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Is there a certain way you are supposed to treat birds?

by Rabbi Mendy Hecht

  

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A. The Torah lifestyle advocates sensitivity to all living things. This concept is called Tzar Ba'alei Chaim (Pain of Living Things, pronounced Tzar BAW-AW-lay KHA-yeem), which essentially says not to hurt or kill any living creature if you don't need to. The laws of shechitah (see What is Kosher Meat?) revolve around making slaughter virtually pain-free for the to-be-slaughtered cow or chicken, and many Talmudic tales tell the story of great sages going out of their way to be kind to animals.

B. Besides the basic prohibition of animal cruelty, the Torah specifically lays out two mitzvahs just for the birds: Negative Mitzvah #306, and right on its heels, Positive Mitzvah #148. These forbid the harvesting of bird eggs or fledglings while their mother is sitting on them, and to shoo away the mother before you take the young.

C. Maimonides writes in his Guide to the Perplexed that the purpose of these two mitzvahs are not so much how to collect eggs as much as they are to teach us sensitivity. "If we have to go out of our way to shoo the mother bird so as not to cause it grief upon seeing its' eggs taken, how much more so must we be careful in our dealings with our fellow men." According to Kabbalistic teachings, though, a more cosmic reason explains it: by performing this mitzvah, one can actually move the entire universe closer to the age of spiritual perfection known as Moshiach. How's that? When the mother bird is banished, the angel in heaven assigned to that species approaches G-d and asks, "Why do You allow such exile in Your world?" G-d in turn replies, "If only the Jewish People would likewise lament their exile--I will thus hasten its ending..."

How do I do this mitzvah?

1. Don't

The Torah verse (Deuteronomy 22:6) containing this rare mitzvah reads: "If you COME ACROSS a bird's nest...", meaning if you happen upon one in the wild, and not if you run a chicken farm. Doing this mitzvah cannot involve any planning or preparation.

2. Do

In the event that you do encounter such a situation, there are several halachahs on how it's precisely to be done. Firstly, it is only done to Kosher birds. Then, the bird must be of the same species, it must be the biological mother of the eggs (or fledglings), it must be sitting directly on them with nothing intervening (not above or among them), neither the mother nor the eggs/fledglings may be ritually impure, and it cannot be hovering or flapping above the nest. So it would be extraordinary that all criteria are just right, but if they are...

3. Say your Prayers

Like many mitzvahs, this one comes with a brachah (pronounced BRAH-khah), or blessing, that thanks G-d for giving you the opportunity to connect with Him through whatever particular action you are about to perform--in this case, the action of chasing away the mother bird. Recite the following blessing just before you're about to swipe your hand at the bird or otherwise scare it off: Baruch atta Ado-noy Eh-lo-hay-nu Me-lech ha-oh-lam, asher kid-sha-nu b'mitz-vo-tav v'tzi-vanu li'shlo-ach et ha-kahn. [Blessed are you, G-d, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and has commanded us to chase away the mother bird.]

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Mitzvah
(pl. Mitzvot). A commandment from G-d. Mitzvah also means a connection, for a Jew connects with G–d through fulfilling His commandments.
Torah
Torah is G–d’s teaching to man. In general terms, we refer to the Five Books of Moses as “The Torah.” But in truth, all Jewish beliefs and laws are part of the Torah.
Moshiach
The Messiah. Moshiach is the person who will usher in an era of peace and tranquility for all of humanity when there will be no jealousy or hate, wars or famine. This is a fundamental Jewish belief.
Maimonides
Moses son of Maimon, born in Spain in 1135, died in Egypt in 1204. Noted philosopher and authority on Jewish law. Also was an accomplished physician and was the personal doctor for members of the Egyptian royalty. Interred in Tiberius, Israel.
Kosher
Literally means "fit." Commonly used to describe foods which are permitted by Jewish dietary laws, but is also used to describe religious articles (such as a Torah scroll or Sukkah) which meet the requirements of Jewish law.
Kabbalistic
(adj.) Pertaining to Kabbalah—Jewish mysticism.
Deuteronomy
The fifth of the Five Books of Moses. This book is a record of the monologue which Moses spoke to the Israelites in the five weeks prior to his passing.
G-d
It is forbidden to erase or deface the name of G-d. It is therefore customary to insert a dash in middle of G-d's name, allowing us to erase or discard the paper it is written on if necessary.