ה' צִילְךְ
כִּי יִקָּרָא קֵן צִפּוֹר לְפָנֶיךְ בַדֶּרֶךְ, בְּכָל עֵץ אוֹ עַל הָאָרֶץ, אֶפְרָחִים אוֹ בֵיצִים, וְהָאֵם רְבָצֶת עַל הָאֶפְרַחִים אוֹ עַל הַבֵּיצִים, לֹא תְקַח הָאֵם עַל הַבָּנִים. שַׁלֵּחַ תְּשַׁלַּח אֶת הָאֵם וְאֶת הַבָּנִים תִּקַח לָךְ, לְמַעַן יִיטַב לְךְ וְהַאֲרַכְתָּ יָמִים: (כב ו-ז)
If, along the road, you chance upon a bird's nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother go, and take only the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life.
The Voice that Rabbi Bun Heard
The Zohar Chadash (רות כט ע"א) relates a wondrous episode: Rabbi Bun heard a heavenly voice speaking - a voice that offered an interpretation so extraordinary that he rose to his feet in joy when it concluded, and declared: "Blessed is the Merciful One that I heard this voice. Had I come into the world for no reason other than to hear this - it would have been enough."
What did that voice say?
When a person performs shiluach hakan - where he sends away the mother bird and she is driven from her nest - she circles about and cries out. Her anguish, says the Zohar Chadash, reflects the anguish of the Shechinah Itself, the cry of "Woe to me, for I have destroyed my home, burned my palace, and sent my children into exile among the nations." It is precisely that which awakens the divine attribute of rachamim.
This is because at that moment, the heavenly Sar appointed over the bird "stirs before the Ribono Shel Olam," and the Ribono Shel Olam is in turn aroused toward His children. Hashem awakens his compassion toward all those who wander, broken of heart, broken of strength, displaced from their homes, and He forgives their iniquities and has mercy upon them and upon all the worlds.
And so, concludes the Zohar Chadash: who caused the Ribono Shel Olam to have mercy on the world? The very person who sent the bird away, causing her pain by separating her from her young and driving her to wander. Through her cry of exile, rachamim is awakened Above. Therefore, his reward is written: "לְמַעַן יִיטַב לְךָ וְהַאֲרַכְתָּ יָמִים - so that it will be good for you, and you will prolong your days."
Tzion is Redeemed Through Tzedakah
There is another dimension concealed within the imagery of this mitzvah. The Zohar HaKadosh (שמות ז ע"ב) teaches that when the time of geulah arrives, Mashiach will emerge from Gan Eden from a place called Kan Tzippor - the Bird's Nest. The very location from which redemption springs forth bears the name of this mitzvah - the nest from which the mother is sent wandering.
This is not coincidental. The exile of the Shechinah, the wandering mother bird, and the ultimate geulah are all bound together. And the key that unlocks the door is rachamim - compassion stirred from below.
The Gemara in Shabbos (קלט ע"א) teaches in the name of Ulla: "Yerushalayim will only be redeemed through tzedakah, as it is written: צִיּוֹן בְּמִשְׁפָּט תִּפָּדֶה וְשָׁבֶיהָ בִּצְדָקָה - Tzion will be redeemed through justice, and her captives through tzedakah (ישעיה א כז)." The Rambam brings this statement as a halachah (פ"י ממתנות עניים ה"א): "We are obligated to be careful with the mitzvah of tzedakah even more than with other mitzvos, because... Yisrael will only be redeemed through tzedakah."
How are we to understand this concept? The Kedushas Levi illuminates: "When a Yid gives tzedakah to the poor and clothes himself in the attribute of chessed, he causes the Ribono Shel Olam Himself, so to speak, to 'clothe' Himself in the attribute of chessed, and from that chessed, blessing flows to all beings - from the angels up high... to us humans down here. Chazal already taught (שבת קנא ע"ב): "כָּל הַמְרַחֵם עַל הַבְּרִיּוֹת מְרַחֲמִין עָלָיו מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם - whoever has compassion on created beings, Heaven has compassion on him."
He further clarifies this: "Just as Yisrael conduct themselves in this world, so they arouse the corresponding attributes Above. When they perform kindness with their fellow, when they have mercy on their fellow man - they arouse chessed and rachamim in the heights Above, for all the worlds."
(קדושות לפורים, קדושה שניה ד"ה לכן יש להרבות)
The Zohar HaKadosh anchors this principle:
"Through an action performed below, an action is stirred Above. If a person performs chessed in this world, he awakens chessed Above... And if a person acts with rachamim below, he awakens rachamim on that day, and it stands by to protect him when he needs it."
The reverse is equally true: cruelty below awakens harsh judgment Above. As a person metes out to others - so is it meted out to him. "Fortunate is the one who demonstrates something worthy below, for through action, the corresponding is awakened Above."
(זהר אמור צב ע"א)
How Deep are His Judgments
The pasuk declares (תהלים לו ז): "צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ תְּהוֹם רַבָּה" Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Your judgments are a great deep." How precise and penetrating are Hashem's judgments, as demonstrated by one of the most famous and moving episodes in the Talmud - the suffering of Rabbeinu HaKadosh. This story demonstrates how sharply our actions are reflected upon us, according to the aforementioned principle.
