Flying High
Humans always dreamt about flying. Flying we can, but it should not be an escape from the earth, but to see the world from a higher perch.
The Rhyming Non-Kosher Birds
This week’s parsha discusses the laws of kashrut: the animals, fish and fowl that are kosher and may be consumed and those that are not.
Among the list of non-kosher birds the Torah mentions three names that rhyme: “And the ra’ah and the ayah, and the dayah, according to its kind.”
Rashi explains that these three names refer to one bird that had three names. Some identify these three birds as members of the vulture family. Lest one might think that the bird is kosher because it might be known to some by another name, the Torah therefore lists all the variations of this non-kosher bird. No matter what its name, it is not kosher.
Our Internal Non-Kosher Bird
In addition to Rashi’s explanation as to why the Torah identifies this bird by all of its names, there is also a deeper layer of meaning that speaks to the “non-kosher bird” that exists within each and every individual.
In the allegorical sense, a bird represents our desire and ability to fly to great heights. It connotes ambition and the spirit of adventure with which we are endowed. Humans, although created from the earth, are never content to have both of their feet placed on the ground. We are always looking for ways to fly, both, figuratively and literally.
But there are two types of “birds.” The “kosher” bird seeks to rise above the mundane and material aspects of life. The “kosher” bird is a person in whom the soul burns brightly like a flame that soars upwards.
The “non-kosher” version of the “bird,” by contrast, is one who seeks acclaim, power and distance from others.
Ra’ah: Seeing the Negative
Among the various negative traits that this undesirable adventurer possess is the vulture, or the “ra’ah.” The word “ra’ah,” Rashi explains, is related to the word in Hebrew that means vision. This bird distinguishes itself by its ability to see the dead carcasses of animals from a great distance.
In the human form, this non-kosher trait is characterized by the person who in his/her pursuit of “lofty” goals, like the vulture, is actually attracted to all that is devoid of life and decadent on the earth. Rather than soaring through the heavens to find a higher purpose in life, the “ra’ah” individual sees and seeks that which is most debased on the earth from his perch in the sky.
In the psychological sense, the “ra’ah” personality’s vision is highly selective. It can only spot the negative traits in another from miles away, but cannot appreciate the positive.
Ayah: The Ivory Tower Individual
The second name of the bird is “ayah,” which means “where.” This describes the elusive nature of the bird. Translated into human personality traits, this non-kosher approach to ambition addresses itself to a far more sophisticated individual. We are not talking about someone who seeks that which is debased and negative. We may be discussing an individual who is truly interested in higher endeavors. We may be discussing an intellectual, philosopher, rabbi, theologian or any man or woman of the spirit, who become so enamored with their ability to rise above the ordinary, that they lose touch with others. They occupy their ivory tower from which they look down with contempt and condescension on others who cannot “catch up” with them. They will not allow others to get close to them; they thrive on aloofness. This, too, is a non-kosher characteristic.
But there is one more negative characteristic of this non-kosher bird that can be applied to some people that is represented by the third name of this non-kosher bird: “dayah.” The root of the word is similar to that of “dayeinu,” it is enough.
This refers to individuals whose goal in life is to soar to greater heights, but places artificial limits as to how high they would like to climb. These are the people who carve out for themselves a comfortable niche at some place where they are simultaneously removed from the “common” folk and from the genuine men and women of the spirit. They feel threatened by those above them. The person whose spiritual quest can be satisfied might not be expressing a holy trait. The soul can never quench its thirst and quell its desire to get closer to G-d and to all that which is holy.
The reason that a person can express the soul’s passion for “flying” while, at the same time, be a “ra’ah” “ayah” or “dayah” personality, is because we are in Galus, a spiritual exile that is characterized by its ability to obscure and even distort the holy drives within us.
This leads us to two conclusions:
First, when we detect unbridled ambition in ourselves we should recognize that it comes from our soul’s desire to climb to greater heights.
Second, we must also recognize that because we are in a spiritual exile, even positive and holy energies can be expressed the wrong way. Our challenge is to know where our drives come from, and to redirect them in a positive way. By discovering the holy source of our drives and by redirecting them, we succeed in liberating our souls and contribution to the liberation of the entire world through the coming of Moshiach.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Rei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
