For Matanos L’evyonim donations Click Here

Elephants and Monkeys

Rabbi Yehoshua Alt

To purchase any of the author’s books, please send an email to [email protected] or visit https://www.amazon.com/Books-Yehoshua-Alt/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AYehoshua+Alt.

To join the thousands of recipients and receive these insights free on a weekly email, obtain previous articles, feedback, comments, suggestions (on how to spread the insights of this publication further, make it more appealing or anything else), to sponsor this publication which has been in six continents and more than forty countries, or if you know anyone who is interested in receiving these insights weekly, please contact the author, Rabbi Yehoshua Alt, at [email protected]. Thank you.

לעילוי נשמת שמואל אביגדור בן יצחק מאיר

These Torah articles can also be viewed in French and Hebrew at https://www.dirshu.co.il/category/הורדות-עלונים.

Archives: https://parshasheets.com/?s=Rabbi+Yehoshua+Alt

To view these essays in German, please visit https://judentum.online/

Please feel free to print some copies of this publication and distribute them in your local Shul for the public, having a hand in spreading Torah.

Please send your feedback to [email protected].

Rabbi Alt merited to learn under the tutelage of R’ Mordechai Friedlander ztz”l for close to five years. He received Semicha from R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg ztz”l. Rabbi Alt has written on numerous topics for various websites and publications and is the author of the books, Fascinating Insights and Incredible Insights. His writings inspire people across the spectrum of Jewish observance to live with the vibrancy and beauty of Torah. He lives with his wife and family in a suburb of Yerushalayim where he studies, writes, and teaches. The author is passionate about teaching Jews of all levels of observance.

Listen to the short Fascinating Insights podcast at https://jewishpodcasts.fm/fascinating-insights, where it can also be downloaded!

Elephants and Monkeys

For those traveling to the zoo for a Chol Hamoed trip, here is an article you can appreciate. The Gemara[1] says that if one sees an elephant or monkey, he recites the bracha of משנה הבריות, diversifies creatures.[2] In fact, to be able to say the bracha of משנה הבריות, diversifies creatures, some great people went to the zoo[3] in order to recite it on an elephant and monkey.[4]

 

The Melachas Shlomo[5] explains that we say it on elephants and monkeys since the דור המבול was punished by being turned into elephants and monkeys. That is, the monkey is similar to man and elephants understand the language of humans.

 

The Minchas Elazar (1868-1937) recited this during his stay in Berlin. The Steipler (1899-1985) took his children to the zoo in Ramat Gan to one of the gardens that had monkeys, where he recited the bracha of משנה הבריות.[6]

 

Here are some other accounts of great people visiting animals.

1) The Chida[7] (1724-1806) describes strange and scary animals he saw in London where they also had animals from America. In his sefer Maagal Tov,[8] the Chida tells of his visit to a taxidermy exhibit in Holland featuring a vast array of animals and insects.

2) The Sefer Ohaiv Shalom[9] relates that when R’ Shalom Kaminka traveled to Vienna to seek out doctors, he also visited the zoo.

3) The Divrei Chaim (1793-1876) while he was in Vienna visited the zoo of the palace.

4) R’ Tzvi Hirsch Shapira (1850-1913), known as the Darkei Teshuva, went with his disciples to see strange animals.[10]

5) The Leket Yosher[11] testifies about his rebbe—the Terumas Hadeshen (1390-1460)—that he once took a walk on Shabbos particularly to see the lions, when a pair of lions were brought to the city, because he had never before seen a lion.



[1] Brachos 58b.

[2] Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 225:8. The bracha isבָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם מְשַׁנֵּה הַבְּרִיּוֹת.

[3] Seeשו”ת יביע אומר , 4:20.

[4] Minhag Yisrael Torah 1, 225:5.

[5] To Kilayim 8:6.

[6] Orchos Rabbeinu, 1:94.

[7] קדמות מדברמערכת ב, 22.

[8] 13a.

[9] 2, p. 89.

[10] See also the Sefer Mevaser Tov, Yeshuos Avraham, p. 226.

[11] 1, p. 66.

Author of the books Fascinating Insights and Incredible Insights

 
Listen to the short Fascinating Insights Podcast at https://jewishpodcasts.fm/fascinating-insights

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *