Dogs and the Bible - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

The Bible does not seem to be very positive about dogs, listing them as unkosher (because they are scavengers like pigs) as using them to denote people outside the Torah and the Holy City. What does this mean to those of us who have dogs as pets?
I thought I would put up a few articles and comments by others and then invite your comments.

Dogs and the Bible

Odyssey Truett, a Springer Spaniel, comments on the Bible's negativity about dogs.

(Hat tip to Ed Babinski.)

Posted by Jim Lippard at 7/28/2006 08:03:00 PM

Labels: animal rescue, animals, dogs

5 comments:
Blue Coyote said...
I dont like that link and i think the writer of that "blog" is a complete ignoramus and doesnt understand dogs himself.
True that there arent many nice things in the Bible about dogs. Most of the references i've read about them were comparing them to bad things.. dogs eating scraps in the street or the dead people who are sinners unworthy of burial. aka Pariah dogs, living on the fringes of society and not really doing much good for anyone but themselves. However in a lot places in the world this is still true today. the homeless dogs are thieves, scavengers, carriers of vermin and disease, and not very well liked among the locals.
Being cast out among the dogs in the Bible was never a good thing for that reason because there is no one to care for you and you are scorned.. and one that i see again and again proven true by people i know personally is in Proverbs 26:11 "As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly". Yes dogs can regurgitate FOOD but there is a clear distinction of FOOD and VOMIT. When you vomit its because there is something wrong with the food. wouldnt you think you should probably not eat it....? If you barf up steak and eggs are you going to scrape it off the floor and put it back on your plate for a second chance? There are usually good medical reasons why a dog returns to its vomit.. they would rather re-eat tainted food than starve to death because thats the only option a pariah dog has. One way or the other he is going to die.... but at least he can die with a full belly even if its poison rather than dying a slow death by starvation.
I dont believe the Bible is saying ALL dogs are bad. i believe it speaks mostly about street dogs. and if you've ever lived in a place where stray dogs were a danger or destroyed your property then you would understand why the comparison fits with sinners and thieves.

November 7, 2007 11:35 AM
Jim Lippard said...
Street dogs' condition is entirely the fault of human beings, not the dogs themselves. Why doesn't the Bible put the blame where it belongs? Instead, it seems to take for granted that such dogs are part of the natural condition. Kind of like the Bible's position on slavery.

And regarding dogs eating vomit, the Bible also speaks of rabbits chewing their cud, or rumination (Leviticus 11:6). In fact, they eat some of their own droppings (cecotropes) in order to re-digest them and obtain nutrients they need, a process called refection. The Bible gets it wrong.

The Bible's not a reliable guide to morals or science.

Thanks for stopping by and expressing your opinion.

November 7, 2007 11:43 AM
Blue Coyote said...
I also want to point and CORRECT their context in Matthew 15:21. infact this person should probably read the entire chapter... Jesus said "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel" and the chapter goes on to say "The woman came and knelt before him 'Lord help!' she said. He answered 'It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." 'Yes Lord' she said, 'but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters table.' Then Jesus answered, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour."
What does that all mean? She wasnt a Christian but she was willing to accept the master. She was a lost soul, a stray, a dog without a home... and yet she had sense enough to seek help from the right master and was rewarded for her blind faith and trust.... also a common trait in dogs.

Its all very easy to follow if people will actually read the entire chapter and attempt to see past their own prejudices and uneducated judgments. Whether or not you believe in the Bible... its pure and simple "reading and comprehension" .. stuff they used to teach in grade school..

