- Shiluach haken
Shiluach haken (Hebrew: שלוח הקן) is the Jewish law derived from the
Torah that enjoins one to send away the mother bird before taking her young or her eggs. This only applies toKosher birds. The Torah promiseslongevity to someone who performs this commandment. Some contemporaryHaredi Jews have the practice of sending away the mother bird even if they do not want her eggs or young. Hasidic Rebbes are often followers of this custom. [http://www.sanzusa.info/eng/details.php?nid=402 ]Theodicy
In Talmudic literature, the requirement to send away the mother bird is a locus classicus for discussion of
theodicy . One example of this is in [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/b/l/l3701_039b.htm Kiddushin 39b] which discusses the problem whether the reward for commandments in in this world or the next. In addition, the Talmud famously records thatElisha ben Abuyah saw a child die after performing this commandment, and this irreconcilable instance of theodicy led him away from Judaism.Popular Culture
The trope of theodicy and Shiluach haken is repeated in David Vollach's 2007
My Father My Lord where Avraham sends away the mother bird immediately proceeding the death of his son Menachem.External links
* [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/Tanach/tora/shiluah-2.htm List of sources on the reasoning behind Shiluach haken (Hebrew)]
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