The Gemara (בבא מציעא פה ע"א, ובדומה לזה במדרש בראשית רבה לג ג) tells us that Rebbi was afflicted with terrible suffering for many years, and that this suffering came through an act, and departed through an act.
They came through an act: once, a calf was being led to slaughter. It broke away, buried its head beneath the hem of Rebbi's garment, and cried out, as though to say, "Save me." Rebbi turned to the animal and said, "לֵךְ, כִּי לְכָךְ נוֹצַרְתָּ - Go, for this is what you were created for." And from Heaven it was declared: "Since he showed no mercy, let suffering come upon him."
They departed through an act: one day, Rebbi's maidservant was sweeping the house. She came upon young weasels lying there, and moved to sweep them away. Rebbi stopped her: "Leave them," he said, "for it is written: 'וְרַחֲמָיו עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו - His mercies are over all His works'" (תהלים קמה ט). And from Heaven it was declared: "Since he has shown mercy - let mercy be shown to him."
We must pause to ponder this point. Rebbi was, as the midrash details, deeply engaged in harbatzas Torah at that moment. The calf interrupted his learning, and Rebbi replied with the simple truth: this is the animal's purpose and destiny. There was no falsehood, no cruelty of intent, no violation. And yet, yisurim descended upon him for years.
It is beyond our grasp to truly comprehend the kedushah of Rebbi. Indeed, the Gemara itself testifies that throughout the years of his suffering, the world had no need for rain because of the merit of his suffering. Clearly, this was not a sin.
And yet - and yet. If even for an animal one should feel and express such rachmanus, how much more so must we feel it for every single Yid, to draw close every Yiddishe neshamah and illuminate their life.
But conclusively, what his students had witnessed was equally instructive. They saw the enormity of yesurim that descended upon Rebbi for a single moment's absence of expressed compassion. They learned - in the most vivid and unforgettable way - how boundless is the Ribono Shel Olam's expectation of rachamim, and how dearly He holds every one of His creatures.
We, too, should learn this lesson, and try to emulate Hashem's love and compassion to all His creations.
Love of the Hidden Good
Chazal teach that the company of the wicked is forbidden. How do we reconcile this with the obligation to love and assist every Yid?
The Tanya resolves this with characteristic precision. Even toward those who have strayed and not repented - with whom one is obligated to maintain a degree of distance - one must simultaneously hold a love. "Both are true: hatred on account of the evil within them, and love on account of the hidden good within them." For within every Yid, no matter how deep the concealment, there burns a nitzotz Elokus - a spark of divinity that gives life to the nefesh Elokis within. That spark is in galus within the darkness of the sitra achra, and one's rachmanus for it should be genuine - for it is a captive awaiting redemption. And rachmanus, adds the Baal HaTanya, dissolves hatred and awakens love.
(ליקוטי אמרים תניא פרק לב)
The Three Dimensions of Goodness
Practically speaking, doing good to another Yid is not a single act - it takes a combination of the mind, heart, and limb.
With the mind, one thinks and plans: how can I help this person? What does he need that I might provide? With the heart, he genuinely shares in his fellow's simchah or, chas v'shalom, his sorrow. And with one's limbs, he acts, doing whatever he can to lighten his burden.
The Satmar Rav zt"l taught: "Who is a true chassid? One who has mesirus nefesh to help a fellow Yid, and mesirus nefesh in the precise observance of halachah."
The Gemara (ברכות נד ע"א) teaches that the obligation of בְּכָל מְאֹדֶךְ - With all your resources - refers specifically to those for whom money is more precious than their very lives. When a person opens his hand and gives generously from his own resources - whether as a gift or as a loan - he is, for those people, performing an act that constitutes mesirus nefesh. To truly give of oneself for another - to inconvenience oneself, to give of one's time and energy and resources - this is the essence of true piety.
Conclusion
Let us gather what we have seen. A bird wanders from her nest - and rachamim is awakened Above. A Yid gives tzedakah - and chessed flows across worlds. A person shows mercy to a young animal - and Heaven shows mercy in return. These are all facets of a single truth: the world below is a mirror of the world Above, and the quality of compassion that we awaken here determines what is awakened there.
May we merit to show rachmanus to the beloved children of the Ribono Shel Olam; to draw every Yiddishe neshamah close, to illuminate every face we encounter, to open our hands and our hearts with full generosity of spirit. And in that merit, may the Ribono Shel Olam shower rachamim upon us and upon all the worlds, as the Kedushas Levi promises - "If they perform chessed with their fellow, if they have rachmanus on their fellow - so they arouse chessed and rachamim in the heights Above."
May we be among those of whom it is said, "Since he has shown mercy, let mercy be shown to him," and may we see the Shechinah return from Her wandering, Melech HaMashiach go forth from Kan Tzippor, and the full geulah come to Klal Yisrael, bemheirah b'yameinu, amen.
אַ גוּט שַׁבָּת