November 7, 2007 11:50 AM
Blue Coyote said...
I agree that the street dogs condition is the fault of humans... but what sort of idiot wants to breed animals with no purpose? obviously someone who hasnt got very good morals in life or a sense of "cause and effect" a dog with a purpose is one that works. he hunts, he guards, he herds.... in those times there was no use for a common man to have a pet. a pet dog was useless and used up resources and did nothing in return. What good is a comforting companion when you are giving it your food and starving your family to death? Again i refer to the "giving the children's bread to the dogs"
If you have never hit hard times and been broke and not know where your next pay check is going to come from then you may never understand my POV. having a pet at such a time is insane.. especially if you have children. You've got a weird set of priorities if you insist on bringing a dog home when you have no money to care for it AND your children.

And there is STILL a difference in chewing cud, vomiting and regurgitation. cud is regurgitation... only for one's own personal benefit. regurgitating food for young is obviously helping the young to survive and thrive and prepare them to eat real food. vomit is still vomit. it doesnt belong. the food is bad.

Rabbits eat droppings but in the same sense that a cow burps up its dinner. the rabbit doesnt just take a dump then turn around and eat it. I own rabbits and i know what i'm talking about. Rabbits dont normally chew their cud until late in the evening. A lot of old timers refer to those "Special" pellets as Night Droppings. its different than usual pellets they drop all day long. Rabbits CANT control where they poop but they can control where they pee.. because they mark their territory with urine. They poop as they hop along. The easiest way to litter box train a rabbit is to determine where he hangs out the most and keep litter pans in the path. But that is beside the point.

November 7, 2007 11:58 AM

http://lippard.blogspot.com/2006/07/dogs-and-bible.html

Dog
an animal frequently mentioned in Scripture. It was used by the hebrews as a watch for their houses, Isa 56:10 and for guarding their flocks. Job 30:1 Then also, as now troops of hungry and semi-wild dogs used to wander about the fields and the streets of the cities, devouring dead bodies and other offal, 1Ki 14:11; 21:19,23; 22:38; Ps 59:6 and thus became so savage and fierce and such objects of dislike that fierce and cruel enemies are poetically styled dogs in Ps 22:16,20 moreover the dog being an unclean animal, Isa 66:3 the epithets dog, dead dog, dog's head, were used as terms of reproach or of humility in speaking of one's self. 1Sa 24:14; 2Sa 3:8; 9:8; 16:9; 2Ki 8:13

http://www.bible-history.com/smiths/D/Dog/

Dogs
Today when we think of a dog we think of "man’s best friend." We think of these nice household pets. In our day, dogs are looked upon favorably by most people.

This was not so in Bible times. In those days dogs were looked down upon as unclean and filthy animals. Dogs would eat garbage, dead animals and even human flesh and blood (1 Kings 14:11; 22:38). They even had the disgusting habit of eating their own vomit (Proverbs 26:11; 2 Peter 2:22). The only good thing said about dogs in the Bible is that they would sometimes watch the flock (Job 30:1).

In Revelation 22:15 the word "dogs" is used to describe people who are not allowed to enter the holy city. This means that these people are filthy and unclean and impure. They have no concern about a holy God. There will be no "dogs" in heaven!

http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/biblecus/biblec8.htm

Of Canines and Commandments

By Mark Levenson

Last year I moved back to New York City from a long sojourn out West and, as I try to mix in the Jewish circles of my Upper West Side neighborhood, I have been dogged by a secret. But I've lived in the closet as long as I can and, for better or worse, am now outing myself on the Internet.

My secret: I have dogs.

They're a pair of Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Benny and Mollie, so cute they leave behind a wake of smiles as we negotiate the crowded sidewalks of Manhattan. But reasons practical, theological and sociological conspire to put a divide as big as the one in the Sea of Reeds between traditional Jews and dogs. To many of my co-religionists, the stray dog-hair on my jacket could just as well be a stain of bacon fat for the doubt it raises about my fidelity to Jewish law.

