Chullin 138: The Mitzvah of Sending Away the Mother Bird
A mishnah in the final chapter of Tractate Chullin expands on Deuteronomy 22:6–7, explaining when and why Jews are commanded to shoo away a mother bird before taking eggs or fledglings.
Useful takeaways from this story.
The commandment to send away the mother bird (shiluach haken) applies everywhere and at all times — in and outside the land of Israel, whether the Temple stands or not.
Classical commentators read the ritual as practical training in compassion: a small, easy-to-perform mitzvah meant to cultivate humane behavior toward people and animals.
Later authorities link the mitzvah’s accessibility (no financial cost, little effort) to the idea that small acts of obedience and kindness lead to larger moral commitments.
The useful part
Chapters five, six, seven, 10 and 11 of this tractate all begin with the exact same kind of phrasing, essentially noting that a particular commandment is incumbent upon Jews in all times and places. On today's daf, the Gemara says little specific about the mitzvah of dismissing the mother bird, but later commentators give it considerable attention. Many extrapolate that the reason we send away the mother bird isn't so much to spare her anguish as to condition us to behave mercifully toward people.
How it works
- The shofar's blast is a call to wake up and show up for what matters.
- Written in Hebrew was the phrase mitzvah goreret mitzvah, meaning one mitzvah leads to another.
- The classical commentators lift up the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird as both easy to fulfill and one that trains us to be compassionate to others.
- My Jewish Learning answers that call all year by keeping Jewish knowledge free and open to anyone who wants it.
- Advertisement Advertisement Discover More Tractate Bekhorot Bekhorot 4 Born first in the wilderness.
What to take from it
Seeing this tragedy led one rabbi to abandon Judaism altogether. The reason that God spelled out the reward for only a few of the commandments is to encourage us to fulfill all of them." When my kids were small, someone gave us a soft wall hanging with an image of a colorful train with many cars.
Details worth keeping
The mishnah rules that the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird is always relevant, incumbent upon Jews wherever they live (both inside and outside the land of Israel) and in all times (when the Temple stands and when it does not). What a perfect entry point for doing even more good in the world. Tractate Bekhorot Bekhorot 2 Welcome to Tractate Bekhorot.
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- Myjewishlearning: Today's daf spoke to me as a teacher. Let's see why: Rabbi Yehuda says that Rabbi Akiva would teach this halakhah:...
More context around this story.
Chullin 129
Two pages ago, a mishnah taught about the unique status of a limb or piece of flesh that’s dangling from an animal, ... The post Chullin 129 appeared first on My Jewish Learning .
Chullin 140
The Talmud has been discussing the Torah’s requirement of shiluach haken, shooing the mother bird away from the nest before collecting her ... The post Chullin 140 appeared first on My Jewish Learning .
Chullin 132
The Talmud has been discussing the portions of butchered animals reserved for priests. Thus far, we’ve been assuming that those ... The post Chullin 132 appeared first on My Jewish Learning .
Chullin 141
Deuteronomy 22:6–7 establishes the prohibition of shiluach haken: One may not harvest both a mother bird and her offspring simultaneously. Rather, before collecting ... The post Chullin 141 appeared first on My Jewish Learning .
Chullin 128
Today’s daf spoke to me as a teacher. Let’s see why: Rabbi Yehuda says that Rabbi Akiva would teach this halakhah: ... The post Chullin 128 appeared first on My Jewish Learning .
Bekhorot 5
The Torah presents a lot of numbers: seven days of creation, 10 plagues on Egypt, 12 tribes of Israel. Big ... The post Bekhorot 5 appeared first on My Jewish Learning .
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