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In a portion replete
with commands and laws that detail hundreds of the most diverse aspects of
Jewish life, our sages look carefully at the juxtapositions of those
commands, garnering even more wisdom and moral guidance from the holy words
of the Torah.
That is why they
explicated the very interesting placement of two commands that seem as
diverse as ends of the spectrum. One verse tells us about the laws of a
treifah animal, “People of holiness shall you be to Me; you shall not eat
flesh of an animal that was torn in the field; to the dog shall you throw
it” (Exodus 22:30). The next verse tells us about carrying a false or evil
reports, “Do not accept a false report, do not extend your hand with the
wicked to be a venal witness” (Exodus 23:1).
The two seem quite
disjointed; yet the Talmud in Pesachim 118 quotes Rav Shaishes in the name
of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah who connects the two. “Whoever speaks or
accepts gossip (lashon horah) is worthy to be thrown to the dogs, as it is
written ‘to the dog shall you throw it’ and immediately afterwards it is
written, ‘do not accept a false report.'”
At first the
connection, albeit homiletic, is difficult to understand. What does
throwing non-kosher meat to a dog have to do with a gossip? The two seem
totally unconnected. According to the Mechilta, the meat given to the dogs
is a payback for their reticence on the night of the Egyptian exodus. That
night, despite the cries and wails of the Egyptians as their first-born
were smitten, the dogs were still. “Against all the Children of Israel, no
dog shall whet its tongue, against neither man nor beast, so that you shall
know that Hashem will have differentiated between Egypt and Israel” (Exodus
11:7). Therefore they are rewarded with the meat that a Jew must refrain
from eating. How is their reward of reticence a lesson for Jews who
slander?
I recently read of a
man who was going on vacation to one of the islands south of the United
States. He wanted a room for himself and his pet dog, and asked if the
establishment, a hotel in Kingston, Jamaica, would allow an animal. A few
weeks later he received his reply:
Dear Sir,
I’ve been in the hotel business for forty years and never had to eject a
disorderly dog. Never has a dog set a mattress on fire while smoking in
bed. Never has a dog stolen a towel or sneaked an unpaid guest into his
room. Never has a dog acted disorderly, drunk or otherwise. Your dog is
welcome. If he can vouch for you, you can come along as well.
Thank You
The Chafetz Chaim
explains that the Talmud is making an amazingly profound comparison.
The reason dogs were
rewarded was because their nature is to yelp and bark at tragedy. Despite
their instinct, they went against their nature and held back. They followed
the command of the Almighty and held their tongues. The Torah rewarded
their reserve with the spoils of our control treif meat.
But when humans, who
are supposed to control their desires and their tongues, lose control,
there is no better method to learn how to mend the folly of their ways than
through the very animals who mastered self-control in most trying times.
How fitting is it
that the two verses, one that rewards the canine for constraint be
juxtaposed next to one which upbraids their mortal masters who
unfortunately lose perspective all too often. We are the masters of our
animals, but more so must be the masters of our desires! Often, however,
when our dogs get their just rewards it is not only time for us to
appreciate their constraint. Instead of just teaching our dogs new tricks,
we can learn a lesson as well.
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Copyright © 1998 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis,
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The author is the
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