The Bird’s Nest and Learning How to Shut Up

[A prayer leader] who prays, “Your mercy extends to the bird’s nest,” or “Your name should be remembered for the good,” or “Thank you, thank you” is told to desist.1

This Mishnaic teaching directly refers to one of the 74 mitzvot listed in this week’s parashah, Ki Teitzei: “Should a bird’s nest appear before you on the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, containing chicks or eggs with the mother sitting upon the chicks or eggs, you may not take the mother with her young. You must send away the mother, and only then take the young, so that things will be good for you and you will live a long life.”2

The sages of the Talmud assume that the statement, “Your mercy extends to the bird’s nest” refers to this particular requirement to send away the mother bird before taking her eggs. They are surprised, however, that praising God for demonstrating mercy in this commandment is considered taboo:

It’s understandable that [a prayer leader who says] “Thank you, thank you” is told to desist, because [the repeating language] makes it appear that he is referring to two gods; similarly, “Your name should be remembered for the good” implies that he thanks God only for good things and not for bad, whereas the Mishnah taught, “A person is obligated to bless God for the bad just as he is obligated to bless Him for the good.” But what is the reason that he cannot say, “Your mercy extends to the bird’s nest”?… [One rabbi argued] because he is creating jealousy among the works of creation [i.e., he implies that God only has mercy on birds and not on other species], and [another rabbi argued] that he is implying that [this mitzvah] is predicated upon compassion, whereas it is actually God’s unknowable decree [for which we cannot fathom the reason].3

Both explanations of the prohibition of saying “Your mercy extends to the bird’s nest,” then, are based on a potential misunderstanding of what the prayer leader means: his highlighting God’s mercy to the mother bird either implies that God has compassion only for some animals and not for others, or that this mitzvah is an expression of compassion, when in fact the real reason transcends human logic.

Thus, according to both explanations, the prayer leader is attempting to praise God for his compassion, but is silenced when he does so in an inappropriate manner.

With this Talmudic explanation in hand, we can answer a question that is not raised by the Talmudic sages: while both “Your mercy extends to the bird’s nest” and “Your name should be remembered for the good” are normal-sounding-yet-improper prayers, why would anyone say, “Thank you, thank you” in the first place? Yes, it is inappropriate because it looks like he is praying to two gods, but what was the prayer leader’s actual intention when saying this?4

I believe that the answer is that the Mishnah is not referring to three separate instances, but a single episode of a prayer leader trying (and failing) to praise God properly.

The prayer leader initially praises God for his compassion to the mother bird, but is told either that this implies that God’s mercy is limited to some creatures, or that this mitzvah has nothing to do with mercy in the first place. Either way, his attempt to praise God for His goodness was rebuffed. He responds by trying again, saying “Your name should be remembered for the good” - meaning, he stops discussing one particular mitzvah and broadens his prayer to all good things that God does. Yet again, however, he is told that he is limiting God’s praises, as God must be extolled for bad things as well as good. Finally, he attempts to thank God for everything by saying “Thank you, thank you” - that is, thank you for the good and thank you for the bad. This third attempt is also inappropriate, because his double language can appear like a message to two deities.

Accordingly, the strange phrase “Thank you, thank you” is not some bizarre formulation, but rather a way to thank God for both good and bad things. The prayer leader is not crazy; he is trying to reach out to God as best he can. But our Sages assert that good intentions are not enough. He needs to be very careful about the misunderstandings that can result from imprecise language.

This idea appears explicitly in Pirkei Avot, where Avtalyon says, “Sages, be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile, and you are exiled to a place of evil waters, and your students who accompany you will drink them and die, resulting in the profaning of the name of Heaven.”5

Avtalyon directs his words to the Sages - the leaders - and describes the great harm that results from simply failing to speak carefully and deliberately. While everyone must speak with care, this applies most to those whose words have great power because of their senior positions in society.

Which brings me to the recent comments by Itamar Ben-Gvir.

He stated that he disagreed with the current government policy, saying on a podcast, “I think we need to carry out targeted assassinations in Gaza, take down 30-40 every night. Not just those who endanger you at that moment, there are people there who are not living beings. They don’t need to live, they’re not people either. I give them a compliment by calling them people.”

First, let us acknowledge that Ben-Gvir is not involved in military decisions; his statements about Gaza do not reflect government policy. Second, it seems from the rest of the interview that he was not talking about civilians, but about Hamas terrorists and those who help them: “I want our enemies – those who try to murder us and harm us – to be harmed first.” His explosive declaration, when seen in context, is not quite so inflammatory. Indeed, most Israelis would likely agree with the latter statement in principle - of course the army should kill or arrest those who are actively working to kill Israelis! - even if they disagree with it on practical grounds.

Nevertheless, Ben-Gvir’s penchant for talking tough, while perhaps politically advantageous, is a terrible violation of the Jewish requirement to speak carefully and deliberately. Ben-Gvir’s intemperate words were broadcast across the world, and gave tremendous anti-Israel ammunition to anyone who heard them out of context.

Were Ben-Gvir a wise man, he would think before he opens his mouth.

Sadly, he is not a wise man. Instead, he typically speaks like a high school bully and thug who never bothered to grow up.

I wish Ben-Gvir represented the Knesset’s only example of talking without regard to consequences, but he is far from alone. Our government ministers, along with many other public figures, regularly fail to consider what their words might mean to those who do not have Israel’s best interests at heart.6

Our Sages told us how dangerous this is, saying that it leads to exile and death. Our leaders would be wise to take such admonitions seriously, thinking twice and three times before opening up their mouths.

Live Q&A this Sunday!

It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, so this Sunday I’ll be hosting a live Q&A for Orthodox Conundrum Commentary members at 8 PM Israel / 1 PM Eastern. Anyone who is a member of OCC or Patreon is welcome to join; I’ll send you the Zoom link in advance.

This is your chance to follow up on something you heard on a recent (or not-so-recent) episode, ask about something a guest said that bothered you or left you wanting more, or simply ask for my take on an issue involving Israel, politics, Orthodoxy, Religious Zionism, Jewish life, or anything else. (If you feel like it, you can even ask Baseball Rabbi-style questions, too.)

In other words, I’m usually the one asking the questions. This Sunday, you get to ask me.

You can send questions in advance to scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com, and of course you’ll also be able to ask them live, too.

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday!