Don't Be a Chicken
Do you ever have that experience where something is so obviously clear to you at first glance but then you take a little time to think it through and realize it's not as simple as you thought?
The other week I was walking with my son Chaim, when he saw a bird in the sky and said “I wish I was a bird!”
“Would you really rather be a bird instead of a person?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he replied. I asked him why and he told me, “Because then I could fly!” I told him that despite the fact that we human beings can’t fly we are still much more fortunate to have been created as people. Having the patience of a typical 6-year-old, Chaim had his fill of our philosophical discussion and went back to the favorite pastime of children the world over: trying to avoid stepping on any cracks in the sidewalk (does every child come to this world pre-programmed with this obsession?).
I didn’t give any more thought to our conversation until the next day when I was driving with my family to Toronto for the weekend. Having 5 hours in the car with the options of listening to the kvetching of my 5 children or putting in my earbuds and listening to music, I chose the latter. While listening to my music I began thinking back to my conversation with Chaim.
I wondered why indeed is it so much better for us to be born into this world as human beings as opposed to as birds? After all, a bird (or any animal for that matter) has none of the stresses we humans do. An animal has food pretty much when it needs and has the skills and instincts it needs to survive. Seems like a much more carefree existence! Not to mention the fact that a bird has that coveted ability to fly!
Although I instinctively knew it was obvious that I am better off as a person, it still begged to be articulated as to why it was better.
At that point my ruminations were disturbed by one of the many shrill yells, “Abba! (blank) is bothering me!!!” and I had to pause my thoughts to lay down the law in the form of asking my wife to please break up the fight so that I can drive (this is a common scenario in our family trips).
Once they were settled I continued this mental conversation with myself. I came to the next step of my thought process.
I am a believing, Torah-observant Jew (with plenty of shortcomings no doubt, but at least with a foundation of belief) and one of the tenets of Judaism is the concept that this world which we inhabit is merely a preparatory one for an eternal existence. In Judaism the other world is known as “Olam Habah” – the World to Come. Whereas this world, for most people, lasts 60, 70, 80 or even 90 years if we are lucky, eventually we all take our leave from here.
This begs the question: if this world is so short and temporary then what is the point and purpose of our lives?
The Torah teaches us that while our bodies may die after our allotted time on this planet, our souls, which are spiritual, live on for eternity. Spoiler alert – eternity is a reaaaaaallllllyyyyy long time! It never ends. Never. Never ever. Never ever ever. So our job in this world is to enhance and perfect our souls so that it will be in the best condition for its eternal existence.
Unlike our bodies which enjoy physical delights and pleasures, the soul has no enjoyment or nourishment from things like money, food, pleasures etc. What the soul feeds off of is Torah study, performance of mitzvot and connecting with G-d. The more nourishment we give our souls in these categories the healthier and better it is and will remain for eternity.
With this background (this is a mini lesson in Kabbalah 101 by the way, for any of you who might be in Hollywood and are interested in studying this very esoteric area of Torah study), it became clear why it was such a no-brainer to me that I am so extremely fortunate to have been born as a human being as opposed to an animal.
A human being is the highest form of Creation, as the Torah tells us we were created in the “Image of G-d.” We have the kind of soul which no animal has, and we have the ability to scale the greatest heights should we so choose. An animal exists in this world but after it leaves here it is no longer. Poof. Gone forever. Is it any doubt then that I instinctively knew the answer to my Chaim’s question? A child has no real concept of souls, eternity and World to Come, so he is enchanted by the prospect of flying. But I know better.
By now we were almost in Toronto but I had a little more time to focus on my thoughts. The next question I wondered was the following. True, I have articulated why I know it is better to be a person rather than an animal. But I wonder what someone who does not share my beliefs would say. I would imagine that if I asked 1,000 or even 1,000,000 people “would you rather have been born as an animal instead of as a person?” 99.9% would answer a resounding “No!” But why is that?
What advantage is there to being a person? The conveniences and pleasures we humans enjoy are unknown to your average animal, so it’s not like a cow knows what she is missing. All she knows is she gets to wake up and eat all day, go to sleep, wake up and eat all day, go to sleep… If all that exists is this physical world, is it so certain that, if given the choice, a person would not be better off being born as an animal?
I cannot answer this because as I said I have a belief and conviction that logically provides me with that instinctive answer. But I think it is a worthwhile question for people to reflect on. “Why am I here on this world? What is my purpose here? What happens after I leave this world?”
I leave everyone to their own thoughts and would love to hear what answers you come up with. As for me, I have to clean out the car from the mess the kids made on the trip. After all, Passover is right around the corner!
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Koval