Jewish antipathy to dogs is longstanding, as Rabbi Judah Elijah Schochet points out in "Animal Life in Jewish Tradition," (KTAV, 1984):

"The dog is one of the few animals almost invariably spoken of in negative and derogatory terms [in Jewish Scripture]. There apparently was little personal relationship between biblical man and the dog.. Dogs are described as being noisy [Psalms 59:7-14], greedy [Isaiah 56:11], stupid [Isaiah 56:10], filthy [Proverbs 26:11].... The term "dog" is applied as an insult to humans [I Kings 22:38]. Furthermore, "dog" appears to have been a derogatory designation for male prostitutes [Deuteronomy 23:19]."

Schochet argues that this treatment is a result of the position in which biblical man found himself viz the dog in particular and animals in general. Dogs were worshipped by Egyptians and Caananites, as were other animals. It is one of the triumphs of Torah that it made clear to biblical man that God and God alone was worthy of worship, and that man's role was to be a respectful steward over creation, including animals. The exultation of the dog was incompatible with this concern.

And there are practical reasons for Jews to be less than dog's best friend, particularly in the cramped quarters of a New York apartment. Jewish law requires an absolute separation of the pots, pans, dishes and utensils used for meat and for dairy. Homes in which the dietary laws of kashrut are kept thus maintain separate meat and dairy sections. My apartment has three: meat, dairy and -- in a counter and shelf never used for the preparation of human food - canine, so that the non-kosher dog food can't contaminate the rest of the kitchen, rendering it, too, non-kosher. Then, on Passover, the requirements multiply as the prohibition against a Jew owning or using leavened products renders most - but not all - commercial dog foods illegal under Jewish law, even when they're acceptable the rest of the year. It's possible to juggle these requirements, but easy for others to assume that I am cutting corners on kashrut for the sake of my canines.

Beyond theology and practicality, there are visceral reasons for Jews to be anti-dog. From the Crusades to the Pogroms to the Holocaust, the relationship between Jews and dogs have mostly seen the former fleeing the business ends of the latter, set on them by anti-Semitic persecutors. If Jews have a racial memory of dogs, it's not a happy one.

And yet, there are particularly Jewish reasons for Jews to regard dogs with affection. In Torah, when God informs Moses of the imminent tenth plague on Egypt, the slaying of the first born, He says: "There shall be a great outcry in the entire land of Egypt, such as there has never been and such as there shall never be again. But against all the Children of Israel, no dog shall whet its tongue, against neither man nor beast, so that you shall know that the Lord will have differentiated between Egypt and Israel" [Exodus, 11:6-7]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could only conceive of a single dog doing nothing in the night-time but Torah gives us an entire nation of them. Not a dog barks or howls against the Jews, signifying the tranquility they enjoy while the Egyptians are suffering the horrors of the ultimate plague. Once the Jews gain their freedom to worship God, the dog is singled out for reward throughout the generations for its show of restraint on that terrible night: "People of holiness shall you be to Me; you shall not eat flesh of an animal that was torn in the field; to the dog shall you throw it. [Exodus, 22:30-31].

Meat torn from a live animal, rather than slaughtered according to Jewish law, is non-kosher and unfit for Jewish consumption. Rashi, the pre-eminent Torah commentator, attributes this command of throwing such meat to dogs to the gratitude we must show to the dog, just as God does not let any good deed go unrewarded. Thus, this command contains an ethical inculcation as well.

This positive regard for the dog, rare in Jewish Scripture, blossomed during the Rabbinic period (200-500 C.E.), when animal worship was more a thing of the past and the Sages were free to re-mythologize animals, to derive moral and ethical lessons from the animal kingdom in general and the dog in particular. One example:

"The Jerusalem Talmud [Schochet writes] cites as one of Rabbi Meir's fables the story of a dog who observed a serpent poisoning the curdled milk of its master. The dog barked frantically, but to no avail, as its master failed to heed its warnings and set out to partake of the milk. The desperate dog hastened to consume the food itself, thereby dying an agonizing death while saving the lives of its master and his fellow shepherds. The grateful shepherds buried the faithful dog with funerary honors and erected a monument to its memory."

