The wood duck, one of the species of the larger duck family, received from the Creator very beautiful colors; their feathers sparkle in breathtaking fashion. The female's feathers are grayish-brown, in order to provide camouflage to hide it from other creatures in the area. The female duck received this special camouflage from the Al-mighty because it is much weaker than its male counterpart, thus requiring better means of defense.
The duck features among the most fascinating methods of eating, using a filtering system. Animals who employ this system first bring large quantities of water into their mouths. There is food situated in the water. The animal filters out the water and keeps the food in his mouth for consumption. The duck has a thick tongue that can be brought back and forth at a remarkably rapid pace. The tongue pulls the water into the beak and then expels it, as the water is filtered by the teeth, which look like very thin spokes - like a comb. Thus, only small fish and other sea creatures remain in the beak, and the duck swallows them whole, without chewing.
Wild ducks fly very well, while domesticated ducks have great difficulty flying. Small ducks, who are involved mainly in eating and growing, also cannot fly. Interestingly, both these situations of ducks who cannot fly or who have difficulty flying share a common factor: they feed their bodies too much and indulge in food and drink to the point where they lose their special talent that sets them apart from other creatures - the ability to fly.
The same applies to human beings. Someone who recognizes the importance of spiritual cultivation and works towards perfection in his middot and tries to strengthen himself in the service of his Creator with love, knows that the wings that carry him to spiritual heights are Torah and misvot, not physical indulgence. To the contrary, what prevents a human being from rising spiritually and progressing in Torah is excessive physical indulgence, as the Torah says, "Yeshurun grew fat and kicked - you grew fat and gross and coarse" (Devarim 32:15). Torah is acquired only by limiting one's physical indulgence, as the pasuk says, "from the desert, they came to the gift" - meaning, only if one makes himself like a wilderness, where there are no luxuries, can he receive the great gift of the Torah
