Friday, January 18, 2008

Kindness to Animals

The Chazon Ish, zt”l, once spotted a non-kosher animal that had fallen into a deep ditch. The animal tried with all its might to climb out of the rut without success. The gadol was then with a group of people who seemed to look on the situation with resignation. They all just shrugged, as if to say, “What can we do?”
The Chazon Ish, on the other hand, really took the poor animal’s pain to heart. Without waiting for assistance from the others, he approached the pit and lowered himself down into it. Those with him could barely believe their eyes. Could it be that the Chazon Ish was actually carrying a beheimah temeiah out of the ditch in his arms to set it free?

2 comments:

DixieYid (يهودي جنوبي) said...

The Meor Einayim on Parshas Shmos says that Tzadikim go through nefilos in order to bring up souls with them out of the depths. He also says that all Jews, aside from Reshaim, should do this.

So if the Chazon Ish is lowering himself into the pit to teach people that even a beheima temeiah is deserving of being taken out, can we possibly lose hope that the Tzaddikim won't rememeber *us*!?

-Dixie Yid

Anonymous said...

Micha said,
Thank you for your illuminating comment!
Rav Nosson of breslov writes that sparks of holiness are scattered everywhere, even in the most distant places. Every Jew, whatever his spiritual level, draws these scattered sparks of holiness to himself, especially if he goes where Jews are scarce. Although if he is distant from holiness himself he will be unable to elevate these sparks, in the merit of the tzaddikim all the sparks will eventually be rectified.
Even an estranged Jew draws the sparks to himself, by virtue of the fact that he did not convert but remained a Jew. In the merit of his part in the rectification of these sparks the Jew himself will be rectified!