The Vigler Family Photo of our parents, siblings and nephews last week at the Family Reunion
Traveling to South Africa with four little kids is a long flight and hard work, but doing it without their mom is borderline insane. On the flight from Johannesburg this week, we were quasi-celebrities as travelers marveled at how well behaved and courteous our children were. At one point, someone asked me why I felt obligated to bring all my kids with me and didn’t leave half of the kids at home with mom, to which I promptly responded, "I did!"
Apparently, we weren’t the only ones to arrive in Florida from Africa to Florida this week; Hurricane Erika charging her way towards our shores came from there too (may she never arrive)!
No one is quite sure what precisely causes a Hurricane, but I was particularly inspired by one theory, known as the chaos theory, also known as the butterfly effect. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the metaphorical example of the details of a hurricane (exact time of formation, exact path taken) being influenced by minor perturbations such as the flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier, thousands of miles away. I find it amazing that something so insignificant as a butterfly minding its own business in Angola, can cause chaos and destruction in Florida. Indeed, scientists have discovered sand particles from the Great Saharan Desert of Africa in Florida after Hurricanes.
We find a similar concept in the Torah portion this week when we are instructed to always send away the mother bird prior to seizing the eggs from her nest.
If you chance upon a bird's nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, and the mother is sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother go and take only the young... (Deuteronomy 22:6)
The simple reason for this commandment is to embed compassion into us. But the Zohar, the Book of the Kaballah, describes a far more significant consequence of this simple deed:
When G-d sees the tremendous suffering of a mother whose children are robbed from before her eyes and the sensitivity we display to avoid this anguish, He too is aroused with mercy for His own Children, the Jewish People, who are suffering in exile and persecution. This in turn results in G-d redeeming his Children from exile with the arrival of the Moshiach. The world transformed, all because of one insignificant deed of chasing away the mother bird.
The Zohar tells the story of how this commandment saved a family from total destruction: A young boy and his sister were first orphaned from their mother and then, just days later, tragically orphaned from their father as well. As the boy lay over his father's body he refused to allow anyone to approach. Suddenly, the boy lifted his eyes heavenward and declared:
"Master of the Universe, You wrote in your holy Torah these words:'If you chance upon a bird's nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, and the mother is sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother go and take only the young...'"
"Master of the Universe! According to your holy Torah, we must let the mother live, and
surely we must not take the mother and leave the children unattended.
"You, G-d, must fulfill the words of Your holy Torah. My sister and I are two little birds. My mother has died, and so our father has taken her place to care for us.
"According to Your Torah, dear G-d, You may take either me or my sister, but You may not take away my beloved father!"
The Zohar relates that a Great Miracle then occurred: Out of the fiery pillar, a heavenly voice declared that the decree had been reversed.
The mitzvah of Chasing away the Mother Bird teaches us a powerful lesson. Just as powerful Hurricanes are initiated by the most insignificant of events, so too world transformation happens through little events, not great ones. So, if you’d like to improve your life, don’t stress about making massive changes, it’s the little ones that will propel you further than you ever dreamed possible.
What better time than now, during the introspective month of Elul, the last month of the year, to reflect on where we stand and where we could be. Simply asking your spouse each morning "How can I make your day better today?", can transform your marriage. Committing to designate a portion of your income to charity can propel your business to wild success. Laying Tefillin once a week or lighting Shabbos Candles (tonight at 7:27) can bring your spirituality to a level you never were knew existed, and performing random acts of kindness can transform you into a real mentsch!
Make a Hurricane, Be a Butterfly!
As you surely know, I am a proud African American Rabbi-