Tuesday, May 17, 2011

My thoughts on the Torah Story about shooing away the mother bird from its nest before you take its eggs.

Here is another little C.J. Brenner's take on Torah and Jewish Values.
There is a verse in Torah that discusses Birds Eggs and how you may procure them from the nest.
Deuteronomy 22:6  If a bird's nest happens to be before you on the road, on any tree or on the ground- young birds or eggs- and the mother is roosting on the young birds or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. 22:7 You shall surely send away the mother and take the young for yourself, so that it will be good for you and will prolong your days.

I must say that I was recently visited by a Robin who built its nest in my own front yard garden adjacent to our house's front.   I was amazed to watch the new hatchlings grow from hatched to leaving the nest just yesterday morning in about 10 days or so.  It was really an amazing experience.
True I would not wish to take them without shooing away the mother, but why is this such an important commandment that it needs to be in Torah.  There are no commandments regarding other animals sensitivities that I am aware of and I must say that all animals surely have a sensitive mind and being.
This is my take.
A lot of Torah has figurative meaning as well as a literal meaning.
I can not expect that there are too many situations where a Jew might want to take a bird from a birds nest save perhaps for the sacrifices (?) and the eggs of a nest are too small to make a meal, etc.
I attest to you that this verse has a double meaning.
I suggest that the idea that you must shoo away the mother bird has a figurative meaning in that if you are going to seek the spoils of nature, you must first make sure that the one who lays the eggs is not present to see the eggs that you take.
This to me refers to.. get this..  premarital relations.
This to me seems to indicate that if you are going to have relations of the sexual nature with another person, you must not be promiscuous.  This is a wild stretch of the imagination, but I assure you that it is accurate.
The mother bird represents your own promiscuous ways in that the mother bird is going to feel pain and suffering when you take the eggs.  So too will your soul feel pain and suffering if you "take the spoils of nature" or have intercourse without properly being in wed lock.  To be promiscuous is to steal the eggs with the mother in the proximity of the nest.
So thus, I suggest this verse has double meaning and one might wish to consider his actions in this regard more closely than many do today. 
Thanks.

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