So Talmud anticipates "Greyfriar's Bobby" and "A Dog of Flanders" by 1,500 years. This positive tone becomes a running thread through writings of medieval commentators, Kabbalists and others. However, one of the tenderest depictions of the dog and its bond to humanity, to my mind, again comes from the Sages. In an elaboration of the book of Genesis called Genesis Rabba (22:12) they deal with the apparently ignominious mark of Cain, bestowed after Cain kills Abel and is condemned to lonely exile. Since the mark of Cain is never described in Torah, it leaves the Sages free to speculate as to its nature. The Talmudic figure Rav does just this, suggesting that the mark was actually a dog that God gave to Cain to keep him company in his solitude.

When Jews show tenderness to dogs, they are thus acting on lessons first taught in Torah and implementing Torah's requirement to be a holy people. Also, they are conveying a crucial ethical lesson: if the dog, a servant and tool of man, is worthy of kindness, how much more so are our fellow human beings -- creatures created in the image of God -- worthy of such kindness.

Now, if only I could get my fellow Jews to remember that when they see me taking a Sabbath stroll with my little, furry friends.

Mark Levenson is a New York writer.

Please send your comments here.
Comments
Thanks. I've often wondered about the battle between the charedi and the dog. I have a dog, and he is indeed my best friend, even when he's lying on his back snoring on the couch.
- T. T. 12/02/2008
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I found your insightful and incredibly illuminating and informative study of man's relationship to what is generally referred to as "his best friend" humorous and lovingly portrayed. I was unaware of the viewpoint of the Torah on this subject. I greatly appreciate your forthright commentary and appreciate your sharing this material to all those who love both mankind and our animal friends.
- D. M. 06/11/2003
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I have a 6 month old boxer puppy whos name is Bianca. She is a beautiful all white boxer. She was born from one of my other dogs. She is very playful and energetic but she's a little too much of those things. She loves where we live because she can run around freely. She has her own bed and water and food bowl. One big problem with Bianca is that she hates when me or one of my family members is out of the house. If we are out of the house she howls and barks like mad. so when we do leave we have to put her in a cage outside; which is so painful because it brakes your heart when shes barking but really saying "dont you love me anymore." And of course I love her its just that she needs to store some of her energy somewhere because sometimes it goes out of control. I also have 4 other boxer dogs named Kitana, Zachra, Tiger, and Bianca's mother, Miami. They are all very well trained from my father. I hope to train Bianca the way my father trained the other dogs. It may take alot of work but she is worth it. When she was in a cage with her brother's and sister she was only about 6 weeks old. Now her 2 brothers belong to one of my father's close friend and her sister belongs to one of my father's other close friend. Out of the litter which was 4 puppies (including bianca) Bianca was the only white puppy. I tgought she was very special because she was the only white boxer puppy that was born from one of our family dogs. Bianca might be a little crazy but I love her and am going to love her forever.
03/20/2003
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I read your article with great interest. It may be of your interest that my partner and I were awarded a patent on a kosher meat based pet food product just a few months ago. We are currently in the process of getting kosher certification for Passover.
- M. M. 01/18/2002
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Midrash Tanchumah relates that when the Jews passed throught the Red Sea and the Egyptians were drowned, they didn't believe the Egyptians were dead. They thought perhaps they escaped on the other side. So G-d performed a miracle and had the bodies thrown out of the water onto the shore where the Jews were. The Midrash then relates: "Each Jew took his dog, and went to the body of an Egyptian, putting his foot on the Egyptians throat. He then said to his dog, 'Eat the hand that enslaved me!'" Thus, the Jews had dogs, and they left in the Exodus along with the Jews!
- A. S

http://www.torah.org/features/firstperson/dogs.html

Dogs and Frogs

By Nachum Mohl

Dogs and frogs may seem like an odd combination to speak about on Passover, but both are mentioned in the story of the Exodus.

Frogs are mentioned in the ten plagues that Moses brought onto the Egyptians. One of the plagues was that of frogs - terrible hoards of frogs came out of the Nile and came into the Egyptians homes and totally disrupted their lives. The frogs went everywhere: in their kneading boards, into their food and it is related that they even went into their ovens where they died.

Dogs are mentioned during the Exodus that when the Jews left Egypt, the Torah tells us that not even one dog barked (Exodus 11:7). Rashi, the classic commentator, explains (in the Talmud) that because they did not bark, we are commanded to give them as a reward our animals that have died and are no longer kosher.

We note that the Torah requires us to give food to the dogs as a reward for not barking when we left Egypt, but we do not find anywhere that the frogs are rewarded for their giving their lives to do the will of G-d. The dogs did not do much, just keep quiet, but the frogs actually died! Why should the dogs deserve to get a reward - a reward that has continued for several thousand years - and the frogs who gave over their very lives get nothing? It seems unfair!

But the answer is very interesting:

We think that the frogs who gave their lives did a more difficult action and therefore deserve a greater reward. But that is our mistake! It is just the opposite!

It is easier to give up your life than it is to keep you mouth shut!

This is a great thing to know and if you doubt it, just look around your own life. How many people would be better off if they would just keep their mouths closed? But, no, they just have to have the last word. They can not tolerate some one else to have the last word in a stupid argument.

Next time you are in an argument with your spouse/friend/boss/co-worker/etc remember the dogs and the frogs and you will understand that what the dogs did was much more difficult than that which the frogs did.

Remember a lesson from the Passover story:

It is easier to give up your life than it is to keep you mouth shut!

http://www.jewishmag.com/112mag/frogsdogs/frogsdogs.htm

We should not see this custom as just throwing a few crumbs to the birds. The act is a reminder of our obligation to repay kindnesses, HAKARAT HATOV, and of our attitude and treatment of the world's creatures in general. One idea reminds us of others. In last week's sedra, we read of the night of the Exodus when the firstborns of Egypt were being killed and in sharp contrast, there was utter tranquility in the Jewish area. The Torah says that "no dog barked". Barking under the circumstances of the Egyptian panic would have been natural for dogs. The Torah assigns to them a role in focusing on the miraculous nature of that special night. The Torah itself repays the "kindness" of the dogs by "recommending" that we give to them the meat that we may not eat - N'VEILA and T'REIFA. Another lesson in HAKARAT HATOV and in caring for the creatures of the Earth.

http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5761/beshalach61/specialfeatures.htm

« The Heroism of Everyday LifeRenewal »All About Dogs

*THIS WEEK’S TORAH IS WRITTEN BY RABBI CHERYL PERETZ, ASSOCIATE DEAN, ZIEGLER SCHOOL OF RABBINIC STUDIES*

Shabbat Parashat Ki Tetzi
August 25, 2007 / 11 Elul 5767
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*All About Dogs*
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Torah Reading: * Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19*
Haftarah Reading: *Isaiah 54:1-10*
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For more than a month, the dog abuse charges against NFL star quarterback Michael Vick and his codefendants have stirred public outrage, calling for an immediate reaction amongst the NFL, law enforcement, and animal rights’ activists. The outcry has been long and loud; the disgust deep. This is not just another sports star whose celebrity is being made off the field as much as on the field. After hearing about how dogs who didn’t make the “cut” in preliminary fighting sessions were hung, drowned, slammed to the ground, and forced into positions where other animals could attack and violate them, it is difficult to remain indifferent or to accept any justification for such unlawful and inhumane behavior.

Of the more than seventy different laws outlined in this week’s Torahportion, one of them speaks of the dog: “You shall not bring the fee of a whore or the pay of a dog into the house of the Lord Your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both are abominations to the Lord Your God.”

It’s not surprising to read of the Torah’s attitude towards harlotry, but dogs? Is this a statement of the repugnance of dogs in particular or is there another message?

