How many different animals can you name?
How about animals that people eat or keep as pets, in zoos, and circuses?
Is it important to learn about and study animals? Why/why not?
How many different kinds of animals do you think there are in the world?
How many of those do you think scientists have discovered and named?
בראשית א:כא, כה
וַיִּבְרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶת־הַתַּנִּינִ֖ם הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים וְאֵ֣ת כׇּל־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַֽחַיָּ֣ה ׀ הָֽרֹמֶ֡שֶׂת אֲשֶׁר֩ שָׁרְצ֨וּ הַמַּ֜יִם לְמִֽינֵהֶ֗ם וְאֵ֨ת כׇּל־ע֤וֹף כָּנָף֙ לְמִינֵ֔הוּ וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב...וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹהִים֩ אֶת־חַיַּ֨ת הָאָ֜רֶץ לְמִינָ֗הּ וְאֶת־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ לְמִינָ֔הּ וְאֵ֛ת כׇּל־רֶ֥מֶשׂ הָֽאֲדָמָ֖ה לְמִינֵ֑הוּ וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב:
Bereishis 1:21, 25
God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that it was good...God made wild beasts and cattle of all kinds, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. And God saw that it was good.
בראשית א:כז-כח
וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃ וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָם֮ אֱלֹהִים֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָהֶ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ וּמִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ וּרְד֞וּ בִּדְגַ֤ת הַיָּם֙ וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּבְכׇל־חַיָּ֖ה הָֽרֹמֶ֥שֶׂת עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
Bereishis 1:27-28
God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”
בראשית ב:יט
וַיִּ֩צֶר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָ֗ה כׇּל־חַיַּ֤ת הַשָּׂדֶה֙ וְאֵת֙ כׇּל־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיָּבֵא֙ אֶל־הָ֣אָדָ֔ם לִרְא֖וֹת מַה־יִּקְרָא־ל֑וֹ וְכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִקְרָא־ל֧וֹ הָֽאָדָ֛ם נֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּ֖ה ה֥וּא שְׁמֽוֹ׃ וַיִּקְרָ֨א הָֽאָדָ֜ם שֵׁמ֗וֹת לְכׇל־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּלְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּלְכֹ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה...
Bereishis 2:19
And the LORD God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that would be its name. And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts...
Humans currently raise around 70 species of animals to eat, less than half of which are kosher. There are also hundreds of other species that people keep as pets and in zoos and circuses. While that might sound like a lot, that's almost nothing compared to the rest of the animal kingdom. Scientists have named less than 15% of all the species that currently exist on the planet (8.7 million in total), and many millions of extinct species remain undiscovered. This means that we don't even know about most species that exist on the planet, and that's just the land animals. So far only 5% of the ocean has been explored, and mostly on the ocean's surface. The more we learn about the animal kingdom the more we discover we don't know.
One of the first ideas stressed in the Torah is that human beings are the most important of God's creations. As we've seen, humans use and interact with a very small number of species. So why did God create so many other animals?
בבלי ערובין ק:45-46
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: "אִילְמָלֵא לֹא נִיתְּנָה תּוֹרָה, הָיִינוּ לְמֵידִין צְנִיעוּת מֵחָתוּל, וְגָזֵל מִנְּמָלָה, וַעֲרָיוֹת מִיּוֹנָה..."
Bavli Eruvin 100b:45-46
Rabbi Yochanan said: "If the Torah hadn't been given, we would have learned modesty from the cat, theft from the ant, and faithfulness from the dove..."
In the above source, Rabbi Yochanan teaches a very valuable lesson: even if we hadn't been given the Torah, there are examples of proper conduct in the natural world that would teach humans how to behave.
Can you think of good things that people should learn from animals? What about bad things that people shouldn't learn from animals? How can we tell the difference between what we should learn from animals and what we shouldn't?
שולחן ערוך, אורח חיים א:א
יתגבר כארי לעמוד בבוקר לעבודת בוראו...
Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 1:1
One should be strong like a lion to wake up in the morning to serve their Creator...
משלי כח:א
נָ֣סוּ וְאֵין־רֹדֵ֣ף רָשָׁ֑ע וְ֝צַדִּיקִ֗ים כִּכְפִ֥יר יִבְטָֽח׃
Mishlei 28:1
The wicked flee though no one gives chase, but the righteous are as confident as a lion.
אמוס ג:ח
אַרְיֵ֥ה שָׁאָ֖ג מִ֣י לֹ֣א יִירָ֑א אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהֹוִה֙ דִּבֶּ֔ר מִ֖י לֹ֥א יִנָּבֵֽא׃
Amos 3:8
The lion has roared, who shall not be afraid? The Lord God has spoken, who shall not prophesy?
Lions are used throughout Jewish sources as symbols of power, majesty, and kingship. Even in English, we refer to the lion as the king of the jungle and to a group of lions as a pride.
Which lessons can we learn from lions and how can we apply them to our lives?
משנה אבות ה:כ
יְהוּדָה בֶן תֵּימָא אוֹמֵר: "הֱוֵי עַז כַּנָּמֵר, וְקַל כַּנֶּשֶׁר, וְרָץ כַּצְּבִי, וְגִבּוֹר כָּאֲרִי לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹן אָבִיךָ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָיִם..."
Mishnah Avos 5:20
Yehudah ben Tema said: "Be fierce as a leopard, light as a vulture, fast as a gazelle, and strong as a lion to do the will of your Father in heaven..."
תנא דבי אליהו רבה ב
...״מה גדלו מעשיך ה'״ (תהילים צב:ו)
בא וראה כמה מיני בהמות ומיני חיות ומיני עופות יש בעולם וכמה מיני דגים יש בים קולו של זה דומה לזה או מראה של זה דומה לזה או שמא דעתו של זה דומה לזה או שמא טעמו של זה דומה לזה. הא לא קול ולא מראה ולא דעה ולא טעם של זה דומה לזה...
Tanna d'Vei Eliyahu Rabbah 2
..."How great are your works, O God!" (Tehilim 92:6)
Come and see how many types of domestic and wild animals and birds there are in the world, and how many species of fish there are in the sea! Is the voice of one like that of another? Or the appearance of one like that of another? Or the personality of one like that of another? Or the taste of one like that of another? No! Their voices and appearances and personalities and tastes are all unique!..
There are so many different kinds of animals with so many different voices, colors, shapes, sizes, abilities, tastes, and personalities. Does that tell us anything important about the world God created? If so, what?
תהילים קד:כד
מָה־רַבּ֬וּ מַעֲשֶׂ֨יךָ ׀ יְֽהֹוָ֗ה כֻּ֭לָּם בְּחׇכְמָ֣ה עָשִׂ֑יתָ מָלְאָ֥ה הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ קִנְיָנֶֽךָ׃
Tehilim 104:24
How many are Your works, O LORD! You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your creations.
תהילים קמח:ז, י
הַֽלְל֣וּ אֶת־יְ֭הֹוָה מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ תַּ֝נִּינִ֗ים וְכׇל־תְּהֹמֽוֹת...הַחַיָּ֥ה וְכׇל־בְּהֵמָ֑ה רֶ֝֗מֶשׂ וְצִפּ֥וֹר כָּנָֽף׃
Tehilim 148:7, 10
Praise God from the land, the sea monsters, and ocean depths...(from) all wild and tamed beasts, creeping things and winged birds:
Is it important to learn about and study animals? Why/why not?
Did your answer to that question change from what you said at the beginning? Why/why not?
Are there other examples of animals coming up in Judaism that you can think of? What can we learn from them?
How many Jewish items can you think of that are made from animals? How many Mitzvos can you think of that would be impossible without animals? Does the fact that these items and Mitzvos use animals tell us anything important about them?