Shiluach Ha-ken (Sending Away the Mother Bird)

The Torah Source: If a bird’s nest chances before you on the road, on any tree or on the ground, and [it contains] fledglings or eggs, if the mother is sitting upon the fledglings or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother [from] upon the young. You ...

The Torah says that fulfilling the mitzvah of shiluach hakan (sending away the mother bird from the nest) brings long life. Rashi says that if such an "easy" mitzvah brings long life, it may be inferred that every mitzvah brings long life as well.

Study the daily lesson of Sefer HaMitzvos for day 104 with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, where he teaches the mitzvah in-depth with added insight and detail.

Study the daily lesson of Sefer HaMitzvos for day 103 with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, where he teaches the mitzvah in-depth with added insight and detail.

The Kabbalistic approach to the weekly Torah reading

When the mother bird is driven from her nest, she cries bitterly for her brood.

The Divine Presence rests upon the sukkah like a mother bird.

Deuteronomy 22:6 "You shall not take the mother bird together with her young" This Negative Mitzvah teaches us the proper way of taking eggs or young birds from a nest (see Positive Mitzvah 148). We must first send the mother bird away because we are not ...

Deuteronomy 22:7 "You shall surely let the mother go (before taking her young)" Davy and Eli were constructing a tree house in their back yard. They nailed boards and hammered panels, working hard at their project. "Hey, Eli!" Davy suddenly said in an exc...