In our neighborhood, there is a small wooded area that is home to wild animals, such as deer, foxes, squirrels, and feigelach (birds). The birds include finches, cardinals, robins, and a Yiddish-speaking bird named Raizeleh.
Sometimes I communicate with Raizeleh,
who may be one of the few Yiddish-speaking birds in America! Hairst ah geshichteh (can you imagine
such a thing)?
Raizeleh frequently visits our
porch to taste the crushed matzos that I feed the birds and other animals. Nu, you may ask, crushed matzos? What
kind of diet is that for feigelach? So
let me explain how it all began.
More than a few years ago, when I attended
cheder (Hebrew school), students were
taught to never – but never – to throw bread in the garbage. Furthermore, if
someone committed such a terrible crime, they would end up in the poor house. Leftover
bread was therefore fed to the birds – and that’s the origin of feeding the
birds.
Returning to our miseh (story), a week before Pesach, while I was feeding the feigelach some bread crumbs, Raizeleh
flew next to my porch chair and loudly chirped, “What about Pesach? Don’t
forget to feed us with matzah, and remember shmurah
matzah for the blackbirds!” Hairst ah
geshichteh?
Pesach came and Pesach went, and
feeding the feigelach with crushed
matzos continues.
I have watched the birds while
they pecked at the matzah, and I am fascinated by some of their actions because
they remind me of traits exhibited by some human beings!
Nu, you may say, “Voss hakst
do ah chainik (why are you babbling)?” So here are a few examples to
clarify the statement:
·
Some feigelach quarrel over a crumb although there are many more crumbs!
·
Mother bird feeds her young
although they are capable of feeding themselves.
·
There are bullies among the
flock, and they peck at other birds.
·
Some feigelach will snatch a crumb from another bird’s beak.
·
And I have seen the
victimized bird snatch it back!
·
Some feigelach are fearless; others fly away at the blink of an eye.
·
The early bird gets the
matzah. Latecomers, such as squirrels, barely get shirayim (leftovers).
One morning, Raizeleh flew near my
chair and began chirping.
“Nu, Raizeleh, how did you become a Yiddish feigeleh,” I asked.
“Iz azoy (it’s like this),” she responded. “I noticed that there are
good manners among Yiddishe birds. They do not fight over food. They respect
one another, and they are kind to other species of animals.”
Ah klal (in summation), there is much we can learn about how to
behave and how not to behave from our animal friends – especially the Jewish
ones!
