Reflecting back to some of the wonderful days during my time as a teacher, some of the clever and humorous things that my students said over the years were truly incredible.
As a 1st-grade teacher, I was gifted with some very bright students who often stunned me with their keen insights.
I remember on one occasion, our class was learning about HaShem’s creation of the animals on the sixth day, and I heard a most amazing and incredible insight from one of my dear students, Mendy Nadoff.
More often than not, I would do my best to engage my students to creatively think about their learning rather than just passively memorize facts and words. This was a result of the teacher training we received, in which we were encouraged to use what is called “Critical Thinking” methods to allow our students to compare and contrast what they were learning.
So as we came across the pesukim in our Chumash period, where we had begun to learn about HaShem’s creation of the land animals, I had thought spontaneously that it would be a good time to put our “critical thinking” caps on – and discover what happens next.
Statement:
The first pasuk states:
And G-d said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: tame animals, and creeping things, and wild land-animals to their kind. And it was so.
The order of these animals mentioned is:
- Tame animals
- Creeping creatures
- Wild land-animals
The next pasuk says:
And G-d made the wild animals of the earth according to their kind, and the tame animals to their own kind, and all the creeping things of the ground according to their kind. And G-d saw that it was good.
This time, the order changes to:
- Wild land animals
- Tame animals
- Creeping creatures
Question:
So, I first asked my students what they noticed was different. They replied that the order wasn’t just reversed but changed entirely.
Afterward, they were asked about the types of animals mentioned and what we could possibly learn from them when compared to people. I did this by asking them, “Wild land animals – is it good to be wild?” They innocently answered, “Of course not.” After all, their teachers (and parents) often tell them to stop acting so wild. These were 6-year-old boys, after all.
So I suggested that sometimes it's good to be wild. Of course, they all gave me the strangest look. So I explained that the Hebrew word for a wild animal is “chaiya” and the “hidden” word inside is “chai” – which means life. This is because wild animals show a lot of life by jumping, leaping, and running around energetically.
I explained, “When a person is learning Torah, don’t we usually tell them that they should learn with a lot of ‘chai’ – a lot of life?” Now I could really see the wheels in their little minds turning – they were intrigued.
Next, I asked them, “Is it good to be tame?” (After learning the first two verses of Vayikra a few weeks prior, they were well aware of what the concept of being tame meant), so they naturally replied, “Yes.” I then explained that the Hebrew word for a tame animal is “beheima” and that a person who is called a “beheima” is not always such a nice thing. I also explained that a tame animal usually moves much slower compared to a wild one.
As for creepy crawling things, we can all get an idea of what type of person this would be. This would be someone who was the last one to open their siddur, the last one to do a mitzvah, and so forth... No one wants to be that creep.
After explaining all this to my students, I challenged them to think carefully by saying, “Now that you know a little more of what these words can mean, I’m going to give you some time to think of what we can learn from the different order of the first pasuk and the one that follows.” I put on a timer for 5 minutes on my watch and stood off to the side to watch their little minds think a bit.
As an aside note, what makes this even more interesting is that I had searched for a possible answer within the commentaries of our Sages and it seems that although the Sages were aware of the different order, none of them offered an explanation!
When the five minutes were up, I gave my students time to reply. What I then heard from my student, Mendy Nadoff, completely blew me away to the point that I have never forgotten his explanation, even more than thirty years later.
Although I cannot quote his words exactly, here is the gist of what he said.
Answer:
In the first pasuk, HaShem is telling us how we should approach things like food, candy, nosh and other “Gashmius” (physical things).
- Tame animals – First we should control ourselves and act tame when going after these things.
- Creeping creatures – If this is hard, then just walk slowly and be like the creepy crawlers.
- Wild land animals – But we should never be wild and run after things like candy.
In the second pasuk, HaShem is telling us how we should act when learning Torah.
- Wild land animals – We should have a lot of energy and life (chai in learning).
- Tame animals – If not that, then at least be tame.
- Creeping creatures – But we should try to never be a creepy crawler and slow when it comes to doing a mitzvah.
Lesson:
This parashah not only speaks about the creation of the world but since Torah is primarily a guide for us, this parashah speaks about how we must interact with the world. Even the order of these two pesukim teaches us the insight we need to know how best to utilize our unique animalistic tendencies.
Having an animalistic soul should not be seen as a burden. The verse in Mishlei says “an abundance comes by the strength of an ox.” This means that one should use their intelligence to channel their inner desires and guide them towards purposeful and meaningful ends – whether they are physical needs or G-dly. In this way, we can transform this world into a “dwelling place” for HaShem here below.
