The Law of the Nest
In Deut. 22:6-7, what is the "law of the nest" in view of Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity? The closest passage to this text is Lev. 22:26-30.
"If you chance upon a bird's nest, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; you shall surely send the mother away, but the young you may take to yourself; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days."
Are there any lessons for the 21st Century Christian today? How readeth thou? What say ye? CM
Comments
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I think we are prone to focus on compassion and care for wild animals and helpless creatures. One other thing might be that we should use but not exploit natural resources; we should use them wisely so they are renewable.
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I've always had a problem with the possibility of hunters wiping out entire families by killing a mother. Or tree trimmers or pest removal companies doing the same. And I think this principle applies to war and the destruction of entire families through collateral damage.
As a rule, I make sure neighborhood wildlife is well covered with alternative choices before tampering with trees and their food sources.
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Below you will find two short popular and easily accessible commentaries on the verse:
NOT CAPTURING A MOTHER BIRD ALONG WITH HER YOUNG (vv. 6–7)
This law is similar to Leviticus 22:28, “No animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its young.” Both laws inculcate reverence for the parent-child relationship even among animals. This motive is suggested by the preceding law in Leviticus 22:27: “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall stay seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as an offering.” The prohibition of boiling a kid in its mother’s milk (14:21) most likely has essentially the same motive. The halakhic details of the law, such as when and where it applies, are presented in Tractate Ḥullin, chapter 12.the mother together with her young Hebrew ʾem ʿal banim. The same phrase, which also appears in descriptions of warfare, was evidently a common expression denoting total, cruel extermination. Its use here may be an allusion to such descriptions, so as to indicate that taking the mother bird together with its offspring would mark one as ruthless.
Let the mother go Hebrew shalleaḥ teshallaḥ can mean either “release” or “chase away.” Traditionally the latter interpretation has been preferred, and the law has been explained as sparing the mother the painful sight of seeing her offspring taken away.17 However, it is not likely that chasing the mother away would spare her pain, since forcible separation from her young and finding them gone later would also be painful. Nor do the comparable laws prevent pain (the mother animal would not know if her calf or kid was sacrificed on the same day or boiled in her milk). What the text finds callous are the acts themselves, quite apart from any impact they may have on the mother.
in order that you may fare well and have a long life These clauses repeat, in reverse order, the reward promised for honoring parents in the Decalogue (5:16). Inversion of clauses often indicates an intentional allusion to earlier passages in biblical literature. This allusion calls attention to the fact that the present command is likewise an aspect of respecting a parent.
To Abravanel the promise of a long life signals an additional aim of the law, conservation of natural resources: releasing the mother enables her to produce more offspring in the future and thus helps maintain the supply of food needed by humans. In a similar vein, Sefer Ha-Ḥinnukh holds that the aim of the law is to teach that God does not want any species to become extinct.
Tigay, Jeffrey H. Deuteronomy. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1996. Print. The JPS Torah Commentary.
6–7: The respect for the life of other creatures here parallels that shown for the integrity of the natural environment even in the context of war (20:19–20). Desire to avoid the simultaneous consumption of two generations of the same creature is also evident in other laws (14:21; Exod. 23:19; 34:26; Lev. 22:28). 7: To elicit compliance, the legislator makes an appeal to enlightened self-interest; as in v. 3, there is no legal sanction for noncompliance.
Berlin, Adele, Marc Zvi Brettler, and Michael Fishbane, eds. The Jewish Study Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.
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6-7. Sparing The Mother-Bird
The ground of sympathy here is the sacredness of the parental relationship. The Mother-bird is sacred as a mother; ad length of days is promised to those who regard the sanctity of motherhood in this sphere, as is promised to those who observe the Fifth Commandment. ‘When the mother is sent away, she does not see the taking of her young ones, and does not feel any pain. The eggs over which the bird sits, and the brood that are in need of the mother, are generally unfit for food. Consequently, this commandment will cause man to leave the whole nest untouched. The Torah provides that such grief should not be caused to cattle. (Lev. XXII, 28) or birds; how much more careful must we be that we should not cause grief to our fellow man’ (Maimonides) ; see xxv, 4.The Soncino Press Pentateuch & Haftorahs; Hebrew text English translation & Commentary Edited by Dr. J H Hertz page 843
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Thanks, great resources. It's more than just about birds... CM
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Deuteronomy 22:6
RASHI (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki)
If, along the road, you chance upon a bird’s nest. This excludes a nest that you yourself set up. Do not take the mother together with her young. Rather, “Do not take the mother [who is sitting] over her young.”RASHBAM (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir)
If … you chance upon a bird’s nest. If you find a nest that happens to be sitting there. Do not take the mother together with her young. This is simply civilized behavior; see my comment to “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” of Exod. 23:19. As I say there, in response to criticism by the Christians, the same applies to Lev. 22:28. It is gluttonous and cruel to take and slaughter and cook and eat a mother together with her young.IBN EZRA (Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra)
If, along the road. As in v. 4. You chance upon a bird’s nest. For קרה (to “chance” or “happen” upon) spelled with an א, as it is here, see also 2 Sam. 1:6. It means “to bump into” something. Fledglings. The word has a prefixed א; for a similar occurrence, see Jer. 32:21. Do not take the mother together with her young. People are indeed capable of this kind of cruelty: “On a day of battle, when mothers and babes were dashed to death together” (Hosea 10:14). The same applies to the prohibition of Lev. 22:28.Carasik, Michael, ed. Deuteronomy: Introduction and Commentary. Trans. Michael Carasik. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2015. Print. The Commentators’ Bible.
