The Beast of Burden

Around one hundred years ago, many great luminaries of the old yishuv attended a pidyon haben. At the meal was Rav Kook, zt”l, who served as the kohain, and Rav Yosef Chaim Sonenfeld, zt”l. Although they often didn’t see eye to eye, many are unaware how considerate and respectful each was of the other personally. The father invited Rav Kook to say a few words in honor of the affair. Rav Kook began to address the assembled guests. “Our sages give an answer to a puzzling question. Why was the donkey chosen to fulfill the mitzvah of pidyon peter chamor? After all, a donkey is a completely unclean animal! The gemara explains that the donkey was chosen because it bore the weight of the treasure that the Jewish people took out of Egypt. Rav Kook exclaimed, “Look at that! Even though a donkey is unclean and serves as a symbol for stubbornness, obtuseness and the like, it nevertheless receives a reward for carrying property to Eretz Yisrael. We see from here that even one who is defiled and has bad middos can gain a modicum of holiness if he participates in the process of bringing the Jewish people from the exile to Eretz Yisrael.” After Rav Kook completed his speech, Rav Sonenfeld immediately got up, unwilling to let the statement pass. “I had not intended to speak, but the Rav of Yaffo began his drashah without drawing the natural conclusion. It behooves me, in honor of his Torah, to complete the drashah. Rav Sonenfeld continued, “Firstly, it is clear that he is correct. The donkey merited holiness because it served as a beast of burden for Jews, despite it negative aspects. Nevertheless, the mitzvah of peter chamor proves that it is impossible for the holiness to remain with an unclean beast. There are two possibilities: either the holiness is transferred to a sheep, a clean animal, via the mechanism of pidyon. And if not, the only other alternative is that the donkey is killed!”