It is true that Jewish text has a long and colorful relationship with dogs. Commenting on the verse from the parashah, Nachmanides posits that dogs were considered abominations because they were often trained to be vicious, becoming a menace to society. Moreover, he says, it was common for sinners to offer their profits (from the sale, etc. of dogs) to charitable causes, as a way to redeem themselves. In forbidding the use of animals given in exchange for harlotry or for dogs, the Torah warns that ill-gotten gains cannot be purified by using them for holy ends, such practices are an abomination to God.

There are other references in the books of the prophets of people comparing themselves to a “dead dog” - indicating a lowly individual, unworthy of special attention. And, the Talmud Bava Kamma teaches that it is forbidden for a person to raise a vicious dog in his home, saying it is a way of securing the Torah’s law: “Do not place any blood in your house.”‘

That is not to say that Judaism is “anti-dog.” Like any other dog owner, many a Jewish dog owner would tell you that dogs are indeed a human’s best friend. Such a view also plays a prominent role in the Jewish consciousness. The Hebrew word for dog, *kelev*, is made up of the same three letters that could be pronounced, k’lev, “like the heart” - a reference to the loyalty and companionship dogs often have provided to their owners. I still remember the love my brothers and sisters and I felt toward our dog growing up, Hot Dog. And, I also remember the incredible sense of loss and heartache we experienced when, more than 35 years ago, our babysitter actually left the gate to the yard open, allowing Hot Dog to get out and be run over by a car.

Beyond the dog and beyond simply prohibiting cruelty to any animal, the Jewish tradition associates care for animals of all types with righteousness. The medieval Rabbi Yehuda ha-Hasid, author of Sefer ha-Hasadim (Book of the Righteous) defines a cruel person as “one who gives one’s animal a great amount of straw to eat and the next day requires that it climb up high mountains. Should the animal, however, be unable to run up quickly enough in accordance with its master’s desires, its master beats it mercifully.”

How can we explain the Torah’s selective regard and disregard for dogs and/or other animals? What lessons can we learn from these confusing and mixed messages about our responsibilities and compassion for animals?

A fundamental source for this discussion comes from Talmud Berachot (33b) which discusses an incorrect practice certain cantors had of inserting a prayer praising God for having mercy on the mother bird, referring to a second biblical commandment found in this week’s Torah portion that requires the sending away of the mother bird before taking her eggs from a nest. The Talmud and commentaries debate the reason the sages disapproved of this prayer. One reason given in the Talmud is: “for such a statement implies God’s character is influenced by compassion, when in fact his actions are purely decrees.”

Ramban, whose comment on the verse requiring that the mother bird be sent away before taking the eggs from the nest, helps us understand the Torah’s real lesson. Seeing that the Torah allows us to eat animals and to sacrifice them, he suggests that the Torah’s command to avoid having the mother watch her eggs being taken is because the Torah does not want us to engage in behavior that is subjectively cruel because it can lead to other evil character traits. Ramban suggests these mitzvot teach us to behave with mercy and kindness, and in addition, they also promote a conservationist awareness to be careful not to cause an entire species to become extinct. This is symbolically represented in the prohibition of not slaughtering mother and child at the same time.

According to Ramban, then, the Torah’s view on animal suffering reminds us of the real reason I think so many of us have been outraged to see these helpless animals being brutalized. We wonder if people who can kill a dog in cold blood can possibly have compassion, mercy, or any consideration for other living beings-including humans-and we fear that it is only a matter of time before they turn their violence on their own species.

We may not all be Michael Vick, put perhaps we too can learn a lesson from this unfortunate experience. Let it be a wakeup call for us to ask ourselves how we can assume our moral responsibilities as caretakers of the world. Perhaps we too can become more conscious of our own responsibility to treat dogs, other animals, and all of God’s creatures with love and compassion.

Shabbat Shalom.

http://www.todaystorah.com/2007/08/23/6055-todays-torah-parashat-ki...

A Dvar Torah on the Graduation of the first class of Pups for Peace
Rabbinic tradition has mixed feelings about dogs. They were often seen as a public nuisance, or even worse, a danger to public welfare. Some rabbis thought that keeping them chained up was not sufficient; even their barking could cause a woman to miscarry. Rabbi Eliezer the Great disliked them so much he opined that one who raised dogs is like one who raises swine.

But this is not the only attitude to be found. Dogs were acclaimed as a paradigm of fidelity. They were also deemed to possess uncanny powers of discernment over life and death. The Talmud recounts this teaching: When dogs howl, it is a sign that the Angel of Death has come to a town. But when dogs frolic, it is a sign that Elijah the prophet has come to town. And Elijah, it should be remembered, is a harbinger not only of life, but of eternal life. This discernment is a blessing that has been given to our canine friends to share with us.

There is more. When we left Egypt, the Torah reminds us, dogs didn't bark. For this we owe them a debt of gratitude. They are loyal to their masters and courageous to defend them and their property against marauders. Another Talmudic tradition holds that is forbidden for a Jew to live in a town that has no dogs. In fact, we are further taught, the Patriarch Jacob owned no fewer than 120 myriads of dogs. I'm not sure how much a myriad is, but if we accept the traditional value of 10,000, than Jacob was one of the greatest breeders of all time.

There is an ancient Hebrew poem called Perek Shirah: we don't know for sure how old it is, but some scholars think it may be almost two thousand years old. In it, every creature - with the exception of Human Beings - is given its own song. The song is often a quotation from the Book of Psalms, but not always. Everything has its unique song to God: Heaven, Earth, mountains, seas, cows and goats, sheep and gazelle, birds of every kind, insects, rocks, plants and trees. The very last creature in the poem, the very last one to sing, is the dog. And what is the song of dogs, you may ask? It is the third verse of Psalm 95:

"Let us crouch, prostrate ourselves, lie down in the presence of the Lord, our maker."

Why was this the song of the dogs? It seems that from ancient times, dogs knew something about lying down that those of us who walk on two legs seem to forget. To prostrate oneself, in the proper time and place, to know how to sit down and be still in the face of danger, can be an act of worship, a service to God and to the world God gave us. But there is another secret here, with which I will conclude this dvar Torah. In the Midrash (BR 56:2), Our Rabbis taught:

Israel was redeemed from slavery only because of prostrating; and a verse is quoted to prove the point. The Torah was given only because of prostrating; another verse is offered. The exiles will return to Israel one day only because of the merit of prostrating; another verse is quoted. The Temple will be rebuilt only on account of prostrating; another proof text is offered. And finally, The dead will be called to life again only because of prostrating. And what is the verse that is quoted here to prove the point? It is the third verse of Psalm 95:

Let us crouch, prostrate ourselves, lie down in the presence of the Lord, our maker.

Because these wise and loyal servants of God and of their handlers have learned when to crouch, when to sit and be still, those innocent men and women who may have been marked for death will be spared, and be called to life. Isn't this worth singing about? Isn't this a great miracle we are witnessing here today?

Ha Notein Lasechvi binah: May the Holy Blessed One, who has give to the rooster the sense to distinguish between day and night, and who has given to these beautiful animals the loyalty and wisdom to keep us safe from danger, bless us and the work of our hands. May God give strength and courage to both dog and handler, and may God give us the wisdom to discern between light and darkness, between terror and peace, between eternal vengeance and eternal life. May the day soon come when the service of these canine friends will no longer be needed, when they can retire to the farm to frolic in God's presence, and when brethren will live together in peace. Amen.

Rabbi Dan Shevitz
October 6, 2002

http://www.pupsforpeace.org/dogs/dvar.php

Other writings:

In Praise of Dogs - http://koshertorah.com/PDF/dogsandtorah.pdf

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