that covers its mouth, this means that it can’t eat, even though oxen love corn.  Picture being in room, full of your very favorite food but you aren’t allowed to eat any of it!  This would be very unkind to an animal, working hard to help with the harvest, but not allowed to eat any of its favorite food.  Therefore we should, in a way, be kind to an animal, especially an animal that helps us.)

This week's Torah portion, among many other important lessons, reminds us that our actions toward other people remain very important, but our actions toward animals under our care and other animals we encounter, are also very important and can teach us about how we treat all beings, including humans.

Discussion Questions:

• How do these commandments show us how to be kind to animals?  How do you show kindness to animals?  To your friends?  To your family (parents, siblings, grandparents)?  Talk about a time you went out of your way to be kind to someone you know, or even someone you didn’t know.
  
  
• How do you behave toward animals—your pets, your friends’ pets, or animals you see in other places?

Some scholars have called these commandments—the commandments that show us how to be kind to animals—“easy” commandments, because they don’t take any preparation.  You do not have to prepare in advance in order to help your neighbor lift her fallen animal.  Rather, you would happen to see your neighbor in the road and rush to her aid without having do prepare in any special way.

• Do you agree that commandments that show us how to be nice to animals are "easy"?  Why or why not?
  
  
• If a commandment is “easy,” does this mean that it is not as good or as valuable as commandments that are hard to do?  Why or Why not?
  
  
• What are other easy commandments?  Are they important or less important than commandments that are hard or challenging to do?
  
  
• Can commandments about animals teach us about how we should treat people?  What can they teach us about how we should treat our families, friends, neighbors, and even strangers?